There should be various \"ores\" in the world (it is all under ground) that can be mined or found on creatures (or bought). They could be serveral different weights and could be used to create weapons and armor (for a fee, or if you owned a forge and had smithing skills, you do it yourself). The quality of the product could be based on the process used and the skill of the forger. And there would always be a real-time delay while it\'s being forged.
I see a whole area for expansion here...