Core Rules

The Metal Rule

As stated on page 58 of the Rulebook, mages cannot wear metal armor or use metal weapons. However, it is possible to circumvent this restriction by using weapons made from obsidian and other even rarer materials. This metal restriction also applies to Sparks.

How It Works

1. Sparks cannot be made from metal. Any attempt to Inscribe metal immediately fails — the magical charge dissipates on contact.
2. Metal disrupts activation. A character wearing metal armor or wielding a metal weapon cannot trigger a Spark. The metal interferes with the trace amount of innate will needed to activate the device.
3. Metal erases Inscriptions. A completed Spark that comes into sustained contact with metal (dropped into a metal box, struck by a metal blade) loses its charges permanently.

Arcanic Insulation

Engineers have developed a workaround for integrating Sparks into metal machinery. By housing a Spark inside a thick protective layer of glass, rubber, or leather, it can be mounted in metal equipment without losing its charge. This technique — called Arcanic Insulation — is what makes Thurmark’s factories, cranes, and industrial tools possible.

At the table: Arcanic Insulation is primarily a worldbuilding detail that explains how the city functions. For player-scale equipment, the simpler answer is: use non-metallic gear.

Non-Metallic Gear

Characters who rely on Sparks must equip themselves with alternatives to standard metal equipment:

• Weapons: Hardwood clubs, ceramic-edged blades, bone daggers, Ironwood staves, stone-tipped spears
• Armor: Leather, padded cloth, lacquered wood plate, ceramic scale, Ironwood shields
• Tools: Bone needles, glass vials, ceramic lockpicks, wooden tongs

These function identically to their metal equivalents in terms of game statistics unless the GM rules otherwise.