Metals

'This page is being reworked. Please note there will be spoilers that come from new lore for the Smithing and Mining rework.'

A Metal is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat, or magical energy in certain cases, relatively well. Metals can be found across all of Gielinor, whether it be cutlery, armor, jewelry or anything else, it plays a large part in creating most things.

Each metal has its own properties, strengths, and weaknesses, and as much as this page is an attempt to further the information of those, it is the goal for the page to be a guide for people to understand the metals and find out which type of metal would be fitting for the equipment of their character.

Ranking
The scale of metals from worst to best in terms of use, durability, protection, etc. in the context of combatant or practical forms like armor, weapons, or knives is as follows:


 * 1) Bronze
 * 2) Iron
 * 3) Steel variants
 * 4) Mithril
 * 5) Adamant
 * 6) Rune
 * 7) Orikalkum
 * 8) Necronium
 * 9) Banite
 * 10) Elder Rune

However, the scaling of these metals isn't perfectly linear. Strength, price, and other desirable traits vary independently. Bronze and iron are usually within monetary reach for the average man, steel somewhat less so, but still affordable. Where lines tend to blur is in the upper-tier, fictional metals like mithril, adamant and rune.

Bronze
Bronze is an alloy, primarily consisting of Copper with added Tin, and is the weakest of all known metals. Bronze is used for simple weapons and armor, as well as arrowheads and bolt tips. Bronze is also commonly used for conductive wiring.

Iron
Iron is a common Metal that is often employed for the creation of mass-produced armor and weapons. It is also often used for making moving parts, metal bindings in construction, and as the basis for cooking and blacksmith equipment.

Steel
Steel is an alloy much like bronze, however, consisting of iron and typically carbon; usually from simple Coal. Possibly one of the most flexible metals used commonly in Gielinorian smithing, it can be crafted in various ways to create various properties. Other ores and metals may be added to give the metal different properties; if a white hue is desired, antimony, tin, lead, cadmium, bismuth or zinc might be added and can be mixed to achieve the desired goal or need.

Steel is significantly harder, stronger, and more refined than iron and bronze, and is also particularly manageable and crafty when heated. As a result, it is a very popular metal used for armor and weaponry in Gielinor.

Mithril
Mithril is a bluish purple-tinged metal which is both stronger and lighter than steel. Used since the First Age by early dwarves for equipment and machinery, it fell out of popularity with the mass adoption of adamant apart for dwarven jewelry. It saw limited resurgence during the God Wars, when Guthixian dwarves fled underground for safety It is the strongest metal that humans can smith easily work with, as it can still be smelted using normal coal, and such as earned a reputation of being a fine product worthy of being forged as weapons and armor for nobility and military officers.

Adamant
Adamant is a dark-green metal that is only found deep underground. Compressed for thousands of years under immense pressure, Adamantite ore requires extremely high temperatures to extract pure Adamant metal which can only be achieved with Luminite. Denser and tougher then Mithril, the metal saw swift adaptation over Mithril by the dwarves when it was discovered, and became a prized commodity. However, in the Second Age, dwarves who left Guthix to worship Saradomin revealed the secret to their new deity, creating a rift between the two factions that lasted thousands of years. When the Guthixian Dwarves went underground for their safety during the God Wars, access to most sources of Adamantite was lost. The result of this was the gradual decline back into the use of Steel and Mithril.

In the novel Betrayal at Falador, the Protagonist has an adamantite sword that cuts through the variants of steel with ease, making this metal vastly superior. The rarity and expense of adamant equipment are very high, relative to the danger in acquiring and processing both itself and the lumnite ore requires to refine it. This results in it the material likely only being utilized by higher society, or by those lucky enough to recover existing samples.

Rune
Runite is a bright blue metal that, despite the name, has no direct connection to Runes or Rune Essence. Naturally weak, soft and deformable, the material is unique in generating a passive, invisible energy field when refined with Lumnite. This energy field has the unique power to damage and disrupt objects that come into sudden contact with it, to the point where Rune plating can deflect blows from Steel and Mithil without effort, and overall making it a far superior material to Adamant.

