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Old 02-23-2019, 08:23 AM   #411
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Default Re: Campaign: Facets

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Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
Okay, it amazes me that you know this.... :)
Ah, the joys of GMing. There is no field too obscure or abhorrent to engage our attentions.

Why were your players discussing the mechanics of forging bloodmetal blades?

I mean, they are blood-drenched murderers, to be sure, but they've managed to keep their violent tendencies focused, for the most part, on animalistic creatures like giant spiders or stirges these last sessions.

Have they grown hungry for human souls again? Do they seek to forge weapons of blood and start their conquest of all the worlds, to rule with terror and tyranny from their bloody thrones?
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Old 02-23-2019, 10:20 AM   #412
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Why were your players discussing the mechanics of forging bloodmetal blades?
Probably weighing the pros and cons of where to get enough metal to build their own Groningen...
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Old 02-23-2019, 11:57 AM   #413
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Probably weighing the pros and cons of where to get enough metal to build their own Groningen...
Something like that, yeah. Metal is in incredibly short supply, in the Orbital Realm of Jupiter. Most minerals get blown up out of the depths, in atomic form as part of the Fountains of Life, and then get concentrated in living things.

So, Mike kicked around ideas about alternative sources -- mostly just to figure out how other people might have approached the problem.

I think. :)
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Old 04-09-2019, 09:21 PM   #414
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We’ve had two sessions since the last write-up (actually, three now...), but the first was short and we accomplished little, so I decided to combine it and the second into one report.

Characters Present:

Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S.

Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. Considers himself responsible for Sunmi Jones, who is enough of a science-geek that the two of them can actually hold a conversation. -- Played by Anten S.

Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P. (Not available)

Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet. -- played by Samantha H.

Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. She recently lost the lower part of her left leg in a fight with a sorcerer from an opposing lodge, and now wears a high-tech prosthetic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W.

Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T. (not available this time)

Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Jeff T. (not available this time)

Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal. -played by Mike H.

NPCs Present

Jimmy Ehrland – A fugitive from the 1918 Colonia de Nova Espańa, on the other side of the portal, he had fled from his vampire mistress, Dońa Eva, only to find himself in a strange, alien world to which he must struggle to adapt.

Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit.

Hops About: An enthusiastically lethal nunnupi, a 6-inch tall fairy girl with black wings, pale skin and American Indian features. Currently dressed in the colors of the Unseelie Court, with a bow and knife, she frequently takes the form of a magpie four times the size of a normal bird and can go invisible.

Twirls Thrice: A laconic and lethal nunnupi with a dry sense of humor, also dressed in the cool colors of the Unseelie Court. Apparently the sister of Hops About, she bears similar weapons that can inflict elf-stroke, also appears as a large magpie, and can go invisible.

##

The three airships, burdened as they were with rafts of floating logs or bales of sticky spider-silk (and assorted bits), traveled much more slowly back toward Nieuw Haarlem than they did on the trip from the town.

The first leg of the trip passed peacefully enough, and the trio of airships soon found themselves passing through the expanse of giant floating blossoms. The bees paid a few more visits but, as before, soon went on about their business.

However, at about that time, a heavy bank of clouds began to roll in from behind them, drawn towards the updrafts in the Fountain of Life that lay several hundred miles ahead. Within several hours, light rain began to fall, and it soon worsened to a steady drumming on the envelope of the Paradise and water began to stream down the sides and drip from the bottom of the canvas.

The wind began to gust, as well, and soon A.J. and Steven both found themselves on the flight deck as the rest of the group stood ready to assist, if needed.

The problem, when it did come, didn’t happen on the Paradise, though. Claudia soon sent a message from the much less pleasant crow’s nest. Apparently, one of the de Bos airships had flashed a distress signal.

It was the one directly ahead so A.J. throttled up to get a better look, and the group soon saw a potential disaster. For some reason, the raft of logs towed behind the airship ahead had started to oscillate and the pilot couldn’t seem to dampen shimmies.

As a result, the raft threatened to jack-knife into the airship, and the crew of the Paradise saw they’d pulled out axes, ready to cut themselves free from the errant logs.

