[7thseafreiburg] Dracheneisen: What you need to know

[Lev Lafayette]

>From the Eisen book, which gives more complete coverage than anything else.


Nobility
Beyond dracheneisen’s influence on the national character,
it has had a direct effect on the status of Eisen nobility. With
the exception of the Imperator himself (whose power
predates the discovery of dracheneisen), all claims of
nobility are based on possession of the metal. Owning a
mine automatically makes you an Eisenfürst, and should a
new one be discovered, the founder would become the
equal of any Iron Prince....

Anyone plotting a coup against an
Eisenfürst must first secure ownership of his or her mine —
an all-but impossible task requiring the approval of both the
Imperator and the Eisen courts. (With the current state of
the nation, however, a coup may be much easier than it
once was...)

The minor barons and dukes beneath the Eisenfürsten also
derive their power from dracheneisen, although obviously
to a much lesser extent. Every Eisen noble family must have
a piece of dracheneisen to prove their legitimacy. Most
families received a weapon or suit of armor as a gift from
their Eisenfürst, recognizing them as a member of the ruling
class....

Like so many other things, however, the War of the Cross
has complicated this system. The death of so many has left
their heirlooms scattered to the four winds; dracheneisen
swords have been left abandoned on the battlefield for any
scavenger to claim. With the death of the Imperator, the
courts have fallen into disarray, which means claims to such
items cannot be resolved. It’s not unusual to see
dracheneisen weapons in the hands of common thugs, while
wandering nobles still cling to their weapons after losing
their lands and other trappings of power.


The Nibelungen
Dracheneisen’s power stems from its immense strength, but
also from its rarity and from the difficulty in replacing it
once it’s lost. Only a scant handful of men possess the secret
of forging dracheneisen. They belong to an ancient order of
blacksmiths called Nibelungen — an order as mystical as it is
practical...


(p43-44)


Dracheneisen Forging
If provided with raw dracheneisen, you are capable of forging
it into items. Each unit (1 lb.) of raw dracheneisen is
Drama equivalent to one point on the Dracheneisen Equipment
table. Thus, it takes 3 lbs. of raw dracheneisen to forge a
Fencing Weapon. It requires two months and 1,000G per
unit of dracheneisen to create such a weapon
(p98-99)

>From this we can work out the value of Dracheneisen. As
suspected 1 character point equals 1 unit.


(THE FOLLOWING IS SECRET AND CHARACTERS WILL NOT KNOW IT.)

Brew Dracheneisen Solvent
The Nibelungen have one final secret weapon — a solvent
that will dissolve dracheneisen in a matter of moments.
Each vial requires 600G and one month to brew, but when
thrown onto an opponent wearing or wielding dracheneisen
(requires a Finesse + Throwing roll against the victim’s TN
to be hit, ignoring any bonuses from armor), it will utterly
destroy one of their dracheneisen items (selected at random,
or the Nibelung may use a Called Shot to hit a particular
item). The affected item turns green with corrosion before
becoming brittle and useless. If the object is completely
immersed in water within 2 Phases, the process can be
stopped without serious damage.

(p99)

(In a nutshell, most characters will believe (correctly) that
the Nibelungen know how to forge and reforge Dracheneisen
material. But this is a somewhat time consuming process. The
difference between reforging an the awesome power of destroying
dracheneisen with a corrosive solvent in a single splash should
be noted.)


-- 
Lev Lafayette, BA (Hons), GradCertTerAdEd (Murdoch), GradCertPM, MBA (Tech
Mngmnt) (Chifley)
mobile:  0432 255 208
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