Alternative Geochemistry, or algeochemistry, is a branch of alchemy which studies geological formations, minerals, materials and alloys which do not, or should not, exist under the standard model of chemistry. This presents a fundamental problem for conventional scientific institutions: algeochemical substances resist classification, behave inconsistently under controlled laboratory conditions, and in some cases appear to violate known physical laws entirely. Foreign scientists who have attempted to study samples typically conclude that their instruments are malfunctioning.
Oceanykan scientists, empowered by millennia of local empirical observation and an indigenous alchemical tradition predating the Collegiate of Magicians, have constructed more workable models. The prevailing Oceanykan hypothesis holds that algeochemical materials owe their anomalous properties to the influence of The Dreamspace on local geology, mediated by the residual effects of the Enigmatic Impact Event 800,000 years ago. The distribution of most algeochemical deposits is broadly consistent with the projected blast radius and ejecta field of that event.
With the exception of Munition Steel, algeochemical materials are exclusively endemic to the Oceanykan continent and its immediate territorial waters. All are subject to federal export controls and are classified as strategic resources under Oceanykan law. Algeochemistry primarily works with the following materials:
- Adamantium
- A superdense, extremely hard and pyrophoric reddish metal.
- A superdense, extremely hard and pyrophoric reddish metal.
- Bluemetal
- A bluish grey, general-purpose metal similar to steel, with greatly improved industrial qualities across the board.
- A bluish grey, general-purpose metal similar to steel, with greatly improved industrial qualities across the board.
- Firedust
- An orange low explosive with greater energy density than smokeless powder, though it also burns much hotter.
- An orange low explosive with greater energy density than smokeless powder, though it also burns much hotter.
- Mithril
- A silvery, extremely lightweight steel-like metal.
- A silvery, extremely lightweight steel-like metal.
- Munition Steel
- Reddish, very low quality "metal" made from Oceanyka's Ultisol Soil.
- Reddish, very low quality "metal" made from Oceanyka's Ultisol Soil.
- Orichalcum
- A dark purple, relatively high temperature superconductor with enormous electrochemical potential.
- A dark purple, relatively high temperature superconductor with enormous electrochemical potential.
- Plasteel
- A bluish grey, seemingly otherworldly alloy with nearly perfect industrial characteristics.
- A bluish grey, seemingly otherworldly alloy with nearly perfect industrial characteristics.
- Spectrum
- A light blue metal with anti-psionic properties.
- A light blue metal with anti-psionic properties.
- Warpstone
- An otherwordly isotope of Uranium that shouldn't yet stable... yet is, and causes strange effects on everything around it.