Applied Phlebotinum and its relatives like Unobtainium are easy to use because you make the rules on how to use them. You want phlebotinum to kill the bad guy and then turn around and heal the good guy, it can do that. Phlebotinum can do anything you want and is only limited by your imagination.
And right there is the catch: your imagination. What if you don't have an imagination? What if you are one of those boring accountants who goes through life in a robotic routine?
Well that's what this page is for. This page will list many inspiring ideas that you can use. Every idea listed here is some type of phlebotinum. It may have already been used in some media or it may not have been used yet. If it has been used, it might have a copyright so be careful about reusing someone else's phlebotinum.
If you have phelbotinum of your own you would like to contribute, please do so. The more phebotinum the better. The only thing we ask is that if it has been already used, tell us where and how so we can determine if there are any copyright limitations. If you know that there are no copyright limitations then tell us the phlebotinum is "open source" or whatever freedom it has.
If you want to create new phlebotinum that hasn't been used before, it needs to follow certain rules.
- First, make sure it doesn't already exist. Star Trek was originally going to use lithium but changed the name to dilithium because they didn't want it confused with lithium, a real chemical.
- Second, it must have some patterns for how it works and what it does and does not do. Even though you are free to decide all that, you must decide that in the beginning and cannot change it later for convenience.
- Third, it needs to be semi-scientific. It isn't true science and doesn't need to be explained in any detail but if it defies the laws of science too much, it can break the audiences Willing Suspension of Disbelief.
All examples should be formatted as follows:
Name of example — what it does — has it been used before, by whom, and is it free to use
Examples of Phlebotinum
Medicines/Poisons
- Amethasium — an extreme muscle relaxant that relaxes everything including bones leaving a person a pile of flesh. Wears off in twelve hours. Irothasium is a counteragent. — free to use.
- Irothasium — specifically used to make a person into a hard flat surface such as a cardboard cutout. Wears off in twelve hours. Amethasium is a counteragent. — free to use.
- Rigorarthrus — locks up the joints so that a person cannot move. It only locks the joints and the person can still breathe, eat, and do other bodily functions. Wears off in a day. — free to use.
Substances (Other than Medicines/Poisons)
- Dilithium — A fuel source for warp drive — Used in Star Trek and would not recommend using.
- Kryptonite — Superman's one weakness — Used in Superman and would not recommend using.
- Plasmids/Vigours — Super powers in a bottle — Used in BioShock and names are copyrighted, but basic concept is not. Would recommend using.
Gadgets
- Hacking Pendrive — Pendrive that hacks any computer it's plugged in — used in many a movie, so it's practically Public Domain Artifact.
- Zoom-And-Enhance Software — provides Zoom And Enhance effect for your computer — used everywhere.
- Exoskeleton — provides super-strenght, protection and reflexes with a nifty look — this one is close to becoming reality, so use with research.
