This is an idea I've had for some time in several different incarnations.  But, if ferrous metals suddenly started breaking down, becoming brittle and eventually rusting away, what sort of effect would that have on the world?  Say goodbye to vehicles, TVs, computers, long range communication.  Bridges, dams, levees, and nuclear facilities are going to become compromised, cities are going to become wastelands where skyscrapers are in imminent danger of collapse.  Not to mention all the mundane stuff we take for granted like nails, belt buckles, eating utensils, and a lot of other things are going to disappear.  And perhaps worst of all, the canned goods everyone thought they could rely on in the face of a disaster are now worthless.  

1. Anything else cool I'm missing?  

In the Stormrift setting, people are having to relearn a bunch of basic skills to survive, like hunting, fire-building, horseback riding.  This is made infinitely worse by the fact that earth is being invaded by aliens from a parallel dimension.  

So, what you have is an armed human Resistance that is having to adapt and overcome, using copper, bronze, and brass to replace metal weapons and goods to wage a guerilla war against the invaders.  

2. Anyone have some devious tricks, traps, or tactics they might use in this situation.

Iron in blood. Say goodbye to every single mammal, lizard, amphibian and fish.

Assuming that's not an issue...bronze and brass are pretty strong for tools and weapons (bronze after all was used for cannons). For other stuff, it's a question of how quickly society would realize what's going on and convert the basic tooling into materials that would survive, before existing tooling, dies, and templates deteriorate. The new tooling could then be used to make necessary equipment. Otherwise, tool and die makers will have to be coordinated in a massive program to rebuild industry from the ground up.

Many structures can be made of non-ferrous alloys, ceramics, and plastics.

I believe electronics depend more on silicon, copper, gold, and exotic metals (like the rare earths) than on ferrous for their operational components. Except for magnetic storage devices. Fortunately, CD and (I believe) DVDs are made of plastic and aluminum, so they wouldn't degrade, and a lot of key information is probably stored in that form.

Large engineering structures like bridges, dams, skyscrapers are made of concrete/steel/rebar. Existing structures will fail, it's just a question of whether they can be safely demolished and replaced, and whether there are suitable replacement materials for the ferrous components.

Current canned goods will fail because the lids contain steel, but the rest of the cans are made largely from aluminum and I imagine that processes will be developed to use non-ferrous lids.

Also note Sten guns are simple to manufacture; same may apply to some other models such as AK-47. I don't know enough about firearms or metallurgy to say, but perhaps non-ferrous materials are available that could be used in such guns (and their ammo) even if a lot of modern tooling has deteriorated.

You actually don't want ferrous metals for computers. They have innate magnetic fields.
Magnetic fields are contra-indicated in a processor and in many electronic uses.
No hard drives. Or floppy disks.

Eh. And i was gunna ask if this was a 'stuff mysteriously fails' or 'stuff never existed' question, as they posit different answers...

... and lo, it was the weaker and more boring of the two already...


... and lo Elliot was there ahead of me with the solid answer of 'not all good metals are ferrous, so we'll just start working more in THOSE....

... damn Elliot and his uber forum-fu.

Quote from: Narf the Mouse;306816Iron in blood. Say goodbye to every single mammal, lizard, amphibian and fish.

Ha!  That would be a quick game.  At least it wouldn;t use the supplement model.  

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;306818Assuming that's not an issue...bronze and brass are pretty strong for tools and weapons (bronze after all was used for cannons). For other stuff, it's a question of how quickly society would realize what's going on and convert the basic tooling into materials that would survive, before existing tooling, dies, and templates deteriorate. The new tooling could then be used to make necessary equipment. Otherwise, tool and die makers will have to be coordinated in a massive program to rebuild industry from the ground up.

Many structures can be made of non-ferrous alloys, ceramics, and plastics.

I believe electronics depend more on silicon, copper, gold, and exotic metals (like the rare earths) than on ferrous for their operational components. Except for magnetic storage devices. Fortunately, CD and (I believe) DVDs are made of plastic and aluminum, so they wouldn't degrade, and a lot of key information is probably stored in that form.

