Remember people; the special resources come with a sphere of influence; like IWAR's Caelium's Gravity, or Gavrilium's Energy; or MWAR's Well Material's Sound (It's also an example of a resource that isn't a specific thing; as Well Materials are 'things that come out of a Well')
Remember to include that with your special resources. If Twin is doing this the same way as MoP did (Twin, please yell at me if I am mistaken); we get one interaction as a freebie with the design of the resource, iirc.
For instance, Sunshards; ok, they emit heat constantly. Is their Sphere Heat? Temperature? Energy? All of these would fit the reaction, but all of which would take it in different directions in terms of possibilities.
But allow me to try one out myself:
Unique Resource: Actnium (As always, if you have a better name; please feel free to make suggestions)
Sphere: Enhancement
Many a foreigner taking an excursion throughout Etroan lands throughout time has witnessed locations on the landscape where bright orange-yellowish lines scar and mark the landscape. In most cases, they thought they struck gold. In most cases, the treasure they found was even more valuable: Actnium. Actnium has a peculiar reaction to the materials it 'bonds' with; it amplifies and enhances one or more of the features of said material; though exactly which is usually dependent on how it was bonded so. It's typically a very involved process to try and figure out how exactly to coax the Actnium to enhance the properties one desires to be enhanced, and not those that would actually render the material worse for the intended role, like brittleness or excessive flexibility. Said enhanced substances are nigh-indistinguishable from its un-enhanced brethren, with the exception of its superior properties; and the fact that it will invariably feature the harsh, nearly glowing orange-yellow lines marking its surface. On it's own, however, Actnium doesn't exactly do much; and frequently takes the form of a powder in its signature color. It's very rarely found on its own in nature, however.
In ancient times; places rich with Actnium were considered Sacred; and one could rarely fault them. The markings themselves that announce the presence of this most precious material must have appeared Divine in nature; the fact that it usually had unusual effects on the land, such as some being significantly more fertile than they had any right being, would only cement that mindset. Most early tribes of the Etroan people either settled near such a sacred location; made frequent trips between a few in their nomadic wandering; or often made pilgrimages to the sites; to bring back their bounty to their people.
And a design to go with it:
Ironbark Armor (to go with Actnium)
While Actnium certainly afforded the early Etroan Tribes a large measure of prosperity; between the locations of great fertility, enhanced stones, or just as a pretty, interesting trade good; what set the Etroan people a cut above the rest was their ingenuity in exploiting this opportunity afforded to them.
Throughout the lands of Etroa groves of a type of what would one day be called ironwood tree are, not exactly common, but not a rare sight either. Occasionally, one of these groves lies atop a Sacred Actnium deposit. Normally, under natural conditions; most plants cannot extract Actnium from the soil; however, these Ironwood trees were not most plants; and over the course of their lifespan, they slowly but surely extract a slow trickle of Actnium into their bodies; enhancing their hardness beyond their already substantial natural state, eventually to a level beyond the capabilities of the tools those early tribes had access to. Little more than a curiosity at first, in spite of the obvious sacredness at play.
But Etroan ingenuity prevailed, first working with fallen branches and smaller still attached twigs; then working with young trees that haven't yet become unworkably hard. Occasionally; an actnium enhanced stone tool was able to be made and used for the task. In one tribe's case the craftsmen slowly carved the branches into the desired shape throughout the trees life, in a decades-long act of craftsmanship that would almost certainly have to be finished by the apprentices. But however the case; the Etroan Tribes had a, though limited, supply of extremely resilient lumber. Though this isn't what set the tribes above their peers, no.
At seeing their finest tools (and sometimes weapons) repeatedly shatter against the sacred ironwood trees, the idea of attempting to garb their finest warriors with the bark of the tree to confer that same resilience to them was born. The results of their efforts; sheets of actnium-marked ironbark supported by similarly enhanced wooden poles typically backed by leather or hide and tied together... It was extremely crude by modern standards; but very effective for the time. With this armor; the champions of the Etroan people had little to fear from both great beasts, or hostile tribes seeking to claim their sacred groves or fields.
Notably, the practice of fabricating Ironbark Armor continued into the early bronze age, though typically only in ceremonial roles, or for metal-poor region's militia.
RIGHT! Tell me what you think, everyone? Suggestions, ideas for improvement, or heck, feel free to outright take the proposals, and make your own, slightly tweaked version of them! I don't mind.
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Topic: Commander Arms Race: Etroan R&D (Preliminary Turn 5 - Final Phase) (Read 19326 times)