Adamantine Appearance

[weckar]

Simple question, really: What does Adamantine look like? For all the items incorporating it, I can't seem to find a description anywhere that goes beyond "hard metal". Even for Mithral we know that it's 'silvery'....

[Jon_Dahl]

I would say that it looks like iron or steel. It takes an expert to know it's adamantine by appearance alone (appraise check DC 20).

[Asheram]

Adamantine was a jet-black alloy of adamantium and other metals. Usually black in colour, adamantine had a green sheen when viewed by candlelight or a purple-white sheen when viewed by magical light.[1] (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Adamantine)

Then again, it has apparently been described as a lot through the years. I'm still fond of black though.

[Slipperychicken]

Most of the depictions I've seen say either blue or black.

[Ravens_cry]

I favour a dull dark, dark grey.

[Psyren]

In PF, the Adamantine Golem is described as "black metal."

Here's a picture:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/138/qs04.jpg

[Chronos]

I always pictured it as a dull, low-luster gray metal. Not completely black, but definitely darker than steel.

[Fax Celestis]

I generally liken it to tungsten carbide.
http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/7631050/7631050/Tungsten-Carbide-Unisex-Black-plated-Laser-etched-Elvish-Script-Ring-P15049730.jpeg

[Big Fau]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mic_gallery/103401.jpg

It's very dependent on the artist's interpretation. I've always liked that axe's art for adamantine because metals don't normally look like onyx without paint being involved.

[XionUnborn01]

The adamantine golem in the ELH is described as 'looking like a huge iron golem with the unique sheen of adamantine."

So, possibly it looks like some sort of fancy iron?

[Raimun]

This is one of the great mysteries of our time.

For some reason, I've always imagined it's kind of the same shade as copper, bronze or brass but still different than either of them. This must have something to do with depictions of Ghal Maraz, the hammer of Sigmar, the ultimate weapon of Warhammer... even though it has never been said that it is made of adamantine. Yes, I know of Sword of Khaine.

[(Un)Inspired]

It's supposed to be Octarine right?

[Malimar]

I've always kind of pictured it as cyan (http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Adamantine)...

[No brains]

Another fun way of toying with this question is to ask, "Why does adamantine look a certain way?"

There are thematic ways of thinking about its appearance. It could be super dark because its durability sucks the energy out of the light hitting it. Alternatively, it could be bright, even luminous, if it deflected photons like bullets off Superman.

Then there are chemical ways of answering the question. I'm not especially keen on this, but one interesting thing to investigate is that small enough chunks of gold appear red when used in stained glass. Depending on whether adamantine is a pure element or an alloy with steel, the ore and the product can look tow completely different colors.

Also, I think of it as silvery polished metal because I first heard of adamant in Wolverine's claws. I also think there is a shiny adamant golem in the 3.5 Epic Level Handbook. Lastly, adamant means diamond, so there's that too.

[Snowbluff]

I've always had it resemble or shine like diamonds, since that's what the term comes from. Titanium Carbide would look pretty cool, though.

[SiuiS]

Adamantine was a jet-black alloy of adamantium and other metals. Usually black in colour, adamantine had a green sheen when viewed by candlelight or a purple-white sheen when viewed by magical light.[1] (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Adamantine)

Then again, it has apparently been described as a lot through the years. I'm still fond of black though.

Before this, back in the 1e/2e days of dungeons and dragons, it was a deep, matte blue, almost black.

I don't remember how this interfaces with drow artificial Adamantine, the stuff that dissolves in sunlight, but it was one of the more interesting tidbits cobbled together for the DM's Binder they put on the market a goodly while back. The one that came with an official certificate of DMing.

[unseenmage]

I sympathize with the desire for the special substances of D&D to come with vivid descriptions.

I Animate Object-ed a bunch of Obdurium statues recently and was surprised to discover that Obdurium was described as being violet or purple in the maybe two places it was ever actually described.

That I planned to Incarnate Construct the statues thereby making violet and purple skinned humanoids made it even more amusing.

[Axinian]

It's Darksteel (http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=370734). No really, its basically the same flavor and same look.

[Asheram]

It's Darksteel (http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=370734). No really, its basically the same flavor and same look.

Good point!

[Tevesh]

It is the blackest metal times infinity.

http://static4.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/We+are+the+owners+of+reality+We+are+the+conquerers +_ab52f75c6ff4820bb9bf297de070f11f.gif

Edit: Gif for Metalapolypse doesn't work. *sniff*

[Cirrylius]

Before this, back in the 1e/2e days of dungeons and dragons, it was a deep, matte blue, almost black.

^This kind of rings a bell. I seem to remember that it's a sort of gunsteel blue.

[Phelix-Mu]

It's Darksteel (http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=370734). No really, its basically the same flavor and same look.

Except I think darksteel was originally a 2e concept that was different from adamantine. As I recall, it was a special metal that was the closely kept secret of dwarves, not terribly different from adamantine except it was supposed to be lightweight (so more like titanium).

[Thurbane]

I'm also voting black, some of the items mentioned in the MIC as adamantine are black, such as the Axe of Ancestral Virtue:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mic_gallery/103401.jpg

[Ksheep]

I'd go with very dark, bordering on black (maybe with a blue-purple sheen), considering the Adamantine Clockwork Horror (http://img.neoseeker.com/mgv/467547/547/36/clockwork_horror_display.jpg) (back right) is shown as having a black body.

[Psyren]

I think Darksteel from M:TG is based on Adamantine as well.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I always pictured it a dark green thanks to Runescape (I'd had played it for years before I got into D&D), but I like the tungsten carbide idea.

[juicycaboose]

I have always thought of it as a green/grey colour but i'm not sure exactly where i got green in my head from