Large engineering structures like bridges, dams, skyscrapers are made of concrete/steel/rebar. Existing structures will fail, it's just a question of whether they can be safely demolished and replaced, and whether there are suitable replacement materials for the ferrous components.

Current canned goods will fail because the lids contain steel, but the rest of the cans are made largely from aluminum and I imagine that processes will be developed to use non-ferrous lids.

Good points, Elliot, thanks.  I'm going to have to work aluminum into the mix as it rusts, just not the same way as ferrous metals.  Thanks for pointing that out.  

Computers and other tech that does not use ferrous metals might still work, but they're going to be extremely limited as the power plants become inoperational anyway.  Plastics are unharmed.  

According to the backstory, the introduction of the agent and the failure of technology is going to take place over a matter of weeks, before the invasion actually begins and governments are already stretched thin by humanitarian crises.  By the time the game begins it will have been a few months into the armed conflict part of the invasion.  

Quote from: Spike;306824Eh. And i was gunna ask if this was a 'stuff mysteriously fails' or 'stuff never existed' question, as they posit different answers...

Ah, I guess I should have been more specific in the subject line.  My bad.  It's definitely "stuff mysteriously fails" as the "never existed" scenario would be one of those masturbatory philosophical debates that fly way over my head.

Oh, I missed the alien invasion part.

Germs. Plagues have been a part of every war, sometimes intentionally.

Quote from: pspahn;306829Computers and other tech that does not use ferrous metals might still work, but they're going to be extremely limited as the power plants become inoperational anyway.

Ah, this is an interesting point since AC generators depend on magnets. Are there non-ferrous magnets? A: Yes. Can you use an electromagnet in a generator? Apparently, yes, although that raises a sort of boostrapping problem. However a chemical battery would probably work. I guess that's step 1 as described here.

Interesting problem.

Quote from: Narf the Mouse;306841Germs. Plagues have been a part of every war, sometimes intentionally.

Cool.  Yes, in a world where it's not easy to find a doctor when you get an infection or break a leg, health issues are going to be a major problem, at least in the short term.  Thanks!

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;306861Ah, this is an interesting point since AC generators depend on magnets. Are there non-ferrous magnets? A: Yes. Can you use an electromagnet in a generator? Apparently, yes, although that raises a sort of boostrapping problem. However a chemical battery would probably work. I guess that's step 1 as described here.

Interesting problem.

Nice!  You know, I consider myself pretty well read, but I had never heard of a blackstart before.  That's just the kind of innovation I was looking for.  Thanks!

You know, thinking about aluminum, that's one of the main components in aircraft design.  Does anyone here know what jet and prop engines are made of?  I'm thinking it's a heavier metal, but I can't seem to find the right search keywords.

Quote from: pspahn;307100You know, thinking about aluminum, that's one of the main components in aircraft design.  Does anyone here know what jet and prop engines are made of?  I'm thinking it's a heavier metal, but I can't seem to find the right search keywords.

Well besides various alloys of steel which is, according to the proposed setting not happening:

Titanium
Ceramics
Nickle Alloys
maybe Magnesium in places where it isn't subjected to enough heat to ignite it

Except for the engines the original prop planes were made of wood and paper-mache...

I'm sure you could build a working engine out of non-ferrous metals.

What's to stop the invaders doing this 'Stuff goes crumble' on other types of materials?

Quote from: Strangelove;307876Well besides various alloys of steel which is, according to the proposed setting not happening:

Titanium
Ceramics
Nickle Alloys
maybe Magnesium in places where it isn't subjected to enough heat to ignite it

Do all engines have steel/alloy components?  That's mainly what I was wondering.  

Quote from: Spike;307878Except for the engines the original prop planes were made of wood and paper-mache...

I'm sure you could build a working engine out of non-ferrous metals.

Yes, I had thought about that.  It might also be interesting to have a WWI biplane in a museum whose engine had resisted most of the corrosive effects.  It also got me thinking that those little ultralights might become useful for recon and such.  

