Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gnomemaster 09-23-07, 07:15 PM	Imagine a world filled with nothing but inorganic life. The small seed that sparked this idea was Mirrodin, I am currently reading the first book but find that I want something more extreme. I also was looking over a copy of Metal Men #1. I have thought out the rough outline of five major races: Platinum, Steel, Copper, Gold, and Lead. Each one has it's own racial abilities, there may be a few more races, but for the most part that is all I have so far. These people have a hard metallic skin (not that hard) that takes on qualities of their respective metals. (Gold for example will be golden and shiny, while lead will be dark and dull. These metal people (I'm going to refer to them as Metallics) can take on add ons and grafts (such as an armblade or a gun grafted to an arm) they usually do not wear armor (instead they upgrade their own metallic bodies by adding metal plating) I also know that their planet completely void of any forests, rivers, or any other natural formations. Instead they live in a planet sized city known as Lithaceos. That's it for now, I will have more updates as I think of them.
Rinian2 09-24-07, 03:53 AM	It's a nice idea, although I would be thinking of making them less like Warforged because the Warforged (while pretty awesome) have been done and the kernel of your idea is quite original. The Greek word for metal is metallon, if you were looking for other name suggestions... I'd let each race have a maximum attainable Natural AC bonus per Hit Die but I wouldn't automatically give it to them. What I would do is have a certain substance available, possibly something the Metallics would consume or ingest or somehow make part of themselves, that would increase their Natural AC bonus up a couple of points but never over their race's maximum for their HD. I'd imagine that there would be some kind of storage for this substance held by various individuals that would either be distributed around freely or sold depending on the personality of the individual that controls it. Rarer forms of this substance might be required to strengthen the hide of high level Metallics. Would 'alloys' of two Metallics be possible? If they use money, what do they use? My guess would be gems. Do they work metal as a flesh and blood blacksmith would? Or have they got some metal-shaping abilities? Working metal with extreme heat could be problematic for a creature that is made of metal but if they can shape metal with their hands then would they be able to adversely affect the substance of their enemies? As I said earlier, it's a nice idea but it needs a little fleshing (metalling? :)) out.
Gnomemaster 09-24-07, 12:08 PM	It needs work, which is exactly why I posted this bad boy here. Firstly, they are not like warforged, the warforged are constructs of wood, metal, and magic. Meanwhile, the Metallon (I think I will steal that word from you, its much cooler than Metallics) appear just like humans, (their bodies are shaped to look human, so much so that if one were to stand in one place it could be easily confused for a statue). I figured that the Metallons would have a small Natural Armor bonus, and then they do something to give themselves an Armor Bonus. Yes they work Metal and create metal weapons, They use tools to protect themselves like anyone else would (they wear aprons, use hammers and tongs). In my opinion, a human blacksmith is working with incredibly hot forges, yet he doesn't melt or horribly burn himself (normally), so the Metallons had learned long ago that if you sit your hand in the forge for a long time you will be horrible hurt. So far, this is all I know about their Physiology: -Metallons do not eat, sleep, or breathe. -Metallon wizards still need to rest 8 hours, they spend this time in peaceful meditation. -Metallons have emotions. -Metallons are very creative, often turning everything into an art piece, from the hilt of their sword to their chair, everything in a Metallon's home is beautiful. -I really like the gem idea, but there are so many types of gems that it would be impossible to say that something costs 2 rubies. The Idea I have is that there is a Gemcutters Guild that is paid by the Government to regulate money. They cut gems to equal a specific amount of credit. Obsidian = Copper coin Onyx = Silver coin Emerald = Gold coin Diamond = Platinum coin I'm not exactly sure how to make it work without oversimplifying things, my biggest problem is that these gems often come in different forms so it is hard to price them effectively. Economics aside, all else fails I might give them magical bank accounts that work like a debit card machine. (frankly in my games I don't deal with the economics as much so I'm not going to touch on it).
Stormtalon 09-24-07, 12:30 PM	Well, as long as there's a gemcutter's guild, you can have specific carat-weights of those gems be the base. I'd expect gems and minerals to be fairly common on such a world, so say go with a 2 carat gem as the base for each coin. It will result in more work for you (a bit), as you'll have to determine gem size in treasure hordes, but you can have them go to a Guild office for cutting into appropriate sizes for use.
