flametitan
Explorer
I don't know if Adamantine is as valuable as you suppose. Adamantine weapons are only +500 GP in value, and a lot of weapons would require 2+ ingots to work with. Adamantine Armour is an "uncommon" magic item, which means that it's worth only 1d6x100 GP (likely adding the value of the armour on top of that). So if Adamantine is as valuable as you suppose, adamantine crafters would be making a net loss on the goods they forge.
I'm getting the impression that the adventure writers were assuming you'd make adamantine weapons and armour out of them anyway, though. It's kind of like the doors in the Tomb of Horrors being made out of valuable metals; Gygax likely didn't expect players to remove them to sell for profit.
I'm getting the impression that the adventure writers were assuming you'd make adamantine weapons and armour out of them anyway, though. It's kind of like the doors in the Tomb of Horrors being made out of valuable metals; Gygax likely didn't expect players to remove them to sell for profit.