Fantasy Metals

[Lord Carnifex]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Orichilum was a green jade colored stone that was easily enchanted and had a higher DR then granite. I think DR*3

Originally Posted by RyanW

...I think orichalcum is traditionally a metal...

Is this where I point out that copper ores (some of the first ores smelted by humans) are frequently crumbly blueish green stone (the color of a badly corroded penny)?

Imagine the surprise of the potter who went to try and cook brightly colored stone into a glaze, only to see reddish-orange metal run out. Magic indeed!

Another fantasy metal that comes up frequently in Gaelic stories is meteoric iron. Probably this should be materially similar to decent sword steel, but easier to enchant. Or it might have anti-faerie or anti-magic capabilities, sometimes acting as a magical grounding rod.

[sjard]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

I'd be surprised if much of the jewellery sold in a US store today actually has the gold content that is being claimed.

That becomes a false advertising issue, and is usually taken fairly seriously in the US.

[Bruno]

The problem is more that people don't have a clue what 14kt means.

[DanHoward]

Originally Posted by sjard

That becomes a false advertising issue, and is usually taken fairly seriously in the US.

Only if it was intentional. I'd be surprised if many jewellery retailers have a clue about what they are selling. One of the current affairs programs would get some good ratings if they purchased a pile of gold jewellery at random and had them tested for gold purity.

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

Only if it was intentional. I'd be surprised if many jewellery retailers have a clue about what they are selling. One of the current affairs programs would get some good ratings if they purchased a pile of gold jewellery at random and had them tested for gold purity.

It's taken pretty seriously if you misrepresent gold purity, just like any other scam. Retailers are responsible for the quality of what they supply, and they are liable for misrepresentations.

Mind you, there's tons of 10 kt gold being sold, which barely qualifies as gold, and most gold sold in the US is low quality 14 kt stuff.

But when you get merchants selling fake gold, gold plated stuff as "gold", or gold-like 8 kt or 9 kt "gold" which is illegal to call gold in the US, retailers must refund the purchase and can get fined if accidental, or shut down and arrested if they're found to be running a scam.

Of course, if you're buying your "gold" from the discount guy on the corner, it's likely to be as real as the "rolex" he's selling, and good luck getting your money back, or even just finding the guy when your "gold" starts flaking off.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by Jeminai

Has anyone done any conversions on things like Mithral, Adamantine and other fantasy metals?

I use the various fantasy materials in Dungeon Fantasy but I would like to use many more from, various systems.

Any fantasy metals and/or woods and their GURPS game mechanics are welcome.

I use orichalcum in my world, but its properties are highly dependent on how it's alloyed or used. In its pure form, it's very similar to copper, just as the legends say, except that:

1. It masses about 2/3 what an equivalent volume of pure copper would mass.
1a. Orichalcum can be used in alloys much as copper would be, but because it is less massive the alloys are relatively stronger per unit volume/weight. (Add in other factors and things can get really odd.)

2. It reacts to some wavelengths of ultraviolet light by absorbing and reemitting the energy as visible red light. Since the only significant source of ultraviolet light in the ancient world was sunlight, orichalcum 'flashed with a red light in the sun'.

3. It is somewhat less electrically conductive than true copper (about twice the resistance, everything else being equal).

[Pmandrekar]

Originally Posted by Jeminai

Has anyone done any conversions on things like Mithral, Adamantine and other fantasy metals?

I use the various fantasy materials in Dungeon Fantasy but I would like to use many more from, various systems. I also like to use metals of the real world like iron and bronze but how would you represent something like Spanish Steel or Pig Iron?

Any fantasy metals and/or woods and their GURPS game mechanics are welcome.

Valyrian Steel ?(from Game of Thrones)
Darksteel (Forgotten Realms)

In the past, I've used Titanium versions of metal armor to stand in for fantasy metals. Steel and Titanium Stats (official) are available in GURPS High-Tech, 4th Edition. You have the option of increasing DR without increasing weight, or reducing the amount of weight. I've used Titanium as a standin for Adamantium in the past....

I normally assume that the Elves, or the Dwarves have figured out how to work these metals through magical assistance to increase temperatures in a furnace. That makes the manufactured equipment non-magical, but plausibly stronger of fantasy materials in a fantasy environment. Alternatively, the fantasy metal may be something that can be worked at a lower temperature because it's fantasy. I'm a big fan of low-magic environments where a player wouldn't (for instance) throw a magical suit of armor away because it's "Only" +1 maille.


-P.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Pmandrekar

In the past, I've used Titanium versions of metal armor to stand in for fantasy metals. Steel and Titanium Stats (official) are available in GURPS High-Tech, 4th Edition. You have the option of increasing DR without increasing weight, or reducing the amount of weight. I've used Titanium as a standin for Adamantium in the past.

Princess Mathilda has armor made of titanium in the second Dies the Fire series. "Worth the price of the Shire" isn't that much of an exaggeration of its cost, either. I thought it was a nice little fannish joke on Stirling's part.

Bill Stoddard

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Jeminai

Valyrian Steel ?(from Game of Thrones)

This is just a case of Very Fine Materials Quality + Solid Gold Rep. The First Men were running around Westeros with bronze and obsidian weapons, before they got slapped down by the Andals with iron. Plain ol' steel featured in the next big conquest, and is still hot stuff around those parts.

Note, however, that Tobho Mott and Maester Luwin both mention that certain "spells" are necessary to forge the stuff. What this means exactly varies depending on how you're handling magic in-setting (which is a big can of worms for another thread).

[Langy]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

This is just a case of Very Fine Materials Quality + Solid Gold Rep. The First Men were running around Westeros with bronze and obsidian weapons, before they got slapped down by the Andals with iron. Plain ol' steel featured in the next big conquest, and is still hot stuff around those parts.

Note, however, that Tobho Mott and Maester Luwin both mention that certain "spells" are necessary to forge the stuff. What this means exactly varies depending on how you're handling magic in-setting (which is a big can of worms for another thread).

No - it's well established that Valyrian Steel isn't just normal steel. Not only is it much sharper than any other steel sword (which would be the Very Fine quality), it also seems to set the Others on fire or something when they're hit, similar to the way the 'dragon glass' (obsidian) daggers worked. I don't know if it's a magical effect or just due to the Others having a weakness for some particular materials, but it's not made from the same stuff as other weapons.