Metallurge

A hulking figure clad in full plate mail charges across a battlefield, cutting into swathes of enemy troops with an inhuman speed and a flaming sword. Inside the suit is a small gnome, miming every swing of the sword and stomp of the boots.

Flying out of a volcano seemingly unaided, a dwarf unleashes a thin stream of ice from his gauntlets towards some pursuing salamanders. The ice blossoms into a whirl of freezing air that stops the salamanders cold in their tracks.

Examining the wreckage of a sunken shipwreck, a human wearing a well-fitting helmet examines the lock of a treasure chest while a battle-axe behind him attempts to break open a crate.

Metallurges are the magically adept with a love of the forge and the anvil. The bond that they form with metal allows them to channel their magical energies into swords, shields, and suits of armor. Each metallurge views his bond with metal in a different light, so each one exemplifies a different aspect of the forge's creation.

Forges and Fire A metallurge's source of magic is similar to that of the wizard. Both require a quick wit and a knack for understanding complex concepts. How they differ, though, is their method of channeling their magic. Metallurges undergo a formative change after spending weeks in the forges. Metal permeates their skin and body, conducting the initiate's magical energy out of their body and into any pieces of metal nearby. A metallurge has to wear metal in the form of armor and gauntlets in order to keep the magic close by and usable. The metallurge's magic is intricately tied to their armor. Most of a metallurge's daily magical output is spent keeping their armor functioning properly after heavy magical modifications. They memorize a handful of spells which they then engrave the runes for in their armor. The metallurge is then able to channel excess magic, of which they don't have much, into the suit of armor to cast the spell.

Metal and Magic Not every smith has the mental aptitude for magic, nor every sage the strength for metalwork. Many expert creators of magical weapons and armor shy away from the heart of the forge, instead preferring to have the nonmagical base item given to them so they can work on it from the comfort of their own workshop. Smiths with no aptitude for the arcane magic, or even those clerics of the forge, gifted with divine power over metal, do not suffer the same result as metallurges. A true metallurge combines the formative magic of a transmuter wizard with the strength and training of an expert smith. Most adventuring metallurges regularly seek forgotten arcana and magic items, and seek to uncover the properties of both.