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Amber from Wood to Stone?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 1:59 am
by taalismn
Okay, here's a mindstorm question:
Suppose you wanted to massproduce mage-grade amber. Could it be possible to take a bundle/cord of resinous wood, dust it with fine silica(and other fossilization trace chemicals), put it under pressure in a machine press, and cast Wood to Stone on it in hopes that a percentage of the wood will yield usable amber in the process?
Much was I'd like to throw some temporal magic on top of it, there's nothing that will permanently age nonliving materials, so I can't 'cook' it that way....

Thoughts?

Re: Amber from Wood to Stone?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 9:23 am
by ShadowLogan
If Stone Magic (WB2o pg104) and Techno-Wizardry (RUE pg134) are any indication any artificially created gems will not have magic properties. Now technically only diamond and zircon gemstones (Amber is on both master lists) are cited in this manner, but IMHO should also apply to any synthetic version of gems on their respective lists.

Now why synthetic diamond/zircon do not have magical properties is not elaborated upon AFAIK, but if I had to speculate it would be that it hasn't had enough time to absorb latent magical energies which means you have to find some way to "age" them OR "charge" them via a large infusion of PPE.

So, could you artificially create Amber? Sure, why not. Would it have magical properties? There is some precedent that it should not, but it isn't specifically ruled out either.

Re: Amber from Wood to Stone?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 11:05 am
by Grazzik
ShadowLogan is correct re natural vs artificial. Looking through past topics, there have been a few discussions on the matter. I would also read the rules as requiring the amber be "aged" in a PPE rich environment to be imbued with the same mystic properties as natural amber.

Perhaps use a TW spell chain that has temporal magic spells such as Temporal Blast (DB13, pg 128) or Time Warp: Age (WB3, pg 81) to "age" or bombard the amber with temporal energies like a mystic microwave oven warming a frozen dinner. Perhaps there should be a cost associated with stress aging the amber, such as reduced quality/flaws or reduced effectiveness in casting... just like a frozen dinner.

Re: Amber from Wood to Stone?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 8:34 pm
by taalismn
Guess I'll either have to deus exmachina with a faster-moving(temporally) alternate universe with PPE-rich plant life and Earth Element-rich minerals, or mug Millenium Trees.... :P