Basic Information
Metal is a category of element, material or chemical with the following properties: Metals conduct heat and electricity relatively well (and some specific metals do so extremely well). They have a luster or shininess, either naturally or when polished or prepared to bring it out. They are ductile (meaning you can draw them out to create wires) and/or malleable (meaning you can hammer them out into thin sheets).
When a two or more metals are blended together, or a metal is blended with a non-metal, they form an alloy.
Many metals are only found on earth as ore, a rock or mineral compound which can be processed to extract its metal content. Some metals also occur as pure deposits of metal needing little or no processing.
Metallurgy (literally "metalworking") has been a key part of human cultural development with many of the eras of our development delineated by the metals in use at that point … these eras, perforce, tend to be based on the technological progress of central Eurasia and do not necessarily reflect conditions, or even sequence, elsewhere in the world1, but are still an important frame of reference.
Some Notable Metals:
- Bronze
- Copper
- Electrum
- Gold
- Iron
- Low-Background Metal
- Mercury
- The Net (substance)
- Nitinol
- Orichalcum
- Platinum
- Silver
- Sodium
- Steel
- Tin
- Titanium
- Tumbaga
- Uranium
Fictional and Mythological Metals
- Adamantine/Adamantium
- Celestial Bronze
- Mithril
- Orichalcum
- Phlebotinum
- Red Mercury
- Unobtainium
- Upsidaisium
Notable Human Interactions with Metals:
- Alchemy (see also Vegetation of Metal)
- Mine
- Smith (see also Riddle of Steel)
- Treasure
Metal In Space!
Metal In The Headlines
- Atlantis Legendary Metal Found In Shipwreck
- Asteroid May Have Core of Hot Molten Metal
- Mysterious Space Ball Crashes in Namibia
Sources
Game and Story Use
- Unless your game is set way back in Prehistory, metal will be a part of your setting. Mankind has been using copper for 11,000 years, and bronze for 7,000 years now.
- Metals are a common secret weapon against (and thus the supernatural vulnerability of) specific monsters or fictional creatures. The most classic is silver being useful against werewolves and/or vampires, but folklore, speculative fiction, mythology and the horror genre are full of other examples. See also Depleted Phlebotinum Shells for more ideas.
- The Phlebotinum of a setting is often some sort of metal with special / magical properties.
- Some settings have multiple Phlebotinums, such as the mithril and adamantine of D&D, or the adamantium and vibranium of Marvel comics. Often these are restricted to particular regions or character types.
- Metal can be a defining key to military power or world domination. If one side of a conflict has access to steel, it will have a significant advantage over an enemy force armed and armoured in bronze, iron, or stone age equipment.
- Again, these are often effectively restricted by culture, region, or character type. It manifests in D&D in things like elven chainmail. In the real world, the Conquistadors benefited greatly from the disparity in metal / technology at the start of the Columbian Exchange.