What are the core tenants of a Gunpowder Fantasy? The must-haves for optimum swashbuckling adventure?

Good villains are a must

Didn’t realize that I wanted this until now.

The ability to ward small quantities of gunpowder, otherwise any magic user with access to the equivalent of "create spark" cantrip can consistently wreck any firearm users...

whats that from?

personally I prefer treating guns vs magic like guns vs crossbows/bows in the late renaissance.

Magic users are supremely powerful and rare while the peasants are flush with firearms. That said, i dont want a "Last samurai" style old vs. new. In history transition periods are always the most fascinating. I want a pike and shot army with casters as a kind of artillery or heavy cavalry.

plus who wouldnt want to see a wizard get rekt by a cannonball.

No dragons for one, as they would be entirely neutered by ranged weapons that powerful.

I want some cool ass dirty motherfuckers like this gunning down casters and paladins.

I want to hear your honest opinion about how accurately you think a cannon could take out a sky-born dragon

Not him but based on the art style it's Hellboy something or another

...

There are magical creatures like dragons, griffons, minotaurs, hydras, giants, ogres, etc.

But there are NO WIZARDS or spellcasters of any kind.
This means humans are required to invent new, more deadly technology quickly for sheer survival purposes. In any other setting, magic users would be able to help humanity survive against such dangerous, intelligent monsters.

Going strictly by genre rules, who is a more powerful villain, the Marques d'Hell or a vampire count?

All natives eventually adapt to firearms
>all if them
Yes that's what I said

Cannons could shoot canister shot between 200 and 500 yards, so if a dragon's just a fire-breathing monster, any attempt to fly close would pretty much screw it over

No one would use pike and shot infantry blobs if one or two casters could annihilate the whole formation with a few AOE spells.

...

>Alchemy