| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| WhylniaPendragon04-06-07, 01:50 PM | I was wondering if anyone has worked up a version of black mithril for a campaign? I've seen the version in Dragon Magazine, but it's too powerful. I'm probably going to try to develop this, so, any suggestions? Thanks :) |
| Tempest Stormwind04-06-07, 01:53 PM | http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/images/silverbars2.jpg + http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/60/e3/pr-Paint-Rust-Oleum_1_Quart_Painter_s_Touch_Semigloss_ Black_Paint-resized200.jpg Why do you need special mechanics for that? |
| Kursk04-06-07, 01:58 PM | I was wondering if anyone has worked up a version of black mithril for a campaign? I've seen the version in Dragon Magazine, but it's too powerful. I'm probably going to try to develop this, so, any suggestions? Thanks :) Mithril has always been black in my campaign |
| tarkin04-06-07, 02:01 PM | Mithril (d20) is functionally equivelent to Titanium (realworld). I.E. they both are about as strong as steel, but weigh 1/2 as much as steel. If I were to try and make a metal that was an improved version of Mithril, I would consider what people use when Titanium isn't enough. What kind of thing are you looking for? |
| Wizardmon04-06-07, 02:08 PM | In my campaign world, Black Mithral is treated the exact same way in terms of game mechanics. In terms of story, "Black Mithral is only given to followers of the accursed god." |
| Kursk04-06-07, 02:27 PM | Mithril (d20) is functionally equivelent to Titanium (realworld). I.E. they both are about as strong as steel, but weigh 1/2 as much as steel. If I were to try and make a metal that was an improved version of Mithril, I would consider what people use when Titanium isn't enough. What kind of thing are you looking for? I thought Mithril was supposed to be a lot harder than steel. |
| Archangel_Tyrael04-06-07, 02:41 PM | I thought Mithril was supposed to be a lot harder than steel. In Lord of the Rings, maybe. Not in D&D. |
| WhylniaPendragon04-06-07, 02:49 PM | Up until now, I've just treated it as blackened mithril(the character in my campaign is the stealthy type), but I've really wanted to make Black Mithril an altogether different type of Mithril. Making it even lighter sounds interesting. I was also thinking about giving it some kind of supernatural aura or ability. Something that really makes it stand out from all the other types of metals out there. Thanks for the ideas and please, keep them coming. :) |
| DarkRhystar04-06-07, 02:59 PM | Why do you need special mechanics for that? Same reason folks prefer Tome of Battle Strikes to simply full-attacking and describing it differently; that said, I don't really see the need for a new armor material myself (we've already got well over 20 different kinds). |
| Knucklehead04-06-07, 03:29 PM | Races of the Dragon has colored metal. It doesn't change any combat stats, but the price is increased 10-25% "for the extra care." |
| DarkRhystar04-06-07, 04:55 PM | Races of the Dragon has colored metal. It doesn't change any combat stats, but the price is increased 10-25% "for the extra care." Oh yeah... I remember the first time I noticed that. I looked all over the page for a "just kidding" note. Charging even an extra 10% to change the color of your imaginary armor is absurd. Making it a percent of the total cost is also absurd. |
| Tempest Stormwind04-06-07, 07:09 PM | In Lord of the Rings, maybe. Not in D&D. Actually, while they have the same hit points (30), mithral is hardness 15 to steel's 10. This does mean they're of comparable strength, though (which is what object HP measures), just that mithral's harder to scratch. |
| StruckingFuggle04-06-07, 08:33 PM | Same reason folks prefer Tome of Battle Strikes to simply full-attacking and describing it differently; that said, I don't really see the need for a new armor material myself (we've already got well over 20 different kinds). .... you're kidding, right? It doesn't matter how you describe it, a full attack is mechanically different than, say, Time Stands Still. |
| shift24404-06-07, 08:38 PM | Charging even an extra 10% to change the color of your imaginary armor is absurd.I still can't believe it's true. Either adventurers are getting too rich with nowhere better to spend gp on, or this is from someone playing too much MMORPG where they charge people to look different from the sea of clones. |
