haber crystals
Haber crystals are a valuable type of durable reagents that slowly grows in areas saturated with the ambient elemental energy of earth.
Haber crystals can incorporated into any magical item crafting that involves metal. At a sufficiently high temperature, the crystals will melt and mix well with most known metals.
Haber crystals grow in stalks of mineral from the ground vaguely looking like spiraling stalagmites. They tend to be found in areas with lots of ambient earth elemental energy.
Haber crystals are valuable and are technically a renewable resource because their crystalline stalks keep growing albeit haber crystals grow quite slowly and stalks can be permanently damaged or even destroyed if crystals are harvested too quickly.
A typical small crystal stalk can safely produce approximately 5 gold pieces worth of usable crystals every year while the largest known stalks such as those in the Barony of Crystal Fields can let someone harvest 50 to 100 gold pieces a year without causing permanent damage.
Properties
Geology & Geography
There are over a hundred known "stalks" of haber crystals throughout Scarterra though most of them are quite small and they are widely spaced apart. Most of them are found in rocky rugged hills and mountains.
The Borderlands fiefdom known as Barony of Crystal Fields happens to have multiple large stalks in one place making it the best source for haber crystals in all of Scarterra.
It is rumored that there are even more stalks of haber crystals deep underground in the caverns of Scarnoctis that put the Barony of Crystal Fields to shame, but this like most so called facts about Scarnoctis, remains a subject of much speculation.
Haber crystals never naturally grow in Scaraqua, but haber crystals and metals alloyed with haber crystals are not actually harmed by lengthy exposure to sea water.
History & Usage
Everyday use
Almost any magical item incorporating metal can use haber crystals as part of the base reagents but haber crystals lend themselves especially well to crafting magical armor and bludgeoning weapons.
Refinement
If haber crystals are melted at a high temperature, they can form an alloy with most known metals. Metals alloyed with a small amount of haber crystals can be used to craft magic items.
Reusability & Recycling
Once melted down, haber crystals cannot be extracted from whatever they are melted into, but metal alloyed with haber crystals can usually be recast without a lot of difficulty.
Distribution
Storage
Haber do not require special storage conditions and seem to be able to be stored indefinitely.
Law & Regulation
Trade of harvested haber crystals is not illegal in any locality in Scarterra though in some places there is an excise tax placed on their sale (along with most other reagents).
If a stalk of haber crystals is harvested too aggressively, this can permanently hamper it's ability to grow new crystals in the future. General powers that be that own these crystal stalks will very harshly punish any crystal poachers that damage their stalks in this way.
Type
Ore/Mineral
Value
Haber crystals are roughly twice as valuable as silver
Common State
spikey crystals
Related Locations
Related Technologies
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