Alchemical...gold? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Alchemical...gold? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Catra
10-06-05, 04:45 PM Are there any monsters weak to gold in the same way that some monsters (such as lycanthropes) are weak to silver?
Bob the Great
10-06-05, 04:58 PM Not to my knowledge, and even if there were, they would never be affected by that weakness. Contrary to popular video game belief, gold is neither hard, nor useful as a weapon. A weapon made from gold would bend/break if you hit something with it.
Tenreo
10-06-05, 05:05 PM gold is neither hard, nor useful as a weapon. .

And the same is true of silver.
If you could alchemically bind silver to a weapon, you could could probably do the same for gold.

Or make a gold mace, and get a few good hits before it is bent hopelessly out of shape.
Catra
10-06-05, 05:28 PM I know that pure gold is inherently soft. Nothing is made out of pure gold, because gold by itself is useless.

But remind me..what's the second most valuable metal to date?

Ah, that's right. It's gold.

And as Tenreo pointed out, pure silver is soft the same way gold is...yet there are silvered weapons all over the place.

My question was, since some mosters' DR or whathaveyou can be penetrated by silvered weapons, are there any official/custom monsters that a gold plated/ alchemically gilded weapon would be useful against?

I was thinking about having some sort of Lycanthrope Paragon or somesuch, who could only be harmed by golden weapons. It's merely for flavor, but, basically, so are silvered weapons.
Edymnion
10-06-05, 05:54 PM Its in Forgotten Realms. You can make a weapon out of alchemically hardened gold or platinum. It makes the weapon into a Heavy version of itself, takes an Exotic Weapon Prof to weild, and increases the crit multiplier by one step.
primemover003
10-06-05, 06:32 PM You know I've never even come across a supernatural creature IRL myths and legends that's had a weakness against gold (though plenty have a weakness FOR gold). At least nothing western... of course I'm hardly an expert.
R.M.G.C.L.F.
10-06-05, 08:50 PM Well, silvered would seem to imply that they ar coated or plated. Even if it's soft, I still suspect that a silver or gold coated mace could crack a skull with the weight of steel behind it.

Its also possible that the magical nature of the damage reduction gives hardness to the silver working against the creature, somehow "inverted" by the nature of the metal.
Desvelar
10-06-05, 08:57 PM I created a monster with a dr3/gold it was fun sice my team members only carried platnuim
Arae'Kol Da'Ato
10-06-05, 09:22 PM Wait. Why would they only carry platinum :confused:

And the only reason Silver is used to bypass DR is because it was a Holy Metal. (The same applies to the Drake Ivory of Athas)

A weapon of pure gold would be useless. But an alloy of Gold and a stronger metal would work. But the gold in the weapon wouldn't affect performance except make crushing weapons heavier (therein stronger) and all other weapons weaker.
Catra
10-06-05, 09:54 PM Yes, it would have to be an alloy; and the weapon would probably be plated.

Anyway. If silver is a Holy Metal, can demons/undead/evil characters even use them? If so, why?

If silver is not considered a Holy Metal in D&D, then why not use gold for some creatures? Just because it was Never Done Before? Or is there some other reason silver is used for some other purpose than currency?

Why not DR 5/copper?
R.M.G.C.L.F.
10-06-05, 10:22 PM While silver is not inherently magical, it still has certain mystic properties. Just like sulpher and bat poop aren't from the elemental plane of fire, yet these reagents are needed to produce a fireball spell.
Balor von Balorvitch
10-06-05, 10:42 PM Ogon no oni (from creatures of Rokugan) is harmed by +1/sliver/gold weapons witch is odd because it is immune to jade and kuni cyrstal wich usally hurts oni alot more.

I think that why silver works on Lycans is that it would be silly if it didn't as it is SO common knoledge (were taking DC 2) that Lycans are hurt by silver.

Also can you coup de grace with a silver coin?
Tevish Szat
10-06-05, 10:50 PM In parital answer to Catra:

There is some prior precedent that fiends don't like silver, even when decidedly unweapony. Ask a fiendish merchant "How much is that in silver?" and you will have a ticked off fiend. it has been suggested that the touch of silver harms some fiends, and the rest dislike it

Lycan are hurt by silver as that comes with them from common western myth.

as for DR/Gold... i'd say give that to celestials and related beings, perhaps.
Shemeska the Marauder
10-06-05, 11:15 PM Gold is seriously dense and seriously heavy. It's about the worst possible combination of metallic properties you'd want when considering making a weapon out of it.

