Beskar (Mandalorian iron)

[shootingwomprats]

Excerpted from wookieepedia. These are very rudimentary suggestions and I would love to hear peoples suggestions and constructive criticisms.

Mandalorian Iron
Also known by its Mando'a name of beskar, is a near-indestructible iron ore whose only known source is the Outer Rim world of Mandalore and its moon, Concordia. The Mandalorian warrior culture that inhabits Mandalore mine their planet for beskar, using it in the creation of weapons, armor, and starships, occasionally even selling the rare and valuable metal on the galactic market. The introduction of certain additives during the smelting process serve to increase the strength of the natural ore, and Mandalorian metalsmiths guarded the secrets of forging beskar from outsiders, passing along the techniques from one generation of metallurgists to the next, strictly within the Mandalorian community. A versatile metal, Mandalorian iron can be melded into multiple alloys and forged into various configurations.

Characteristics
Mandalorian iron is rare throughout the galaxy, as the only known source for the ore is the planet Mandalore and its orbiting moon, Concordia, both located at the heart of Mandalorian space in the Outer Rim. Some speculate that beskar could be found in the other worlds of the Mandalore system, as well. The Mandalorians refer to the iron by the name beskar, and despite the word's origins in the Mando'a language, it is common for even non-Mandalorians to refer to the element as such. Mined from beneath the surface of Mandalore and Concordia, Mandalorian iron is one of the toughest metals known to science. Cherished for its incredible strength and durability, beskar is notable for being able to withstand blows from even a lightsaber, and is commonly thought to be nearly indestructible, making beskar more prized than durasteel or cortosis.

The natural strength of beskar is amplified during the forging process, using techniques developed and closely guarded by Mandalorian metalsmiths, many of whom would sooner die than reveal their secrets to outsiders. In the foundry, carbons are often added to the ore to create a molecular cage structure that allows Mandalorian iron to be lighter than contemporary metals, while still retaining its incredible toughness. Without the addition of carbon, beskar is significantly heavier. Repeated folding of Mandalorian iron during forging further enhanced its strength. Mandalorian metalsmiths combine beskar ore with several other metals to create multiple alloys capable of being shaped into various configurations, and are also responsible for affecting the final color of the finished beskar during the smelting process. When two pieces of beskar were struck together, the resulting sound is heavy and dull, more solid in resonance than the high tinny frequency produced from striking durasteel

Game Notes: Beskar does not make a melee weapon do more damage, but it will allow it to keep a keen edge longer. When used for armor it has the added properties +1D vs. Energy, +4D vs. Lightsabers. Furthermore, per the "damaged armor" rules (R&E 95), items made of beskar, when taking damage greater than incapacitated is treated as incapacitated.


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[Jedi Skyler]

Personally, I really like this entry.

The only caveat I think I'd include would be a negation of the DEX penalty for properly forged and custom-fitted armor.

I know there are those who will disagree with this, but my opinion comes from looking at pictures of Mandos, mostly Boba and Jango Fett. The armor doesn't cover the entire body. It's not power armor. And, when properly fitted to an individual, it's going to fit and function much better than mass-produced, non-fitted gear. And also from the fact that Mando armorers/armor smiths know INTIMATELY how to work this metal, and so know how to make it so wearer and armor become one.

That being said, in order to get this level of benefit from said armor, I have to remind all that Mandalorian iron is rare throughout the galaxy, and as such, is going to be VERY hard to find, except on the body of a Mandalorian or on Mandalore itself. If the character isn't a Mando, or VERY closely tied to a Mando who esteems the character so much as to consider them a Mando, they're not bloody likely to find, let alone lay hands on, a set of proper Mandalorian armor. And that should be enforced by GMs, because this armor can very easily unbalance a game. Using this armor should be reserved for a Mando campaign, or perhaps an Old Republic campaign where you're dealing with Jedi vs. Sith/Mandalorians. And even then, the GM needs to be mindful of what happens to 'available' sets of Mando armor so the game doesn't become unbalanced.


Just my two cents' worth.

[denderan marajain]

Wow Thank you

[garhkal]

In the past i have seen some gm's treat mando armor as more hard to get than even Coyonite armor.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[shootingwomprats]

[garhkal]

Perhaps, but depending on whether PC's have access to raw material once they get the armor, maybe they can't repair it.
But you do bring up a good point. by the rules, armor IS supposed to take damage when the wearer also takes damage, but i would say 80%+ of the groups i have gamed with, do NOT use that rule.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[DougRed4]

Nice entry, shootingwomprats! It's pretty awesome that you also found a good picture for it.
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[Jedi Skyler]

[CRMcNeill]

Looking at the original post, I'm curious why there is a distinction between lightsaber in particular and energy weapons in general. I would think energy resistant or dissipative characteristics would apply to blasters, as well. It would certainly explain why Boba Fett's armor has such high damage resistance.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Ning Leihrec]

It does seem that beskar should be at least as resistant to blaster fire as lightsabers if not more. Also I agree that the rarity of the stuff can't be overstated. Most mando armor during the clone wars and classic eras are not beskar. I seem to recall reading that even the Fetts wore high grade plastoid armor not beskar'gam. Maintaining and repairing it would certainly require a special advanced skill, Beskar Smithing (adv), which you'd have to learn from an even rarer master of the lost art. I imagine mining the ore would require special skills and equipment as well.

[KageRyu]

When/Where did this whole "resistance to lightsabers" with Madalorian Armor start?
For that Matter, when did it start being called Beskar?

This must have been a much newer development (post prequel era) as I am not familiar with it, and lost much interest in the newer materials including and following the prequels.

I have always heard of it being lighter and stronger than comparable metals. Though I have mentioned in other posts time to time older materials where it was indicated that Mandalorians were intended to be Jedi Hunters during the Clone Wars (which sadly never came to be) I never recall there being a mention of their armor being specially resistant to Jedi weaponry aside from it's already noted unusually resilient nature when compared to comparable armors and materials. So I am curious what source this was established in for my own reference. It is not a property I ever specifically attributed to Mandalorian Iron in games I had run over the years, and I would have to think long and hard about wheather to allow it (as I do not want to have too many items that can block a Lightsaber - I feel having a villain whip out anything that can block a Lightsaber other than another Lightsaber should be a major event).
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"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra

[evilnerf]

If I recall correctly, Mandalorian Iron was first described as lightsaber proof as the doors to Darth Vader's Bast castle.

It was called Beskar first in either the Republic Commando books or the Karen Travis Fate of the Jedi books.

On a side note, how Mandalorian Iron gauntlets work? I remember at least one point where a character wore them so he could block lightsaber blows.
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His eyes are shifty. That's how you know the nerf did it.

[Ning Leihrec]

First mention of it I recall is Tales of the Jedi. Freedon Nadd's mandalorian iron sarcophagus. Exar Kun's lightsaber can't break through.

[CRMcNeill]

There are a lot of things about the EU that I will miss; Tales of the Jedi isn't one of them.

By which I mean that I'm already inclined to disregard something that has TOTJ as its only reference.

Beskar, IIRC, has its origins in one of the various Boba Fett stories...
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[evilnerf]

I'm reading through Tales of the Jedi now. I actually quite like it. I'd recommend reading the Knights of the Old Republic comic series. It does a good job of serving as a bridge between the TotJ series and the KotOR game, and really makes it fit better in general.

And anyway Mandalorian Iron comes up quite a bit outside of TotJ. There's Vader's Castle, as I said and like all things "Mandalorian" it got big play in the Karen Travis stuff. It showed up (But not by name) in the Knights of the Old Republic comic series.
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His eyes are shifty. That's how you know the nerf did it.