I need a specific metal

[Lyrad8791]

Okay, so I am making a World of my own and I have run into a slight problem. I have a "Wonder of the World" and I would like a metal to be the reason it works. I need ideas or references if people have them.

The "Wonder of the World" is a floating island in the sky. A lake in the nearby mountain range flows into a river towards the Island even going up hill. Once the water is in the right place it would flow UPWARDS to the Island similar to a waterfall. Only it is falling up to the Island instead of down from it. It would then flow to the center of the island to a lake that is there.

This metal (or whatever) would have to do the following:

1. Be able to hold up tons of weight.
2. Be lighter then air or able to float in the air while holding said weight.
3. Be harvest-able. (People manage to get up the the Island and want to harvest such a metal to create weapons, armor, and sometimes boats or buildings.)

I would also like ideas on what the price would be for said metal and what it would look like. I was thinking along the lines of being a dark Mithril, with the same properties plus the added benefit of being able to float in the air.

Anyone able to help me on this, please do so. Ideas are also VERY welcome.

 

[Greenfield]

Might I suggest the legendary Cavourite, from H.G. Wells "First Men in the Moon"?

The metal isn't particularly light, nor particularly hard. It has a relatively low melting point, to the point where it can be painted on wooden surfaces, while molten, without burning them.

Once cooled though, it has the odd property of cutting off gravity, "the way a set of blinds can cut off light".

So a plate of it in a stream bed would cause the water to "fall" upwards to your island. Once it moves past the plate it would fall down again, to land in the stream bed you describe.

The floating effect of the island would be accomplished with a series of mechanical blinds that adjust the effects of gravity on the island, letting you make adjustments for the changes of weight that come with people and goods coming and going from the island.

I suggest you include a team of Gnome engineers working behind the scenes to keep it all straight. I could just see a small man with wild eyes peering through a set of ranging sights to determine the distance of the island from the land below and shouting orders to a team on the windlasses, cranking the mechanisms to roll and unroll the blinds.

 

[Lyrad8791]

Haha, thats awesome. As of yet there is no civilization on the Island. Its just one of the "Wonders of the World" The general population of the world is Humans with a smattering of Halflings. There are myths and legends of the other races but no one in the current Era has seen or heard of anyone having seen the other races.

I have never read any of the books by that author although, I do like the sound of the metal. And going along with the idea of the Gnomes being behind it all would make sense and go along perfectly with the world at large as well. On the other hand, there is a prominent Mage Society in the world as well. Two actually. So it is possible that these places know of the Island and the fact that Gnomes are behind it. Intrigue abounds. Thanks for this idea Greenfield!

 

[Greenfield]

"First Men In the Moon" was made into a film in 1964, something of a classic in fact. Harryhausen did the special effects. It was also made into a TV series on BBC.

You can probably find it, or portions of it, on HULU or YouTube.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, cavorite is pretty much ideal.

 

[Trance-Zg]

unobtanium FTW

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I feel uncool for not knowing what cavorite is.

I had created a world (entire world, not just one island) that possessed 6 layers of floating continents around a small core. The substance that made this all Doable I dubbed "Glitter", a liquid metal that ran like Mercury, was gold colored, and fell up.

The cohesion of the substance thinned as it went up, eventually reaching equilibrium hi up in the sky. A race of flying creatures ingested the substance at it's highest point & flew throughout all the layers, depositing glitter through excreting and their eventual deaths, and the underside of each floating landmass were oceans of the stuff, which helped reflect light down upon the lower layers.

This is likely not as effective for what you're looking for, but I figured I'd give you another alternative.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I feel uncool for not knowing what cavorite is.

This is why the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comic should be required reading for DMs. It's a great remedial collection of awesome concepts from British literature, curated by Alan "My beard is a CR 12 monster" Moore.

 

[Lyrad8791]

I like what I have been given so far for ideas. I have a friend of mine helping me with this as well. What we have come up with so far is similar to the Cavorite idea.

The difference is that instead of Gnomes being behind this. It was all setup to follow phases of the moon and followed a specific path. On top of this, the river followed the Island as well. The Island only goes a set range around the mountain but, we figure that would work well enough.

In the nearby mountain there would be a tower that has several different gates to the Island. Think of them as Teleportation Circles or Gate spells. The only difference is that only one works at a time. Depending on where the Island is, what phase of the moon it is, and the sign it is currently under.

With this same idea leading, the entire place was setup by some ancient creatures.. we call them dragons! The difference is that these dragons are MUCH older, most are stupid beyond belief, and are insanely hard to kill. Once in a while these dragons actually have a very high Intelligence and joined with each other. The built the Island, the observatory and the way it all works together.

They were originally from the Prime Material Plane but eventually become so powerful that they left it to live on the Astral Plane. From here they watch over the Island and experiment. According to the phases of the moon and signs, new creatures and plants can be found here. These dragons no longer have bodies and feed off of magic and can "suck" the spells out of a wizard, eat the magic in a discharged spell, dissipating its effects as well as eating the raw magic that surrounds magical items. If left in the area of a magic item for to long, the item becomes mundane and loses all its magical properties. The more powerful the item, the longer it takes.

Also, on the subject of the creatures and plants, they are released onto the Island depending on the moon and sign, when a change occurs between the two related to the release, they are all captured and put "away" until further experimentation. Once every few years or sometimes as much as a century or more, these new creatures are found in other areas of the world, having been released and allowed to grow.

We haven't gotten much further then that as of yet, but if anyone has any ideas to add please, do tell! We could use as many as we can get.

Thanks again everyone for your contribution so far!

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Sweet idea with the who "Experimenting Watchers" thing. I really like the entire mechanic of phases and the gates and things.

How do the creatures get recaptured and put away when their cycle is up?