Unless you have telekinesis and a bag of holding to store a gold shot put...*grumbles about players that got ideas after being tossed around like rodeo clowns by a group of Psurlons with TK at will*
Shemeska the Marauder
10-06-05, 11:21 PM There is some prior precedent that fiends don't like silver, even when decidedly unweapony. Ask a fiendish merchant "How much is that in silver?" and you will have a ticked off fiend. it has been suggested that the touch of silver harms some fiends, and the rest dislike it.

*narrows eyes*

Oi... yugoloths and silver are not happy campers with one another. They ignite on contact. Baatezu as well to a lesser degree. I actually allow silver to bypass Yugoloth and Baatezu DR, and the former are simply uncomfortable around it in general.

One of my players had their PC only pay fiends in silver pieces. Did not make them a popular person with the fiend.

On another occasion, I had a PC tip a succubus dancer in the city of Center in the Gray Waste with a cold iron coin glammered to look like a gold piece. They tipped them in a place I cannot describe on this forum. That was an unhappy fiend.
Grizzled Gryphon
10-07-05, 12:29 AM Gold shot for a sling? I have been playing this game for :censored: years, and I can't think of ever hearing of any creature with a aversion to gold. Well, except for the Oni mentioned above, that is.
Warmonger856
10-07-05, 01:48 AM I've never heard of that, but I don't think it'd be too hard to implement for a unique setting or monster.

The way I've always read it, the reason that silver is considered in western myth to be a good weapon against lycanthropes is that silver was the element associated with the moon. The moon, of course, having such a huge influence on your average werewolf, meant that the moon's metal, silver, also had a huge effect. Using that same (sort of) logic, gold was associated with the sun, so creatures strongly tied to the sun would be the most likely recipient of DR/gold.

Ay, now I have an image of a paladin using a golden sword against a huge, glowing ball of fire in my head. Hmm, maybe I can work with this...
Catra
10-07-05, 07:37 AM As for weight, couldn't you have a Mithral gold-plated sword?

And for Fighter/Barbarian types, I doubt the extra weight would count for much.
Ricohard_Draconis
10-07-05, 07:41 AM i believe certain inca and Mayan myths held that gold was a bane to certain evil creatures but i'd have to refind where ever it was i found that in the first place.
MinionOfCthulhu
10-07-05, 12:49 PM Are there any monsters weak to gold in the same way that some monsters (such as lycanthropes) are weak to silver?

Corax! :D
Emeramber
10-07-05, 01:42 PM Cybermen?
Catra
10-07-05, 03:57 PM ...What's a Corax?
SinisterSeraph
10-07-05, 11:02 PM Corax are were-ravens in the Old (and superior imho) World of Darkness games. Mokole (Were-reptiles, excluding snakes) were aslo weak against it IIRC due to theri link to the sun. If you want a creature that is weak against gold, I would suggest reptiles or reptile-based from a flavor standpoint, as gold is closely associated in many cultures with the sun, and reptiles rely on the sun for heat. Undead would also be a good flavor choice, especially if they have an innate weakness to sunlight already.

You could consider that dragons already have a weakness for gold, but that is more avarice than magical.
MythMage
10-08-05, 12:25 AM Are there any monsters weak to gold in the same way that some monsters (such as lycanthropes) are weak to silver?
The Dullahan, or headless horseman, of Celtic myth acts much like a Fey grim reaper. It has a weakness to gold, much like vampires have a weakness to garlic. I think it seems reasonable to say that should the Dallahan have damage reduction (as so many fey have), it should be overcome by (alchemical) gold weapons. I couldn't verify this, as I have seen no D&D stats for the Dullahan.
Arae'Kol Da'Ato
10-08-05, 02:47 AM Yes, it would have to be an alloy; and the weapon would probably be plated.

Anyway. If silver is a Holy Metal, can demons/undead/evil characters even use them? If so, why?

If silver is not considered a Holy Metal in D&D, then why not use gold for some creatures? Just because it was Never Done Before? Or is there some other reason silver is used for some other purpose than currency?

Why not DR 5/copper?

