[✓] Kadarsi Ore & Qalashi Steel (Idea Updated)

[Sujamma Addict 514]

Qalashi Steel

 

OOC:

Spoiler

Before reading , I would like to say that this is my first attempt at writing lore like this for LoTC and it is an ambitious one because I think it could be mechanically implemented into the game with some coding magic. I tried making it simple so it doesn't mess with any other lore and I am looking for feedback as I hope this can be worked on instead of denied immediately. I also know nothing at all about metallurgy so sorry if this made you cringe. Also I would love to be contacted by some of you folks from the lore and dev team so we can possibly work on this together if you guys are interested in seeing this in LoTC!

 

This is my fantasy version of Damascus steel; some also equated it with GoT's Valyrian steel. The objective for this project is to perhaps go more in-depth with blacksmithing while also producing a new ore into LoTC. 

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Introduction

For decades the Qalasheen people have lived peaceful and simple lives, enjoying a time of peace. The world around them appeared to be unraveling its true dark nature, yet The Sultanate flourished as local merchants peddled their wares across the Isles. Miners took to the stone with pick in hand, exploring new depths and returning with rare minerals and ores. Encrusted with a strangely beautiful pattern, Qalasheen metallurgists have discovered what at first appeared to be an ore with properties similar to aurum (it had both a low yield strength and fracture point). When they discovered the true potential, it became known as “Kadarsi ((meaning powerful in Arabic))."

 

 

Kadarsi

Kadarsi ore itself looks more similar to a darkened, less transparent crystal, that by itself is weak, making the harvesting process more difficult. It would require a steady hand and careful precision to chip away at the edges of the ore without having it crack. Once acquired, and forged with other elements such as carbon, however, the steel product will have a higher yield strength and higher fracture point. If cracked, the Kadarsi will allow the steel to spring back into shape and allow it to be easily repaired through forge welding.

 

Pattern welded steel

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History

The ore was first used in glassware and pottery, melted and molded together with various minerals and elements to make attractive decorations and furniture, desired by many. What was quickly noticed by this was that the glass and pottery were slightly more durable and resistant to breaking. Metallurgists quickly began testing the affects of Kadarsi with other minerals including gold and ferrum. Through Kadarscening, it was discovered that the properties of both ferrum and aurum were strengthened, making the two more durable. Striking aurum mixed with Kadarsi repeatedly against solid objects showed that the new welded aurum could take more hits before needing repair. Not only this, but repairing was much easier as the Kadrasi could easily spring back into shape with simple repair methods. The same results were shown with ferrum testing and so Qalashi Steel was born.

 

Kadarsi Ferrum BattleAxe

 

Qalashi Steel consists of Kadarsi ore and Ferrum ore that are both welded and forged together in layers (known as Kardescining), creating a unique pattern, but most importantly it affects the quality of the combined steel to create a new steel which is commonly referred to by Harians as Qalashi Steel. Different kinds of mixed processed steels will produce mere patterns and show little property change, but when ferrum combines with the Qalasheen-discovered Kadarsi ore, not only did it have a unique pattern — a beautiful water-patterned steel produced with resilient edges — it was shown to be tougher than the average ferrum blade which was prone to rusting in damp air and becoming dull, making it a high maintenance weapon.

 

 

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The Welding Technique

Through pattern welding of Ferrum and Kadarsi, plus an additional method which consists of layering, Qalashi steel can be forged into weapons and armor. The layering gives the steel unique patterns that one can visually see. Depending on the skill level of a blacksmith, Qalashi steel will become more durable as the blacksmith will be able to use the Kadarscening technique better and add more layered tiers of the melted ferrum and Kadarsi. As they are layered and folded over one another more and more the outcome is a steel that is much tougher and resistant to shattering (though it would not be impossible to break the steel). The tiers are  also noticeable by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water. The more it is layered (which is a lengthy process), the more durable the steel becomes.

 

Kadarsi ore can be welded together with ferrum, aurum, and bluesteel to produce: Kadarsi ferrum, Kadarsi aurum, and Kadarsi bluesteel. 

 

Kadarsi Ferrum Sabre

 

Each tier is based solely on the level of the blacksmith starting from Adept which will be referred to as a tier 1 product. The more experience one has in blacksmithing, the higher the tier. Alongside this, Qalashi steel can be enchanted like most weapons, but will have increased durability, making it unique.

 

Kadarsi Ferrum Chestplate with gauntlets

 

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Strengths and Weaknesses

+ While this adhesive might only appear to be an alternative to the Unbreaking enchant, it should be known that only at tier 3 ((Masterful blacksmith)) will a Kadarsi-laced piece be equivalent to a single Unbreaking enchant. On top of this, one will be able to add an Unbreaking enchant to their Kadarsi-laced piece and double the affects. 

+ Farfolk are able to produce Kadarsi ferrum gear earlier and slightly faster than other races, but will be subject to the same times when it comes to Kadarsi aurum and Kadarsi bluesteel.

- Aurum and bluesteel gear are best used in their whole states and so mixing any aurum or bluesteel with Kadarsi lessens, but does not completely negate the properties. 

- The process for making Kadarsi gear is a lengthy one due to how precise one must be.

- To be able to harvest this ore, one must have much experience, though it is said that the expert hands of a Farfolk can provide some aid 

- Kadarsi Aurum and Kadarsi bluesteel will require more experience to craft for other races.

