How does a lack of steel effect a campaign setting?

[fusangite]

I'm starting a new campaign in a few weeks, and I'm currently thinking of having it set in a pre-steel world. Available armor and weapons would be iron and bronze, with only the greatest smiths in the world having the knowledge to make steel.

The mechanic I'm planning on using to differentiate between different metals for weapons/armor works like this:
*Iron weapons are as normal, bronze gives a +1 to hit, steel gives a +2 to hit.
*Iron armor is as normal, bronze gives a +1 AC, steel gives a +2 AC.

So in what other ways would this difference of available metals affect the campaign world? What technology would and wouldn't be available? And what do you think about my rules for weapons/armor?

Add one more question: do you want your campaign world to be governed by ancient, medieval or modern metallurgical principles and understandings. That should answer a bunch of questions and ask a bunch of new ones. For an excellent discussion of the difference between different metals, check out second edition Runequest. They have a pre-modern magical view of metals but really address this issue head-on.

 

[Wolf72]

[History channel] apparently the English Longbow did squat against the French Knight's armor ... well the arrow heads were made out of iron and the armor was steel. the arrows were very effective against the unarmored horses though.

(King Henry was going cheap and foot soldiers and steel arrow heads were not part of the budget) [/History Channel]

if said arrows were made out of steel, I think they would have been effective against the steel armor.

[edit: darn-it, I keep hitting submit instead of preview!] ... just thought it was an interesting example for more justification of softer materials not being as good against harder materials (other than basic logic)

 

[Steel_Wind]

According to DragonLance - it turns it into a store of value (money) without effecting its price (amor and swords).

/me spitz

As you might tell, while I love DL - I'm not fan of steel coinage.

 

[mythusmage]

Spells like Wall Of Iron are real treasure generators in such worlds.

What Wall of Iron?

 

[Ibram]

Actually, maille (mis-named "Chainmail" in the Victorian Era) existed in Roman times (Lorica Hamatta). The Lorica Segmentata used by Centurions would correspond to Banded Mail, in my book.

I knew i was forgetting one of the armors.

Rome was around for a LONG time, covering several different eras, it extended all the way from ancient times into "Dark" Ages. So using it as an example of any particular material age is not a good idea.

 

[mythusmage]

I knew i was forgetting one of the armors.

Rome was around for a LONG time, covering several different eras, it extended all the way from ancient times into "Dark" Ages. So using it as an example of any particular material age is not a good idea.

And Rome doesn't go all that far back. Periclean Athens was ancient history when Rome was a bandit camp, and the kingdom of Ugarit completely forgotten. You want to deal with Bronze Age cultures you need to go back to the 14th century BC at least. Hittite and Hurrian tribes wer experimenting with iron, the Assyrians were trying out riding horses instead of using them to pull chariots, and hill tribes in Canaan were taking advantage of chaos in Khem to get payback from local cities and towns.

And that's the end of the Late Bronze Age.

To make things simple, and easily recognizable to the players, I recommend basing the setting on the original Babylon. The one established and ruled by the Amorites, not the one ruled by Chaldeans. (The former had their day before the 3rd Assyrian Empire (the one that gets all the press), the latter came after the Assyrians' final fall.)

Good luck.

 

[Whisper72]

If you want more info on a bronze age world, use your google-fu skillz to track down the fan created world of 'Kengir', set in babylonian like times... plenty of info, although it was made for 2nd edition, the background info etc. would still be very useful...

 

[EdL]

I'd go the other way, with Bronze as the standard, and Iron as +1, Steel still +2.

PS: Bronze is heavier, Iron & Steel about the same. Iron and Steel have more Hardness than Bronze, of course. Maybe Steel = 10, Iron = 8, and Bronze = 6? YMMV...

Wrong. Mostly. The trouble with "iron" is that there was a lot of varience depending on local conditions and techniques. Typical 'soft iron' was, indeed, softer than bronze (-1). 'Hard iron' (near-steel) was much better. Of course, the real reason that iron replaced bronze was cost, as has already been mentioned. Iron ore was more plentiful (and all in one place, unlike copper and tin, usually), so easier to get hold of. If copper and tin had been as plentiful and all together iron wouldn't have been used for anything until someone figured out how to make steel by a consistant method. (Damascus steel, anyone.) And yes, bronze mail did exist. It was rather rare. Not sure why, probably the expense of all the work involved added on to the expense of the metal itself.