| Oakspar7777704-06-07, 09:01 PM | One thing I did in a campaign once was take a black/white turn on "star metal" where white used the "mithril" properties and black used the "adamantine" properties. Not good/evil, but yin/yang, where one was light, fast, showy, and feminine and the other was heavier, stronger, darker, and masculine. Worked well in a Order/Chaos campaign rather than a good/evil one. |
| WhylniaPendragon04-06-07, 11:26 PM | Very interesting ideas, so far. As to why I'd want to make a new metal, when there are already so many varieties to choose from, the answer is I want to create something that stands out in my campaign to reflect that my world is "different". Being able to offer something to future players that they've never seen/heard of before will hopefully make their mouths drop open and emit a "whoa!" or something of the sort. *Laughs* It's increasingly hard to awe players(even me, when I play) and it would be cool to get that reaction. *Re-opens the floor for new ideas anyone would care to present* and again, Thanks :) |
| JulesCARV04-07-07, 12:05 AM | Maybe I'd give black mithral a connection to psionics, and have it act, mechanically, like deep crystal. That's probably just because I hate the idea of crystal weaponry, though. |
| WhylniaPendragon04-07-07, 12:51 AM | Maybe I'd give black mithral a connection to psionics, and have it act, mechanically, like deep crystal. That's probably just because I hate the idea of crystal weaponry, though. Wow! Awesome idea! Where is the Deep Crystal described? |
| JulesCARV04-07-07, 12:57 AM | It's in the special materials section of the psionic items list. (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/psionicItems.html) It's be heavier than regular mithral -- i.e., as heavy as steel. |
| Prak, the Mad04-07-07, 02:51 AM | One thing I did in a campaign once was take a black/white turn on "star metal" where white used the "mithril" properties and black used the "adamantine" properties. Not good/evil, but yin/yang, where one was light, fast, showy, and feminine and the other was heavier, stronger, darker, and masculine. Worked well in a Order/Chaos campaign rather than a good/evil one. actually, that should be flipped.... by those descriptions, mithral would be dark and adamantine light. |
| DarkRhystar04-07-07, 02:57 AM | .... you're kidding, right? Oh yes, I kid a lot. An awful lot.... no, not really. It doesn't matter how you describe it, a full attack is mechanically different than, say, Time Stands Still. Exactly. And some people want that mechanical difference. |
| StruckingFuggle04-07-07, 03:28 AM | Wait. I read the bit of your post I quoted as you're saying that people prefer Strikes over Full Attacks because of flavor, but then you say "Exactly. And some people want that mechanical difference." ... did I misread the bit I quoted? o.O |
| DarkRhystar04-07-07, 05:03 AM | Wait. I read the bit of your post I quoted as you're saying that people prefer Strikes over Full Attacks because of flavor, but then you say "Exactly. And some people want that mechanical difference." ... did I misread the bit I quoted? o.O I think so. :) People prefer Strikes to Full Attacks because the mechanics support their flavor. Rather than just describing your full attack differently, you have mechanics supporting your actions; likewise, rather than just painting mithril black, you can have a mechanical difference that differentiates it from normal mithril. |
| BlakesTiger04-07-07, 08:35 AM | In a non-d20, custom game I played, black mithiril was as hard as mithiril (harder than steel in this game), heavy as steel, and had an intense anti-magical quality... Since that game worked on a spell point system, probably the best translation might be that armor grants SR while absorbing the wearer's ability to cast spells for that day or a weapon that drains spell slots from the target. It doesn't transition perfectly to d20, but that's what "black mithirl" was in that gaem. |
| Fencerboy04-07-07, 11:47 AM | The paying for different colored armor I see as more of for a mega-rich BBEG to equip his elite in red platemail with a black skull on the chest*. Mithril is always silvery in my campaign, adamantine a rusty color. *(Any similarity of this symbol to other symbols, people, places, organizations, designs, asparagus pieces, logos or bunnies is purely coincedental. Please consult your lawyer or orthodontist if you have questions on law or orthodontia, but just forget about the abovementioned symbol. If you cannot forget about the abovementioned symbol, binge on twinkies until you feel better.) |
