The world of Sarradar is bountiful in its resources, and the prosperity of the realms relies upon the extraction of them from the environment, their crafting into goods of value, and their trade amongst the populaces using systems of bartering and currency. In particular, for those seeking to produce high quality tools or weapons, or for those that practice the arcane arts, there exist particular resources that must be sought out and in some cases carefully extracted for the benefit of their unique properties.
As the aetheric winds course across the world their magic suffuses certain plants and creatures with a measure of latent power. Certain plants, creatures and types of mineral ore absorb energy from one or more of the aetheric winds and thus when harvested in the right manner, can significantly enhance the ability for a mage, alchemist or smith to harness that stored power and channel it into their works.
Reagents come in many different forms, each imbued by one of the ten aetheric winds. While some speak of rare reagents that hold the power of two or more winds, none have yet been proven to exist according to the magical colleges of the Five Realms. Both plant and creature reagents have three grades of potency: Common, Lesser, and Greater.
The higher the potency, the more resilient and rare the plant or creature tends to be, so while the alchemical elixirs formed from reagents harvested from them are potent indeed, the acquisition is often a challenge in of itself.
To use these reagents, one must first harvest them, or have someone else do it for them. To obtain a plant or environmental reagent one must be skilled in the art of Foraging, knowing how to recognise a rare reagent, and extract it successfully without destroying it. Likewise, to successfully remove the right part of a creature to use as a reagent, one must be skilled in the art of Hunting.
It is well known by anyone that works with the earth that is made up of many different forms of rock and dirt. Some are good for growing crops in, others for building walls and castles. There are also those that once extracted can be purified and worked by a talented smith to forge weapons, armour and other useful tools. There are eight ores in particular that are noted here for their significance.
One talented in the art of Prospecting has the eye to identify whether a vein is valuable or not, and what ore type is present within it. Using a pickaxe or similarly suited tool, a prospector can either mine themselves or oversee the mining activity of others. If the right place has been found, it will usually take about ten minutes to extract a suitable quantity of ore, or as little as five minutes if the miner possesses the ‘Powerful’ ability.
Quartz
Rarely used for weapons or armour, the significance of quartz
lies with its aetherically infused form.
Iron
Common in use for everything from household utensils to
weapons and ships’ anchors, iron is a durable and useful material.
Silver
Thought seen mostly in adornments and
high quality household items, silver has a special
use in weapons and armour for use against
particular supernatural creatures. Armour
crafted primarily of silver protects against
poisons and diseases, while weapons made of
the substance inflict grievous wounds upon
some of the most fearsome of creatures.
Gold
Though poor at protecting against attacks or holding an edge
when used to form armour or a weapon, the use of gold in battle is in
that armour of it renders the wearer resistant to the effects of damaging
magic, while as a weapon a mage can channel their powers through it to
be released upon those they strike with it.
Crystal
Imbued with the element of water from a base material of
quartz.
Adamantium
Imbued with the element of earth from a base material
of iron.
Mithril
Imbued with the element of air from a base material of silver.
Orichalcum
Imbued with the element of fire from a base material of
gold.
Equipment Points (EP) are an abstract representation of trinkets and general materials acquired by characters, and are typically represented by either red tokens or marked strips of red fabric. These can be used to make various items with the ‘Craftsman’ skill, or traded in to the Quartermaster for variable rewards. The more EP that is handed in, the more likely the reward is going to be something useful.
Specific equipment is represented by a larger red token or a Cache Marker, both marked with specific codes for what they relate to. These need to be handed in to the Quartermaster for their specific reward.