Known to exist since the Early Second Age by the dwarves, it was deemed to be an inferior material to even Iron and was often discarded. Later, Saradominist dwarves experimented with Runite with dangerous Lumnite in an attempt to locate new Adamant sources and unlocked the metal's latent magical energy field. Despite attempts to harness its magical energy field as a power source, dwarves found it too unstable and reserved it exclusively for weapons and armor.

Much like its predecessor, Adamant, Rune equipment is dangerous to manufacture and is often prohibitively expensive. However, recent discoveries in deposits across the planet have seen the price come down closer to Adamant.

Orikaklum

 * For the full article on how roleplayers approach 'Dragon' Equipment, which is made with Orikaklum, see here.

Orikaklum is a hard, dark red metal that has become heavily associated with the deadly Dragonkin. Only found in secluded deposits across Gielinor, Orikaklum is very difficult to refine as it somehow resists the heat generated from coal and Lumnite. It instead had to be refined using magical Dragonfire. However, when done correctly, Orikaklum equipment is tougher then Adamant in raw strength, stronger then Runite's energy field, and lighter then Mithril. Initially, only the Dragonkin possessed the innate ability to produce the Dragonfire to heat Orikaklum. When the Dragonkin engineered the Dragon race, they passed on that ability.

During the Second Age, dwarves discovered that rocks that had been exposed to Dragonfire (often from Zaros' Dragon Riders) had been subtly transmuted into a material known as Drakolith. With Experimentation, Saradominist dwarves coaxed out Drakolith flames that while cooler then Lumnite, could melt down the ore into usable metal. The Dragonkin, however, retain the secret to using Dragonfire directly, and by using this secret in antiquity, can purify Orikaklum further into legendary Dragon Equipment.

Saradomin discouraged the use of Orikaklum in favor of Runite for his forces, believing the metal's color to be an ill omen, and in secret knowing the connection to the Dragonkin.

The extreme scarcity of Orikaklum and Drakolith, combined with the associated danger with its Dragonkin connections, had seen Orikaklum equipment as something seldom seen in the Sixth Age. Only a monarch could offer up the immense wealth required for even a single piece, let alone a complete set. In general, it is not fully accepted in role-playing without a proper backstory.

Necronium
Necrolith is a dark fusion of bone, third age metal, and ancient magicks. The skulls of humans and larger, monstrous creatures protrude from the deep cyan-green of this ore. In its presence, the skin crawls. Phasmaite is a pale, greenish-white, powdery rock formed primarily of bone which burns with a brilliant green flame and a sound of distant screaming.

When necrolith is heated in the flame of Phasmaite it does not melt or sag but rather stretches and rises as if straining for something. It forms itself into the plates and shapes of armor and weapons, though bizarre and misshapen. A skilled smith can guide and correct this process and create usable and extremely powerful equipment. The resulting necronium has a dark blue sheen and is still covered in the skulls and bones of the dead that grant it strength.

Necrolith is extremely rare, and much harder to collect than that of Orikaklum, rune, and further down the list. To create this metal, it would require phasmitite ore, which is located within the dangerous region of Morytania. While all creatures, such as werewolves and Vampyres are not aggressive towards other race, there are still those who are mindless and Feral.

Bane
Baneite is a famed and feared dark-purple metal that is unique in possessing some sentience, in the form of a state of permanent hatred. This unique property can be attuned towards an individual race, either at the forge or though spellcasting, as so to inflict greater pain on that race. Bane metal is also comparatively stronger than Necronium, but can inflict a dangerous feeling of dread upon the wielder if not attuned.

Baneite Ore was first discovered in the early Fifth Age on the island of Jatizso. The Fremennik attempted to forge the metal and discovered its exotic properties in the process, but became so fearful of it that no warrior wished to wield anything made of it, and so destroyed the prototypes. In time, Baneite was associated as being the Flesh of Jormungor, a legendary sky-serpent in Fremennik legend that was said to be large enough to encircle the planet, bearing utter loathing for all other beings. This was further exaggerated when the Lunar Clan, who where exploring the northern sea, discovered more Baneite deposits in a winding sinuous pattern across the northern pole.

It would be decades later until the Mahjharrat Koshei, who was trapped unaware in his 'Koshei the Deathless' form, made the axe known as Balmung from Bane Metal, and researched and developed a magical spell to attune the metal to several aggressive races. He would later share the secret of smithing and attuning Bane metal to the World Guardian and a select number of Fremennik smiths.

