I thought I would create this volume for the people who are curious about the metal grading system.
Graded Metals - Classification and Properties
Overview
Graded Metals are a classification of metallic materials used in the manufacturing of weapons, armor, and various forms of equipment.
There are currently five recognized grades, each containing four distinct metals, for a total of twenty classified metals discovered so far.
The grade of a metal determines its general quality, durability, strength, market value, and suitability for combat. Weapons and armor inherit the grade of the primary metal used in their construction. For instance, a sword forged from a Grade 3 metal is classified as a Grade 3 weapon.
As a general rule, the higher the grade, the greater the metal's overall combat performance, durability, and monetary value. However, different metals within the same grade may possess distinct physical properties, making certain materials better suited to particular applications.
Fundamental Metallic Properties
The quality of a graded metal is determined by several physical characteristics:
Hardness: The metal's resistance to indentation, scratching, and local deformation. Harder metals generally provide greater resistance to cutting and penetration.
Toughness: The ability to absorb energy without cracking or fracturing. Particularly important when defending against blunt-force attacks.
Tensile Strength: Resistance to being pulled apart, which is especially relevant to chainmail, weapon components, and other equipment subjected to tension.
Yield Strength: Resistance to permanent deformation. Metals with high yield strength are less likely to develop lasting dents or bends.
Ductility: The ability to undergo permanent deformation without fracturing. Ductile metals are generally easier to shape and less prone to sudden brittle failure.
Elasticity: The ability to return to the original shape after temporary deformation. This is particularly useful for weapons and components designed to flex under stress.
Density: The amount of mass contained within a given volume of metal. Denser metals generally produce heavier equipment.
Corrosion Resistance: The ability to withstand environmental deterioration, including rusting and chemical damage.
No single property determines the overall grade of a metal. Instead, grades reflect a combination of these characteristics, with particular emphasis on combat effectiveness and long-term durability.
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Grade 1 — L-Metals
Classification: Low Grade
Price Range: 100–300
Metal Family: Famous Greek
Recognized Metals:
Aristolium
Platolium
Hippolium
Pytholium
General Characteristics
Grade 1 metals are the lowest classification of graded metals and are primarily used in the manufacture of inexpensive weapons, armor, and everyday metallic equipment.
L-Metals are relatively easy to extract, refine, and forge, making them accessible to beginners, apprentices, and individuals with limited financial resources.
Although suitable for basic combat, these metals possess comparatively low hardness, yield strength, and toughness. Consequently, weapons forged from L-Metals are susceptible to chipping, bending, and deterioration following repeated use.
Armor manufactured from these materials offers reasonable protection against minor attacks but may deform considerably when subjected to concentrated impacts.
Their relatively low durability necessitates frequent maintenance, repairs, and eventual replacement.
Primary Advantages: Affordability, accessibility, ease of forging, and manageable weight.
Primary Disadvantages: Low durability, limited resistance to penetration, and susceptibility to permanent deformation.
Typical Users: Beginners, apprentices, inexperienced collectors, and poorly equipped combatants.
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Grade 2 — R-Metals
Classification: Low Grade
Price Range: 300–490
Metal Family: Famous English
Recognized Metals:
Spearium
Torium
Wilberium
Farium
General Characteristics
Grade 2 metals represent an improvement over L-Metals in both structural integrity and combat performance.
R-Metals possess greater hardness, tensile strength, and resistance to deformation, allowing weapons and armor manufactured from them to withstand more demanding conditions.
Although still classified as low-grade materials, they are considerably more reliable than their Grade 1 counterparts.
Their improved toughness makes them less susceptible to fractures, while their increased yield strength allows armor to retain its original shape following moderate impacts.
Nevertheless, prolonged combat and repeated exposure to powerful attacks will gradually compromise their structural integrity.
R-Metals are commonly purchased by individuals seeking dependable equipment without the considerable expense associated with higher-grade materials.
Primary Advantages: Improved durability, affordable pricing, balanced weight, and relatively simple maintenance.
Primary Disadvantages: Limited longevity under demanding combat conditions and inferior protection compared with mid-grade metals.
Typical Users: Beginners with greater financial resources, developing collectors, trainees, and lightly equipped combatants.
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Grade 3 — N-Metals
Classification: Mid Grade
Price Range: 500–900
Metal Family: Famous Americans
Recognized Metals:
Lincolnium
Luthernium
Rockefenium
Kenium
General Characteristics
Grade 3 metals are the most commonly manufactured and commercially distributed graded metals.
N-Metals are widely regarded as the standard for reliable weapons and armor, possessing an excellent balance of hardness, toughness, tensile strength, and ductility.
Unlike low-grade materials, N-Metals are capable of withstanding prolonged use without suffering significant structural deterioration.
Their refined internal structure provides considerable resistance to cracking, chipping, and permanent deformation, making them highly dependable during extended combat.
Furthermore, N-Metals possess a favorable strength-to-weight ratio, allowing equipment to provide substantial protection without excessively restricting the user's movements.
These characteristics make Grade 3 equipment especially sustainable. With proper care and occasional maintenance, a single weapon or suit of armor can remain serviceable for many years.
Although inferior to military-grade metals in raw strength and protective capability, N-Metals are generally considered the most practical choice for everyday combat.
Their affordability, longevity, and relatively manageable weight have established them as the most widely used category of graded metals.
Primary Advantages: Excellent durability, balanced physical properties, long service life, manageable weight, and high cost-effectiveness.
Primary Disadvantages: Inferior resistance to exceptionally powerful attacks compared with military-grade equipment.
