What's your iron threshold?

[hcobb]

Note that blood isn't very magnetic. (Go into a tight orbit around a magnetar to see the magnetic effect on blood.) So it's bulk iron rather than iron in chemical compounds.


Whataboutism rule of 5?
0.04 to 0.2 pounds: -1 DX
0.3 to 1.0 pounds: -2 DX
1.1 to 5.0 pounds: -3 DX
5.1 to 25.0 pounds: -4 DX
25.1+ pounds: -5 DX

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

Enchanting an item of iron does not induce a penalty. It seems the "wearing" or "wielding" of it by the caster is the problem. Perhaps say affecting the caster's aura to channel magic into an effect.?

Agreed. My own in-game explanation is that iron (or whatever passes for iron on Cidri) is a metaphysical inhibitor. On my Cidri, for spells to work, a wizard (whose perception is different from non-wizards) must shape/configure/arrange/weave unstable aether particles in the environment into a specific pattern or matrix. This pattern will quickly dissipate, however, without the infusion of the wizard's spirit or lifeforce (ST). Worn or held iron (in sufficient quantities) will distrupt the transfer of this key final catalyst. Wizards sometimes describe this effect as "pushing thru sorrow".

Enchanted iron no longer has this property due to alterations at the molecular level that allow specific spell patterns to be permanently infused into the object. This process also makes the metal permeable to the.transfer of ST for spellcasting.

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

But this is a good question about how much is needed and when it does affect the caster. Incremental steps by amount "carried"?

The guidelines I presented further above have worked well in our games. Basically, it's more about how completely the wizard is encompassed than it is about the actual weight or mass of the metal.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Note that blood isn't very magnetic. (Go into a tight orbit around a magnetar to see the magnetic effect on blood.) So it's bulk iron rather than iron in chemical compounds.


Whataboutism rule of 5?
0.04 to 0.2 pounds: -1 DX
0.3 to 1.0 pounds: -2 DX
1.1 to 5.0 pounds: -3 DX
5.1 to 25.0 pounds: -4 DX
25.1+ pounds: -5 DX

Who wants to add up all the iron a person carries just for that? Simple is better, far as I'm concerned.

[Steve Plambeck]

Originally Posted by Axly Suregrip

This does mean it is okay for a wizard to use bows (not crossbows) without a penalty. [emphasis mine]

But remember the Chinese bronze crossbow, mass produced by the Han dynasty around 200 BC. Bronze firing mechanism, bronze bolts, no iron at all. A shot could go through a tree trunk at over 100 paces. Beware the wizard with one of those!

[Axly Suregrip]

Originally Posted by Steve Plambeck

But remember the Chinese bronze crossbow, mass produced by the Han dynasty around 200 BC. Bronze firing mechanism, bronze bolts, no iron at all. A shot could go through a tree trunk at over 100 paces. Beware the wizard with one of those!

Nice.

Maybe what we should be looking at is the spirit of the law instead of picking it apart literally. The point of the rule is to keep ordinary weapons in the hands of fighters and away from wizards.

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by Axly Suregrip

Nice.

Maybe what we should be looking at is the spirit of the law instead of picking it apart literally. The point of the rule is to keep ordinary weapons in the hands of fighters and away from wizards.

Start by restricting the Staff spell to wands and staves.

[EKB]

My rule is -1 Dx for every 10 grams of iron, up to a maximum -4 Dx penalty for 40+ grams. Arrowheads are ~10 grams each, while daggers are easily enough to max out the iron penalty. Also, iron carried by an opponent in HTH combat counts, but not iron carried by an opponent in an adjacent hex.

I consider "silver" weapons to be a weird magical or quasi-magical form of silver-containing non-magnetic stainless steel. The "non-magnetic" part is why they don't inflict a Dx penalty on spellcasting. More generally, "If it's ferromagnetic, it inhibits spellcasting; if it isn't, it doesn't."

As for the Staff spell, I allow it on most any non-ferromagnetic object. Wooden staves are the most common, but a silver (non-magnetic stainless steel) dagger also works, as does an ivory wand, a leather riding crop, or a yew longbow.