Cold Iron

[Shane Wallsly]

"Weapons forged of cold iron, also called cold steel, are of superior quality; possessing greater durability and holding an edge longer than traditional iron. The iron gets its name from being cold to the touch even when exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods of time. It is rumored that these weapons can cause greater harm to the undead than other weapons although such claims are unfounded. Cold iron is found in iron mines alongside normal iron deposits but at a severely reduced ratio. It is slightly more difficult to work than normal iron but tends to produce greater quality weapons."
~ The Price List's Description of Cold Iron

Last week I saw people in Chat wondering whether Cold Iron was a better material for weapons than Steel. Originally I would have said yes but someone pointed out that the description only states that it is better than Iron and the cost didn't matter too much because Gold and Silver weapons cost more than steel weapons do but aren't necessarily better weapons for it. I also heard someone outright dismiss the whole Undead weakness rumour and the description itself does seem to agree with that.

So my question to any of those thinkers in Chat who might have found a definitive answer or any Founder or ST who happens to know is simply: Is Cold Iron a better material for a weapon than steel? Not in terms of fanciness but in the quality of the actual weapon in combat.

[Mirian Jade]

I'm not sure what the in-game explanation is, but as a real-life weapons enthusiast I'll just throw my two cents in. 'Cold iron' is not a real thing that weapons are made of in the real world. Well, that's not exactly true; the term "cold iron" is generally an old folk term for regular iron, and there aren't really any processes to make it particularly different or stronger. "Cold steel" is pretty much the same. It is also the name of a knife company.

From what the lore says, it looks like they're saying "cold iron" is a metal that's actually chemically different from regular iron? I'm not sure. But to my knowledge, in the real world "cold iron" is just regular iron with a cooler name.

[Gillar]

Cold Iron is indeed a better material for making weapons compared to steel; thus the x3 modifier for price. It is harder to come by than iron or steel though not as rare as Isurian steel. I have updated the listing for Cold Iron to include it being superior to steel as well as that is what I meant it to be when I put it in the price list. Weapons, armor and tools made of cold iron are not found for sale in large quantities. For example, you may find one cold iron sword for every 10 mundane steel swords. By comparison, outside of Sultros, one may find one isurian steel sword for every 500 mundane steel swords (depending on the location of course). The "cold" property of cold iron makes the metal feel as cool as say a glass of cold water and makes it highly sought after for armor for obvious reasons. The actual material is just something I wanted to add that would be between mundane metals normally used for weapons/armor/tools and isurian steel; superior but not unnaturally so. As for its durability, it is greater than iron or steel but still inferior to isurian steel. For those D20 gamers, Cold Iron could best be compared to Masterwork as far as final item quality is concerned. As mentioned, it doesn't have any added benefit against undead beings on Mizahar; such a thing is just a IC rumor that likely came about from the mention of the metal being as cold as nuit flesh. From there, the rumors took off though any smith or weapon connoisseur knows that such rumors are ridiculous at best. In combat, a cold iron weapon isn't going to shatter other blades or cleave through metal armor as if it were butter but it will resist denting, bending, rusting or breaking far better than lesser materials. The difference is noticeable but not unnatural in nature. One with the right eye for such things would recognize the weapon as being of superior quality found only in cold iron. I hope that helps clear things up a bit.

[Shane Wallsly]

Yeah, that's pretty much spot on what I wanted to know. Thank you for getting back to me, Gillar