Unwilling to lose the trees they’d worked so hard to obtain, the crew had Claudia flash a signal for them to stand by while the Red Rocks Lodge rendered assistance. A.J. dumped some ballast to gain a bit of altitude, and moved the Paradise to a position a bit above and behind the swaying raft of gigantic floating trees.

Then, Steven popped open a gate at the front of the trellis and flung a grappling hook into the canopy, below. It took a couple of tries, but he eventually lodged it in solidly, and A.J. throttled back to pull it taught.

The acrobatic “art history teacher” then clipped pulley and safety harness on the line, and zipped down toward the pitching raft. She landed well enough, checked the security of the grapple, and waved a signal back up to the Paradise.

A.J., who had been standing by, shot a bolt trailing a cord in Aurelia’s general direction, and she then went over and grabbed it. Once she had it in hand, Henrietta put another zip-line pully on the climbing rope, and used it to launch a heavy hawser toward Aurelia.

The heavy cable made it down the line and Aurelia grabbed it, lashed it to one of the large branches extending upwards from the horizontal trunk, The Paradise crew made sure the cable kept plenty of slack, and Aurelia signaled for the next one.

In all, Aurelia managed to get heavy cables secured to all four of the slippery, wobbling trunks in that raft (and only almost died once).

At that point, A.J. nudged his throttle down to take up the slack (while Aurelia clambered over to the far end of the trees), and gingerly pulled the cables taut. He throttled down a bit more and they began to creak and moan, but the raft slowly began to straighten out. (Really good rolls on Acrobatics – including one critical success -- and Knot-Tying for Aurelia, and Anten rolled even better against A.J.’s Pilot skill.)

A.J. kept the hawsers taut for the several hours it took the squall to pass and Aurelia (who had stayed on the raft the whole time) cut ties loose. A.J. moved through the cool, calm air to a position above the now-obedient quartet of trees, and Henrietta used the winch to lower a cable and then the rest of the crew cranked Aurelia back aboard.

After that, a weary A.J. turned the helm over to Steven, and former Marine Corps fighter jock piloted the airship the rest of the way to Nieuw Haarlem.

Once there, Henrietta and Jimmy took over, and based on a recommendation from Anika de Bos, approached a textile firm about the spider-silk they’d brought back with them. They negotiated a price of $25.00 per pound (in company scrip) for 1800 lbs of the sticky stuff, plus arranged for the firm to clean 200 lbs of strands of manageable thickness (but still stronger than their TL 8 climbing rope) for them to keep.

While that went on, the captain of the dirigible Aurelia helped save called on her, and asked her out to lunch to thank her for the help. Aurelia agreed – and then dragged Beatrice along as a chaperone, to make sure the luncheon remained nothing more than a meal.

As expected, the man delicately suggested they meet for dinner at one point and, as expected, the emotionally-guarded Aurelia politely (but firmly) refused the invitation.

(With that, the brief session ended.)

While Aurelia had her luncheon, Doc Bascher decided to extract some payback from the supply store that sold them the dud teargas grenades.

The veterinarian slipped into the hold of the Paradise, opened up a case, and removed one of the silken-wrapped eggs of the giant spiders. She placed it carefully into a large purse and then headed toward the shop, which she hadn’t visited personally the last time.

Once she arrived, Doc Bascher responded to the proprietor’s greeting and inquiry with a, “just looking around,” and then headed through the narrow, cramped aisles toward the depths of the store. After a bit, she reached a quiet corner noted a high shelf, and then carefully dragged over a stool.

(continued....)
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Old 04-09-2019, 09:25 PM   #415
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(...continued)

The veterinarian mounted the step-stool pulled the egg out of her satchel and began to place it on the top shelf, as far back as she could reach. However, just as she got it up there, one of the employees walked around the corner and, surprised, asked her what she was doing. (Yeah, failed Stealth roll followed by successful Perception roll by the employee.)

Doc Bascher hastily tried to shove the egg out of sight, but the guy noticed it and again demanded to know what she was doing. Brushing past her, he reached up and grabbed the silken globe, and asked her what it was. That brought the proprietor over to find out what was going on, and a couple other employees showed up, as well.

