Dwarven Steel

Dwarven steel is not just steel that has been metal forged by the dwarven, but steel forged using a technique that none others have been able to duplicate in hundreds of years since the dwarves first brought it to the surface. Although adapted to life in the dark confines of the earth, most dwarves live like the other races on the surface under the sun. It is their history and their mostly closely guarded secrets that lay miles below the surface. Even with the proper equipment so few races can survive that deep that the secret of the steel shall remain forever hidden.

There are several different types of steel produced by the dwarven furnaces: Blade Steel, Plate Steel, White Steel, and Blue Steel. In 200 AH the dwarves of Stoneheart Hold introduced a new steel. Called Living Steel this material appears partially liquid, but is hard to the touch.

Superior corrosion and wear resistance, blade steel is the least expensive option. It offers excellent edge retention, but it also makes the steel incredibility difficult to sharpen. Due to the difficulty the dwarves usually sell this steel only as edged blanks for all sizes of swords and knives.

There is a variant blade steel the dwarves only manufacture for custom work. Offering increased flexibility with only a small reduction in wear resistance its cost is nearly ten times (5x) that of traditional blade steel.

The most common dwarven steel sold in the world. Better corrosion resistance than any type of steel made elsewhere; nevertheless it can be bent and work for most jobs. Unlike blade steel, plate steel is far harder and tougher making it ideal for construction and armors. It is far too expensive to be used for banding, nails, or other common tasks; but a wealthy merchant may purchase a strongbox fashioned from dwarven plate steel.

This steel can be purchased as ingots for melting and casting, but the dwarves caution against that as the material can be difficult to work with properly. If not worked correctly the metal will become brittle and susceptible to temperature shifts. When stressed in this manner, the metal can shatter or crack.

Named for its silvery-white appearance, white steel is the lightest steel produced in the world. Incredibly difficult, but not impossible to work, master smiths have been able to bend and shape white steel to their needs. This is not the work of a journeyman as white steel's cost is nearly fifteen (15x) higher than common steel; also if the steel is continuously heated and worked it can become brittle.

The rarest steel produced by the dwarves. It is rumored that the white hot metal is cooled in the blood of dozens of dwarves, for the metal seems to become a living extension of the dwarves. All steels, being comprised of iron and other base metals, is disruptive to magic, but blue steel is destructive to magic near it. Magic bound with a physical constraint might only be diminished, but any spell plucked out of the ether is doomed to unravel.

Impossible for anyone except the dwarves to forge and shape it. People who have come into contact with the metal explain that it feels slippery in their hand and looks as if it was twisting in its owners hand. Quite simply this is the finest steel to come from the dwarven forges. Corrosion resistance, flexibility, weight, and wear resistance; all outside any other steel in the world.