Excelsior

Since a while i collect weapons and smelt them in, collecting all the sorts while roaming around in dungeons.
While doing this i had an idea: So many of the dungeons are soooo old, with creatures inside, hundreds of years sitting there in their poison, their darkness, carring armor parts with them who no one knows where they are from. Killed adventurers ages ago ? Or from their time before they transformed to monsters themselfes ?
About all that is lying one thing: ancient times, long long past times. So, wouldn't it be a interesting feature, that all creatures can rarely drop weapons and armor made of normal iron, but the time and the magic of the dungeons/monsters and the process of slow corrossion transformed them into another material ? Old Iron ?

These equipment pieces would have normal or bad stats theirselves, as a normal scimitar or plate chest of iron has/had..but the material is the precious thing !
When smelted in they are the base for new, much better weapons/armor because of the magic that went into the material.

Or for deco items made of metal like candelaber, or plates, spoons. Or for horse barding, raising armor factor of horses/mules. Or much more, they could be ingredients for never seen potions, in the old alchemy metals were used for potions also.

I like this idea, but considering how easy most of the mobs are, old iron should be a rare encounter Or then the craftables should require a lot of it.

Yes, a few percent dropchance i thought, maybe 2-3%. Best would be that all players have the same chance to get their hands on old iron, but low chances:)..then they can smelt the drops in, same output for all..and then either sell them or craft stuff with high requirements, and other rare materials maybe.
Result could be weapon or armor better then major artifact, because most people drown in those.

I like the idea.

If that was to be implemented, I also agree with not making it impossible to find.

Make "hard to find" in a percentage, like said before, but not by locations...

That is an awesome idea.. Ancient metal with lingering magic from ages past. It would be a great reason to stop and loot everything rather than just running around claiming.