Approved Tech Living Clay | Greystone Mercantile

[Kal]

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OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: A highly versatile crafting material for the Alchemists out there.
• Image Source: Realistic Clay Shaders by Jama Jurabaev
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: Force Alchemy

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Greystone Mercantile | Various independent Alchemists.
• Affiliation: Greystone Mercantile | Various independent Alchemists.
• Market Status: Open-Market
• Model: Living Clay
• Modularity: Extraordinary.
• Production: Minor
• Material: Alchemically-altered Clay

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Mineral
• Weight: Average
• Colour: Variable
• Resistances:
  • Energy Weapons: High
  • Kinetic Weapons: High
  • Lightsabers: High
  • Disruptors: Very Low

SPECIAL FEATURES

• The defining quality of Living Clay is its malleability in the hands of an Alchemist - with the proper procedures it can fill virtually any role, from fine pottery to deadly weapons, strange golems, and even (with sufficient work) the hull of starships. It is not necessarily more alterable than most other materials, just considerably easier to alter - it is thus especially useful for novices, large-scale production, and quick projects.

STRENGTHS

• Mystical Receptiveness: Living Clay is highly receptive to Sorcery, Alchemy, and general Force-Imbuement; under the right conditions it can be made to absorb enchantments like a sponge. It is especially well-suited for animation, such as in automatons, earning it its name.
• Permutable Properties: Able to be sculpted into a vast range of forms under the right conditions, from fine pottery to sturdy armour; even its base properties are quite malleable, in the right hands it can be used to forge golems whose bodies feel as flesh to casual inspection.

WEAKNESSES

• Disintegration Cascade: Living Clay is notoriously vulnerable to disruptors and the like, even a glancing hit will do significant damage.
• Not For Moral Hands: While easily alterable using Alchemy, Living Clay is much more difficult to work using more mundane methods.

DESCRIPTION
Since time immemorial, Alchemists and their ilk have sought to alter the base properties of matter in ways both strange and brutally efficient, forging mighty weapons and even reshaping the essence of entire species. The innovative new substance known as Living Clay is perhaps not very likely to push the envelope when it comes to what is theoretically achievable, but it will certainly simplify the process in at least some cases.

Developed by Alchemists indentured to or associated with Greystone Mercantile, the substance was initially meant solely as the building block for a series of golems intended to replace unreliable mercenaries for site security. Once its adaptability became evident, however, the Investors quickly capitalised on the unintended advantage, selling the recipe to various unaffiliated Alchemists, who in turn shared it among themselves.

As usual, they made no effort to distinguish between Sith, "heretical Sith", Jedi, Dark Jedi, or crazy hermits; customers are customers.

NB! Living Clay is a flavourful material. That's it. Any submission derived from it must still adhere to Factory rules, currently.​

 

[Krass Wyms]

Under Review

 

[Krass Wyms]

Kal

This is a nice thing to see more of. Though there is one main concern with me and that is minor production. The ability to outfit ship hulls on a large scale with this or make constructs like Shadex in theory at minor production doesn't sit well. So what I would like is either

Size limitations to its use. Shadex are massive constructs that moved around and were made like golems. A fleet with this as their hulls.

or

Lower production level

 

[Kal]

Krass Wyms

I'm not sure I understand; the Shadex seem to be technological in nature, not alchemical, so you clearly don't need this submission to make something like them; besides, this is only the material - sure, you could probably say you have a generic Force-y golem made from it, but you could do that with stone or metal too, so that doesn't really change anything.

I seriously doubt any Judge will be inclined to deny a Minor submission of giant constructs but decide its OK because it uses this.

As for starships, again, those would be submissions of their own and would likely be treated the same as if someone used "alchemical alloys"? As you have probably noted, Living Clay is phrased specifically for use in other submissions, it really doesn't have any super-useful intrinsic qualities compared to, say, Sarassian Iron (Canon Material, works well with the Dark Side) and Geminian Marble (Chaos Material, easily force-imbued.)

Now, I'd personally favour "alchemical alloys" for Starships, but I'd prefer not to limit potential users' creative freedom unless I have to, especially since this, again, wouldn't give any advantages other force imbued materials couldn't and is still subject to Factory limitations on Alchemy use.

TL;DR: I don't understand the need to limit the use of this compared to, well, Alchemy in general - but if you insist, I will of course comply.

 

[Krass Wyms]

Kal

The shadex was an example of how large a construct can be. This could just as easily be used for stone guardians or watcher statues and while I do enjoy pushing the edge there is a lot of potential here. Its ability to be animated and absorb like a sponge. The production will need to be lowered.

 

[Kal]

Krass Wyms

Again, I struggle to understand where you are coming from. Living Clay is solely meant as a flavourful material, not a carte blanche to do whatever one wants - I added a disclaimer at the bottom, in case that somehow satisfies your concerns. It is in no way, shape, or form meant to allow myself or others to submit things we could not otherwise submit with other materials or strategic vagueness. It is flavour, plain and simple.

As for the "absorb magic like a sponge", that is specifically "under the right conditions". I certainly don't anticipate anything made from this with a Minor production rating to be all that magical, perhaps some unusual swords/armour/vases or golems that are... basically flavourful droids.

Again, because the Factory rules limiting the production rating of Alchemical+ stuff based on its power still applies.

If anything, making them with the Force, not tech, is often objectively worse due to the prevalence of anti-Force tech/creatures.

I do plan to make some Minor production soldier-constructs for the Lords of the Sith, but if it will make you happy I will instead make them from "alchemical alloys", though that would be less flavourful.

(As a related aside, the reason Living Clay is not vulnerable to anti-Force stuff is simple - it has no innate properties that do, well, anything. Unworked it is just... fancy clay. Anything special about it comes about due to Alchemy+, which is already regulated in the Factory rules.)

Edit: If your main concern is, for whatever reason, size, I can limit that somehow, even though "generic alchemical alloys" are already a thing.

 

[Krass Wyms]

Kal

What you see as flavorful, I see as potential. If you are going to add limits as I said please add them to the size of what this can be applied to.

 

[Kal]

Krass Wyms

What you see as the potential in this submission, I see as the potential inherent to Alchemy (and related arts) in general.

I was considering how to implement a size limitation in a sensible way, perhaps by restricting certain sizes to Limited production or beneath, but for the life of me I can't figure out a way to do that in a sensible, coherent way. After much consideration, I have decided to request a Second Chance.

Apologies for not doing it sooner, I should have recognised that our stances are irreconcilable and not wasted your time with further arguments. If in any part of the judging process I came off as belligerent or overly argumentative, then I apologise for that too. I try not to make a habit of it.

 

[John Locke]

Kal

This is a capable material, it has the potential to be quite powerful as was detailed above, but in the end, this is just a material.

I will leave a warning that if a submission with this material will have to be balanced on its own merits.

APPROVED