HarJel is scarce and expensive, and can only be found in specific places. Because of this... A small team of dedicated chemists, materials scientists, and fluid dynamics engineers had set out with the goal of creating a cheaper synthetic substitute... And this is the best they could do.
I literally just had the idea and haven't come up with any stats yet, but... It's literally intended to be a cheaper counterpart to HarJel that, in whatever way, just isn't as good. In fact, the original intended customers turned it down because it didn't meet their performance targets.
Not wanting their hard work to go to waste, the team shifted their focus away from the battlefield, and finally garnered some interest from the industrial sector… but there are rumors that those absolute nerds are still tinkering with the formula in secret in the distant hope that they'll finally match or even surpass real HarJel. Those are just rumors, however, so nobody should hold their breath.
Thoughts?