To be honest I think what ever fits your version of the Iron lands. If you want steel weapons go for it. That just makes them having some bit of iron or raw iron more symbolic of their vows. Yesterday I was thinking that the system itself is flexible enough to make it almost scifi lost in space feel and just have raw iron ore being sworn upon.
It's your call. Iron is the base metal of steel, so thematically it works fine either way. For my version of the Ironlands, I generally picture iron weapons being the norm, with black iron ore as the sorta-steel which requires great skill to smith.
For this setting, "Iron" is meant to evoke early middle ages technology, but it's pretty flexible.
I'm sure you have the right of it, Ovy Ortega. Steel goes back a long way. I'd have to crawl through some wikipedia pages to get the timeline right.
My version of the Ironlands is post-apocalypse frontier, with many lost technologies and limited resources, so weapons and armor tend to be more rough-and-ready. "Black iron" smithing is an analogue for more advanced metalwork (i.e. Damascus steel). "Early middle ages" is probably the wrong term, though it's all a bit muddled and anachronistic in my version.
Luckily, it's all fast and loose in the actual book and you can represent things as you like.
When I was reading the core rules, I kept envisioning iron weapons because they were easier to build, and still make great spearheads and axes. It just felt right; even a bit of bronzework wouldn't feel out of place in the setting I envisioned. Like you said, Shawn Tomkin, to each their own! :D
To be honest I think what ever fits your version of the Iron lands. If you want steel weapons go for it. That just makes them having some bit of iron or raw iron more symbolic of their vows. Yesterday I was thinking that the system itself is flexible enough to make it almost scifi lost in space feel and just have raw iron ore being sworn upon.
ReplyDeleteIt's your call. Iron is the base metal of steel, so thematically it works fine either way. For my version of the Ironlands, I generally picture iron weapons being the norm, with black iron ore as the sorta-steel which requires great skill to smith.
ReplyDeleteFor this setting, "Iron" is meant to evoke early middle ages technology, but it's pretty flexible.
Shawn Tomkin wait early Middle Ages was iron? So the romans didn’t know steel? Dad-gum and I was a history teacher for 15+ years!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you have the right of it, Ovy Ortega. Steel goes back a long way. I'd have to crawl through some wikipedia pages to get the timeline right.
ReplyDeleteMy version of the Ironlands is post-apocalypse frontier, with many lost technologies and limited resources, so weapons and armor tend to be more rough-and-ready. "Black iron" smithing is an analogue for more advanced metalwork (i.e. Damascus steel). "Early middle ages" is probably the wrong term, though it's all a bit muddled and anachronistic in my version.
Luckily, it's all fast and loose in the actual book and you can represent things as you like.
When I was reading the core rules, I kept envisioning iron weapons because they were easier to build, and still make great spearheads and axes. It just felt right; even a bit of bronzework wouldn't feel out of place in the setting I envisioned. Like you said, Shawn Tomkin, to each their own! :D
ReplyDelete