To be clear, the corrosion happening in this setting is not all pervasive and it can be temporarily halted in some cases (but recontamination will eventually occur).  But what this means is that PCs will have access to certain weapons, vehicles, and equipment.  How well they take care of this gear depends on how long it lasts.  

Quote from: Narf the Mouse;307901What's to stop the invaders doing this 'Stuff goes crumble' on other types of materials?

Well, that's not part of the setting.  The invaders aren't omnipotent, they's just good at making use of what's available--in this case a microorganism that's capable of feeding on metals.  

Here is an early writeup of the process with a bit of pseudoscientific gobbledygook to explain it.  I had originally concentrated on ferrous metals, but I'm thinking now that any metal susceptible to rust is going to be affected.  Some alloys such as aluminum might just take a _lot_ longer to break down.  


Voss (a.k.a. Rust)
Voss is a tiny biomechanical nanobacteria produced by bologs as an odorless, tasteless, liquid.  The bioorganic voss feed on ferrous metals causing them to become brittle and more susceptible to rust.  The more complex the metal, the longer the process takes (i.e. steel takes longer to break down than iron).  Voss is a self-replicating organism that is constrained only by its food source.  This means that voss spreads quickly over metals as the bacterium feed and multiply.    

High concentrations of voss gas were introduced into earth's atmosphere after meteors made of solidified voss struck the earth.  Further applications of liquid voss are regularly dispersed by bolog sweep teams during Korr eradication efforts.  Liquid voss that is not attached to a food source evaporates under heat and is carried up into the air, descending again with the rains.  Large quantities of water dilute liquid voss's effectiveness, but the gaseous form can spread over a wide area without losing its potency.

Liquid voss may be killed by certain oils, cleaners, and other lubricants, which prevents further damage, but does not repair damage that has already been done or prevent recontamination.  Metal coatings such as paint or enamel delay corrosion, but a simple scratch is all that is needed for voss to take hold.  Voss is the most demoralizing weapon the Korr possess as it reduces cities to ruins and strips men of the tools to fight off the invasion.  

Combating the Voss  
Human technology has suffered enormously from the effects of the corrosive voss.  Power stations are down.  Electronic devices such as television sets, radios, and computers have all become inoperable.  Steel supports for skyscrapers, bridges, and tunnels have become compromised.  Without constant maintenance, vehicles and weapons cease to function.  

There are some ways to counteract the effects of the voss.  Regular oiling and cleaning can stop voss corrosion by killing the voss organisms.  Motorcycles and older vehicles with simpler engines and items such as Ham radios that contain fewer electronic parts are being sought by the Resistance as they are easier to maintain.  OLS technicians have also designed specially modified sprayers that give "oil baths" to the few functioning large vehicles such as cars, tanks, helicopters, and fighter planes that are still operational, but these vehicles grow weaker each time contact with voss is made.  

Since voss gas is lighter than air and dispersed with rains, deserts and other regions with low precipitation tend to be less affected by the corrosion.  Many airtight facilities such as underground bunkers and bomb shelters have also resisted the worst of its effects.  

Jury-Rigging
Jury-rigging refers to makeshift repairs or temporary devices, made with only the tools and materials that happen to be on hand.  In today's world, jury-rigging has become a common practice, as metal parts are replaced with those more resistant to voss corrosion.  Jury-rigging requires not only mechanical skill, but also the ability to think "outside the box."  

Let's face it, if you include rules for jury-rigging in a game, everyone at the table suddenly turns into MacGyver--and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  In a world where technology has taken a huge leap backwards, any player worth his dice is going to try to find creative ways to regain the advantage.  In fact, humanity's resilience and ability to overcome adversity is one of the major themes of the Stormrift setting.  

Game Master's should encourage creative use of knowledge and skills, allowing abstract rolls for anything that seems feasible or that the player can describe in more than just generic detail.  Game Masters need not pore over gunsmithing texts to decide whether or not a Sten gun can be made from copper tubing, for example.  If something sounds cool, let the character make a roll and see what happens.  Jury-rigged items have a limited lifespan and are notoriously unreliable, so they seldom create long-term problems.