How much ore can a half elemental mine...

[Pielorinho]

I do have a hard time beliving that you can have a rich mithril vein so close to the surface. Mineral deposits just dont happen that way. What is it, a 5 mile long cliff face ? Its really stretching the believeability.

The existence of the vein itself is unbelievable: mithral is a fantasy metal, not a real one. Given its existence in the fantasy world, however, I can't say I know enough about fantasy geology to say whether a supernatural metal vein near the surface of a rock is believable or not.

The vein's existence isn't in question. We saw it. If that's not believable to you, so be it; but the question is about, given its existence, how difficult it'll be to mine it.

Daniel

 

[Ferrum]

If realism in mining is what you are going for the out and out of it is that dense veins of metal do not occur near the surface. Barring any insanly abnormal tectonic activity very little ore will be available on the surface.

Well, thats where the DM told us it was... so I guess there must have been this tectonic activity of which you spoke.

When you say you have "Invested" heavily into mining equipment what do you mean ? How much infastructure do you have on site? Do you have a on site blacksmith expert to smelt and refine it ? If not you are going to have 100 pounds of of raw ore to 5 pounds of useable ore. An expert miner is going to have about a 20 in mining, what does your character have? Was he raised by miners, or did he live in a mining community all his life? Chances are your character as a fighter has NO IDEA how to get all this ore out, whats required or the process involved.

My character plans to buy a hundred or so gp worth of mining equipment, things equvalent to wheelbarrows, shovels, picks, etc... as well as items with which he can build a forge nearby. He has no ranks in mining, but it doesn't take a genius to think: Metal in rock, chop up rock, take metal out. My character does have ranks in smithing, so refining the metal out of ore should be right up his alley. He was raised by a clan of earth elementals and is half earth elemental himself. An understanding of something like mining might have been picked up from that upbringing.

Also dont count on using a burrowing speed to help. Burrowing does NOT equal mining. Mining has to be slow, methodical and carefull. Burrowing is like a dog digging a hole. Moving earth and Mining are totally different. Just digging a hole is easy - to mine you are going to need tools, infrastructure and labor.

I didn't plan on Burrowing helping any. The DM is giving me an ad hoc synergy bonus. His belief, apparently, is that digging through the earth might give me insight to this operation.

I hate to rain on your parade but if you want to make a fortune on mining become a mining magnate and reture your adventurers boots. To mine this is going to take time, lots and lots of time. Mining is a slow going process, you can easily ruin the better ore deposites by hasty action and bad digging. You need to carefully excavate delicate ore deposits and mithril veins.

I don't want to make a fortune. I just want to make a breastplate. Once I have that, if there's some mithral left over great. If not, there's still this whole continent I have to save. Mithral can wait.

I do have a hard time beliving that you can have a rich mithril vein so close to the surface. Mineral deposits just dont happen that way. What is it, a 5 mile long cliff face ? Its really stretching the believeability.

Yeah, I felt the same way about the swarms of mind-burrowing beetle constructs that attacked my party several weeks ago.

This is like finding a gigantic diamond mine in the middle of the california wild lands and nobody has ever seen it, and those that did dont want it.

Well, actually, it's exactly like finding a giant mine in the deepest reaches of the African jungle, in medieval times.

If you do this realise you will destroy the economy for Mithril for a very long time. Dumping that much "Rare" metal into the economy even on a global scale its going to annihilate it. You will probably make many enemies and drive the price of Mithril down for decades, if not permanently. With what you have described its MILLIONS of GP worth of rare and valuable materials.

I don't think my breastplate will destroy the economy. Enchanting it to do that would require a lot more wealth than I'm willing to mine.

I'd just comment on how nifty it is and pass on by. Maybe sell the information to an actual Mining Mogul. But really, if you want to be a miner, roll up a level 10 expert and be done with it. If you want to RPG a campaign about bieng economic giants, go wild. But if you want to be an adventurer, then this is really too far out. Just beyond the scope of adventuring.

Adventure can be found anywhere... The great thing about adventuring, especially in a game like D&D, is that there is no limit to its scope. Becoming a mining mogul, and being hunted down by corporate assasins or being attacked at the mine by hordes of disenfranchised miners or being set upon by the army of a greedy nobleman could be great adventuring.

