Quote Originally Posted by Greywander View Post
Thanks for the thorough reply, Yanagi! You explained it all pretty well as far as I can tell.

Yeah, it's a little disappointing, but it is what it is. I suppose I could always refer to the planets associated with each metal and attribute certain properties associated with the planets and/or the gods they're named after to the metal itself. Or just make something up, as seems to be the case with silver and werewolves (although there is a loose connection there, both are associated with the moon).
I'm a fan of magic materials in setting making some kind of "sense"--even if only in a poetic sort of way--and chase the idea around on a regular basis.

Two methods I've come with is (1) take some historical application of a material, extract a theme, and then make that theme something mystical, (2) look at element properties revealed by scientific study as inspiration for a supernatural quality.

(2) is present in D&D and the OotS comic: lead as a barrier to detect and scrying is a play on lead's radiation shielding. Examples of (1) would be extrapolating from lead's use as the scribable, but permanent, material used for curse tablets to mean that lead itself had some quality that lent itself to curses, or that copper's conductivity translated into a magical sympathy with lightning, electricity spells, and controlling weather.

And there was a similar thread a little while ago, so its been on my mind.