 

 

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Thank you to bestscarface76 who provided some good advice for this.

 

 

 

[AquaticWolf 263]

FIRST and hope it gets accepted

[Kaelan 1916]

I like it. +1

[MrForesteroni 19]

I like the idea +1

[Gladuos 857]

I like the idea of it and if it cannot be easily coded in, the MC representation could easily be a regular ferrum sword (or other armor/weaponry) with unbreaking enchants. Much like how slayer steel was described to be gold items with unbreaking enchants.

[Imam Faiz Kharadeen 3166]

i support this, long live QALASHI STEEEEL

[Matheus 525]

Are you planning to make this ore exclusive to your lands' mines? If not, I kinda find the cultural tie-in to be arbitrary. 

That being said, everything else looks gucci.

[Sujamma Addict 514]

Just now, Matheus said:

Are you planning to make this ore exclusive to your lands' mines? If not, I kinda find the cultural tie-in to be arbitrary. 

That being said, everything else looks gucci.

The ore will be available to everyone to mine and craft into Kadarsi Ingots. The word "Kadarsi" doesn't really have any arabic meaning, I sort of just came up with that. Qalashi steel is completely optional for anyone and just refers to the product produced by pattern welding. The armor/weapons themselves will just be called things like "Kadarsi Sword, Kadarsi Chestplate, etc."

[Reckless Banzai Screamer 11529]

1 hour ago, SI Dynasty said:

The way it vaguely sparkled gave it its name, “Kadarsi.”

 

 

Can you explain what Kadarsi means IRP since it doesn't mean anything in Arabic and its relation to its properties? And in what ways would Kadarsi ore be equivalent/similar to Aurum other than *sparkle sparkle*? Aurum isn't durable so I would suggest removing any relations Kadarsi would have to it and compare it with another material or make it something unique in its own right. I also don't think it should be equivalent to Aurum in terms of affects on undead (I know you didn't mention it here in this post, but you were somewhat vague on how Aurum and Kadarsi would be equivalent hence my suggestion to compare it with another material).

 

I guess the pattern aspect is a cool aesthetic but in terms of practical use the only real plus side to this Qalashi Steel is that it's more durable than a regular ferrum blade. Perhaps you could find a few drawbacks (such as the long process of smithing it you mentioned) as well as finding more reasons why smiths should go out of their way to make this to compensate for the long time duration to smith this.

 

Kadarsi ore should also be available all around Axios but at rare rates perhaps something similar to diamond once furthers positive attributes are added to make this a more unique piece of lore - perhaps research on armor used in the early Ottoman Empire or something. 

 

Lastly while I don't want to consider it an aspect of lore since I dislike nexus skills, Farfolk people have a harder time raising smithing. I don't particularly know why except easterners and pig steel and katanas and ****. Maybe you can apply this negative aspect of Farfolk Smithing and give it a basis in role play for the Qalasheen and then use Kadarsi to help compensate that (Though someone people could argue this would defeat the purpose of farfolks being **** smiths).

 

I'm interested in what would come out of this if some more time is put into it to make it more appealing and fleshed out instead of a simple cultural aspect.

 

EDIT: Please pick the proper spelling - Kadrasi or Kadarsi. Or else we'll end up debating the spelling down the line like Al-Wakrah and Al-Wakhrah.

[Sujamma Addict 514]

12 minutes ago, Good Guy Shady said:

Can you explain what Kadarsi means IRP since it doesn't mean anything in Arabic and its relation to its properties? And in what ways would Kadarsi ore be equivalent/similar to Aurum other than *sparkle sparkle*? Aurum isn't durable so I would suggest removing any relations Kadarsi would have to it and compare it with another material or make it something unique in its own right. I also don't think it should be equivalent to Aurum in terms of affects on undead (I know you didn't mention it here in this post, but you were somewhat vague on how Aurum and Kadarsi would be equivalent hence my suggestion to compare it with another material).

 

I was probably not very clear on this, sorry. The original name for the ore was "Kadar" which means "powerful" in Arabic. I added the si at the end because I didn't want to  make people feel that it was just tying directly into Qalasheen culture. Now that you mentioned it, I will flesh out some more details and edit the post, thanks! As for how it relates to gold: The unprocessed ore itself is as weak as gold, but strengthens when it is mixed with certain elements, one being carbon which is an element in steel (this is the fantasy part to it). I believe someone I spoke to said it was better than steel but weaker than bluesteel.

 

Other than that, thanks! I agree with all of your points and hope to come up with some more adjustments to the lore!

 

 

[sidmmvv 201]

+1

I would love to see new RP blades and such using the steel. It brings an interesting concept to the imagination of ones blade. Usually it is either "I haz a puurty bluesteel bladeeeeee" but the steel mentioned above would be real neat to see RP. The making process of the blade and the descriptions of ones sword always fascinates me, and to see fresh designs come from others is always welcoming.

[Sander 3155]

I like it! +1

 

[Swgrclan 2632]

Accepted.

[Swgrclan 2632]

This Lore has been accepted. Moved to Implemented Lore, it will be sorted to it's appropriate category soon.

[ScreamingDingo 16792]

This lore has been suspended/shelved. Contact an ST Manager or the ST Administrator for any questions or concerns.