The veterinarian tried a couple of different (and obviously transparent) lies and prevarications to try to weasel out of the situation, but only dug herself in deeper. Eventually, the proprietor demanded she remain in place, and he had one of the employees run out and fetch a corporate security guard.

Increasingly desperate, Doc Bascher started to look around for any way out, and suddenly noticed what looked like a cancerous melanoma on the neck of the proprietor. She immediately brought it to his attention and volunteered to help take care of it, but by then she’d lost all credibility.

Eventually, the security guard showed up and asked everyone to explain the altercation. He didn’t recognize the egg for what it was, either, and Doc Bascher clammed up and wouldn’t tell him, only saying she wanted rid of it and a junk shop seemed as good a place as any to dump it off.

The security guard definitely smelled a rat, and asked the owner if he wanted to swear out a complaint. After a brief pause, the owner reluctantly declined (he didn’t really want corporate security poking around any more than Doc Bascher did…), but demanded she leave premises and take the “silk ball” with her.

The guard escorted her out, demanded to know where she lived, and then escorted her back to the Paradise where a dismayed Frank saw them approach.

The former Utah State Trooper demanded to know what was going on, and listened to the guard’s report with increasing disbelief. He finally had to make excuses, and said Doc Bascher had been under a lot of stress lately, and then promised to keep her close and not let her wander off by herself.

That satisfied the guard, who left her in the care (custody…) of Frank, who promptly blew up, and also dropped the spider egg off the side of the dock.

Things settled down a bit, after that, and the group spent the next couple of weeks on a number of activities. They watched the construction of the floating platform with considerable interest, and made detailed schematics of the houses the planned to build.

Given that it wound up more than 70 yards long and 90 yards wide, with eight floating trees connected by six yard wide decks along the lengths of the horizontal floating trunks, themselves six yards in diameter, they had plenty of room to work with.

Beatrice designed an airy domicile at the far end of the left-most tree, while Frank sketched out his place on the same trunk, on the end toward the Nieuw Haarlem platform. He planned a shooting range between his place and Beatrice’s and the two planned to work together on it.

On the next tree over, about halfway up the trunk, A.J. designed a Swiss Family Robinson style treehouse straight out of the 1960 film, as presented at Walt Disney World (without the water wheel). He planned it for high up in the thick branches that extended up from the trunk, just below the floatation bladders at the lower edge of the canopy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xlsW6WQkYI

He also sketched out a workshop that would stand on the deck between his tree and the first one, which also gave Beatrice easy access.

Henrietta decided to skip the arboreal approach, and planned a nice cabin on the deck between the second tree and the third, a bit further down than A.J.’s treehouse. She needed a library, but wanted a nice open deck toward the far end.

Concealed n the canopy above the deck between the third and fourth trees, Aurelia planned an extensive domicile that consisted of two houses on either end of the platform. She planned to connect them with a narrow bridge that wound among the floatation bladders and could not be seen, at all, from below.

The group left the walkway between trunks four and five open, to allow access to the Nieuw Haarlem platform for anyone who wished to pay them to lash up at the far end of their deck.

Jimmy’s place would stand on the deck between trunks five and six, out at the far end, while Doc Bascher reserved the deck between trees seven and eight, close to the Nieuw Haarlem end. She planned to have a cozy cabin with an attached doctor’s office.

(Jeff and Tisa couldn’t make the session, so they’ll pick spots for Steven and Claudia, next time. Also, as soon as the Webmaster of the Denver GURPS Group Forum grants me the access needed to post images, we’ll add them to the Facets campaign thread, there. The players were pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing and spent a big chunk of the session on it. 😊 )

Once the group had provided plans for their domiciles to the De Bos crew, they turned their attention to other agendas.

A.J. spent most of his time in the cabin of the Paradise and churned out two design schematics, one for an early RADAR set, and the other for air conditioning, both using technology available in the 1919 world on the other side of the portal.

