Chemistry, D&D, Potassium, Symbionts and Adventure!

[Dannyalcatraz]

PiaRowley
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[kitcik]

Never heard of it!

This is a terribly boring clip, but go to the 1:19 mark...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWlO-krM4uU]Playing Atomicolicious on Webkinz - YouTube[/ame]

 

[krupintupple]

Learned and chemically wise folk like Dandu are why I took great efforts to remove any reference to "real world" hard sciences, like physics, chemistry, or sufficiently advanced mathematics. In addition to the bother of having a friend who just so happens to be a chemical engineer saying "Wait, that wouldn't happen," or "Hold on...what exactly is in this 'acid' that we're buying?", your question has illustrated the pitfall of attempting to square fantasy with reality.

My two cents, which were never asked for? Rename the mystery mineral 'Alusian scabs' or 'Maglarian blood,' or something; this is a rare mineral, metal or crystal deposit, that many goblin clerics and shamans believe was a gift from the goblin overdeity, Maglubiyet. They believe that, when included in rare rituals, it allows the spirits of brave warriors and ancestors past to inhabit the goblin, empowering them.

Now for the fantasy element: it actually does just that. For whatever reason, it is a mineral that appears like rust, but anyone making a DC15 appraise can tell it's the semi-rare goblin mineral - goblins of course get a +5 racial bonus to this, considering how sought after it is in goblin society. Furthermore, it actually does empower them with spirits or souls, or whatever really. You don't need to rely on real-world examples of biology or worms or whatnot - there's nothing to say that, upon a sufficient quantity of this mineral being sacrified/burned/ingested/imbibed, Maglubiyet couldn't actually send goblin souls (that appear like snakes, or worms, to the shamans and clerics preforming the ceremony) that inhabit those so blessed.

Heck, take it a step further; this mineral acts like the surface worlder's prized mithral, but only to goblins. It can stand in as a material component, or pretty much anything you like. Best of all, no sneering chemical engineer-cum-PC can say "Hey, the molecular properties of XYZ don't work like that!" when you roll out your new idea.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Learned and chemically wise folk like Dandu are why I took great efforts to remove any reference to "real world" hard sciences, like physics, chemistry, or sufficiently advanced mathematics. In addition to the bother of having a friend who just so happens to be a chemical engineer saying "Wait, that wouldn't happen," or "Hold on...what exactly is in this 'acid' that we're buying?", your question has illustrated the pitfall of attempting to square fantasy with reality.

My two cents, which were never asked for? Rename the mystery mineral 'Alusian scabs' or 'Maglarian blood,' or something; this is a rare mineral, metal or crystal deposit, that many goblin clerics and shamans believe was a gift from the goblin overdeity, Maglubiyet. They believe that, when included in rare rituals, it allows the spirits of brave warriors and ancestors past to inhabit the goblin, empowering them. Now for the fantasy element: it actually does just that. For whatever reason, it is a mineral that appears like rust, but anyone making a DC15 can tell it's the semi-rare goblin mineral - goblins of course get a +5 racial bonus to this, considering how sought after it is in goblin society. Furthermore, it actually does empower them with spirits or souls, or whatever really. You don't need to rely on real-world examples of biology or worms or whatnot - there's nothing to say that, upon a sufficient quantity of this mineral being sacrified/burned/ingested/imbibed, Maglubiyet actually sends goblin souls (that appear like snakes, or worms, to the shamans and clerics preforming the ceremony) that inhabit those so blessed.

Heck, take it a step further; this mineral acts like the surface worlder's prized mithral, but only to goblins. It can stand in as a material component, or pretty much anything you like. Best of all, no sneering chemical engineer-cum-PC can say "Hey, that doesn't work like that!" when you roll out your new idea.

=). I appreciate what you're trying to do in recommending steering away from real world details. Unfortunately your suggestion specifically steers to far off what I'm aiming for, but I appreciate it in spirit. Ultimately this is to benefit humanoid PC's, the Goblinoid characters are only to support the discovery of the storyline and setting as "A wizard did it, and the information i obscure to us" as well as a posssible "Look, it's monsters, lets kill them before we stop to think that we might be able to reason with them and get valuable information" that I like to throw at my players to encourage deeper thinking than "Hulk Smash Everything RAAA!"

Breaking my idea down to the most basic elements: I wanted some from of puzzle challenge for my PC's, based somewhat upon concepts they can hopefully deduce from real world knowledge, assuming their own characters have some Knowledge Dungeoneering, Geography, Arcane, Planes, Nature... whatever that might apply that they can roll in order to earn my pseudo-science-style explaination. I intend to never, ever actually refer to real world minerals, simply using the term "Potostone" that mimics properties of real world substances. Using an element that both is dangerously explosive, and is contained in the human(oid) body ties together nicely the involvement of a symbiont that is both an Aberrant-creature, and living off humanoid biology. The pieces fit for me conceptually just enough to justify using them. Seeking the knowledge and insight of my esteemed collegues here helped cement my idea.

Also, fortunately none of my players are Chemists. It's possible all of this will go over thier heads, but that doesn't stop me from having personal standards of quality and pride.

I continue to welcome your pennies of insight and imagination!

 

[krupintupple]

Ah, I see, I see - I must've overlooked that, unfortunately.

Maybe, the "avatar" of Maglubiyet that has blessed the rare mineral is actually a disembodied shapeshifting demon, waiting out the rest of his extraplanar confinement after being banished centuries ago? Perhaps due to some strange quirk, he can barely exert his will upon the material plane, and, weirder still, separated from his own kind this long, he's become decidedly apathetic as a demon (a shift from chaotic evil to chaotic neutral), and is more interested in his own personal entertainment, or what passes for it. Maybe the "mineral" aren't minerals at all - stupid goblins - but a form of extraplanar incubators for a weird stock of demonic parasite he was tasked to grow, before he was banished. They look like geodes, but those that can see into the planes, (or detect magic or something) recognize that they're tethered to weird and strange energies. Maybe the few times in the past that some of the goblins were given the psionic sinews, it was really this disembodied demon wishing to stir up trouble and watch for the panic and wonder that the stupid greenskins would inevitably kick up?

