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well it's kinda crunchy in that way that ceramic magnets are, no ductility really, and it tends to form crystal clusters. The crystals were used in Marcasite jewellery, especially popular in Victorian times. the broken ends have dull grey color and a lot of rubbing or tumbling will produce a blackish pyrite dust. like most fine powders this could be blown through a strong flame to make a spectacular puff of flame. and when burnt smells of burnt matches (the gas it makes is technically toxic but you'd have to burn a lot of it to make somebody sick).
by some minor chemistry you can very easily turn it into inks, wood stain, and textile dye/mordants. Most of this chemistry was known before 500ce.
ferrus sulfate, made from pyrite, if I remember correctly can be used to color certain stone and cements a yellow color. which might be where a mason learned a bit about it to begin with.
an alchemist could use it to make sulfuric acid which has a billion and one uses and is one of the cornerstones of chemistry.

#64

Aural-Ocular / Re: Fish-Shaped Steampunk Subm...

Last post by SeVeNeVeS - September 04, 2024, 08:26:52 AM

Love it!

AI, photoshop or another graphic medium?

#65

Aural-Ocular / Fish-Shaped Steampunk Submarin...

Last post by Augos - September 04, 2024, 01:34:07 AM

#66

Off Topic / Re: GAAAAAHHHHHH Mk.VI: The Re...

Last post by Sorontar - September 03, 2024, 01:37:38 PM

A minor but annoying inconvenience for me. I have a D&D character who is a punk bard with background in stonemasonry. I want to write a backstory for him being a bit of prankster/stirrer who tends to talk his way about of anything. I even have a McGuffin - iron pyrite or fool's gold. The problem is that I know little about it so it is taking me a while to sort out the plot. I know that it isn't as malleable as gold (it's much harder), but it will shatter if hit with good hammer. I know that because of that hardness, it is good for firelighting and was used for early flintlock/wheellock firearms. I know it is normally too small to shape or carve into anything meaningful (my bard is a creative soul who likes to go his own way when doing stone masonry).

So I am trying to think of why would my bard have small/large bag of pyrite on him? While he isn't an alchemist (that is another party member's back story who hadn't met him at the time), I would like to think he had some idea of how could use the pyrite in something new, but I can't think of what. He knows some fools think it is gold, but he has to have his own purpose for it. He likes big noises and would not be afraid to go a little bit overboard when working with stone, but gunpowder is rare in his world and related firearms are not readily available.

Any suggestions?

Sorontar

#67

Tactile / Re: That 'big project' I've be...

Last post by James Harrison - September 03, 2024, 09:39:14 AM

Quote from: The Bullet on September 03, 2024, 06:28:36 AM
Quote from: SeVeNeVeS on August 31, 2024, 11:33:48 AM
Quote from: James Harrison on August 26, 2024, 11:26:38 AMSo, now I have the fun task of deciding what will be on the 2025 Programme. Watch this space, I guess.

Maybe pull the bath out and do it right, it still leaks, don't look great and is a basic bodge on top of a bodge on top of bad fitting in the first place. Ditch the shower curtain and install a screen for a drip free shower experience.

Love the rest and I particularly like the fact you took time to line up the tiles on the boxing.

The devil is in the details.

Bit harsh I know, but there you go, all round a grand job.

No.
Leave it as it is and use it for a year.
Then smooth out the rough edges.
There are things that will come up later and things that seem a problem at first but not after getting used to them.
Patience is the key.
Review after a yesr of use.

That's exactly what I'm planning to do.

What I have found so far is that each room has gone through a process of evolution, I do what I think I want and then having actually lived with it for a little while I start discovering what actually works for me.

#68

Meta-Clubs / Re: Dicey wildcards. tabletop ...

Last post by rovingjack - September 03, 2024, 07:13:35 AM

August had some game jams that I participated in.
For the 1 page rpg I made a Kawaii superhero going into a villains secret lair, facing traps, puzzles, minions, goons and ultimately facing the villain.

then there was the ShadowDark adventure creation challenge that randomly picked 3 covers from old Weird Tales. And I didn't finish in time but it really inspired some ideas that my worldbuilding brain ran away with.

as for my 6 fold world build model of the D&D multiverse, I think I've settled on 1) the weaver of time, 2) the Lady of Ravens, 3) the Lady of Stars, 4) the Lady of Doors, 5) the queen of madness (a variant of Pale Night, mother of demons) 6) the Lady of magic... all present within the convolutions of the Dungeon Muse.

I think I'll have to construct the equivalent of the curio realms of woe&wonder, for Time, the far realms of madness, and realms of magic... with suitable symbols and acronym.

#69

Tactile / Re: That 'big project' I've be...

Last post by The Bullet - September 03, 2024, 06:28:36 AM

Quote from: SeVeNeVeS on August 31, 2024, 11:33:48 AM
Quote from: James Harrison on August 26, 2024, 11:26:38 AMSo, now I have the fun task of deciding what will be on the 2025 Programme. Watch this space, I guess.

Maybe pull the bath out and do it right, it still leaks, don't look great and is a basic bodge on top of a bodge on top of bad fitting in the first place. Ditch the shower curtain and install a screen for a drip free shower experience.

Love the rest and I particularly like the fact you took time to line up the tiles on the boxing.

The devil is in the details.

Bit harsh I know, but there you go, all round a grand job.

No.
Leave it as it is and use it for a year.
Then smooth out the rough edges.
There are things that will come up later and things that seem a problem at first but not after getting used to them.
Patience is the key.
Review after a yesr of use.

#70

Off Topic / Re: GAAAAAHHHHHH Mk.VI: The Re...

Last post by The Bullet - September 03, 2024, 06:26:49 AM

Bureaucracy!!!!

In Germany you have to yupply proof for your whole life when you have worked where.
This goes into the calculation of your pension.
This agency is really "polite", sending letters like
Missing times
2000, June 1st to 5th
2004, August 1st to september 1st
and mostly setting a date for delivery within two weeks.
Sometimes they ask for single days or other short time while one was switching jobs.

In March 2023 my wife had to supply a whole bunch of these (after having supplied the whole set a few years ago. So simething must have gone missing. Copied everything, sent the copies by recorded mail, phoned the agency a week later.
"Yes, everything is here, the case is closed".
OK, so we thought.

Last week my wife needed a statement from just this agency for another government agency.
She called them and asked for the official paper (called Rentenverlauf).
"there is still an open case. We cannot send it to you unti the case is closed..."
WTF?
Then it was my turn
After several hotline-bots I finally got a human being on the line.
This man was very helpful and asked me to call back the next day (he even gave me the direct number).
Next day he confirmed that all relevant papers had been received in MArch 2023.
So why was the case still open?
Original statement:
"It seems that they have not been processed on our side."
WTF?
Setting close deadlines for receiving documents but then leaving them on a pile for one and a half years?
He said he would put them into highest priority so we will receive the statement within a week.
Hope this will work.

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