How does the residuum look like?

[Revinor]

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20080516a

has mentioned 'residuum' few times. It is some kind of magic 'currency', denominated in gold pieces, which can be used to enchant new items and is gained from disenchanting existing ones.

How do you think it will look like? Is it some kind of virtual stat, so mage performing disenchanting gains it himself and later can spend to enchant new ones? Or is it something tradeable - in this case it has to be some kind of substance. What it could be?

- some kind of liquid? heavy gas? can you spill it on the ground by accident and lose it?
- small beads/pearls? each worth exactly 1gp??? (extremely cheesy)
- electricity/quickening like power which you can store it in some kind of 'magic capacitors' ? What are the rules for connecting those capacitors in serial or parallel way ?

I know only one thing. It is for sure blue.


Another question - from where it comes originally? From existing items, you can get it at 20% efficiency. What about some kind of residuum mine/spring/whatever - which can be a MAJOR strategic resource, a lot more important than salt or gold mines.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I view it as whatever substance/object that was used in enchanting an object. So it could be; a glowing ruby, a bottle of silver flakes, a nail engraved with runes, etc.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Well IMC it will be magical energy, held inside (like XP but rated in GP) the ritualist. Same as eberron artificer, not a physical thing but a meta-game measure of internal magical potential to create items.

 

[Picatrix]

Ponies. Tiny, tiny (blue) ponies.

 

[Dunamin]

What about some kind of residuum mine/spring/whatever - which can be a MAJOR strategic resource, a lot more important than salt or gold mines.

I have been toying with the same idea. I think there's great plot potential in incorporating natural residuum sources as the focus of an adventure or campaign, which can be efficiently extracted with sufficient equipment, economic ressources, and manpower (thus making it effectively viable only for NPC major organizations).

The PCs could be charged with investigating the source of a residuum leak in production, only to discover gnomes siphoning it away with advanced magic.

The PCs could be tasked with infiltrating the great infernal flying warship in the Nine Hells, to track down and sabotage its residuum energy core and thus thwart the devils from launching a major scale invasion of their nation.

Etc...

 

[Family]

Refined essence of astral diamonds, that's why they are worth so much.

 

[Frostmarrow]

Ponies. Tiny, tiny (blue) ponies.

Ponies huh? This 4E thing looks better every day.

 

[frankthedm]

Toxic Green Balefire would be my suggestion. Solidifying to a substance similar to Warhammer fantasy's Warpstone. Of course you should take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

 

[NMcCoy]

Energon cubes!

 

[malcolm_n]

Well, between 1-10, you'll have magic dust from armor, Astral Essence from Weapons, and Small brilliant shards from wondrous items...

I kid of course, but nobody had brought up WoW yet, so I felt it necessary (btw, big fan of both games)