| MCage04-07-07, 11:54 AM | Charging even an extra 10% to change the color of your imaginary armor is absurd. Its imaginary money too....wait your game doesnt use real cash instead of gold does it? |
| Waterhammer04-07-07, 03:30 PM | Black Mithral: Functions as Adamantine. Weighs as much as a standard item. Cost is 50% more than Adamantine. |
| shift24404-07-07, 08:15 PM | Its imaginary money too....wait your game doesnt use real cash instead of gold does it?And since when has money ever been real? The whole concept of monetary value for anything has always been psychological and never "real". That D&D gp in your game has no impact of US$ in real life does not make it any more imaginary since it matters in the game, where it exists.:) |
| He Who Lurks04-07-07, 09:22 PM | There was an enchantment I saw in some book a while back that really stood out to me. It made weapons more stealthy. A weapon so enchanted turned utterly black and dull-looking and wouldn't reflect light. In addition, it didn't make noise when striking another object (like another weapon, or armor). I can't remember where I saw it or what it was called, but maybe you could make black mithril do the same thing. Mithril is bright and shiny and lighter than steel. Black mithral is equivalent to steel, but has eerie light- and sound-blocking properties. |
| Violet Typhoon04-07-07, 11:17 PM | My first instinct was perhaps making it naturally magnetic, like lodestone, only as light as mythril and as hard/sharp as steel. I have no idea what magnetic mythril would do in game effects, though you could conceivably make a lightweight shield out of it and give it the ability to disarm opponents' metallic weapons, sort of like kuo-toa adhesive or similar abilities. You could do the same with armor, but it might be harder to work with. |
| Dalmaris_cerebromancer04-08-07, 10:32 AM | In my games mithril and addimantium (plz excuse spelling) looked the same as other metals but was lighter or tougher and any person with some knowlege in blacksmithing can easily tell the difference. |
| WhylniaPendragon04-16-07, 01:17 PM | I looked up the Deep Crystal, but it doesn't really resonate(pun intended) with what I had in mind. Plus, armor enabling someone to do more damage with weapons isn't believable to me. Something psionic might be a good idea, though, as the sneaky character I'm DMing for is a SoulKnife. Any other ideas? |
| aelryinth04-16-07, 06:32 PM | The 'noiseless, shadowy metal' is actually an alchemical treatment from FR called Shadowslake. ===Aelryinth |
| Flan04-16-07, 09:59 PM | No references to Venom yet? Guess you people aren't looking forward to the next Spiderman. Make black mithril sentient, mwahaha. |
| GAMBLE_d1304-16-07, 10:01 PM | My idea would be to combine the properties of Mithril and Adamantine? Keeps it simple, and definately makes it precious (a weapon that beats two types of DR). Perhaps you could allow it to overcome other DR's too, maybe Silver and Cold Iron (I think that would make any player's mouth drop, espeacially when they saw the bill for their new Black Mithril Bastard Sword ;) ) |
| sirboom04-16-07, 10:52 PM | In my campaign I created a metal that would probably fit the bill. The metal, Orthaedro (I borrowed the name from a different source, but refined the rules) is identical to mithral except that it is a poisonous metal mined from the Abyss. Wearing the armor causes a loss of 1d4 CON per day unless a DC 31 fortitude save is rolled. Obviously using anything that curtails or stops poison will negate this effect. Spiked versions of the armor cause 1d4 CON damage to anyone who grapples you. Weapons made out of Orthaedro deal 1d4 CON damage on a successful critical hit, multipled accordingly by the modifier. A x3 will do 2d4, and a x4 will do 3d4. They don't poison the wielder. In my world, this metal is rare and never for sale. Instead it carries a very sinister connotation and should be used mostly by evil, undead, or constructs. |
| kave9904-16-07, 11:25 PM | OK i guess I'm old, back in the early days of drow, they wore fine black Adamantine alloyed with steal chain mail armor. now we always played it as elvish Mithril chain mail armor that was destroyed when exposed to sun light, so that fighter/mages where able to wear it and cast spells in it. two different solutions to the problem of casting in armorer |