 

[kanithardm]

I think you should go with the DM and figure he will give you a moderate amount of mitheral for your work. Trying to correct a GM, or as you put it "butting heads," with justifications like my Str is 23 and i have an adamatitie axe are really beside the point. Pull yourself out of the game and realize you are getting mitheral for FREE! If a GM gave me 15lbs of mitheral out of the situation or less I would be happy cause it is FREE MITHERAL! Worring about getting screwed out of mitheral is, quite frankly, a little greedy.

He's a PC. If you think he won't be greedy, then you haven't DM'd in a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time

 

[Azgarod]

I was in another campaign and was given land and a title with one of the stipulations to such being to head all mining operations in the region. I was hoping to find something useful as to the logistics of mining and I stumbled across this particular thread.

First I would like to help a few people here realize a few things.

1. Mithril is a magical metal. Depending on your DM it comes in one of 2 forms. Silver which is heavily refined and enchanted making it mithril or it comes in mithril (already purified hence the magical properties) Refining beyond breaking the loose rock out of whatever it is wrapped around is unnecessary.

2. a significant investment is not 100 gold, that's actually an extremely small investment in just about anything. besides which for your purposes, it's a waste of an investment which I will explain in number 3.

3. This is a magical world, key word there is magical. It seems everyone here is forgetting that in these fantasy worlds we have access to this magical thing known as magic. This years of proper mining, building lattice work, surveying is all fine and dandy in a non magical world, but lets be honest, if you can't figure a way around this being rich pc's then you shouldn't be gaming in the first place due to a lack of imagination.

Here's what you do. Firstly, forget any mining equipment, all you need is an elementalist/summoner/conjurer(/mage/sorcerer) the last 2 are last resort.

Next, pay whomever you hire to summon an earth elemental (extra points if you have access to para elementals and can get a metal elemental because that makes things so much easier.) if hiring the caster outright costs too much offer a barter of 10% of all the findings.

Next have the elemental depending on the type either extract all stone that contains metal and depositing it in a nice heap outside of the stone or if you have a metal elemental simply extract all the metal.

step 3/4 refine whatever metals you need to to separate the metals or if pulled out by an earth elemental have your nifty summoner/mage/whatever cast earth to mud and wash your prize clean then refine.


Congratulations! your multi year project has turned into a weekend of magical shenanigans, you don't even have to be near (and some people will argue the collapse danger so you shouldn't be near) the mining operations. Now you owe a caster some payment and maybe a small favor to an elemental who did some ridiculously easy task anyway.

 

[steeldragons]

I'm not sure the reference, but I am fairly convinced I recall in one of the sacred tomes (might even have been the 1e Monster Manual) the description of the Earth Elemental including how much earth (I think in "tons") an Earth Elemental could move per day.

So...you're a half-elemental...take 1/2 of that!

Presuming your DM won't go for that, I think the "X armor, X shields, X weapons worth" is probably the simplest way to go about it.

Of course, then you do have to deal with the refining and smithing...but since you have the smithing skill that shouldn't be a problem.

There'd also be the "leftovers" amount (after crafting however many stuff you could) which could be sold off for a nice chunk of change I imagine. Mithral being mithral, after all.

Just my two ingots.
Have fun and happy mining.
--Steel Dragons

EDIT: Better yet, if you have the magical means, conjure some FULL elementals to do the excavating for you!

 

[BriarMonkey]

I agree that some are taking a far far too literal and real world look at the situation. With spells such as Stone to Mud, Stoneshape, and others - not to mention the whole thing of summoning elementals - there are plenty of ways to "mine".

Though, I do agree that the tedium and lack of source material makes figuring out an average unit of work difficult and less than adventurous. Unless you and your DM want to roleplay the whole thing (and to what degree), I think others have pretty well summed it up - handwave it with a general idea of having obtained sufficient mithril for X amount of items.

Having said that though, there is nothing wrong with the DM having you create a plan of action, and using that as a rough guide for the month. Meaning, if you don't account for gaurds, for instance, maybe raiders happen by; if you don't account for transportation, having to jury-rig something; etc. Basically, an idea of what you are going to put into the venture. This idea of what goes in can give the DM an idea of what he should have come out (going back to the handwave bit).

For my part, personally, as a DM I'd have my player(s) come up with a plan of action; determine any possible events and or issues based on their plan; and if all goes well enough, give them their mithril based on what they put into it (if they do it themselves, maybe a couple weapons worth; if they hire elemental or spell caster help, maybe a few suits of armor worth; etc.)

Short of researching a real world mining operation (and converting things like excavators into elementals) and trying to do some comparative analysis, I think the plan/reward thing would be the simplest route.