Would warpstone/wyrdstone be owned by the rich people of Marienburg as a trinket?

[Big_Cheddars]

Hey guys, I'm writing my submission for BL, and I've stumbled across a problem. In the story, a man is hunting some thieves who have stolen some warpstone from the rich of Marienburg, and having read the wikipedia page for warpstone, I'm not sure that these rich people would actually have warpstone, according to the fluff. So, I ask the knowledgeable experts of Heresy-Online, would the rich of Marienburg have warpstone trinkets to use as decoration on a mantelpiece or whatever. Since Marienburg is a free city, and not part of the Empire, Imperial law wouldn't apply there, and warpstone wouldn't necessarily be outlawed, right?

Oh, and if they did possibly have warpstone, would it be refined or unrefined? b
Because unrefined is a lot more dangerous.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Turnip86]

Well, while it would seem unlikely people would just have it lying around their houses, no matter how rich they are, it wouldn't be unusual for a collector to keep it privately (secretly) after buying it on the black market just like anything else that is an outlawed or morally wrong thing to have/do. They just wouldn't openly display it. If anything it would probably be some sort of rare item nut or someone who's secretly tinkering in mysterious artifacts. Throughout history there have always been people that collect outlawed objects or try to exploit dangerous substances for their own gains so why not invent the fluff for it with warpstone in the old world.

But like I said, if they displayed it openly they'd probably be hunted down witch hunters and exectuted no matter if marienburg is a free city or not.

[Big_Cheddars]

Okay, thanks Turnip, I just wasn't sure and I haven't been into this whole thing for too long, so that was just something that struck me as potentially I might be writing it wrong. But I can fix that, and with what you're saying it sounds quite interesting. I can just imagine a shifty, rich, reclusive merchant greedily poring over his prized lump of warpstone... And then he has it stolen... :D

[Vaz]

warpstone is inherently evil and attracts evil creatures or is used for malign purposes (whether or not that is the users intention).

your idea about the corrupt merchant seems rigjt - but why and how would he come into contact with it? perhaps a hedge wizard or disgraced collegiate apprentice seeks some for his personal use, or their is a cult attempting to use it, when the merchant as an innocent, if morally lacking third party, has it stolen - at which point youve got the two fold part of the merchant attempting to recover his stock while his buyers attempts to recover the goods resulting in a three way grab.

if your interested in marienburg underworld try looking for a murder most foul or something similar.

[Magpie_Oz]

Maybe the Merchant could have just found it on his many travels or in drifting in space or whatever.

I'd be making it a very raw one, that only had a trace of Chaos to it, enough to have a malign effect but not enough to be a beacon to witch hunters. Kind of like a cursed diamond or along those lines.

[Tim/Steve]

Not sure you can get 'raw warpstone'... all of it that is ever mentioned is powerful (just some is uber). I like the idea of it just floating in space... but kinda tricky for a renaissance era man to go and collect it.

Anyone who didn't know what it was would be likely to start mutating if they had close contact with it, especially over long periods. I think the only humans who would go hunting for it would have to be evil in one way or another- either sorcerers or in sway to other powers.
I think the cleanest way to describe it would be as a rich smuggler/merchant trading with the skaven on the sly, hunting down turncoats from his operation who have stolen some of his merchandise.

[Rems]

I could potentially see a collector having some, not knowing its true nature/origin, or disbelieving in such superstion (the skaven primarily being considered a myth after all).

More likely though is that whoever has it/ goes looking for it knows exactly what warpstone is and it's effects. It's not something that's going be found in the jewellery box.

Still when an asteroid of the stuff hit Mordhiem looters and agents of all of manner and races and individuals descended on the damned city to scavenge it. It was this strange substance with mysterious powers more valuable than gold. Who knows where some of it's ended up, traded from mercenary to mercenary, lost in bets and stolen.

[Big_Cheddars]

I like Rems's idea, it's a piece of warpstone from the asteroid that hit Mordheim, (and it's been stolen by the ratmen, btw). Now, the man is pissed off at losing his prized piece of black market merchandise, as he is like, addicted to the warpstone. And the premise of the story is that a man appears on his doorstep who knows it's been stolen, and offers to get it back. A man with a terrible lust for vengeance.

Thanks guys, this has cleared up a lot of issues I had with where the warpstone would have originated. I originally envisioned that there would be a thieving spree of small trinkets/pieces of warpstone from the rich of Marienburg, and the main character has heard about it and guesses it's the ratmen. But I see now that that would be unlikely, but frankly, the idea of a crooked, dodgy, rich merchant jealously hiding a piece of warpstone that has sort of entranced him is much, much better.