Baneite itself is only located in remote, secluded locations in the far north of Gilenior, and also is dangerous to refine due to its semi-sentience. As such, a very limited supply of the equipment exists, and often only with the leaders and best warriors of the various Fremennik settlements.

Elder Rune
Elder Rune is an exotic alloy of Runite, Light Animica, and Dark Animica, that was only discovered in the Sixth Age. The exact nature of Elder Rune is yet to be fully explored, but the process of smelting runite with both Animicia catalysts seem to supercharge the existing energy field present, possibly from the divine energy contained with these materials. The result is a highly resilient metal that is resistant to almost anything, can tear into almost anything like butter, but without much additional mass.

Light Animica is a strange, light-blue crystalline material is created on a site where a concentration of divine energy was released, and naturally crystalizes over thousands of years. Similarly, the deep-purple colored Dark Animica is formed in the same conditions, but from a source or in an environment with a very strong connection to the Shadow Realm. Because of these exact and conditions, both Light and Dark Animica are the scarest ores in Gilenior, and even very minute quantities would be worth a fortune.

Elder Rune is a very recent discovery, and such there are no historical examples in Gilenior. With only a handful of blacksmiths on the planet who is even begun to experiment with weaponizing the hyper-scarce alloy, nobody, not even the wealthiest monarch, could purchase a single piece.

Elemental
Elemental Metal is an exotic metal only located in the bodies of several Rock Elementals, all contained in the Elemental Workshop mine below Seer's Village. Presumed to be discovered by Vitruvius the Elemental Metallurgist during the Fifth Age, Elemental Metal can be refined and primed with various elemental magic using apparatus that Virtuvius developed in his secret workshop, and forged into exotic equipment.

Silvthrill
Silvthril is a rare alloy of Mithril and Silver in a 1:1 ratio. This dense, soft alloy is often employed by those who hunt vampiric creatures, by combining the holy or magical properties of Silver with the toughness of Mithril.

Silvthrill was employed by Ivandis Seergaze for his weapon, the Rod of Ivandis, for his campaign alongside the other Priestly Warriors against Lord Drakan. Later, the Myraque would adopt the use of Silvthril weapons.

Decorative Metals
Some metals featured in RuneScape are used primarily for aesthetic purposes, often in the context of adding attractive visual details to works created primarily with other metals or crafted into non-practical products like jewelry or artwork.

Gold
Gold is one of the valuable metals. Due to its atomic composition, gold does not react very well with other atoms and molecules and therefore doesn't oxidate like other metals do, (like iron rusting). This causes gold to maintain it's shiny, yellowish hue and is attractive by most races on Gielinor. (Goblins especially think it's shiny, Dwarves respect the rarity, Humans may be a mix of both.) It's a commonly used form of currency, and a symbol of money there-of.

Gold resists most types of acids (not nitro-hydrochloric acid, mercury and alkaline solutions of cyanide), but other than this, it is not a very strong or hard metal. On top of this, it is a very heavy metal and therefore weaponry and armor aren't favorable to be made of gold. Gold trims, however, could be used on high-ranking officers, kings, nobles and the likes to show their status.

Silver
Silver is another form of currency, with some holy or magical properties. Silver Stars are a common symbol of the Church of Saradomin, as well as Silver Symbols of Zamorak used commonly. Silver is less desireable and more common than gold, so it can be used to imply humility in comparison. It is also, by far lighter.

Regardless of its malleable nature and light weight, Silver has the potential to be very powerful. The sword "Silverlight" is a silver blade blessed to slay or banish demons with ease. Weapons such as the Wolfsbane dagger are also made of Silver, with a blessing to keep Werewolves in a human form.

Blurite
Blurite is a light-blue, uncommon decorative metal only found in the Asgarnian Ice Dungeon mine. It is a light, yet soft metal with comparable strength and weight to Iron, but with an icy-like sheen. Its typically only used to create decorative weapons, such as a ceremonial sword or pistol-style crossbow.

Daemonheim metals
Metals found in the dungeon in Daemonheim.

More to be added