Smithing

As well as its many treasures, Angband has mighty forges, to arm the hosts who fight under Morgoth’s banner. If you find one, you may be able to use such a forge to make yourself arms or armour, or even items of great power.

To create an item, you need:

• to be at a forge which has enough resources left,

• to have the relevant Smithing Ability:

  • Weaponsmith for weapons, including bows, arrows, and digging implements

  • Armoursmith for armour, including cloaks and shields

  • Jeweller for amulets, rings, and light sources

  • Artistry if you want to make a particularly fine weapon or piece of armour

  • Enchantment if you want to add a special enchantment to a weapon, piece of armour, or light source

• to have enough mithril, if the item requires it,

• to have a high enough Smithing skill (which depends on the item type and the bonuses you add to it),

• to put a part of yourself into the item, for certain types of enchantment:

  • this can be experience points, which is a permanent cost (this is normally the cost for items which grant Abilities or give bonuses to Skills),

  • it may instead be one or more stat points (which will be drained until such time as you eat or drink something which can restore them).

Making an item will take ten turns per point of difficulty, and makes noise, so you may be interrupted during this time. If this occurs you can resume your forging where you left off.

Some items are particularly easy to enchant. The costs for weapons (including bows), shields, body armour, helms, and amulets are lower than those for other equipment slots. The costs for robes, sceptres, and crowns are even lower.

When not at a forge, you can still plan what you’d like to make if you find one by pressing 0 to enter Smithing planning mode and explore the possibilities.

Creating artefacts

Truly great smiths are capable of working beautiful or terrible pieces. If you have the Artifice ability, you will be able to create your own artefacts, which may be a matter for songs and legends of the future. This can let you customise your items much further, as well as going beyond the bounds of what is normally possible. In addition you can name your artefacts, and they are virtually indestructible. Creating an artefact is a great work, and requires three uses from a forge. These must all be at the same forge, so you must find a forge with enough resources; it is impossible to begin work at one and finish at another.

Enchanted forges

Many forges in Angband are used just to produce swords and mail for the legions of orcs, but some few are used for the axes of the Valaraukar or the armour of the Troll Guard of Gothmog. If you are lucky enough to be working at such a forge, it will give you a bonus to your Smithing, allowing you to make more powerful items than otherwise.