The real mario is the rust we collected along the XP

So a player that told you from beginning what he wants to do, which doesnt fit into your story, should they be forbiden to participate?

I haven't played Pathfinder. Next time I pick up epic fantasy, I think I'd like to give it a shot.

Do you just assume the worst in everyone you meet? How exhausted are you with the way you think?

> Only afterwards the DM told us it means we skipped a full chapter he had worked hard to prepare! The more time a DM spends preparing something, the less likely the players are to play along

You've triggered my trap card. I'm going to do the special interest info-dump now. Apologies in advance. It's good. It's written a little weird -- it uses inheritance, like computer programming, which can be a little more difficult to wrap you head around than it needs to be if you're not at least a little familiar with coding, and it's written as if it's doing everything possible to shut down rules lawyers, so whatever doesn't read like API documentation reads a bit like legalese -- but the actual system is nice. It's highly balanced, which is an awful word that its fanbase doesn't seem to understand, but it means that it totally shuts down winning in character creation, and shifts the power game to one of tactics rather than build. The result is that much of the discussion about the game treats it as if it's exclusively a tactical combat game (because most discussing the game are crypto-power-gamers), rather than a fantasy RPG, and the most enthusiastic players push back hard against any kind of reframing. But it has a *ton* of support fo roleplay focused tables, and it pares down easily for casual tables. Plus, you know, it's [free](https://2e.aonprd.com/)! And it's fairly easy to convert from 3.x/PF1, meaning that there's a whole generation of content out there for it beyond first party offerings, for just a little more effort than standard prep.

My GM solution: the rust is actually blood, and the crown needs a fresh coating to activate its narrative. If need be, make it belong to a certain bloodline, such as royalty.

Well, not quite. Rust eats into iron because oxidised iron is larger and much more brittle than unoxidised iron, physically ripping itself out of place. Many oxides arent that much larger that their base metals and form a nice patina protecting the metal underneath, like in aluminium. Other oxides destroy the structural integrity of the metal and eat into it, forming corrosion. Rust is just corrosion specific to iron.

The player: GUYS! I'M A KING NOW!!! BOW TO MEEEEEEEE!!!

My main point is that the DM gave them a crown but then for some reason panicks when they do something very mundane with it. It implies the DM has a rigid story set, rather than a sandbox for the players to explore.

Neat! I'll have to take a look sometime. Thanks for the explainer. I GM a fair bit, so the idea of a healthy collection of modules is compelling.

Technically there could be. After all, the GM has final say. But players will want to search for a reason, because they expect consistency. Spells don’t typically fail without reason. That reason can be a low die roll *if the spell description calls for it*, but many spells (like Prestidigitation) don’t require a roll. So having the spell fail “because the plot says no” is inconsistent. It would immediately throw up a giant red flag in the players’ minds, and make them think the item is much more important than they initially realized. After all, if the plot says the spell doesn’t work, then that means something in the world is preventing it from working. It makes more sense to have the item be cursed, or haunted, or protected by a god, or any other number of things that would give the players some sort of explanation to latch onto. If you keep it vague, the players will inevitably spend a *lot* of time trying to figure out why it can’t be cleaned. Because they expect consistency, and will keep throwing things at it until they find a reason. So it’s better to just give them a reason (even if you just came up with it in a panic) because that at least gives them some resolution, and they can file it away in their quest list for later.

You forgot the most important part: it isn't owned by Hasbro! Even if it didn't have any of the advantages it does over 5e, this alone would be huge.

This is not true. Oxidation is a broad type of chemical reaction involving the loss of electrons. Rust is a type of oxidation, much as a square is a type of rectangle. Oxidation can occur on the surface level (tarnishing of some metals, passivation of aluminum) or throughout (combustion). Rust actually only occurs on the surface as well, but the iron oxide is less dense than the metal and it increases the available area of the surface exposed to oxygen.

Touché! A truth I have really started to take for granted.

Yeah... Reading back my comment, it was badly written... I know rust is a type of oxydation, but that's not what I wrote!

I didn't know of other type of oxides that eat into the metal like rust does... But it's true that a "rusted crown" implies that it is iron-based, so the cantrip should work!

Lol thermite is my favorite oxidation & rust remover reaction

It’s artifact level - a cantrip simply doesn’t work on it. When the players ask why, you just tell them they don’t know - neither can anyone in the town/city whatever they’re in.

Ah yes, removes the rust, the object, and the table it was sitting on...