Gnomemaster 09-24-07, 01:47 PM	Thats a good idea, but personally I doubt that I will bother that much with it. Im not so detailed oriented that I want to overcomplicate things. I also thought about a barter system. These people never sleep, so they can spend 24 hours a day working and never tire. Im going to begin writing up the racial abilities and information about the different subraces. The Alloy question, I'm thinking it will be a possibility, there are half-elves and half-orcs, why not half-irons and half-steels? I figure that alloyed may be a small template, that way we can make it a little simpler when it comes to alloy creation. My only problems is that I haven't decided yet how they reproduce, or even if they reproduce. every answer brings up new questions.
Gnomemaster 09-24-07, 06:19 PM	I had an idea about all this. I think that each of the different types of metal (Lead, Steel, Gold, Platinum, and Copper) are subraces of the Metallon race. They worship Alloy, the god of everything. Alloy is similar to the Judeo-Christian God, and there are several different churches that worship different aspects of Alloy.
Gnomemaster 09-24-07, 08:12 PM	Metallurgy Campaign Setting Introduction “Lithaceos, nowhere in the mutiverse will you find a place so devoid of living creatures but so full of life.” -Heranora, Planeswalker Lithaceos is a planet with no oceans, no rivers, no plants or animals, nothing except for a thick blanket of city. Most of what was the grand city Lithaceos is long gone, left to rot on the face of the planet. There are still sections of the hive city that serve as the home to the Metallons. The Metallons are a race of people humanoid in shape and build; however they are completely made of metal. No one knows who created them alongside the cyclopean ruins and the magic that gave them life has long been lost to time. I originally had the idea of the Metallurgy campaign setting while reading the first novel in the Mirrodin trilogy. I also was inspired by the Metal Men comic book (which has recently been released). The Metallurgy Campaign Setting has a lot of themes that can be found in science fiction and fantasy genres across the board. The Tone of Metallurgy The Metallurgy Campaign setting is designed to cater to all the different types of Dungeons and Dragons game play, from the political intrigue of dealing with the city council, to fighting against the tribes of demon worshipping bronze primitives. Players can brave the endless tunnels beneath the world, or try to find the secret to their own existence. What sets Metallurgy apart from other campaign settings is its complete lack of living creatures. Lithaceos is full of people, monsters and magic; however, they are all creatures of metal. The goal is to move away from so many of the monsters of the Monster Manual and instead to replace them with a new Metal Monster Manual. There are a wide variety of different types of Metallons, they are all humanoid in shape, resembling statues if they were to stand still too long. They are as unique as any other race and are currently at peace. However, there are dark forces afoot working to put an end to that peace.
Gnomemaster 09-24-07, 08:30 PM	Races of Lithaceos Lead Metallon (Part One) Leads are headstrong and religious warriors of Lithaceos. From the moment they are born, a Lead hears the voice of Alloy; it is a sign of his divine connection with Alloy. Leads are not subtle, and often prefer the most straightforward solution to most problems. Personality: Leads are gruff and simple; they enjoy silence and find social situations to be uncomfortable. Leads often spend hours in meditation or ritualistic combat, allowing them to focus all of their emotions and concerns into the thrust of a sword blade. Physical Description: Leads have a dark and dull skin color; they never polish themselves, and usually wear their dark hair cut short. Leads like to wear dark subdued colors, often with earth tones. Leads are tall and stocky, well muscled, and usually have a severe look on their faces. Relations: Most metallons find the leads to be too dark and brooding for their tastes, and that’s just the way the leads want it. They usually dislike too much frivolous socializing and tend to keep to themselves. Alignment: Leads tend to be strongly Lawful aligned and enjoy living up to a solid code of conduct. Religion: Leads worship Alloy, the father of the Metallons. They usually serve in the Militant Arm of the Church of Alloy, traveling far and wide through the empty parts of the grand city searching for demon worshipping heretics to kill. Leads have a bad reputation of zealotry. Language: Leads speak Common. Names: Lead names tend to be simple and monosyllabic with no surname. They enjoy names that are short and simple rather than being long and flowery. Male Names: Grag, Mat, Hol, Worr, Thod and Phuf Female Names: Eldw, Arrdh, Serf, Dyns, and Ywore
Gnomemaster 09-24-07, 08:53 PM	http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Riace/RiaceA02.jpg Lead Metallon (Part Two) Racial Abilities • +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma. Leads are tough and resilient, however they are hard to associate with. • Medium: As medium humanoids, Leads have no Special Bonuses or penalties due to their size. • Leads have a base speed of 30 ft. • Hard skin: Lead skin is composed of lead, giving her a Natural AC of +1 • A Lead can use his hardened fists as a melee weapon that deals 1d4 damage. • Automatic Language: Common. • Favored Class: Paladin