Spellbooks and Recipes

Popular Posts

Blog Archive

Witch Library

Pageviews

Powered by Blogger.
Copyright © My Spiritual Path | Powered by Blogger
Design by Rachel | Blogger Theme by Lasantha - PremiumBloggerTemplates | Living with Magick

Saturday 18 January 2014

Posted       Edit Entry
More Sufficiently Advanced Chemistry
Following THIS EARLIER POST, but going back to AN EARLIER CRACKED ARTICLE, here are some more inspirations for adventure-game wonders based on real chemistry.

FERROFLUIDS: Suspensions of iron particles in a liquid that form shapes when magnetic fields are applied.

* An iron door that is solid only through the grace of magnetism; turning off the field collapses it.
* Over here is a jug of some black oily material. Over there is a statue holding a detachable hilt that exudes an invisible magnetic field (going near, you feel the pull on your iron weapons and armor). Pour the jug on the hilt for a real Liquid Sword.
* Flicking the switch means that the slimy liquid at the bottom of the pit rises up and forms nasty spikes.

AEROGEL: Translucent, super-strong material that's mostly air.

* Cloudy glassteel pane: you can kind of see through it to all that treasure on display, but not break it.
* Or you can break it - but there's an angry air elemental inside.

PERFLUOROCARBONS: Breathable fluids imbued with oxygen.

* It's a pool with... a manticore at the bottom?
* I stashed my treasure under water at the end of this long tunnel. Suicide to try and swim, but only I know the water is breathable.
* Potion of water breathing - but you have summon up the guts to inhale it right into your lungs.

ELASTIC CONDUCTOR: Material that expands and becomes rigid when current is applied.

* Wizard's bridge over a chasm. You need to cast a lightning bolt to extend it all the way, but hurry - it only stays that way for a round.
* Curtains that part for anyone except the electric shock monster being held captive.
* Gloves that enhance a shocking grasp spell with a floppy ribbon that turns into a blade, adding stabby injury to shocking injury.

NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID: "A liquid that turns solid when sufficient stress is applied."

* "It's only a ten-foot drop, I'll just dive into this... AAAGHHH"
* You find a strange leather suit, that seems to be made of two layers with a little valve. Elsewhere you find a bottle of the fluid. It gives full mobility, works as plate mail against blows of all kinds, and can only be pierced by small soft scratches.
* The giant can walk on this water, but you little guys just fall through.
* Lair feature of a Great Old One wishing to outdo Cthulhu's non-Euclidean geometry.

TRANSPARENT ALUMINA: See-through (if slightly cloudy) metal.

* See above under glassteel doors and windows.
* Metal bikinis and codpieces just got more interesting.

CARBON NANOTUBES: Nano-scale fibers made of carbon: incredibly strong, electrically conductive, and yeah, the Cracked writer gets overwhelmed by the Cracked style guide at this point and just gets stuck on "bur bur bur awesome mind-blowing bur bur bur" so here's the WEBSITE OF A COMPANY THAT MAKES THEM, and the WIKI ARTICLE.

* +3 armor that looks like just a shirt and pants. Nanotubes.
* The beast with nanotube fur... equivalent to plate mail.
* A sword with an invisible blade. It's just one nanotube.
* The wizard installed some looong nanotube wiring in her castle to deliver fire and lightning damage to those below.