Aurelia and Frank decided they’d try to learn the lay of the “land” a bit better, and hired a pedal-blimp cab to show them around the area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D63PK2IyJ4

(It was a bit bigger than that one, and they had to help pedal.)

They learned the entire community of Nieuw Haarlem consisted of not only the central platform with its arkenstone anchors, but also the collection of dozens of other floating platforms similar to their own (or even much larger, in some cases) that extended out nearly a mile in all directions.

The entire collection resembled a shallow bowl with the Nieuw Haarlem platform at the center, and the other platforms rising around them in all directions.

At one point during the leisurely tour, the cabbie offered the pair OudBruin Kola, which he said was made locally. Deeply suspicious, Frank took a taste and his mouth immediately felt the tell-tale tingle of cocaine.

The former cop immediately made inquiries, and found that the kola came from a platform owned by the family of Jacco Hanraets, which had a range of libations of various sorts. Those included not only the “original Coca-Cola” formula of kola nuts and cocaine, but also several “brandewijns” made of various fruits, the most famous of which was the Hanraets Appelbrandewijn.

Frank and Aurelia asked whether the cabbie sold much OudBruin Kola (legal, but frowned upon), and learned that he unloaded most of it when cloud-ray hunters docked at the platform.

Apparently, a lot of people made pretty good money as crew-members of airships that hunted the gigantic cloud-rays, almost all parts of which were useful for something. In addition to proteins and oils in their flesh, the cloud-rays had floatation bladders of both helium and hydrogen; various biochemicals with a range of uses; feathers made of strong, durable fibers; and bones both light in weight and very, very strong.

As such, the work (while quite hazardous) paid very well, indeed, and the crewmen who returned form a lengthy and successful hunt generally wanted to blow off some steam. Cabbies such as he made a lot of money during those periods, not only transporting crewmen to various casinos and other entertainment establishments on platforms scattered about, but also providing them with tips about fun things to do, and recreational substances to enjoy while doing them.

At that point, Aurelia and Frank decided they weren’t sure what avenues to pursue next, since the Nieuw Haarlem Company seemed to have little interest in enforcing moral rules to restrict activities between consenting adults.

Black market activity tended to flourish in places that legally restricted things people wanted, and such restrictions seemed few and far between in this region of the Orbital Realm of Jupiter.

Frank and Aurelia also questioned whether or not they wanted to go too far down that rabbit-hole, at this particular juncture. After all, their presence in the realm was only supposed to be temporary – they had a vitally important errand to do in a reality of Assiah, and weren’t sure such investigations would help them accomplish the task at hand.

With that, the session ended.

(continued...)
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Old 04-09-2019, 09:25 PM   #416
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Funny Quotes

(Discussing what to do with spider eggs.)
A.J.: I just want to give them the Long Fall.
Aurelia: Set them on fire; spiders and fire go together!

(Someone recommends building a cage for them; others argue that would be too much trouble.)
Beatrice: You don’t have to do macramé!

Aurelia: None of these is a good idea. We never have good ideas. We have, “super-deadly-we-only-survive-by-luck” ideas, and “this-probably-won’t-kill-us-today” ideas.

(Aurelia prepares for swashbuckling silliness to secure the floating raft.)
A.J.: We have duct tape and super-glue!
Aurelia: I’m totally taking two rolls of duct tape.

Beatrice: Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider!

(After a bit of trouble, Aurelia lands amongst the flotation bladders.)
Beatrice: No smoking!
Aurelia: You wanna come down and do this?
Beatrice: I only have one leg!

(Aurelia gets asked out on a date.)
Beatrice(OOC): I try not to make my eye-roll too loud.
Henrietta(OOC): I heard the “No!”

Aurelia: I’m not doing this schammered!

Frank (learns about the cloud-ray hunts): Call me Ishmael.

(Group discusses how to spend their time while the platform is under construction.)
Frank: Is there anything mundane, that won’t get us killed?
Beatrice: What fun is that?!

(Planning begins for homes on the platform.)
Beatrice: You be in that corner, and I’ll be in this corner.
Doc Bascher: Well, what if I wanna be on that corner?
(A.J. rubs his eyes wearily.)

