Gnomish Riveter
A metalworking hammer with a hollow handle and a small dial near the head. A useful tool and effective makeshift weapon.
Full Item Description
A metalworking hammer with a hollow handle. The hammer's head has a flat face and an angled face on the opposite side. There is a small dial where the hammer head and handle meet. The handle is hollow and easily accessed, but has no extradimensional properties. Metal rods about a finger's width may be inserted into the handle, and a sort of ratchet holds them in place if they are longer than the handle is. Twisting the butt of the handle can disengage the ratchet, allowing the metal rods to be removed, if desired.
Magic/Cursed Properties
The flat face of the hammer head has a specific blending of the 'heat metal' and 'mending' spells. When it is struck against a metal surface, it creates a rivet from the surface of it, with the span between the rivet heads determined by the dial. The rivet can be as small as two sheets of metal for armour, or as big as thick boiler plate. The head of the rivet is appropriate for it's dimension. The rivet is not magical, although it has only one part, making it a bit tougher than standard rivets. When created, they are hot, as one would expect, and then the metal cools and behaves like normal.
The angled end acts like a chisel, using an specific blending of the 'heat metal' and 'shatter' spells. Intended for striking off rivet heads, it also allows a wielder to beat metal into signifigant dents, that will be rather warm. Metals cannot be forged, as the heat is not that great, but it does aid the act of breaking metal things.
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? Responses (6)
And when used in combat it creates quite an entertaining show.
A good, solid, useful item that one would hope to see in action when out traveling. I see it as another perfect thing to add to the world to make it more whole.
Very useful and no doubt with nasty effects as a weapon too.
I don't like it.
1. It is a magical version of a rivet gun, made by gnomes. See rant about gnomes and wacky devices.
2. Reading about spell-like powers, dials and knobs, and extra-dimensional spaces made me feel like I was reading an entry out of the Dungeon Masters Guide from D&D.
3. I don't like the creation of technological items with spells. Rivet guns were designed for the building of iron ships and building construction, something not very prevalent in the standard fantasy milieu.
4. It is too easy to go from this to a piece of chain wrapped around a guide bar enchanted with 'keen edge' and 'animate object' spell to create a magical chainsaw.
I understand the magical principals and the construction. That is simple and it makes sense. I have no problem blending material technologies and thaumaturgical technologies, if both exist.
The question I have, and echoing Scras here, is why would anyone need to make one of these. Is someone making sky scrapers or steam plate or large iron ships? Without a serious need (and an attempt to fill it), why would anyone without 20th century views build a riveter? I mean there are lots of technologies which are possible centuries before they are developed (The Fax Machine could of been done in the 1870s, not the 1970s, HangGliders in the 13th, and the list is endless), but nobody had the need and could combine the disparaging technology together.
Besides, simply enchanting the hammer with a "weld" spell would make it vastly more efficient. Everywhere it strikes it merges the two pieces together. One enchantment, no need for the mechanics.
Meh, not much to say really. I understand where Scras is coming from, and I throughly dislike gnomes/20th Century ideas being 'magiced' and put into 13th century settings, but it is a solid item and I'll rate it as such.
Now, for why someone would need/make something like this, I have one word:
Chainmail.
A smaller version of this device would be a godsend, as the best chainmail armor had riveted links. I've make chainmail the lazy way, by squishing links together with pliers, and that was tedious enough. I can't imagine the amount of work required to make a riveted suit with medieval technology...