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<blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 6121787" data-attributes="member: 92305"><p><strong>CIMMERIAN BLUE STEEL</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>If you are a Howard purist, you probably like your Cimmerians to be poor, low-tech barbarians. I like to keep the fantastic element in this sword & sorcerery universe, and thus, I don't scoff at the idea that Cimmerians are master smiths that know a little something extra about steel. 1982's Conan The Barbarian rested on this premise, though it is not an original Howard idea.</p><p></p><p>Like this entire thread, pick and and choose what you like. Leave the rest.</p><p></p><p>There's a quick, off-hand remark about Cimmerian blue iron-ore in the <strong>Catacombs of Hyboria</strong> supplement. Here, I'm simply taking that idea and marrying it to the Riddle of Steel myth from the 1982 movie, using one of the rules that is already in the game.</p><p></p><p>The crafting rules on pg. 97 of the Core Rulebook (2E) discuss the creation of Masterwork and High Quality items. A special component is needed. I submit that this rare, blue iron-ore, found only in Cimmeria, is the component needed to make Masterwork Cimmerian weapons.</p><p></p><p><strong>Cimmerian Blue Steel weapons are masterwork items that have a +1 damage bonus and a minimum hardness of 10.</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>REAL HISTORY NOTE:</strong> There is actually a precedent for this idea among the pages of real history. Pattern welded steel was developed in the Rhineland, but the secret of its manufacture was kept to only a few smiths in that region. Pattern welding is a process of braiding steel of various strengths so as to maintain the flexibility of softer steels while retaining the hardness and edge of denser steels. This is a similar concept to Damascus Steel, and it too tends to create a visual effect.</p><p></p><p>Charlemagne would eventually draft laws forbidding the trade of pattern welded steel to such tribes as the Vikings and the Avars, but when the Vikings acquired such blades, they also learned the technique. The Vikings would eventually improve upon these weapons to the degree that each blade be able to bend a full inch to either side and then return to its original state without warping.</p><p></p><p>At some point during the many wars of Europe, the secret of pattern welding was lost, and when the Vikings eventually began to fade as a world influence, so did the secret of pattern welding.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Water Bob, post: 6121787, member: 92305"] [B]CIMMERIAN BLUE STEEL[/B] If you are a Howard purist, you probably like your Cimmerians to be poor, low-tech barbarians. I like to keep the fantastic element in this sword & sorcerery universe, and thus, I don't scoff at the idea that Cimmerians are master smiths that know a little something extra about steel. 1982's Conan The Barbarian rested on this premise, though it is not an original Howard idea. Like this entire thread, pick and and choose what you like. Leave the rest. There's a quick, off-hand remark about Cimmerian blue iron-ore in the [B]Catacombs of Hyboria[/B] supplement. Here, I'm simply taking that idea and marrying it to the Riddle of Steel myth from the 1982 movie, using one of the rules that is already in the game. The crafting rules on pg. 97 of the Core Rulebook (2E) discuss the creation of Masterwork and High Quality items. A special component is needed. I submit that this rare, blue iron-ore, found only in Cimmeria, is the component needed to make Masterwork Cimmerian weapons. [B]Cimmerian Blue Steel weapons are masterwork items that have a +1 damage bonus and a minimum hardness of 10.[/B] [B]REAL HISTORY NOTE:[/B] There is actually a precedent for this idea among the pages of real history. Pattern welded steel was developed in the Rhineland, but the secret of its manufacture was kept to only a few smiths in that region. Pattern welding is a process of braiding steel of various strengths so as to maintain the flexibility of softer steels while retaining the hardness and edge of denser steels. This is a similar concept to Damascus Steel, and it too tends to create a visual effect. Charlemagne would eventually draft laws forbidding the trade of pattern welded steel to such tribes as the Vikings and the Avars, but when the Vikings acquired such blades, they also learned the technique. The Vikings would eventually improve upon these weapons to the degree that each blade be able to bend a full inch to either side and then return to its original state without warping. At some point during the many wars of Europe, the secret of pattern welding was lost, and when the Vikings eventually began to fade as a world influence, so did the secret of pattern welding. [/QUOTE]
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