Gurnalug

Overview

The word Gurnalug refers both to the incredibly strong and abrasion-resistant fibers produced at the Barazingathol industrial outpost and the protective fabric woven from those fibers.

The Incident

Gurnalug was discovered by tragic accident during an exploratory dwarven expedition to Spekivard. The dwarves had come to the hostile sphere to prospect for minerals and survey potential sites for an outpost. They deliberately targeted the shores of a lake near the sunny pole of Spekivard in order to have longer daylight hours for surveying. They discovered the water in the lake was incredibly acidic, and they were not prepared for the vicious and alien slimes, oozes, and molds of High Summer. The reconnaissance mission was ordered to retreat. A dwarf named Borin was carrying buckets of algae from a nearby lake toward the teleportation circle, when he was stunned by a burst of spores from a nearby patch of lichen and he and his cargo pitched over into the lake. His flesh dissolved almost faster than his comrades could react. As they tried to fish his body out with poles, they ended up with bones, wrapped with clumps of stringy fibers where the algae had been.

The Aftermath

The dwarves retreated and laid Borin's remains to rest. As the dwarves tried to clean their equipment, they realized that the stringy fibers stuck to the poles were hard to break and resistant to abrasion. Fabric samples were woven, which tests showed would make excellent safety gear for miners and heavy equipment operators in dwarven facilities. The Dwarf Lords arranged for a more deliberate expedition back to Spekivard for more, which eventually led to the founding of Barazingathol. The fabric was nicknamed "Borin's cloth" in memory of the dwarf who died during its discovery.

Safety First

Dwarves are known for many things, but "foot speed" and "agility" are not usually among them. Rather than expecting workers to dodge every stray rock, the DOSHA committee recommends the use of armor-like safety gear for miners doing excavation work. While some gurnalug is used to pad armor for the elite, the Dwarf Lords of Hertenland dedicate much of the gurnalug supply to the production of protective gear for mining and manufacturing crews, for which it is very well suited. Either alone or as the padding layer in metal armor, Borin's cloth can be used to craft armor that withstands a great deal of damage. The Dwarf Lords will not sell this armor in bulk to anyone, nor will they provide it to individuals who have not earned it through some great service to Hertenland.

Game Notes

In game terms, treat Padded armor made with gurnalug as +2 armor, resistant to bludgeoning damage. Chain, Scale, or Plate armor made with gurnalug padding doesn't provide a higher armor class, but is resistant to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage. This armor is never for sale in Hertenland. The cost on the black market will be at least 10 times the normal armor cost in gold pieces, if you can get it at all.

Gurnalug Padded Armor

Armor Rare

Designed as DOSHA-approved mining safety equipment for the dwarves of Hertenland. The gurnalug fabric in this padded armor improves the armor class and confers resistance to bludgeoning damage.

Type	AC	STR Req.	Stealth Dis.	Properties
Light	13 + Dex modifier	--	YES

Cost: Not for sale. (50 gp or more on the black market) Weight: 8 lb

Related Articles

Glossary

DOSHA

Dwarven Occupational Safety & Health Administration - a cross-mine committee of senior dwarves who document best practices for worker safety in mining and manufacturing. Following the incident at Barazingathol, DOSHA recommendations were expanded to include chemical manufacturing safety, as well.

DRAFT

This article is currently a work in progress and may be incomplete or subject to change.