Makes more sense as something that does something other than style on other runesmiths, then. But it still seems like a relatively marginal upgrade to spend 7 actions on tbh.
Is it? I mean, at least the impression I got is that the "gromril chain" thing is more of That One Weird Challenge that runesmiths are fixated on more than something that really takes up much space in the dwarven consciousness generally. I'd expect clapping (approving grumbling?) due to the intellectual understanding of this being a really hard thing that got done, and appreciation for the modest but appreciable improvement to gromril armor for the probably 0.5% of dwarven society that will ever get gromril armor made for them by a runesmith. Which is actually probably too high of a percentage to be guessing, since the people equipped by that one crazy Runelord in Kraka Drakk (it us) is not really representative of how many people most runesmiths/runelords ever craft armor for.
But if it's not something that other people think about that much, I think it's unrealistic to expect it to really mean all that much to them. It seems more like the equivalent of, idk, somebody winning the Fields Medal IRL for solving something that could be used to improve cryptography. It's a big deal to other mathematicians because they were already familiar with why that was such a hard problem to solve and likely tried themselves at some point, and it matters to people who are familiar with how important cryptography can be, but to the person on the street that's more of a "oh, cool" and possibly moderate approval for it feeding back into society to a limited extent.
Hmmm... let's see if I can properly describe my argument for why Gromril Chain is the actual most important research option for us to pursue for long term growth and benefit for the Dwarven society as a whole.
The first step is to ditch the argument regarding the marginal improvements that Gromril chain would produce for armors. Because you are right, in my opinion (and it seems in Snorri's opinion) that gromril chain as a whole would only be a marginal improvement to the armor of a marginal amount of dwarves. As such, if we were pursuing the gromril chain for those marginal improvements, it probably wouldn't be worth the opportunity cost of going for something that has more impact (such as the glories hidden behind alchemy). But that's not why I think it is important.
There was another argument that it would let us meet the last Ancestor God we had to meet, and so that is why it should be pursued. Those arguing that were correct, in that it allowed us to complete the set of Ancestor Gods met (kind of), but we still have so much to do for the research tree that further effort can not be supported by this argument. So let's ditch the argument.
There is another argument that it will bring substantial prestige for Snorri to wring out some Gromril Chain. This is true, and it has increased our standing with peers in the Brotherhood of Dorn. But Snorri has very rarely been motivated to conduct an arduous journey simply for the sake of prestige, and so I think this argument is weak and flimsy. A nice benefit, for sure, but not a reason to pursue such research.
No, the reason I love gromril chain is not for any of those arguments, but for the very real message that Snorri sends when making Gromril Chain. That the feats of the Ancestor Gods' are not ceilings that can never be reached, but in fact challenges to overcome. And that message is more important than all the gold in Thungni's vault. Here is why.
Gromril chain is known to all dwarves to have only been created by Grungni, the patriarch of the Dwarven pantheon. He is, in the Dwarven mind, the only one with the skill and mettle to take gromril and turn it into chain. And that is an act of such divine might that none can replicate it. So, they tell themselves, why even attempt that feat? It exists in the realm of the divine, and we are mortals. That is the case with many of the wonders created by the Dwarven Pantheon, of which Gromril Chain is only a lesser feat. The Rune of Eternity, the craftsmanship of Smedier, the runes of Thungni, the workings of Vayla, the feats of Grimnir, and the wonders of Morgrim, and the prowess of Gazul. All of these, the Dwarves think, are ceilings that they can not reach, let alone breach.
But what if they were wrong?
By crafting gromril chain with the hands of a mortal, it demonstrates that either the craftsman are no longer mortal, having ascended to divinity through the divine act of crafting gromril chain, or that crafting gromril chain is not, in fact, an act of divinity. And Snorri will be the first to say that he is not divine. So dwarves who learn of the feat are left with a quandary, either Snorri is a mortal capable of accomplishing feats once the sole purview of the divine, or the crafting of gromril chain is not a divine act. Either result crumbles the ceilings of skill that most Dwarves hold themselves to. For if Snorri can do it, then why can't others? Or, what other feats are not in the sole purview of the Divine?
In this way, we have the potential to reconceptualize the feats of the Ancestor Gods not as insurmountable ceilings, but rather as challenges to overcome to become better. And such a mindset does wonders for the lowest janitor of Karaz-a-Karak to Alric Thungnison himself. This message is also important coming from Snorri because of his background. He is not one step removed from Divinity, he is the farthest possible removed and still be a Runesmith. He did not achieve the heights he has reached through gold of ancient clans and teachers taught by the Divine themselves, he reached this level of skill with 20 years of apprenticeship and an unusual skill in herding goats. Snorri started with nothing but skill, talent, and the most important ingredient of all for successful dwarves. Will.
It his will to do what is useful for his hold, his clan, and his profession that has let him reached so far. It is the will of one who can shape adamant with his hammer and the will to carve runes of power into gromril. The will to enter a furnace for days and nights hammering a bar of gromril to form chain. And so, with enough will, can other dwarves take for themselves the challenges of the ancestors and overcome the limitations they currently have.
That, is why I am passionate about Gromril Chain. Not for the benefit to armor, not for the prestige or the renown. Not even for the increased skill in working in finer denominations of gromril. But for the message it sends to everyone who knows that gromril chain is only made by the divine and to break the ceilings that Dwarven veneration of the Ancestor Gods' create and form ladders from the rubble.
