Ironwood was said to be much stronger than oak or even ash but also much lighter. The city gates of Mirabar are reinforced with ironwood. Wands of Fireballs are made of ironwood. Shields are made of ironwood due to its incredible durability.
It's also a great way to get around the old rule that druids would not wear armor made of metal, so armor made of ironwood would be a fairly equal substitute. (And don't even think about starting the old argument about druids and metal armor, okay. I'm just saying what the book says. Take it up with the authors).
But the best thing about ironwood is that it's fictional. So it can be whatever you need it to be. If you want to say it's as strong as steel, then it's as strong as steel. If you say it confers fire resistance, then it does. If you say there are laws on who can grow it and harvest it and how much can be sold and when and where, then that's the way it is. If you say there's a thieves guild that specializes in smuggling contraband ironwood into places where it's outlawed, then there they are.
There is also a site called Forgotten Realms Fandom Wiki that has an entry for ironwood.
Yeah. I agree with anziofaro. Ironwood is purely fictional, and can be what you want. (Edit: as below posters note, it’s not purely fictional. There is real world ironwood. What I should have said is the D&D version is fictional, as it typically has properties different from the real world version.) Imo, it was probably a way to square the circle of Druids can be proficient in armor they can’t wear because it’s metal. So they made a non-metal substance to fill the gap. More of a workaround in the rules than an item. I know in my homebrew game, that’s how I use it. Metal is scarce, but this substance (among others) exists so I can keep that flavor and also keep the mechanics of wearing metal plate armor.
Not to disagree with Anzio and Xalthu but there are a couple of historical “ironwoods” that the fictional concept is based on. The one I know best is “Brazilian” ironwood or Lignum vitae. It is (/was) hard enough that early iron axes sometimes shattered when trying to chop through the wood ( or at least that is the common tale) it is one of the few woods with a density greater than 1 so it actually sinks in water. I recommend looking it up n Wikipedia to get a sense of how it is/was used (synthetics have mostly replaced it today) for ideas of how to use it in game.
Yes, I am aware that Iron wood did not go past And 3.5.
That being said, I want to send the party to collect some Ironwood for a local Smithy.
What I am unable to find is anything on the durability of the actual Ironwood Tree. Can anyone help?
Ironwood was said to be much stronger than oak or even ash but also much lighter. The city gates of Mirabar are reinforced with ironwood. Wands of Fireballs are made of ironwood. Shields are made of ironwood due to its incredible durability.
It's also a great way to get around the old rule that druids would not wear armor made of metal, so armor made of ironwood would be a fairly equal substitute. (And don't even think about starting the old argument about druids and metal armor, okay. I'm just saying what the book says. Take it up with the authors).
But the best thing about ironwood is that it's fictional. So it can be whatever you need it to be. If you want to say it's as strong as steel, then it's as strong as steel. If you say it confers fire resistance, then it does. If you say there are laws on who can grow it and harvest it and how much can be sold and when and where, then that's the way it is. If you say there's a thieves guild that specializes in smuggling contraband ironwood into places where it's outlawed, then there they are.
There is also a site called Forgotten Realms Fandom Wiki that has an entry for ironwood.
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
Yeah. I agree with anziofaro. Ironwood is purely fictional, and can be what you want. (Edit: as below posters note, it’s not purely fictional. There is real world ironwood. What I should have said is the D&D version is fictional, as it typically has properties different from the real world version.) Imo, it was probably a way to square the circle of Druids can be proficient in armor they can’t wear because it’s metal. So they made a non-metal substance to fill the gap. More of a workaround in the rules than an item.
I know in my homebrew game, that’s how I use it. Metal is scarce, but this substance (among others) exists so I can keep that flavor and also keep the mechanics of wearing metal plate armor.
Not to disagree with Anzio and Xalthu but there are a couple of historical “ironwoods” that the fictional concept is based on. The one I know best is “Brazilian” ironwood or Lignum vitae. It is (/was) hard enough that early iron axes sometimes shattered when trying to chop through the wood ( or at least that is the common tale) it is one of the few woods with a density greater than 1 so it actually sinks in water. I recommend looking it up n Wikipedia to get a sense of how it is/was used (synthetics have mostly replaced it today) for ideas of how to use it in game.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
And the way you get ironwood in 5e is a magic item with the Strange Material minor property. Or as a custom item.
Actually Ironwood is a classification of real world trees that are more dense than water. Iron Wood