As many others said don't assume because common lore as the iron v fae is good for those using it and not so much for the fae that it carries over in standard DnD it doesn't. Some DM's would homebrew it in, or use Cold-Wrought Iron etc. I have been known to in some settings to use it and in others not.
I did some research to try to find the history behind the Fey - iron weakness. It looks like it is based on the Tuatha - Milesian transition in Eire. The Tuatha were Bronze Age with “golden” weapons and armor. The Milesians were iron wielders and iron is harder, and stronger than bronze which allowed the Milesians to cut through the armor and weapons of the Tuatha driving them into the wilds or into subjugation by the Milesians. Because of their lower grade armor and weapons they were easily injured or killed by iron weapons hence the susceptibility.
The Tuatha Dé Danann and Milesians are from Irish myth, not Irish history, and the Milesians are believed to have been a relatively recent invention by medieval Christians. Basically an allegory for how Christianity conquered Ireland and eradicated the previously dominant polytheistic religion.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I did some research to try to find the history behind the Fey - iron weakness. It looks like it is based on the Tuatha - Milesian transition in Eire. The Tuatha were Bronze Age with “golden” weapons and armor. The Milesians were iron wielders and iron is harder, and stronger than bronze which allowed the Milesians to cut through the armor and weapons of the Tuatha driving them into the wilds or into subjugation by the Milesians. Because of their lower grade armor and weapons they were easily injured or killed by iron weapons hence the susceptibility.
The Tuatha Dé Danann and Milesians are from Irish myth, not Irish history, and the Milesians are believed to have been a relatively recent invention by medieval Christians. Basically an allegory for how Christianity conquered Ireland and eradicated the previously dominant polytheistic religion.
Be that as it may the transition from Bronze Age Irish to incoming iron age celts really happened and the relative strengths of bronze and iron are there. If theprechristen stories of that transition around a thousand years earlier got twisted into the Tuatha vs Milesians by the Christian’s it still happened and left mythic traces.
I did some research to try to find the history behind the Fey - iron weakness. It looks like it is based on the Tuatha - Milesian transition in Eire. The Tuatha were Bronze Age with “golden” weapons and armor. The Milesians were iron wielders and iron is harder, and stronger than bronze which allowed the Milesians to cut through the armor and weapons of the Tuatha driving them into the wilds or into subjugation by the Milesians. Because of their lower grade armor and weapons they were easily injured or killed by iron weapons hence the susceptibility.
The Tuatha Dé Danann and Milesians are from Irish myth, not Irish history, and the Milesians are believed to have been a relatively recent invention by medieval Christians. Basically an allegory for how Christianity conquered Ireland and eradicated the previously dominant polytheistic religion.
Be that as it may the transition from Bronze Age Irish to incoming iron age celts really happened and the relative strengths of bronze and iron are there. If theprechristen stories of that transition around a thousand years earlier got twisted into the Tuatha vs Milesians by the Christian’s it still happened and left mythic traces.
The problem is that there don't appear to be stories about the Tuatha being defeated by any group of people prior to Ireland's conversion to Christianity. And while it was considered a truism in archeology that iron-wielding civilizations conquered and destroyed bronze-wielding civilizations, there turns out to be little actual evidence to back up the idea. The real reason that iron replaced bronze seems to have been more simply due to the fact that bronze was hard to make since it's an alloy of multiple metals that do not get found together with any regularity.
An alternate hypothesis I've seen bandied about regarding cold iron is that fairies were blamed for all sorts of misfortune: cows drying up, food spoiling, and iron rusting. However, iron that is forged at a colder temperature is more brittle but also more resistant to corrosion. Having an iron tool with a cold iron exterior means that it lasts longer- cold iron protected it from fairy mischief.
And then there's yet another theory that saying something could be stopped with cold iron simply had a similar meaning to saying that something can be stopped with hot lead today.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
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As many others said don't assume because common lore as the iron v fae is good for those using it and not so much for the fae that it carries over in standard DnD it doesn't. Some DM's would homebrew it in, or use Cold-Wrought Iron etc. I have been known to in some settings to use it and in others not.
The Tuatha Dé Danann and Milesians are from Irish myth, not Irish history, and the Milesians are believed to have been a relatively recent invention by medieval Christians. Basically an allegory for how Christianity conquered Ireland and eradicated the previously dominant polytheistic religion.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Be that as it may the transition from Bronze Age Irish to incoming iron age celts really happened and the relative strengths of bronze and iron are there. If theprechristen stories of that transition around a thousand years earlier got twisted into the Tuatha vs Milesians by the Christian’s it still happened and left mythic traces.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
The problem is that there don't appear to be stories about the Tuatha being defeated by any group of people prior to Ireland's conversion to Christianity. And while it was considered a truism in archeology that iron-wielding civilizations conquered and destroyed bronze-wielding civilizations, there turns out to be little actual evidence to back up the idea. The real reason that iron replaced bronze seems to have been more simply due to the fact that bronze was hard to make since it's an alloy of multiple metals that do not get found together with any regularity.
An alternate hypothesis I've seen bandied about regarding cold iron is that fairies were blamed for all sorts of misfortune: cows drying up, food spoiling, and iron rusting. However, iron that is forged at a colder temperature is more brittle but also more resistant to corrosion. Having an iron tool with a cold iron exterior means that it lasts longer- cold iron protected it from fairy mischief.
And then there's yet another theory that saying something could be stopped with cold iron simply had a similar meaning to saying that something can be stopped with hot lead today.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.