Typical Users: Experienced collectors, professional combatants, guards, mercenaries, and ordinary citizens requiring reliable equipment.
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Grade 4 — T-Metals
Classification: Military Grade
Price Range: 1,000–2,000
Metal Family: Famous Romans
Recognized Metals:
Augustium
Spartium
Tacitium
Romultium
General Characteristics
Grade 4 metals represent the first classification of military-grade materials.
T-Metals possess exceptional hardness, yield strength, and fracture toughness, providing substantial resistance to penetration, deformation, and structural failure.
Weapons forged from these materials can endure repeated high-intensity combat without easily losing their structural integrity, while armor manufactured from T-Metals offers considerable protection against powerful physical attacks.
Their most notable disadvantage is their substantial weight.
T-Metals are considerably denser or are commonly manufactured into heavier, more reinforced equipment than lower-grade alternatives. Consequently, prolonged use can place considerable physical strain on inexperienced or inadequately conditioned individuals.
However, soldiers and warriors possessing sufficiently developed physiques can wield T-Metal equipment effectively without experiencing significant restrictions to their combat performance.
Grade 4 equipment is also exceptionally durable. Under normal conditions, a properly maintained weapon or suit of armor may remain in service for decades, with replacement seldom necessary unless it suffers extraordinary damage.
Due to its considerable expense, T-Metal equipment is generally reserved for military personnel, wealthy individuals, and experienced combatants capable of handling its weight.
Primary Advantages: Exceptional strength, excellent resistance to penetration and deformation, high durability, and extremely long service life.
Primary Disadvantages: Considerable weight, high cost, and demanding physical requirements.
Typical Users: Soldiers, military officers, elite guards, wealthy warriors, and highly experienced combatants.
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Grade 5 — S-Metals
Classification: Military Grade
Price Range: 5,000–10,000
Metal Family: Famous French
Recognized Metals:
Louisium
Napolisium
Edisium
Antoinisium
General Characteristics
Grade 5 metals represent the highest recognized classification of graded metals.
S-Metals are distinguished by their extraordinary hardness, tensile strength, yield strength, and resistance to fracture.
Through their exceptional internal structure and material composition, S-Metals achieve a level of structural integrity considerably superior to that of lower-grade materials.
Weapons manufactured from these metals can withstand extreme mechanical stress, while armor forged from S-Metals provides the highest conventional level of protection available within the grading system.
Despite their remarkable hardness, S-Metals retain sufficient toughness to resist catastrophic fracture under powerful impacts.
Their durability is similarly exceptional. Under ordinary circumstances, equipment manufactured from S-Metals can remain functional throughout its owner's lifetime, provided it receives appropriate maintenance and is not subjected to forces beyond its design limits.
However, such extraordinary performance comes with considerable disadvantages.
Grade 5 equipment is exceptionally expensive and often considerably heavier than equipment manufactured from lower-grade materials.
The physical demands associated with wielding S-Metal weapons or wearing full S-Metal armor make them unsuitable for ordinary individuals.
Only those possessing exceptional physical strength, endurance, and combat conditioning can comfortably utilize such equipment over prolonged periods.
For sufficiently powerful warriors, however, the extraordinary protective and offensive capabilities of S-Metals far outweigh their disadvantages.
As a result, Grade 5 equipment is regarded as a symbol of military prestige, considerable wealth, and exceptional combat prowess.
Primary Advantages: Supreme conventional strength, exceptional resistance to damage, extraordinary durability, and extremely long service life.
Primary Disadvantages: Extreme cost, substantial weight, demanding physical requirements, and specialized manufacturing.
Typical Users: Elite soldiers, high-ranking military officers, exceptionally wealthy individuals, and warriors of extraordinary physical ability.
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Longevity
The longevity of graded equipment increases considerably with each successive grade.
Grade 1 and Grade 2 equipment require relatively frequent repairs and replacement, particularly when exposed to prolonged combat.
Grade 3 equipment is considered highly sustainable and can remain in active service for many years, making it the most economically practical choice for the majority of combatants.
Grade 4 and Grade 5 equipment, meanwhile, is designed for exceptionally long-term use. Under normal operating conditions, military-grade weapons and armor rarely require complete replacement.
Nevertheless, even the highest-grade equipment is not indestructible. Repeated extreme impacts, inadequate maintenance, and exceptionally powerful attacks can eventually compromise any material.
Weight and Physical Requirements
Higher-grade equipment generally possesses greater mass due to the density, thickness, or reinforced construction of its constituent materials.
Although military-grade equipment offers superior protection, its increased weight demands greater physical strength and endurance from its user.
Consequently, the most expensive equipment is not necessarily the most effective choice for every combatant.
An inexperienced warrior may perform considerably better with a Grade 3 weapon than with a Grade 5 equivalent if the latter's weight compromises their speed, stamina, or control.
In contrast, an exceptionally strong warrior may wield Grade 5 equipment with little difficulty, benefiting from its superior protection and durability without sacrificing combat efficiency.
Differences Within the Same Grade
Although metals belonging to the same grade possess comparable overall quality, they are not necessarily identical in their individual physical properties.
One metal may possess greater hardness, making it particularly suitable for cutting weapons or armor designed to resist penetration.
Another may exhibit superior toughness, making it more appropriate for equipment frequently subjected to powerful impacts.
A third may possess greater ductility or elasticity, allowing it to withstand bending and repeated mechanical stress without fracturing.
Such variations mean that two weapons of identical grade may perform differently depending on their constituent metal, design, and intended application.
Ultimately, the grade determines a metal's general level of quality, while its individual properties determine how that quality is expressed.