What is adamantite, and why is it so special?

[gatorized]

Then why are you resurrecting 13-year old threads?

Because I feel like it. Admins should be grateful this dead af forum getting replies at all

 

[MNblockhead]

Because I feel like it. Admins should be grateful this dead af forum getting replies at all

"...this dead af forum"

hmmm

 

[CapnZapp]

Hmmm

 

[gatorized]

Yes. Dead af. You deaf or something?

 

[aramis erak]

In "homage" to this thread: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=130591

I invite you to post all manner of half-baked theories and implausible explanations here.

For that matter, please also "explain" the following:

• Why is silver so special?
• Why is gold so special?
• Why is mithril so special?
• Why is lead so special?
• Why is crystal so special?
• How deep is deep crystal?
• Why does crystal count as metal?
• If steel is so rare on Krynn, how can they use it as currency?

Generally, metals value in relation to each other are roughly the inverse of the square of the ratio.
Gold is workable by simple hand tools of stone, and can be found in metallic form. It's the only metal I know of which requires no smelting from its found form. There are gold-bearing ores, too... but Gold is the oldest useful metal I'm aware of.. It's also tarnish resistant.
Copper is next to be known. It can be refined with wood fire, but only just. It's ductile, plentiful, at least once the ore is known. It makes decent, if soft, tools. Most copper ores need better than large campfire, but any pottery kiln can be a smelter for certain ones. It can be cold worked and hot worked. The issue is making the raw metal... once you have it, it's recycled readily. Plus, it's the main ingredient of both brass and bronze.
Silver: harder than copper, whiter than gold, more abundant than gold, can be cast, can be drawn to wire, can be hammered into sheets, can be lathed from sheet into cups and bowls. (This is actually still done in India)
Lead: readily able to be used as a solder, and as a sweetener. Sure, it will drive you mad, but at least it won't make you fat. Further, the ease of recycling and the high density (11.3 g/cm³) make it a decent bullet.

Crystal - as in lead crystal - is notable because of its particular refractive index, durability, and ability to be wet-cut with a wet-rotating blade. Plus, it makes fine handbells and flutes (both the musical and drinking vessel kinds)...

Crystals, as in minerals, are pretty. Some, like ruby, saphire, and diamond, are particularly useful for their hardness and particularly pretty for their intense reflections when cut.


Mithril and Adamantium are fantasy metals...
Mithril is from Tolkien -- "true-silver" -- better protection and lower weight than steel, while staying prettier. I'm not enough schooled in metalurgy to be more than a guess, but in my games, it's platinum. Harder, but more brittle and less ductile, than steel. For flexible armors, that makes it superior.

Adamantium? that's from Marvel Comics. Seriously. The name derives from the English «adamant», meaning unyielding. A metal that's hard, but not brittle? Superb!

 

[kigmatzomat]

In one game a friend of mine ran, mithril was actually aluminum. Strong, shiny, and rare - unless you know the secret of mining it.

While this has no impact on your friend's game, aluminum isn't rare on earth, in fact bauxite is quite plentiful. Heck, rubies and sapphires are aluminum-based.

However metallic aluminum is essentially non-existent and it is incredibly hard to smelt out of ore. We use electric arc furnaces (aka bolts of lightning) to get it hot enough. This is why refined metallic aluminum didn't exist on Earth until 1854 and it took decades for it to come down in price below gold.

Now if there were veins of metallic aluminum in dead volcanos or something, it could have been forged or cast without electricity. It needs more than wood or coal fires, but some oils or gases could do it.

Plus sides of aluminum are it doesn't rust (more accurately aluminum oxide is harder than aluminum and bonds tightly with the base metal instead of flaking off) and it is comparatively light. If a rust monster is an oxidizer, it would actually make aluminum harder. (Which isn't always good, harder usually means more brittle, but could make the edge of an aluminum blade hold a better edge)

Who knows, maybe the secret to forging mithril involves adding rust monster antenna to the metal for hardness.

 

[Umbran]

Yes. Dead af. You deaf or something?

Mod Note:
You are now picking fights on posts from 2018.

Please stop picking fights.

 

[mamba]

- Why is silver so special?

rarity

- Why is gold so special?

rarity, does’t react with other elements much

- Why is mithril so special?

fictional, so whatever you say (also, rarity)

- Why is lead so special?

soft metal at room temperature

- Why is crystal so special?

it isn’t

- How deep is deep crystal?

6 feet

- Why does crystal count as metal?

where does it do that?

- If steel is so rare on Krynn, how can they use it as currency?

rarity again. In the past coins were worth their weight in the metal they were made of, so it really was still more of a barter system.
Hence steel coins are valuable in Krynn while gold coins are elsewhere

 

[dragoner]

rarity again. In the past coins were worth their weight in the metal they were made of, so it really was still more of a barter system.
Hence steel coins are valuable in Krynn while gold coins are elsewhere

Yes, I have heard the Aztecs would trade gold for steel, equal weights.