adamantine non-ferrous? [2003 thread]

[Beckett]

In previous editions of the game, adamantine was the proper name for meteoric iron. Keeping that in mind, I'd say it is indeed a magnetic metal.

Actually, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. I don't have my 1stEdDMG handy, but I do recall a note to the effect that +3 weapons were considered to be made from a meteoric iron, +4 from mithral, and +5 from adamantine.

There were also a few underdark races (drow in particular) who used gear made from adamantine, which might be a little hard for them to acquire if it were meteoric iron.

 

[Aaron L]

I rule that both Adamantine and Mithral are nonferrous. They are not magnetic, they do not rust.


Rust Monsters, on the other hand, just eat any metal (they break down electron shells or something, heck I dunno, they're Abberations), the appellation of "rust" to them was just by people ignorant of what rust really is, saw metal being disintegrated, and called it the closest thing the knew about.


I also allow Mithral to bypass Silver DR. As it is now there is no reason mechanically to have Mithral weapons, and I want there to be one, dangit.

 

[RainOfSteel]

I also recall the 1st Ed. AD&D rules about magic armor alloys. I would have extended that to weapons, and would have allowed the spell to work.

Now, if the hammer had been pure Adamantite (somehow), that would have been a different story.

I'm not sure at all what the technical canon is for 3.0/3.5.

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Neodymium makes very powerful permanent magnets. (Do a find on the metal here Power Labs)

Just because iron is ferrous, this does not say anything about iron's vulnerability to oxidization.

The rust monster does not really rust things, IMO. It just appears to rust them in a world/environment that wouldn't know the difference in most cases. It uses its magical metabolism/secretions to devour metals, even those not normally vulnerable to oxidization (because oxidization isn't happening). I always felt that mithral and adamantite should take longer to devour, but that's just my personal prejudice in favor of the metals.

 

[werk]

I rule that both Adamantine and Mithral are nonferrous. They are not magnetic, they do not rust.


Rust Monsters, on the other hand, just eat any metal (they break down electron shells or something, heck I dunno, they're Abberations), the appellation of "rust" to them was just by people ignorant of what rust really is, saw metal being disintegrated, and called it the closest thing the knew about.


I also allow Mithral to bypass Silver DR. As it is now there is no reason mechanically to have Mithral weapons, and I want there to be one, dangit.

Ditto.

Adamant is an old term for diamond...diamonds are not magnetic as far as I know. YMMV.