The best source of information on Gloranthan metals and crystals that i know of is the Secrets book of the RQ3 supplement Elder Secrets. Basically metals are the bones of the gods and magic crystals are the blood of the gods.
When i add a magic item or crystal into a campaign i usually write a short background piece to describe it and its origins, including ambiguous references, as you would when creating a hero. And then let the hero who cements a hero point decide on its magical abilities. The colour of the crystals is based on the elemental colour of the god or goddess, ie the blood/crystals of earth goddess is green. The size and shape is based on how the blood was shed.
This way similar looking crystals can have very different powers and vice versa.
>> Dragonbone / Dragon's teeth:
>> This is a fascinating one: There should be the occasional artefact
>> made of this, since the dragonewts know how to shape it (presumably
>> it's dreamdragon teeth/claws/bones for the most part, made
>> permanent by enchanting), and I'd guess so did the EWF humans.
>> For this I've drawn on Kulthea and the magical "glass" that is
>> called Laen. I've described dragonteeth/bones as a transluscient
>> and glass like substance (glass sharp too, for the teeth and
>> claws), but nearly indestructible.
>> Usually I've described it as more or less purple in color, but this
>> varies with the source.
As i understand it Dragons (and giants for that matter) appeared before the gods and so don't follow the same rules. I've always pictured true Dragons as being purer beings than the gods, with bones of truestone and teeth of Adamant. Similarly some ancient Giants have bones of Iron and teeth of Steel, although this cannot be said for all of them as their tendency towards disorder means they dont follow any laws and rules.
>> Truestone :
>> Possibly the easiest. Truestone is just that.
>> Archtypical stone. Since it's almost compleatly indestructive and
>> impossible to work, I'd leave out sandstones and the like, but
>> othervice anything goes. As usual I'd try to pick a type of stone,
>> or at least a color, that would somehow assosiate with the
>> power/effect of that particular piece, but that's a matter of
>> taste.
The greatest source of truestone was the spike, home of the celestial court. I've always thought of this as a great crystal mountain, built from the bones of the cosmic dragon. The mountain shattered when chaos touched it, flinging shards of truestone across the world, rather like nuclear fallout.
These shards range in size from barely visible to the naked eye to the size of the block, the more useful pieces for wandering heroes fit into the palm of their hands, whilst larger pieces reside in shrines and temples.
IMG The look and feel of blank truestone is like that of clear glass, whilst truestone containing magic has a slight tint or veins of colour hinting at the elemental source of the magic it contains. The more magic, the stronger the tint or thicker the vein.
>> Adamant:
>> Frankly I have no idea. It seems such a dwarfish thing it should
>> propably be a metal. It's refined truestone though, so I suppose
>> that would make it a gemstone of some sort.
>> Parhaps something that seems like a cross between something like
>> jade and finest steel. Beautifully patterned and with a metallic
>> glint, but with the inflexibility of stone. Utterly indestructible,
>> of course. Arkat's/Humakt's sword is supposed to be of this, as are
>> some cruscial parts of the Mostali machine.
Adamant is refined truestone. The forgotten refining process required magic from all the elements, making it pure white or pure black, depending what colour rules you use. As for whether its a metal or crystal, i think it is neither, rather it is some form of very hard and tough ceramic.
Leading on from this, If adamant is pure white, it makes me wonder whether the prophesied white moon that those lunar weirdos harp on about, is a huge sphere of adamant. And it appears when the mostali project to restore the world is completed.
>> Incidentally the dragonsnails (IMO) have teeth like that too, hence
>> the name. These "dragon's teeth" are of inferior quality, and may
>> seriously piss off a trading partner if offered as the real thing.
In general i don't think chaotic crystals look any different to normal
crystals, if anything they are even more beautiful than their more
standard counterparts.
But the crystals have a malignant side effect on any wielder, twisting
their bodies, warping their minds to unsavoury ends, and enhancing
their flaws. I picture a person possessing a chaotc crystal as looking
like they have severe radiation sickness.
Cheers,
Mick
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