Well I guess you could change gold to a holy metal if you felt like it. Silver is only holy because it was considered Holy during Medieval Europe.
And Evil beings could hold and use the weapon. I mean you don't typically find a Devil who carries his Silver Sword, pluged through his thigh now do you?
Silver swords would be very valuable to the Tann'arri actually. And finally, during Medieval Europe silver was only thought to be used to smite earthly evils like Werewolves or Vampires; For demons they use Holy Symbols.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Catra 10-06-05, 04:45 PM	Are there any monsters weak to gold in the same way that some monsters (such as lycanthropes) are weak to silver?
Bob the Great 10-06-05, 04:58 PM	Not to my knowledge, and even if there were, they would never be affected by that weakness. Contrary to popular video game belief, gold is neither hard, nor useful as a weapon. A weapon made from gold would bend/break if you hit something with it.
Tenreo 10-06-05, 05:05 PM	gold is neither hard, nor useful as a weapon. . And the same is true of silver. If you could alchemically bind silver to a weapon, you could could probably do the same for gold. Or make a gold mace, and get a few good hits before it is bent hopelessly out of shape.
Catra 10-06-05, 05:28 PM	I know that pure gold is inherently soft. Nothing is made out of pure gold, because gold by itself is useless. But remind me..what's the second most valuable metal to date? Ah, that's right. It's gold. And as Tenreo pointed out, pure silver is soft the same way gold is...yet there are silvered weapons all over the place. My question was, since some mosters' DR or whathaveyou can be penetrated by silvered weapons, are there any official/custom monsters that a gold plated/ alchemically gilded weapon would be useful against? I was thinking about having some sort of Lycanthrope Paragon or somesuch, who could only be harmed by golden weapons. It's merely for flavor, but, basically, so are silvered weapons.
Edymnion 10-06-05, 05:54 PM	Its in Forgotten Realms. You can make a weapon out of alchemically hardened gold or platinum. It makes the weapon into a Heavy version of itself, takes an Exotic Weapon Prof to weild, and increases the crit multiplier by one step.
primemover003 10-06-05, 06:32 PM	You know I've never even come across a supernatural creature IRL myths and legends that's had a weakness against gold (though plenty have a weakness FOR gold). At least nothing western... of course I'm hardly an expert.
R.M.G.C.L.F. 10-06-05, 08:50 PM	Well, silvered would seem to imply that they ar coated or plated. Even if it's soft, I still suspect that a silver or gold coated mace could crack a skull with the weight of steel behind it. Its also possible that the magical nature of the damage reduction gives hardness to the silver working against the creature, somehow "inverted" by the nature of the metal.
Desvelar 10-06-05, 08:57 PM	I created a monster with a dr3/gold it was fun sice my team members only carried platnuim
Arae'Kol Da'Ato 10-06-05, 09:22 PM	Wait. Why would they only carry platinum :confused: And the only reason Silver is used to bypass DR is because it was a Holy Metal. (The same applies to the Drake Ivory of Athas) A weapon of pure gold would be useless. But an alloy of Gold and a stronger metal would work. But the gold in the weapon wouldn't affect performance except make crushing weapons heavier (therein stronger) and all other weapons weaker.
Catra 10-06-05, 09:54 PM	Yes, it would have to be an alloy; and the weapon would probably be plated. Anyway. If silver is a Holy Metal, can demons/undead/evil characters even use them? If so, why? If silver is not considered a Holy Metal in D&D, then why not use gold for some creatures? Just because it was Never Done Before? Or is there some other reason silver is used for some other purpose than currency? Why not DR 5/copper?
R.M.G.C.L.F. 10-06-05, 10:22 PM	While silver is not inherently magical, it still has certain mystic properties. Just like sulpher and bat poop aren't from the elemental plane of fire, yet these reagents are needed to produce a fireball spell.
Balor von Balorvitch 10-06-05, 10:42 PM	Ogon no oni (from creatures of Rokugan) is harmed by +1/sliver/gold weapons witch is odd because it is immune to jade and kuni cyrstal wich usally hurts oni alot more. I think that why silver works on Lycans is that it would be silly if it didn't as it is SO common knoledge (were taking DC 2) that Lycans are hurt by silver. Also can you coup de grace with a silver coin?
Tevish Szat 10-06-05, 10:50 PM	In parital answer to Catra: There is some prior precedent that fiends don't like silver, even when decidedly unweapony. Ask a fiendish merchant "How much is that in silver?" and you will have a ticked off fiend. it has been suggested that the touch of silver harms some fiends, and the rest dislike it Lycan are hurt by silver as that comes with them from common western myth. as for DR/Gold... i'd say give that to celestials and related beings, perhaps.
