Bog Iron

[MagicManICT]

What: a new pre-mining hard metal that ONLY comes in low qualities (10-20ish). Not mass-producable. Not usable for "endgame" metal items. As such, all hard metals moved to new category "any bar of fine hard metal" to accomodate that.

Why: allows new players, hermits, and small groups to access parts of the game that were previously inaccessable or near-unattainable to them, without shaking up the ~Quality Meta~ or allowing low level players to "skip" tech levels and attain any gear that would make them any stronger than they are now.

How: Players can dig in swamp/bog/fen terrain to unearth Peat, in low qualities only (10-20). Peat can be smelted in a stack furnace or smelter for a very low chance of creating a Bog Iron Nugget. Peat that fails to create metal may instead create soil or maybe a new clay type or something (devs can decide). Bog Iron is a hard metal that can be used for most early-metal tools, buildings, and items, with some restriction (see below). As a building material, bog iron is dark, splotchy, and full of spongelike holes.

Balance: Important items now require "any bar of fine hard metal", which excludes bog iron bar. This prevents mass-producing warriors or lategame gear, while allowing noobs to access basic metal tools, better housing options, quality of life items like belts or metal plows, etc. Notably, it cannot be used to build smelters.
The low quality and poor smelting chance of peat discourages any mining-enabled player/village from relying on it or exhausting it and forcing other smaller players to wait for it to respawn. In addition, there are no "unique" items that can only be made from bog iron, unless they are purely downgrades (read sword described below). This is to lower demand, further taking away from exhaustion and mass production.

Optional:
Just for fun, two new experiences and two new swords. Devs may choose not to add these if they disrupt balance.

Folded Fen-Forged Fighter: a poor sword, probably only good for hunting. Made from bog iron, kinda looks like a katana because I read somewhere online that katanas were folded to make up for shit iron quality (i can't find proof dont bully me)
Bog blade: can not be crafted. Only fished up after someone loses a sword in water, somewhere in the world. Maybe has a special ability or something

Experience: The Fen Is Mightier Than The Sword, experienced after dropping a sword into water.
"This sword has done terrible things, and you are finally ready to rid yourself of it. You feel an odd mixture of folorn and relief as you watch the sword bubble its way down into depths. You linger for a while in thought, before finally leaving the blade to it's fate."

Experience: Lady Of The Lake, experienced after fishing up a Bog Blade.
"'This is an awfully heavy fish', you think to yourself, before a realization dawns upon you. With wide eyes and a racing heart, you draw the blade from the water, it's shining blade seemingly untouched by the ages spent under the water. It's unlike anything you've ever seen, mayhaps not even forged by hearthling hands..."

[Smoopadoop]

Whoops thanks magicman I should have searched lmao

Anyway seeing jorb talk about it a few replies back is encouraging, I hope my suggestions about restrictions stops bog iron from devaluing metals like he said

[azrid]

Great post! I like when someone writes up a detailed balance part for their idea.

[Fostik]

Bog iron is already in the game, named heavy earth. Surprisingly spawns not where it should be.

I have proposed similar idea for early game metals:
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=61639&p=782679
TL;DR: Instead of prospecting with rustroot, smelt it to metal nuggets.