Orthacarium
The grave robber grinned as he left the royal barrow, his pockets full of stolen gold, and dressed in a helmet and chainmail shirt stolen from the now naked, decomposing body of the king. The explosion that followed ten seconds after he stepped into the sunlight wiped the smile from his face and blew his body into pieces. Had he studied metallurgy, he would have known that the armour was made of pure Orthacarium and he would have left it alone, and escaped the barrow with his life.
Full Item Description
Orthacarium in its normal state is a dull gray mineral that will briefly shine silver when mined. Compared to some minerals mining it is relatively easily extracted, although it is best to wear a face mask to avoid getting any dust in the lungs. When forged properly it can be as hard and durable as steel, but is rarely used upon the surface world because after being exposed to sunlight for ten seconds it explodes violently. No other form of light has this effect on it.
If it is to be used only underground or elsewhere where no sunlight can get to it then it can be used for all kinds of items both civilian and military, but it's uses above ground are mainly military in nature.
Slavers who seize people from above ground can fit collars of this either around the necks of their new slaves, or if they are more cruel in nature, around their ankles and wrists. If the slaves later escape and make it to the surface, the body part/s that have this mineral placed around them will be destroyed when sunlight explodes the mineral.
The mineral can be made into large grenades that are taken out and thrown just before exploding. The sun must be up and not covered by clouds for the grenades to work though, so the grenadiers carry conventional weapons as well.
Some grave goods in cultures that provided their dead with goods are made of this as it renders the goods useless for thieves if they live above ground, and makes theft dangerous. (PC 'Hey, look at this helmet!' *walks into sunlight* BANG! GM-The helmet has exploded and taken most of your head with it.)
Secret messages can be engraved in code on thin plaques of this-if the message is seized it may well be destroyed by sunlight before being read. The one who it is meant for just reads the message in the shade.
Unscrupulous armourers can make armour and weapons out of this and cover it with a very thin layer of something else-meaning that when it is used in combat in sunlight it will break/explode very quickly, either exploding the user or just breaking and leaving the user defenceless in a fight.
Of course, underground it can be as useful as other metals so races that rarely or never go to the surface would use it for themselves without any problems.
History
Historically this has been of great use to the underground tribes of goblins,dwarves,neckron ect, both for their own use underground and for preventing slaves from escaping to the surface.
For surface dwelling races it has been used for grave goods, explosives and as a subtle assassination tool, but in most surface-based cultures it's use is at the very least, frowned upon and is often illegal
Magic/Cursed Properties
In sunlight it explodes after ten seconds, which depending on what it is used for can be a blessing or a curse.
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? Responses (6)
Interesting idea, are there methods for miners to tell this potentially dangerous metal from others, namely silver? I'd also like to know why it reacts in such a manner, but I guess it is no stranger than sodium exploding if you get it wet.
Interesting and simple. I like it. Perhaps is should 'sizzle' just before it goes boom! :)
As for how it works, perhaps it reacts with oxygen, but needs UV light to trigger the reaction.
I don't like the ability to use it above ground if it an overcast day, or to read things in the shade, that makes it kind of comedic and pointless, I would make a nice helm and carry around an umbrella
Cool idea, though the write-up could have been a little better. Val's idea shows a good possible explanation, and how to bypass the siliness - in an overcast day, or in shade it would simply take longer for the effect to manifest. So not only you can read the message, it also self-destructs afterwards. :)
I am confused as to whether the material occurs naturally, or is created through some vile energy seeping into ordinary metal. I also echo the same suggestions posted above, but I do think your applications of this strange metal are very creative.
good concept, needs a bit more detailed explanation, as others have mentioned.