Dungeons & Dragons: Complete Guide to Metals

Always had trouble researching the more rare and unique metals within DND lore, so a big thanks for this AJ! Greatly appreciated.

I think I’ve learned more about geology and mimerology from this video than I did my actual geology class.

Fun fact native peoples in The Amazon basin had mined and worked platinum pre European contact. The Spanish thought the platinum was worthless and frequently dumped it in their search for gold.

For some reason I first read the title as "A simple guide to meals" and decided to put it on my list to view during lunch. I was a bit confused at first, before I read the title again. 🤣

Listening to this made me want to see a mockumentary about a D&D mining operation like those on Discovery Channel. "Can a motley crew of kobolds, dwarves, and humans work together to bring in the mother lode?" (It would be filmed by elves, naturally)

In addition to any natural magical metals I rather like to go with magical metals based on the seven classical metals, these are alchemicly created from the base metals and are not mined, they are known as "Perfected Metals" and are are valuable in the extreme. They are only made by the most skilled alchemist/mage, and take time and effort, philosopher stones are a great help. All Perfected Metals are immune to all but the most extreme or specialized acids. Orichalcum (Perfected Gold): Associated with fire, the sun, ruler-ship/divine right, power generation, and hurts any kind of fiend or creature vulnerable to sunlight. The metal is immune to fire and has the same hardness of mythril. Looks like slightly more reddish gold Lunargent (Perfected Silver): Associated with cold, the moon, purity (from evil), and divine (good) power hurts anything vulnerable to silver, has basic stats of mythril. The metal immune to cold. Looks like slightly more blueish silver Hermium (Perfected Mercury): Associated with psychic power, divine (chaotic) power, healing magic, and is bizarre possessing both super fluid an self adherence properties (a mass of it wont easily be separated from the whole and its not too difficult to bottle). Psychics can be mold the metals shape with their mind, giving it hardness and sharpness when they focus on it, the metal can be enchanted to take several programed shapes by normal people. Hermium is not poisonous, but refining it can be very dangerous because Mercury is, and part of creating magically removes the spiritual taint of poison which can effect the alchemist. Hermium looks like liquid mercury with a constantly rippling effect, and when hardened into a shape has the same stats as steel, but if destroyed it can simply reshape itself. Kypris (Perfected Copper) (also known as Brontium): Associated with conductivity, electricity, arcane technology and divine (law) power. Kypris is a super conductor of electricity, heat, and even mystical/psychic energy. Kypris has the same basic stats as steel, but with twice the hit points, and is immune to electricity. Looks like the soft green of rusted copper, but metallic. Kassiterum (Perfected Tin) (Also known as Zinnteros): Associated with Sound/music, summoning, aid, divine (neutral) power, and purification. Kassiterum has the hardness of adamantium, but not the sharpness and the material itself is immune to sonic attacks. Kassiterum can hurt aberrations, by passing their damage reduction. Kassiterum is soft pure white, never has any inclusions, and make the purest sounds with struck. Apeiron (Perfected Lead) (Aka Thanatite, Khronicum, or Stygium): Associated with death (and undeath), curses, the ethereal plane, divine (evil) power. Aperion has the same basic stats as steel, and has natural ghost touch ability and can block all sorts of natural and supernatural radiation very effectively. Apeiron is dull grey, nearly identical looking to normal lead. Siderite (Perfected Iron): Associated with strength and sharpness, resilience, penetration, space, and defiance to magic. Forging Siderite can only be done with magic and difficulty. Siderite has the same basic stats and counts as Adamantine, though is slightly lighter than steel and has twice the hit points, in addition counts as cold wrot iron as well and will hurt any fae regardless of normal resistances. Siderite is a memory metal, and when bent or warped it will flex itself back to its proper shape unless special magic is used to shape it, it will never dull. Much like cold wrot iron, Siderite is hard to enchant (+2500gp cost to enchant), but makes potent items once it is done. Siderite is a dull mat black, not even metallic looking. There are/can be others, but they are much rarer, such as perfected: cobalt, salt, jade, and sulfur. Also for fantasy games I like to use a "Gnomish Ceramic" that gnomes make from secret materials and dragon bones... or dragon relatives, like Kobolds. Believe it or not this is the condensed version >.>

OMG AJ. Videos like this are a dream for us world builders. Please make more like this about fields and practices overlooked but fundamental to past societies. So useful and informative!!

AJ, excellent overview! I've been DMing for 30 years, and building my universe for that long. Yet, have largely overlooked many aspects of mining. You just gave tons of ideas... Cheers; Janos

I appreciate the fact that you try to incorporate all editions and yet still manage to maintain a sense of being edition agnostic. Thank you for your effort.

You are a gift to the hobby. The depth and precision of your research is truly exceptional. As a professional DM, you are someone I look to as a resource when I need to know something, inside and out. Many thanks.

A gold rush campaign where the party are prospectors could be fun. They could start out finding their claim, then have to negotiate with the local elves to be allowed to work it. After that they'd build up their mine, employing laborers and fighting off bandits who try to shake them down and rival prospectors. Eventually perhaps they might stumble upon something deep within the earth that they really shouldn't have woken up, something ancient and angry. They may decide to collapse their mine on it and save the land, or try to kill it or bargain with it to be able to keep their hard won wealth...

holy shit, I can finish my metallic oozes

For a guy that grew up making several tools, knives, and an oversized splitting maul, some of these magical metals me wish we had more options. Fell in love with Mithril from The Hobit, and was jealous of Bilbo for walking through that mountain that had several Mithril treasures in those hords. Screw the gold, I would be happy with a knife made of that!

When miners used the canary method they felt really bad and sad, so the higher ups had to give in and make a small cage they could close and supply oxygen with a small tank. Which kept the little creature alive and breathing clean air when they passed out.

Another factor of mining in D&D is burrowing monsters like Badgers and Dragons. Many larger creatures would make tunnels that may open a mineral.

My hometown had a quick silver mine (mercury). I've just been assuming since either the dwarven gods or celestia video where we learn about moradins wife that truesilver is aping the naming convention of quicksilver. This video proves that right. Now we need magic wood/mushrooms for all the ironwood lovers.

Oh man, imagine playing a bard that wields a sword made of screaming silver, every time your sword strikes it hums like a giant tuning fork. You could change your grip to alter the note, making your fighting into an actual musical performance. Dual-wield them for maximum coolness.

Oh good, one of my players is an artifice armorer, working on his masterpiece. I was trying to figure out what metals would be most appropriate for him to need (and hire people to... acquire), and I find this video! You always seem to have what I need

Ive found an ol list of metals that have at some point turned up in dnd. Theres like 50 or so various materials with various properties that can be used for weapons/armor as well as some wood species.. my players have a field day lol

“Some believe adamantium is made by alloying steel and mythril”. The dwarves find this laughable. Not to mention the myth that Moradin forged the dwarves from the noble metals of copper, silver, gold, and mythril.