Doc Bascher (discusses payback for the dud grenades): We almost died! Please tell me what an “appropriate” repercussion is?!

Aurelia(OOC, as Bascher hatches the spider-egg notion): I will not ninja them in, but I will not stop you if that’s the plan.

(Doc Bascher babbles out excuses for leaving the egg.)
Doc Bascher: I didn’t want it, anymore!
Anten(OOC): That’s the first true thing she’s said….
Mike (OOC): We’re actually gonna have an argument about this, later on, in real life!

Frank(back in character): We’re going to keep peg-leg, over here; my boy (Steven) is going to have tape over his mouth to keep him from talking to people; and she’s (Doc Bascher) going to get a shock-collar so she doesn’t get more than 50 feet away from us!

Frank: You know what we’re like? Suicide Squad!

(I love it when players play their characters’ disadvantages…. 😊 )

Aurelia (Delighted by the pedal-cab blimps.): I have deemed them, “Blimp-shaws”!

##

The group got pretty creative with the drawings of the tree-houses.

We cleared up a permissions issue over at the Denver GURPS Group Forum, so those should appear in the Facets original thread, over there, in the next couple of days.

Check it, periodically. :)

http://www.denvergurps.com/forum/ind...sg7440#msg7440
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Old 04-10-2019, 03:32 PM   #417
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Default Re: Campaign: Facets

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At one point during the leisurely tour, the cabbie offered the pair OudBruin Kola, which he said was made locally. Deeply suspicious, Frank took a taste and his mouth immediately felt the tell-tale tingle of cocaine.

The former cop immediately made inquiries, and found that the kola came from a platform owned by the family of Jacco Hanraets, which had a range of libations of various sorts. Those included not only the “original Coca-Cola” formula of kola nuts and cocaine, but also several “brandewijns” made of various fruits, the most famous of which was the Hanraets Appelbrandewijn.

Frank and Aurelia asked whether the cabbie sold much OudBruin Kola (legal, but frowned upon), and learned that he unloaded most of it when cloud-ray hunters docked at the platform.
Is OudBruin Kola made with refined cocaine instead of the coca leaves that original Coca-Cola used?

Because the difference in concentration of the active incredient in about 1:400 and at the levels actual Coca-Cola was made with, it contained less coca-based stimulant than an average dollar bill. As such, the effects of original Coca-Cola would not resemble cocaine in the least, it wouldn't even have as much stimulant effect as a cup of weak coffee.

Even chewing pure coca leaves, you need a significantly higher dosage than is found in a bottle of Coke to experience any effects and the effects will tend to be similar to a cup of tea or coffee, not any kind of rush or high. Cocaine powder is massively concentrated and that concentration allows for a totally different experience than consuming the leaves. A lot of pharmaceuticals are derived from natural herbs, flowers or bark, but it doesn't follow that just eating a flower will have any effects similar to that of the refined pharmaceutical.
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Old 04-10-2019, 09:13 PM   #418
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Is OudBruin Kola made with refined cocaine instead of the coca leaves that original Coca-Cola used?

Because the difference in concentration of the active incredient in about 1:400 and at the levels actual Coca-Cola was made with, it contained less coca-based stimulant than an average dollar bill. As such, the effects of original Coca-Cola would not resemble cocaine in the least, it wouldn't even have as much stimulant effect as a cup of weak coffee.

Even chewing pure coca leaves, you need a significantly higher dosage than is found in a bottle of Coke to experience any effects and the effects will tend to be similar to a cup of tea or coffee, not any kind of rush or high. Cocaine powder is massively concentrated and that concentration allows for a totally different experience than consuming the leaves. A lot of pharmaceuticals are derived from natural herbs, flowers or bark, but it doesn't follow that just eating a flower will have any effects similar to that of the refined pharmaceutical.
It's stronger, yeah. The people around Nieuw Haarlem have the modern-day knowledge of Nieuw Amsterdam to call upon. It helps that cocaine remains legal in the 1919 alternate-America on the other side the local portal, and the Knickerbockers can sell it as a rare (and expensive) medicine.

