Sindeloke
2015-02-16, 10:36 AM
This is a minor thing but it's driving me nuts, so I've come to solicit outside opinions.
I have two unique metal alloys designed for my setting, which are, between the two of them, the pinnacle of metallurgical technology in the known world, and which are generally important to the worldbuilding. I have a name for one, but can't figure out what to call the other.
The first, amaranth, is in most ways comparable to steel, with three exceptions:
When polished, it doesn't create a smooth mirror like normal steel, but rather diffuses any light that hits it into dozens of colors, essentially creating the same pearlescent effect as the inside of a clamshell.
It conducts electricity extraordinarily well, making it much desired by engineers and techsmiths.
It has a strong affinity for magic, making it a near-essential component of many permanent complex magical devices.
The second, its counterpart, is also in most ways comparable to steel, with, again, three exceptions:
It's a dark, matte grey in color - not so dark that you'd mistake it for true black, but dark enough that you might call it that for convenience - and never becomes reflective or shiny no matter how you polish it. If you look close you can detect slight irregularities in the color, like different grains of sand on a beach, despite the perfectly smooth texture of the surface.
It's curiously resistant to temperature change, able to take a silly amount of heat without warping or even getting that hot to touch, or linger in profound cold without turning brittle.
It has an absolute antipathy to magic. It requires tremendously powerful sorcery to make even the most minor enchantment stick to this substance, and a simple shiv of the stuff can be used by an adept thief to easily disrupt the delicate mechanisms of magical locks and traps. Magical creatures are hurt by merely touching it.
So what would you call that? This stuff is a big part of the world, at least for an adventurer. It needs to be a simple, easy, everyday sort of name that doesn't distract my players with alien-sounding words that they need to learn and mentally translate all the time, but not so everyday that it can be mistaken for anything else (like, I can't just call it "slate" and move on). I've been kicking around "shadowsteel" but I don't like it, it's too froofy and magical and this stuff is anything but. "Blackmetal" is kind of awkward to say. "Teflon-coated" is right out. I've hit a wall, and must beg the Playground's assistance.
I have two unique metal alloys designed for my setting, which are, between the two of them, the pinnacle of metallurgical technology in the known world, and which are generally important to the worldbuilding. I have a name for one, but can't figure out what to call the other.
The first, amaranth, is in most ways comparable to steel, with three exceptions:
When polished, it doesn't create a smooth mirror like normal steel, but rather diffuses any light that hits it into dozens of colors, essentially creating the same pearlescent effect as the inside of a clamshell.
It conducts electricity extraordinarily well, making it much desired by engineers and techsmiths.
It has a strong affinity for magic, making it a near-essential component of many permanent complex magical devices.
The second, its counterpart, is also in most ways comparable to steel, with, again, three exceptions:
It's a dark, matte grey in color - not so dark that you'd mistake it for true black, but dark enough that you might call it that for convenience - and never becomes reflective or shiny no matter how you polish it. If you look close you can detect slight irregularities in the color, like different grains of sand on a beach, despite the perfectly smooth texture of the surface.
It's curiously resistant to temperature change, able to take a silly amount of heat without warping or even getting that hot to touch, or linger in profound cold without turning brittle.
It has an absolute antipathy to magic. It requires tremendously powerful sorcery to make even the most minor enchantment stick to this substance, and a simple shiv of the stuff can be used by an adept thief to easily disrupt the delicate mechanisms of magical locks and traps. Magical creatures are hurt by merely touching it.
So what would you call that? This stuff is a big part of the world, at least for an adventurer. It needs to be a simple, easy, everyday sort of name that doesn't distract my players with alien-sounding words that they need to learn and mentally translate all the time, but not so everyday that it can be mistaken for anything else (like, I can't just call it "slate" and move on). I've been kicking around "shadowsteel" but I don't like it, it's too froofy and magical and this stuff is anything but. "Blackmetal" is kind of awkward to say. "Teflon-coated" is right out. I've hit a wall, and must beg the Playground's assistance.