Shiny Gears

[TheAmethyst]

A way to make rusty gears look brand new, making them more valuable to traders. You would use borax and some other ingredient in a barrel maybe?

[ifoz]

I don't know if it would make them necessarily more valuable, but I think a way to clean their rust could be cool for a decorative piece.
The same with metal scraps, except you could then use non-rusted scraps to make sturdier scrap weapons with a non-rusted iron texture.

[TheAmethyst]

@ifoz that would be cool too. That don't have to be more valuable, just that's the only thing I thought of.

[LadyWYT]

I don't know about more valuable, as their value seems to stem from the craftsmanship itself, and not the condition that the gear itself is in. However, I could see a possibility of rusty gears needing to be cleaned off before they can be used as currency, if for no other reason than to make it a bit more difficult for players to get their hands on early bronze tools. That way you could still earn the tradable gears from selling various goods to the traders over time, or you could get lucky with looting ruins and find a small hoard of gears quickly, but need to clean them off before you can actually use them.

I think the clean gears would be useful for more than just currency though. If I recall correctly, there's a recipe or two that utilizes rusty gears instead of temporal gears. The black/gray dyes could still use rusty gears, as dissolving those is what creates the pigment. However, for machinery and delicate gizmos, it's probably a better idea to clean the gears up before you go tinkering with them.

On 8/11/2024 at 1:49 AM, ifoz said:

The same with metal scraps, except you could then use non-rusted scraps to make sturdier scrap weapons with a non-rusted iron texture.

I'd actually be inclined to stick to the rusty scraps. The rust probably won't affect monsters that much, but living targets are another story. Wounds left by a rusty weapon are much more likely to become infected--perhaps a small damage over time effect? Then you can have a choice in whether you clean the scraps for a weapon that will last a bit longer, or leave them rusty to cause nastier wounds.

I'd also wager that's a mechanic that would probably be more useful in PvP scenarios, however, I could see it being an option for dealing with large predators like bears and wolves.

[TheAmethyst]

Always love your additions/ideas @LadyWYT!

[LadyWYT]

10 hours ago, TheAmethyst said:

Always love your additions/ideas @LadyWYT!

Thanks! I figure even if my ideas aren't that good, they're at least marking things off the "bad idea" list! Or serving as raw material to be refined into a good idea through discussion.

[Maelstrom]

What if the rust is not natural but a result of the rot's effect on metal?   Thereby making it impossible to "clean".