ICE materials

The metals and woods of GemStone III mostly had I.C.E. Age analogs in Rolemaster, M.E.R.P., or Shadow World specifically. However, these sometimes had differences in detail with the modern lore, such as whether it was an alloy or other historical contexts. The Rolemaster "Bonus" has the same meaning as our modern materials enchant bonus, and "Resistance" to destruction is analogous to ST/DU.

Metals

The word "metals" is used loosely. This includes special minerals, crystals, and volcanic glasses, but leaves out generic real-world materials such as obsidian. There are some SHIFT verb terms that do not exist in the I.C.E. source books, and it is unclear if some of these ever actually existed in the game. This list also does not include I.C.E. materials that never existed in GemStone.

Arinyark

Modern: Ahnver

Arinyark is a luminous bluish-green mineral that absorbs raw Essence radiation. It is extremely difficult to make into weapons and armors, and with armor it would typically be a laminate on something else to act as a mana battery. There is no modern lore for this material, though "ahnver" does exist in the game. It was one of the words that was changed but was not included in the SHIFT verb.

Rolemaster Statistics
Bonus:	-5
Resistance:	+30
Cost Multiplier:	1000x
RM Value:	200 gold/ounce
SW Value:	200 silver/ounce

Game	Details
Rolemaster:	Arinyark stores essence radiation like a battery which can then be tapped to renew power points (mana). When coating a full suit of armor with arinyark, it provides +30 to Essence realm resistance rolls (warding) or applies -30 to elemental attacks such as bolts. (Source: Alchemy Companion (1992); Chapter 2.2.7: Enchanted Materials, page 15)
Shadow World:	Same as Rolemaster. Arinyark is an ingredient of the alloy Xenium. (Source: Shadow World Master Atlas, 2nd Edition (1992); Chapter 1.3: Special Elements, page 17) In the Third Edition it is a "metallic element" and those modifiers are +/-50 rather than +/-30. There is a silver-blue metal called Taurith near arinyark deposits which is extremely easy for imbedding Essence realm spells. (2001, page 58)
I.C.E. Age:	Arinyark strips are used as a lighting method in the old part of the Crypt of The Graveyard, likely symbolic of The Unlife because it devours the Essence. The extension with the torches is unrelated to the original story. This might have been inspired by the arinyark pillared Great Hall of an Unlife mummy king in the Egyptian themed "Kingdom of the Desert Jewel" source book (1989), which was located on the Bay of Throk in the western continent of Gethyra. The design of the Graveyard is influenced by the Egyptian death religion, and the invoking phrase used to be "Kadaena Throk Farok" rather than "Shadow bind my soul." The deeper part of the necropolis is lit with luminescent fungus.

Black Alloy

Modern: Black alloy

It is an alloy of iron, titanium, and "meteoric metals." It ranges from steel grey to black in color, and does not require special forging equipment. For this reason the "meteoric metal" component presumably does not refer to star iron. While it is not all that uncommon in Rolemaster, it is extremely rare in modern GemStone IV. It was included along with white alloy on a late 1990s table before the modern metals lore was written, along with the lower carbon low and high steel, but its properties were left undefined. In the modern game it is most notably used for ShadowDeath weapons and vambraces.

Rolemaster Statistics
Bonus:	+20
Resistance:	+10
Cost Multiplier:	500x
RM Value:	100 gold/ounce
SW Value:	?

Game	Details
Rolemaster:	As described above. (Source: Alchemy Companion (1992); Chapter 2.2.7: Enchanted Materials, page 15) In the Treasure Companion (1996) it asserts that "black alloys" are "very hard" and incredibly difficult to forge because of their very high carbon content, and that they contain either nickel or molbydenum, but with large fractions of tungsten and vanadium. (Treasure Companion Chapter 3.4.2: Carbon Steel; pages 26, 38)
Shadow World:	It is called "Krelin" after its creator, the Iylari smith Krelij who fashioned the dragonhelms with the Dragonlord Oran Jatar, the brother of the famous artificer Tethior who invented white alloy. It is a non-magical alloy of iron, carbon, and other materials. Dull grey. +50 BF ("breakage factor"). (Source: Shadow World Master Atlas, 3rd Edition (2001); Chapter 5.4: Special Weapon Alloys, page 57)
I.C.E. Age:	The I.C.E. Age of GemStone III ended prior to the publication of Treasure Companion and the Third Edition of the Shadow World Master Atlas.

Black Eog

Modern: Black ora

Black eog is an unholy metal that inhibits light magic in the same way that white eog does for dark magic. Mechanically, most if not all player spells in GemStone III were technically "light" magic (even if they were violent) in that they used what we call "mana", so this anti-magical property is significantly weaker in the game than in Shadow World. Modernly there is "pure" and "impure" black ora, but in the I.C.E. Age context all ora weapons are alloys. Black eog does not have the mana regeneration and wisdom bonuses of pure black ora, or the spirit regeneration penalty, though this would not be inconsistent. In Shadow World the price per ingot of white and black ora is the same, they are exceptionally rare. In the modern metals lore black ora is much more rare than white ora and they are both pure forms.

Rolemaster Statistics
Bonus:	+30
Resistance:	+30
Cost Multiplier:	10,000x
RM Value:	2,000? gold/ounce
SW Value:	5,000 silver/ounce

Game	Details
Rolemaster:	Black eog is only mentioned as a color variation of normal dully silver-grey eog, which is described as an Elven magical alloy made from mithril, titanium ("durang"), and other unknown materials. It is not described as having special properties of its own as a color variation. (Source: Alchemy Companion (1992); Chapter 2.2.7: Enchanted Materials, page 15) In the Treasure Companion (1996) eog is only described in its gray form as "true steel" or "true iron." (Treasure Companion Chapter 3.5.3: Enchanted Substances, page 27)
Shadow World:	Eog varieties are pure metals in Shadow World, but the weapons are always alloys because it is brittle. Black and white eog have anti-magical properties, unlike ordinary eog. Black eog is unholy in that it can inhibit or even nullify ordinary magic, as opposed to the Dark Essence realms where the power originates in sources such the Unlife or dark gods. In a room covered in 1 inch panels of black eog, most ordinary magic users would not be able to cast spells, but they would still have their power points (unlike kregora which actually drains them.) (Source: Shadow World Master Atlas, 3rd Edition (2001); Chapter 5.4: Magical Materials & Alloys, page 58)
I.C.E. Age:	Black eog is an unholy metal which uses the game's curse mechanics. There were black eog signet rings that supposedly augmented Council of Light powers in the past, which is surely based on the signet rings of the Priests Arnak. The Spider Temple originally inhibited some of the spell-casting of (light) Channeling users. When it opened spells such as Unstun did not work inside the building. White ora is naturally sanctified in the hands of a cleric, while black ora is naturally cursed. These properties are not mentioned in Shadow World. In general the Eog variants in Rolemaster and Shadow World are more powerful and valuable than the Ora that exists in GemStone.

External Links

• Rolemaster Alchemy Companion (see Chapter 2.2.7: Enchanted Materials, page 15)
• Rolemaster Creatures & Treasures II (see page 67)
• Shadow World Materials
• Treasures of Middle Earth (see page 129, least relevant)