Glass

[shanahan]

I just realized that it says glass is supposed to be super rare and make amazing weapons, but if that is true why are there so many glass bottles, shot glasses, etc around?

Don't say "poor quality" cause it is really easy to purify glass.

[moab]

Where does "it" say this?

I never thought of glass as being rare, at least crude glass.  Finely crafted glass (like jewelry or perhaps weapons?) would require an artesian and that skill would be rare.

[shanahan]

Glass is said to be produced by some remote centers of civilization in the Known World, but their source has never become public knowledge. While not particularly resistant to shock, obviously, glass has the great advantage of being able to hold a very sharp edge. Occasional samples of glass knives and arrowheads have been offered for sale by wandering merchants, and these would be effective tools as long as they were used appropriately, bearing in mind the fragile nature of the material.

It just seems to insinuate that it is rare. I don't want to say it, but I will, it's the vibe of the thing.

[Sanvean]

Is that from a helpfile or webpage?  Can you give me the location so I can take a look at the context?

The vast majority of glass in the Known World is poor quality, full of bubbles and grit.  This is the sort of glass that you're seeing used in bottles.

Glass weapons - well, I'd suspect most of them come from Cenyr, which is where most high-quality glass comes from.  The Cenyrii guard their glass-making process pretty strictly; no one is quite sure how they manage to pull it off.  Glass weapons must certainly be less breakable than bottles, else they'd be pretty useless, so there must be something being done with them.

Some magic spells use components, some of which are made of glass.  These items are pricey not just due to their manufacturing but the general fear and hatred with which most things pertaiing to magic are regarded.

But which weapons are you talking about?  I just did a search on "glass dagger' and "glass sword" and I see a total of three actual weapons.

[Hexxaex]

I've seen glass daggers and knives, but it said so in the description that they look to be more ornamental tools or blades than they are actual weapons.  Last I checked, they were a good sum of money.

[Armaddict]

Any krathi who unleashes out in the desert has a chance of making some glass, heh.

I don't think glass is altogether -hugely- rare, though it is hard to get a hold of in any form aside from glasses and such (which a lot of these, when you look at them, are actually made from stone or some other material, so make sure you aren't mistaking this).  The thing is...most of those glass items you see generally bear insignia or are owned by a shop/bar...they have a lot more money at their disposal than most, -and- they probably keep those things around (think of when you junk it...that's probably just them picking it up again).

[bardess]

I know I don't know much about glass, but I figured it'd be in great abundance, what with all that sand.

[EvilRoeSlade]

Glass is rare in the way that silk was rare in ancient times.  Silk worms weren't difficult to get ahold of, but since the making of silk was a secret closely guarded by the chinese, silk nonetheless succeeded in being a valuable commodity.

[Seeker]

I would really prefer that real glass wine glasses weren't used in the Sanctuary.  I think that carved wooden goblets would be much more appropriate.

I mean every character who passes through the northlands can have a blue-rimmed wine glass or two hanging out in their backpack if they want it.

I know that this has been brought up before, but it is just not realistic that the Sanctuary would buy, stock and give these out to every schmoe who can scrape twenty 'sid together.

Seeker

[ashyom]

I would really prefer that real glass wine glasses weren't used in the Sanctuary.  I think that carved wooden goblets would be much more appropriate.

I mean every character who passes through the northlands can have a blue-rimmed wine glass or two hanging out in their backpack if they want it.

I know that this has been brought up before, but it is just not realistic that the Sanctuary would buy, stock and give these out to every schmoe who can scrape twenty 'sid together.

Seeker

Feel free to send me descriptions for wooden, bone, or stone drinking containers.  I'm happy to implement this.

[Seeker]

Excellent, and thanks.  In process.

Seeker

[path]

I wonder if a glass of wine or shot of flame could operate under the same principal as a bowl of soup. You eat the soup and the bowl is gone. It's not realistic how many people can walk out of a tavern with those things and it makes the eating impliments which are available on the market a farce.

[Cenghiz]

>emote looks around with narrowed eyes.
>emote arches his arms to sides and starts hissing out some syllables.
>cast 'mon un Suk-krath......'

Here you are.. Glass...

[Nao]

You can't just use any sand for glass, that wouldn't work... So I guess the glass resoucres and industry are centered around that one village in the red desert.

[Maybe42or54]

If the sand was made out of silicone, it would need to reach 1414 degrees celcius. You can't get anything that hot except in the center of a bondfire or a furnace.
How would bonfire's be made in the middle of the desert which has no wood? And yea....
so there. hehe  

Here is a Hint.

Hint is the quoted persons name.

[Anonymous]

If the sand was made out of silicone, it would need to reach 1414 degrees celcius. You can't get anything that hot except in the center of a bondfire or a furnace.
How would bonfire's be made in the middle of the desert which has no wood? And yea....
so there. hehe  

Here is a Hint.

Hint is the quoted persons name.

I very strongly doubt that a thunderbolt hitting sand would create a wineglass or a bottle  :lol:

[Cuusardo]

When lightning strikes sand, it creates long veins of glass.

[Nusku]

Actually, that's called Fulgurite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgurite

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Obsidian is also very close to being glass, as well.

[James de Monet]

Yeah, I was about to say, isn't obsidian just volcanic glass?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian

Which begs the question...how did these lava flows cool suddenly to produce all that obsidian?  Or are those the sorts of questions we're not supposed to ask?  

Interesting is the last paragraph, though:

Obsidian is currently used in cardiac surgery, as well-crafted obsidian blades have a cutting edge much sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels, and may even be up to five times sharper, the edge of the blade reaching veritable molecular thinness. It produces a cleaner cut and less tissue trauma, which translates to faster healing and less scar tissue.

[facehugger]

Obsidian is also very close to being glass, as well.

It's dragon glass... When the Others come break through the great wall.....