Shemeska the Marauder 10-06-05, 11:15 PM	Gold is seriously dense and seriously heavy. It's about the worst possible combination of metallic properties you'd want when considering making a weapon out of it. Unless you have telekinesis and a bag of holding to store a gold shot put...grumbles about players that got ideas after being tossed around like rodeo clowns by a group of Psurlons with TK at will
Shemeska the Marauder 10-06-05, 11:21 PM	There is some prior precedent that fiends don't like silver, even when decidedly unweapony. Ask a fiendish merchant "How much is that in silver?" and you will have a ticked off fiend. it has been suggested that the touch of silver harms some fiends, and the rest dislike it. narrows eyes Oi... yugoloths and silver are not happy campers with one another. They ignite on contact. Baatezu as well to a lesser degree. I actually allow silver to bypass Yugoloth and Baatezu DR, and the former are simply uncomfortable around it in general. One of my players had their PC only pay fiends in silver pieces. Did not make them a popular person with the fiend. On another occasion, I had a PC tip a succubus dancer in the city of Center in the Gray Waste with a cold iron coin glammered to look like a gold piece. They tipped them in a place I cannot describe on this forum. That was an unhappy fiend.
Grizzled Gryphon 10-07-05, 12:29 AM	Gold shot for a sling? I have been playing this game for :censored: years, and I can't think of ever hearing of any creature with a aversion to gold. Well, except for the Oni mentioned above, that is.
Warmonger856 10-07-05, 01:48 AM	I've never heard of that, but I don't think it'd be too hard to implement for a unique setting or monster. The way I've always read it, the reason that silver is considered in western myth to be a good weapon against lycanthropes is that silver was the element associated with the moon. The moon, of course, having such a huge influence on your average werewolf, meant that the moon's metal, silver, also had a huge effect. Using that same (sort of) logic, gold was associated with the sun, so creatures strongly tied to the sun would be the most likely recipient of DR/gold. Ay, now I have an image of a paladin using a golden sword against a huge, glowing ball of fire in my head. Hmm, maybe I can work with this...
Catra 10-07-05, 07:37 AM	As for weight, couldn't you have a Mithral gold-plated sword? And for Fighter/Barbarian types, I doubt the extra weight would count for much.
Ricohard_Draconis 10-07-05, 07:41 AM	i believe certain inca and Mayan myths held that gold was a bane to certain evil creatures but i'd have to refind where ever it was i found that in the first place.
MinionOfCthulhu 10-07-05, 12:49 PM	Are there any monsters weak to gold in the same way that some monsters (such as lycanthropes) are weak to silver? Corax! :D
Emeramber 10-07-05, 01:42 PM	Cybermen?
Catra 10-07-05, 03:57 PM	...What's a Corax?
SinisterSeraph 10-07-05, 11:02 PM	Corax are were-ravens in the Old (and superior imho) World of Darkness games. Mokole (Were-reptiles, excluding snakes) were aslo weak against it IIRC due to theri link to the sun. If you want a creature that is weak against gold, I would suggest reptiles or reptile-based from a flavor standpoint, as gold is closely associated in many cultures with the sun, and reptiles rely on the sun for heat. Undead would also be a good flavor choice, especially if they have an innate weakness to sunlight already. You could consider that dragons already have a weakness for gold, but that is more avarice than magical.
MythMage 10-08-05, 12:25 AM	Are there any monsters weak to gold in the same way that some monsters (such as lycanthropes) are weak to silver? The Dullahan, or headless horseman, of Celtic myth acts much like a Fey grim reaper. It has a weakness to gold, much like vampires have a weakness to garlic. I think it seems reasonable to say that should the Dallahan have damage reduction (as so many fey have), it should be overcome by (alchemical) gold weapons. I couldn't verify this, as I have seen no D&D stats for the Dullahan.
Arae'Kol Da'Ato 10-08-05, 02:47 AM	Yes, it would have to be an alloy; and the weapon would probably be plated. Anyway. If silver is a Holy Metal, can demons/undead/evil characters even use them? If so, why? If silver is not considered a Holy Metal in D&D, then why not use gold for some creatures? Just because it was Never Done Before? Or is there some other reason silver is used for some other purpose than currency? Why not DR 5/copper? Well I guess you could change gold to a holy metal if you felt like it. Silver is only holy because it was considered Holy during Medieval Europe. And Evil beings could hold and use the weapon. I mean you don't typically find a Devil who carries his Silver Sword, pluged through his thigh now do you? Silver swords would be very valuable to the Tann'arri actually. And finally, during Medieval Europe silver was only thought to be used to smite earthly evils like Werewolves or Vampires; For demons they use Holy Symbols.