The poor relations between Spain and the United States means not a lot makes it into the country from South America (cocoa and kola nuts are also expensive luxuries) so the negative effects aren't as well known in that world.

In our history, it was regulated as of 1914, but manufacture of cocaine for public consumption didn't become illegal in this country until 1922.

In the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, it gets cultivated on platforms at Z-100 miles, where the temperature is a pretty constant 80 degrees (F).
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Old 04-27-2019, 08:25 PM   #419
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Default Metals and Magic

In another thread, tshiggins mentioned that ferrous metals (primarily iron) interfered with magic in all sorts of ways and that fae hated and feared iron. Alternatives to iron weapons and tools were briefly discussed:

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Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
Hmm, some of those may be valid choices. Let me check.

Nickel -- this is a ferrous metal, although (apparently?) not as ferrous as iron, but it alloys well with iron and is frequently found with it. I'd say the Faeries react to it the same as they would iron, really, and it interferes with magic in the same sort of way (although, perhaps, not quite as much).

Chromium -- this also messes around with magnetism in even weirder ways. I'll have to figure out how this would interact with magic. I don't see the faeries liking it, any more than they like iron -- especially if it's hot. Oh, and here's a nifty feature! It's toxic in high concentrations!

Manganese -- Hmm. Might be useful in the production of bronze or other alloys, but it seems really brittle to try to use on its own.

Titanium -- Generally useful, all around. Won't mess with magic and the Faeries don't mind it (and might even use it, themselves). I think titanium alloys are even more expensive than ALBronze, though.

Vanadium -- Again, wonderfully useful, but as an alloy. How expensive are vanadium alloys, as compared to ALBronze? Also, an alloy of aluminum, titanium and vanadium is wonderfully light, strong and durable, and it probably holds a good edge, as well. But, does it have enough mass to make a good weapon? Also, how much would someone pay for a block of this stuff large enough to use to tool a sword from?

Additionally, what sort of cutting tools would you need to lathe that, anyway? I'm betting most cutting tools in hardware stores couldn't handle it, and you'd need special equipment to machine such an alloy.

(The reason I ask this is that the guy who plays the character, "Arthur" will ask me those questions, eventually. As soon as he heard lead was inert to magic, he asked if it were possible to put a functioning electronic device in a sealed lead container, and take it through one of the portals, safely. Fortunately, I had already thought of that one, and had a ready answer. I'm trying to stay ahead of him.)
In my modern Urban Fantasy / Monster Hunting campaigns, I've established iron as somewhat inimical to magic* and utterly noxious to any kind of fae, cutting through fey glamour, confusing fae senses, toxic to fae, etc.

I haven't done much thinking on less common metals, however, and whether they might affect magic or monsters in some mystical way.

Can you share thoughts on those metals which you have considered as mystical materials, as well as alternatives to iron/steel for anyone wishing to pursue friendly relations with fae?

*Though neither completely inert nor anti-magical, simply somewhat more difficult to affect with mystical forces than most living (or formerly living) things, stones and many minerals, copper/bronze, etc.
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Old 04-29-2019, 01:02 PM   #420
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Default Re: Metals and Magic

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
In another thread, tshiggins mentioned that ferrous metals (primarily iron) interfered with magic in all sorts of ways and that fae hated and feared iron. Alternatives to iron weapons and tools were briefly discussed:


In my modern Urban Fantasy / Monster Hunting campaigns, I've established iron as somewhat inimical to magic* and utterly noxious to any kind of fae, cutting through fey glamour, confusing fae senses, toxic to fae, etc.

I haven't done much thinking on less common metals, however, and whether they might affect magic or monsters in some mystical way.

Can you share thoughts on those metals which you have considered as mystical materials, as well as alternatives to iron/steel for anyone wishing to pursue friendly relations with fae?

*Though neither completely inert nor anti-magical, simply somewhat more difficult to affect with mystical forces than most living (or formerly living) things, stones and many minerals, copper/bronze, etc.
I haven't forgotten this question, and I'll have answers for you, tonight or tomorrow.
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