Mithril/Adamantine Alloy

[White_Drake]

What would happen if you made an alloy of mithril and adamantine? Would it average the stats to look like this,

Steel One-Handed Blade: 4 lbs; hardness 10; 5 hp
Mithril One-Handed Blade: 2 lbs; hardness 15; 5 hp
Adamantine One-Handed Blade: 4 lbs; Hardness 20; 7 hp
Alloy One-Handed Blade: 3 lbs; Hardness 17; 6 hp

,or something else?

Also, while we're on the topic, adamantine weighs the same as steel, right? (I've got a dollar riding on this) My friend says that because the SRD makes no mention it is undetermined, I say he owes me a buck, who's right? What do you think an alloy of mithril and adamantine would look like, and what would be a good name? Isn't it a bit ridiculous that cold iron costs so much? Isn't it just iron that is forged at lower temperatures due to less perfect smithing processes? For that matter, isn't "alchemical silver" just a cheap way to make it harder to get silver weapons? Ant other thoughts on exotic materials would be appreciated. (please imagine a smiley, my server stinks)

[hamishspence]

On cold iron- in the DMG it says it's mined deep underground- the lower temperature forging its to preserve its "delicate properties".

As a general rule- when the item weighs more or less than normal, this will be called out. Some metals do weigh more than iron/steel when magically treated and made into weapons or armour- like gold, or platinum, in Magic of Faerun.

Which also specifically states that adamantine weighs the same as steel.

Stronghold Builder's Guide has a metal same weight but much harder than adamantine- obdurium. Maybe that could be your alloy?

[Telonius]

Special materials (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialMaterials.htm#mithral) are listed in the DMG (p.283) as well as the SRD.


An item made from mithral weighs half as much as the same item made from other metals.

Adamantine doesn't list any special difference, so it's treated as the same weight as steel. However, the equivalence is made explicit in one article (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20050627a)on the Wizards site (and probably in the final version of Races of Eberron, though I don't have that at hand):


Adamantine Body: Its base weight is 320 pounds, with a weight modifier of x6. While adamantine itself is no heavier than steel, a warforged with this feat is typically more massive than other models, with more steel and stone in its construction.

[danzibr]

Maybe it'd be even *better* than getting the best of each. Cool things can happen when you combine different materials.

[White_Drake]

On cold iron- in the DMG it says it's mined deep underground- the lower temperature forging its to preserve its "delicate properties".

Yes, but I meant from a historical standpoint; in most myths fey are vulnerable to iron, the more oure it is the more vulnerable to it they are. Now, modern forging processes dilute the intensity of this ability because they alter the metal so much (at least that's my understanding of it). So while it might be difficult to find cold iron weaponry in an advanced society (and therefore expensive) in a less advanced society it would be cheap. Even if you say that weirdly enough, the typical D&D society is advanced enough to make cold iron a rarity, such as in our society, couldn't you just go out and stroll around until you get attacked by a random barbarian tribe, ans take their weapons? Even if barbarians of that specific technology level are rare, it shouldn't take more than a couple hours (for typical PCs, who get attacked by random stuff every few minutes on average :P).

[Otomodachi]

As for cold iron, here's my limited understanding.

You've got yer rocks, right? Let's say hematite. So you heat them up in a smelter and get the iron out except it's got all these impurities, especially carbon, a lot of which as less dense than the iron itself. So you skim and skim and skim and then cast or forge what's left into some kind of useable implement. It's *mostly* just iron in there. That's cold iron (because it has a somewhat high specific heat capacity and therefore usually feels cold to the touch) you've got there, buddy. It should be generally soft, not especially brittle (due to the reduced carbon content I guess?) but not as great for killing people as steel.

Then if you want you can add some limestone or marble or whatever along with some kinda carbon...iferous(?) material like coke. And it starts to make this sort of lattice inside the iron, which makes it into wicked brittle pig iron which you can then introduce MORE carbon into and mix and fold and mix and bam, steel.

EDIT: Oh, yeah, to be more specific to your questions there's no logical reason for the manufacturing of (what I am calling, here) cold iron to be more expensive than steel; WoTC totally handwaived it, which is fine, by saying it's a special underground metal and cold iron is a metaphor.

This is fine because cold iron IS a metaphor; it's just iron. Just basic pure unwrought iron. Any iron that hasn't gone through the process of being turned into pig iron, as far as I can tell.

[Alefiend]

Yes, but I meant from a historical standpoint; in most myths fey are vulnerable to iron, the more oure it is the more vulnerable to it they are. Now, modern forging processes dilute the intensity of this ability because they alter the metal so much (at least that's my understanding of it). So while it might be difficult to find cold iron weaponry in an advanced society (and therefore expensive) in a less advanced society it would be cheap. Even if you say that weirdly enough, the typical D&D society is advanced enough to make cold iron a rarity, such as in our society, couldn't you just go out and stroll around until you get attacked by a random barbarian tribe, ans take their weapons? Even if barbarians of that specific technology level are rare, it shouldn't take more than a couple hours (for typical PCs, who get attacked by random stuff every few minutes on average :P).

From a historical standpoint (such as it is), cold iron is just iron, the same way we now say cold steel—it's a literary convention that gets used in conversation too. That's not to be confused with cold rolled steel, which is something else. Wiki link here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_in_folklore#Cold_iron); sorry I don't have any primary sources on hand, but I'm posting while I take a break from work.

D&D took a little license with the terminology so that fae and devils would be tougher than normal creatures, rather than vulnerable to the most common weapon material in the game.

[Knaight]

From a historical standpoint (such as it is), cold iron is just iron, the same way we now say cold steel—it's a literary convention that gets used in conversation too. That's not to be confused with cold rolled steel, which is something else. Wiki link here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_in_folklore#Cold_iron); sorry I don't have any primary sources on hand, but I'm posting while I take a break from work.
Another comparison would be hot lead. Cold iron tends to be referred to when emphasizing iron's use in weaponry, much as hot lead tends to mean bullets.

[Larkas]

If you don't like cold iron, just replace it with Damascus steel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_steel) :smallwink:

[Amidus Drexel]

SRD says you only get the benefit of whichever one you have the most of.



If you make a suit of armor or weapon out of more than one special material, you get the benefit of only the most prevalent material. However, you can build a double weapon with each head made of a different special material.


If you didn't care about the special properties, though, and were just concerned with weight and hardness I don't think there would be any issue.

[Cieyrin]

I don't see why you're so worried about the cost of cold iron, it's just double, which makes sense since you're trying to preserve its ability to piss off fey and devils. The enchantment cost is something else entirely and has nothing to do with the cost of construction. It just doesn't take well to holding an enchantment, which means you need more magic ingredients to make it hold and you pay for it once, so by the time you're getting cold iron weaponry personally crafted for you, it's not that big a deal.