Perhaps, once the PCs clear out the goblins, he decides to "aid" them by exerting his will, and causing one of the geodes to "hatch" into its final form. I mean, the added benefit is that perhaps he can keep an eye on the sinews, as they're his creations. This could lead into interesting situations. Or, maybe weirder still, the psionic sinews are formed directly from his flesh, and once attached, allow him to experience "reality," albeit in a limited way, so he has no ulterior motive besides attempting to attach one to the most powerful PC - ensuring the "longest ride" - that he can find.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Ah, I see, I see - I must've overlooked that, unfortunately.

Maybe, the "avatar" of Maglubiyet that has blessed the rare mineral is actually a disembodied shapeshifting demon, waiting out the rest of his extraplanar confinement after being banished centuries ago? Perhaps due to some strange quirk, he can barely exert his will upon the material plane, and, weirder still, separated from his own kind this long, he's become decidedly apathetic as a demon (a shift from chaotic evil to chaotic neutral), and is more interested in his own personal entertainment, or what passes for it. Maybe the "mineral" aren't minerals at all - stupid goblins - but a form of extraplanar incubators for a weird stock of demonic parasite he was tasked to grow, before he was banished. They look like geodes, but those that can see into the planes, (or detect magic or something) recognize that they're tethered to weird and strange energies. Maybe the few times in the past that some of the goblins were given the psionic sinews, it was really this disembodied demon wishing to stir up trouble and watch for the panic and wonder that the stupid greenskins would inevitably kick up?

Perhaps, once the PCs clear out the goblins, he decides to "aid" them by exerting his will, and causing one of the geodes to "hatch" into its final form. I mean, the added benefit is that perhaps he can keep an eye on the sinews, as they're his creations. This could lead into interesting situations. Or, maybe weirder still, the psionic sinews are formed directly from his flesh, and once attached, allow him to experience "reality," albeit in a limited way, so he has no ulterior motive besides attempting to attach one to the most powerful PC - ensuring the "longest ride" - that he can find.

I bit more complicated than I was originally going for, but I think I like it!
I hadn't thought to come up with a back story for why/how a dangerous mineral became imbedded into stone in the first place, or how Aberrations came to live amung it. "A demon did it" is as interesting or more so than "A wizard did it".
I can do something with a variation of your idea. How did a deposit of a reactive element become imbedded into the ground? How did creatures end up living there? Planar shifts of the environment overlapping another environment sounds like a suitible answer. If I want to draw from a dangerous environment, a layer of The Abyss would be as good an explaination as any. a Demon banished along with a portion of his plane, perhaps the miles-long vein was a chunk of environment passed through a Gate spell. The demon prince, broken, trapped in the Material Plane under layers of earth, until eons of wear broke into his prison. Connect the Psionic Sinews to his remains somehow. Perhaps a series of Gate spells had been opened on his Abyssal layer and the demon was blasted towards it, the Gates sheared off a portion of his body along with miles of the landscape, plunging each extended cylinder of Potostone along with body parts to other planes. The Psionic Sinews are remains of his shreaded body that have taken up a weak sentience, trying to grow.
Could be a fun twist.

All the same, I don't really need this extended back story in order to have the mini-quest of the aqusition of Psionic Sinews. I just need a situation that makes for a 1 afternoon sit down adventure for my players. If it opens the opportunity to spawn a plot twist down the road, even better. But all I need is to know if a rock that blows up in water would work the way I was asking.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Ok then.

A Geological Era ago, a Demon Lord of one of the layers of The Abyss was betrayed. his enemy had a series of Gate spells opened behind him and attacked the Demon Lord by projecting a meteor-sized chunk of the layer's substance, Potostone(Rubidium), at his body, and he was smashed between a large rock and a magical place.

The Potostone meteor thrust portions of the Demon Lord's shredded form through the Gates, scattering his body across the multiverse. This is how the Potostone vein ended up beneath the stone depths of this region of the Material Plane, and other veins exist in other places. The shredded portions of the Demon Lord's body took on a simple sentience and became the Aberrations Psionic Sinews.

A Historical Era ago, the deeply embedded vein of Potostone became exposed when a minor earthquake causes a fissure to open over the vein. a few days worth of rain wreaked havoc over the landscape, and due to the timely intervention of a Goblin Wizard, who had a serious knowledge of Chemistry (Because some Goblins are Smart!), the cataclysm was abated. The Goblin Wizard took great pains to see that everyone was edjucated in the proper safety to keep the seals in place. Exploration of the damage resulted in the discovery of the Psionic Sinews, all knowledge of their origins unknown. For whatever reason, time passed and the knowledge of the reasons behind the cataclysm was obscured.

Modern day, the site is a Holy Rite of Passage for goblinoids, currently controlled by a Bugbear clan. They couldn't care less abut demons, earthquakes, chemistry or history. They just know if they follow the sacred rites, they can make their warriors stronger. The Bugbear warriors that earn the right to go on this Pilgrimage have average INT for a Bugbear (10) and above average WIS, since the Bugbear clan has learned that the Muscle Worms have a will of their own, and so only those who have developed wisdom (and therefore a high Will save to combat against an Ego score) can embark on this Rite of Passage.

This is where my PC's enter. The rest is to be determined by the winds of fate, the choices of free will, and the rolls of the dice.