What counts as Cold Iron?

[iago]

During Fool Moon Bob says you still need inherited silver to kill a Loup-Garou. That rule hasn't changed since an undisclosed date.

You're right! What he didn't say is "you need an alloy composed of at least 47% inherited silver".

He just said You Need Inherited Silver.

Same logic: You Need Cold Iron, not "you need a steel alloy composed of at least 35% cold iron".

[MWKilduff]

I have some concerns brought to me by a player and they are pretty valid.  With the catch of cold iron covering all iron and steel weapons almost every Tom, Dick and Harry will have access to cold iron or steel. I know I was going to make sure to take modern materials into consideration. Between high carbon steels, titanium coated or titanium blades, plastics and polymers, and even aluminums or other alternative metals I think that barring an npc specifically going after a character with cold iron intentionally I was going to kinda make a random check to see if any specific weapon used would meet the catch, so that not every knife in the world will bypass his character's defenses.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how they might handle this in the game?

[Haru]

I wouldn't worry too much about something like that. Basically every kitchen knife would satisfy the catch, unless you actually have one of those ceramic ones. Originally the idea behind the cold iron is, I believe, the fact that it is a representation of humanities technical evolution that gives them an edge over the faeries magic. Which I would translate as "anything with iron in it is fair game". That is a big part of why the faeries are not as prominent today as they might have been in the past, I think.

If you want to give your players a hard time with this, at least grant them a fate point for it by compelling them on the fact that there is no iron around.

[InFerrumVeritas]

Most of my players either use magic or guns.  Since most guns aren't going to be firing steel cored or steel jacketed rounds (and such rounds out of non-assult rifles can actually tear up the gun pretty badly), it means that they either have to make special preparations or use lower level skills (such as weapons, which is low for most) to attack.  It's still an advantage.  We've got one sword user with Weapons as his peak skill, but he's really a beast no matter what in combat (IoP sword with, effectively, Sacred Guardian on it and some Sponsored magic with enchanted items).

[Mr. Death]

You're right! What he didn't say is "you need an alloy composed of at least 47% inherited silver".

He just said You Need Inherited Silver.

Same logic: You Need Cold Iron, not "you need a steel alloy composed of at least 35% cold iron".

I'm of the opinion that any amount of iron is probably enough to satisfy the catch, but at the same time, though, wouldn't it make sense that something that has more pure iron in it would be more potent than an alloy composed mostly of another metal? Perhaps not enough to make a difference catch-wise, but it might figure into compels. For example, steel-jacketed bullets would need to hit on target to trigger the catch, while a pure-iron horseshoe might only need to be close to be worth compelling the nearby faerie.

[UmbraLux]

Wow....dug deep to ressurrect this thread. 

"Cold" iron is a bit of a misnomer.  It refers to the temperature metal is forged at, not to an alloy.  I.E. whether or not it was worked above or below the metal's recrystallization temperature.  (Very rough explanation.)

[Tedronai]

For the purposes of the Dresdenverse, the term seems to be applied rather more loosely, though.  There have been several incidents (the 'Za Lord's Guard springs to mind)  involving modern-manufactured steel which served as clear examples of a Fae's catch, and modern-manufactured steel does not fit that technical definition.

[Taskill_Mckennan]

I am utterly convinced, in real world folklore, that people have utterly misinterpreted the phrase "cold iron".

"Cold iron burns faeries" is the basic folklore.

People have thus tried to figure out what "cold iron" means -- is it cold-worked iron, does it include steel, must it be meteoric iron, etc.

I think people are overthinking.

Remember, in folklore, one can thwart the faeries by turning your clothes inside-out. So, "cold iron" is just a reversal. That is, I read it so:

"Cold (room-temperature) iron burns faeries (as if it were red-hot)."

In the Dresdenverse, it's way more expanded than that, but I think starting from the idea that all iron and steel are poison to the fae is a good way to go.

"Cold iron is a poetic and archaic term for iron, referring to the fact that it feels cold to the touch"  So definitely correct. I also remember it said somewhere any object composed with lots of iron in it is considered Cold iron

[Blackblade]

I am utterly convinced, in real world folklore, that people have utterly misinterpreted the phrase "cold iron".

"Cold iron burns faeries" is the basic folklore.

People have thus tried to figure out what "cold iron" means -- is it cold-worked iron, does it include steel, must it be meteoric iron, etc.

I think people are overthinking.

Remember, in folklore, one can thwart the faeries by turning your clothes inside-out. So, "cold iron" is just a reversal. That is, I read it so:

"Cold (room-temperature) iron burns faeries (as if it were red-hot)."

In the Dresdenverse, it's way more expanded than that, but I think starting from the idea that all iron and steel are poison to the fae is a good way to go.

I wonder, then if scalding-hot iron would fail to meet the catch.

[Taskill_Mckennan]

I wonder, then if scalding-hot iron would fail to meet the catch.

I'd let the Gm call that. I think it would create some interesting moments. (seelie fire magic on a steel blade...does nothing.)
Actually, i'm gonna make that a new rule for my campaign

[devonapple]

I'd let the Gm call that. I think it would create some interesting moments. (seelie fire magic on a steel blade...does nothing.)
Actually, i'm gonna make that a new rule for my campaign

I presume bullets, subject as they are to air friction when fired, coupled with their proximity to a small explosion, get a bit hot: would they, then, *not* satisfy the Catch, too?

[Mr. Death]

It seems, going by the books, that Iron is Iron...but it might be interesting to play it so, say, cold iron does more to Summer fae, while hot iron does more damage to Winter.

[Blackblade]

It seems, going by the books, that Iron is Iron...but it might be interesting to play it so, say, cold iron does more to Summer fae, while hot iron does more damage to Winter.

While they would get quite warm when exposed to the friction of the barrel, I believe that any friction caused by the air would be offset by the heat lost from convection. 

[Silverblaze]

I honestly think keeping it in the spirit of the novels works best.  Any ferrous substance satisfies the catch.  This keeps Fae from taking over the mortal realm.
However...

I suppose another option could be something like this or the inverse:

The weaker the Fae the harder to Catch ( requires cold wrought iron ) while stronger Fae can be hurt by alloys containing iron.  Invert that the opposite if you like.

Also you could say the catch rating matters: +1 cold wrought iron only... +2 any iron non alloy... +3 any alloy with even trace amounts of iron.

You could also have it based on grade of toughness +1 for inhuman, +2 for Supernatural, and +3 for mythic.  The greater protection allows for a broader catch?  Using the grading chart above of course.

[InFerrumVeritas]

I kind of like that, Silver.  +1 is harder to satisfy than +3 makes perfect sense.