Guide/Dowsing

Metal/Ore Type	Unrecognized At	Recognized At	Vein Shape	Other Metals Nearby
Copper	N/A	0	Line approx 10 co-ords wide, blob approx 10 coords	Tin, Zinc, Iron, Platinum
Iron	1	2	Line or blob. The blobs have copper veins going out from them	Copper, Tin, Platinum
Tin	2	4	Blob on copper	Copper
Zinc	3	6	hexagonal-ish ring	Lead in center of ring
Aluminum	2	5	Spiral veins 1- 2 coords wide emanating from a central spot, interspersed with Magnesium along the same vein. Veins end in Aluminum blobs	Magnesium
Lead	3	7	blob in the center of Zinc ring	Zinc
Cobalt	5	10	Spiral vein, the vein is 5-10 coords wide, with about 15-20 coords blank between arms, the spiral is at least 100 coord large	Center of the spiral : Antinomy
Antimony	6	13	small blob in the center of Cobalt Spiral	Cobalt
Magnesium	8	16	A vein 1-2 coords wide connected to aluminum	Aluminum
Silver	7	15	Spiraling vein a few coords wide	Gold?
Platinum	12	24	Blob approx 15 coords wide between iron+iron, iron+copper	Iron, Copper
Gold	11	22	Blob approx 15 coords wide on one end of Silver vein	Silver
Nickel	17	35	Blob approx 30 coords wide

Ore Shapes

• Copper - Curved 10 coords wide not always capped with another ore, but frequently tin. Blob about 10 coords diameter.
• Tin - Cap on copper blob or vein.
• Iron - jagged line, 1 coords wide.
• Zinc - Hexagonal ring (around a central lead blob, T9 diameter 160 units one occurrence)
• Aluminum - Spiral veins 1-2 coords wide, connected to Magnesium
• Lead - Blob in the center of Zinc ring
• Magnesium - Vein 1-2 coords wide connected to Aluminum
• Silver - Long, winding vein 1-2 coords wide, sometimes changes to a blob along the vein
• Platinum - Blob approx 15 coords wide
• Gold - Blob approx 15 coords wide

General

First, you need to assemble a Dowsing Rod.

• It is used to locate veins of metal Ore.
• When carrying one, a Dowsing Icon will allow the checking of the coordinate you are on.
• Dowsing starts a Focus timer.

Tips n Tricks

• Sometimes the absence of an ore is as important as its presence. If you find a gap in a vein of ore, it's quite probable that you have an intersection of rare ore!
• Focus helps you dowse more often
• Constitution helps you detect a larger area

Perception detects the ore type and is the primary stat required. Each ore type requires a different perception level similar to stone quarries.

Each ore type has a different path trajectory (direction like curved, straight) and width (number of coordinates).

If the width of the ore path is narrow (e.g. 1 coord wide) then you have to be standing directly on top of it to detect it. Adding +CON allows you to detect a vein when you are near but not on top of it.

• With base of 0 CON you get a message similar to: You detect nothing under your feet.
• With ++CON you get a message similar to: You detect a vein of ore nearby.

In different tales, the distance between mines can be a significant difference between having multiple mines share the same ore field. Consider the placement of the mine carefully. Buildings and stone quarries and vineyards can impact the placement of a mine.

An indirect consideration is the distance to smelters and furnaces. Many guilds and players setup Public Mines and Smelters and upgrade them as advanced technologies are opened. Especially in Early Telling, these facilities are expensive to make and it is a great benefit to all players.