Metallurgy

You can spend a Long RP creating a Tag that represents a weapon, shield, or armor. This process is the core function of blacksmithing and requires a source of Fuel, 1-3 different Metals, and a Foundation, all of which are combined to create the item. Each of these components determine the Properties of the item which are then converted into Advantages that can be used by its wielder. Metallurgy is broken down into the following steps: Fuel and Heat, Alloying, Properties, Foundation, Advantages, Quality Grade, and Mark and Tag.

Fuel and Heat

In order to begin the Metallurgy process, a source of Fuel is required to heat the forge and there are five different levels of Heat:

Low 1;

Low 2;

High 3;

High 4; and

Extreme 5 - all blacksmiths take 5 Fire damage upon completion of the Alloying step of this process.

Additionally, many sources of Fuel offer further benefits which range from the versatility of Coal to the hardiness of Hearth Oak to the magical properties of the rarer Fuels which grant unique Conduit Advantages. Click on the "Expand Table" button below to see the list of Fuels.

Alloying

The main step of the Metallurgy process is to provide the now-heated forge with 1-3 sources of Metal to create an Alloy. Metals can either be found in the wild or purchased from traveling merchants on Market Day. Click on the "Expand Table" button below to see the list of Metals.

Metals each have their own Melting Point, Tolerance, and Convection which interact with the Heat level of your forge and require you to keep track of each variable in order to successfully craft an Alloy:

Melting Point

This represents the minimum Heat level that a Metal requires for it to be successfully smelted. If the Heat level of the forge is below the Melting Point of a Metal and then the Metal can't be smelted and must be removed from the Alloying process unless the Heat level is sufficiently raised to smelt the Metal.

Tolerance

This represents the maximum Heat level that a Metal can withstand. If the Heat level of the forge exceeds the Tolerance of a Metal and this step of the process is completed then the Metal is either destroyed if it lists no negative benefits OR it confers the listed negative benefit to the final product but is not destroyed.

Convection

This represents the ability for a Metal to affect the Heat level of the forge. While some Metals do not affect the Heat level at all, many increase or decrease it which can complicate the Alloying process. If the Convection of a Metal reduces the Heat level below the Melting Point of a Metal then that Metal must be removed from the Alloying process. If the Convection of a Metal raises the Heat level above the Tolerance of a Metal and this step of the process is completed then the Metal is destroyed or confers the listed negative benefit to the final product.

Only the final Heat level matters during the Alloying process so begin with your starting Heat level and add all Convection modifiers as well as any other modifiers from skills, Alchemical Concoctions, Blessings, or spells. Then compare the final Heat level to the Melting Point and Tolerance of each Metal used in this process to get your final Alloy. Keep in mind that you do not have to commit to the Melting Point and Tolerance values of each Metal until you choose to complete this step of the process. This allows you to change around which Metals you want to use in case the Melting Point of any Metals are above the Heat level of your forge, in which case they must be removed from the Alloying process or swapped out for another Metal, or to prevent the destruction of certain Metals. In this regard, blacksmithing acts like a puzzle.

Properties

Once you have your created an Alloy, it will gain the Advantage Properties and General Properties of all the Metals that were smelted in the Alloying process except any Metals which were destroyed during the Alloying process. Many General Properties cancel out other Advantage or General Properties and you must track these changes to get your finished Alloy.

Foundation

A finished Alloy cannot be saved for later and must immediately be fitted to a Foundation. Once you have done so, it is almost a ready-to-use item. See the Re-hafting and Refitting smithing process on the Blacksmithing Processes article for more information about Foundations as well as a list of Foundations.

Advantages

With your finalized list of Properties, you can determine which Advantages they can be converted into based on your known Forge Techniques; however, Advantages cannot be swapped out after the item has been finalized and the Weapon Tag has been created so choose wisely. Furthermore, you may not always be able to convert all Properties into Advantages due to your known Forge Techniques which will limit the Advantages that you can choose. Each Property can be converted into an Advantage at a one-to-one ratio and the list of Properties can be found in the sidebar. The Forge Technique categories and their individual Advantages are listed in the next article.

Expert Advantages

A Hard and a Flexible Property, or a Dense and Light Property, can be combined together and converted into one Expert Advantage which offer powerful passive benefits and cannot be chosen more than once except under special circumstances (such as the Malleable Property).

Foundation/Fuel Advantages

Some Fuels add Conduit Advantages that can be converted from a Conduit Property regardless of your known Forge Techniques while most Foundations confer a unique Advantage to the item.

Quality Grade

The Quality Grade of the item, as well as its sale price in silver, is determined by the total number of Advantages that it has; however, an Expert Advantage count as two while a Foundation Advantage does not count towards this total. The item is then assigned a grade based on this total:

Green: 1-5 Advantages;
Yellow: 6-10 Advantages; or
Black: 11+ Advantages.

Mark and Tag

You must now attach some sort of Mark to the item, such as a band, tie, ribbon, or other identifying symbol that can easily be attached, which matches its assigned Quality Grade color and is used to notify others that the item is of exceptional quality and has additional mechanical benefits. We encourage you to design your own unique Mark to be your personal signature as a blacksmith. The final step of the Metallurgy process is to visit the Game Runners to turn in the expended resources and acquire a Weapon Tag which matches the Quality Grade and Mark in color as well as the chosen Advantage Tags which are placed within the Weapon Tag. You must then give the Weapon Tag and all Advantage Tags to the player who must keep them on their person whenever they are carrying or wearing their phys-rep with the Mark on it. This Weapon Tag (and the Advantage Tags contained within) represents the actual item in-game as opposed to the player's real-world phys-rep. Since each crafted item is unique and cannot be altered, only one Mark and Weapon Tag can be associated with it at any given time.

Advantage Properties

Hard

Grants one “Hard” Advantage.

Dense

Grants one “Dense” Advantage.

Light

Grants one “Light/Flexible” Advantage.

Flexible

Grants one “Light/Flexible” Advantage.

Conduit

Grants one “Conduit/Silver” Advantage.

Silver

Grants the “Silver” Advantage.

Malleable

Allows an existing Advantage to be duplicated, including Expert Advantages.

Hard + Flexible

Grants one “Expert” Advantage.

Dense + Light

Grants one “Expert” Advantage.

Legendary

Grants one “Legendary” Advantage, maximum of one per item.

General Properties

Luster

Increases the sale price in silver by +1.

Rigid

Removes one “Brittle” property.

Crystalline

Removes one “Heavy” property.

Brittle

Removes all “Hard” properties.

Heavy

Removes all “Light” properties.

Ductile

Removes all “Flexible” properties.

Mundane

Removes all “Conduit” properties.