[3.5] Adamantly Magical [New Materials+]

[arguskos]

Because I love alternate materials, and I love Volo's Guide to All Things Magical:
http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/fr/magic.jpg

This is my attempt to bring the materials section of that book into 3.5, a feat that has not been attempted before to the best of my knowledge. Now, there IS a section in Magic of Faerun with some updates, but the rules there are... pathetic, at best. They're overly generic, pathetically bad, and just not flavorful at all. I hate that, and so comes the Adamantly Magical project, to deliver upon wings of joy that which is best in life: new toys. :smallamused:

I'll actually get some content up tomorrow. For now, enjoy the names of some of the things to come, and the reserved posts. :smallwink:

The New Metals:
Adamant: This jet-black, brittle, ferromagnetic ore is the source of the famed alloy Adamantine's strength. Adamant is unbelievably hard, and is as brittle. The main unique properties of adamant are its ability to overcome the hardness of any known material, its ability to shield against fire, and its brittleness. Ruleswise, adamant has 80 hardness and 20 hp/inch of thickness. However, adamant is so brittle that if struck or used as a weapon or armor it has a 20% chance to fracture, losing half its max hardness and a quarter of its max hp (eg. each time it fractures it loses 40 hardness and 5 hp). Finally, adamant suffers no effect from fire, and neither does any who make use of it in armor or shields. Armor or shields made from adamant grant fire resistance 10 to the bearer. Adamant may only be used to create objects made primarily of metal.
Cost (per pound): 1,500 gp.

Adamantine: The most famous alloy of adamant, adamantine retains the hardness of adamant but gains a rugged strength that permits it to shatter all but the most powerful objects. Adamantine has 40 hardness and 40 hp/inch of thickness. Though adamantine loses the protective functions of adamant (but retains the power to ignore all hardness of objects, except adamant and adamantine), it does have one unique property: adamantine readily accepts enchantments. It has no need for Merald's meld and crown meld spells during the enchantment process, and further it reduces the cost of enchantment by 10%.
Cost (per pound): 4,000 gp

Arandur: A very rare metal and the exclusive secret of the gnomish smiths, arandur is found as a natural blue-green ore amidst veins of vitreous glass. To prevent it from becoming as brittle as the glass it is found amidst, it must be slaked in the blood of a true dragon during the forging process, making arandur more than a task for the average smith. The finished metal is a silver-blue hue with a green reflective shine. Arandur has 15 hardness and 25 hp/inch of thickness. Arandur has several valuable qualities, including ease of enchantment, its natural sharpness, and the power to absorb magic missiles. Arandur always retains its edge, even when abused, granting it a natural +1 to the critical range of any slashing or piercing weapon it is forged into. Arandur armor can absorb magic missile and derivative spells (chain missile, force missile), reducing the damage done by each such missile by 2 (to a minimum of 1 damage per missile). Finally, much like adamantine, arandur has no need for Merald's meld and crown meld spells during the enchantment process, and further it reduces the cost of enchantment by 10%.
Cost (per pound): 6,000 gp

Copper: This well-known easily worked metal is not actually suitable for magical enchantment, were it not for its interesting purification property. Copper serves as a leech for specific types of magical energy, specifically holy and unholy energies. When an item with strong holy or unholy energies is encased in a copper box for at least 1 day per caster level of the item, it loses those properties that grant it the holy/unholy aura (for example, placing a +1 unholy keen longsword into a copper case for 10 days leads to the unholy property being negated and only a +1 keen longsword remains).
Cost (per pound): 250 gp

Darksteel: A secret of a now extinct dwarven clan, darksteel behaves much like normal steel, but when exposed to a unique and secret formula of tinctures and oils and heated in even a simple bonfire, it rapidly becomes molten and can be recast into a mold (even a simple sand mold), taking any desired shape the forged wishes. Even more fantastically, darksteel retains any and all magical enchantments it may have through the entire process (this makes it possible to gain unusual enchantments on items, such as a keen light steel shield or a light fortification war hammer; in such cases, the ability still functions, provided it is possible for it to do so, your DM will decide). Further and more impressive yet, treated darksteel armor absorbs lightning directed at the wearer, granting them electricity resistance 10. Darksteel has 15 hardness and 35 hp/inch of thickness, and is silvery, with a deep purple reflective shine.
Cost (per pound, untreated [as steel]): 250 gp
Cost (per pound, treated [as above]): 6,000 gp

Dlarun: Among the strangest of the known metals, dlarun is made by roasting certain clays in a brick oven, picking out the white chips that result, and melting those chips in a crucible with other secret ingredients. The resultant soft, soap-like metal can be easily carved with a knife, and once fired again, hardens into a surprisingly lightweight and strong metal. Dlarun is nearly worthless as a weapon, bringing nothing but decreased weight to the weapon, but is excellent for decorative purposes, since dlarun steadies the mind. As long as at least 1 pound worth of dlarun is in contact with bare flesh, the wearer gains a +2 alchemical bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting and fear effects.
Cost (per pound): 5,000 gp

Gold: The most famous of the metals, used for currency the world over, gold has one fairly minor usage in magical items: it serves as a super-conductor, automatically enabling all dweomerflow spells cast upon an item as part of the construction process to succeed. This use of gold requires at least 1 ounce of gold to be worked into the item in question and requires unique oils and tinctures for the gold.
Cost: (per ounce, treated for the usage): 500 gp

Hizagkuur: This flaky mud can be worked into a metal through a complex and exacting process known to few, and if the process fails at any point, the hizagkuur remains mud. However, if the process succeeds, the mud is transformed into a brilliantly reflective white metal with numerous magical properties. First, hizagkuur cannot be reworked or repaired, due to the nature of its creation. If broken, only a limited wish, wish, or miracle can repair it. Second, hizagkuur reflects all magic cast upon it (not it's wearer, it) back at the caster. Finally, any creature coming into contact with hizagkuur directly suffers 2d12 electricity damage each round they touch the material. Due to its drawbacks, hizagkuur sees most of its use in battlements and fortress doors. Hizagkuur has 20 hardness and 40 hp/inch of thickness.
Cost (per pound): 10,000 gp

Mithral: Known as truemetal, this silvery-blue highly reflective metal is prized by warriors of all kinds. Mithral is blessed with lightness of weight, magical resistance, and superior strength over steel. Mithral has 15 hardness and 30 hp/inch of thickness. When worked into a weapon, mithral halves the weight, and permits the weapon to be used as though it were a light weapon if it would be advantageous to the wielder (ie. a mithral greatsword can be used for Weapon Finesse, etc). As armor, mithral has an unpredictable reaction towards magic. When the wearer of a suit of mithral armor is targeted by a spell that affects them and only them, roll a 1d6. On a result of 1-4, the spell functions normally. On a result of 5, the wearer gains a +1 alchemical bonus to any required saves. On a result of 6, the damage dealt by the spell (if any) is reduced by 1 per die (minimum of 1 per die).
Cost (per pound): 4,000 gp

Silver: This well known metal was called the "Sword and Shield of the Art" by ancient craftsmen, for its role in the creation of fantastic magical creations. If an object is composed primarily of silver, then during the creation process it automatically succeeds on any checks related to the following spells: awakening, enchant an item, holy vesting, wondrous web, Merald's meld, crown meld, Obar's lesser purification, Azundel's purification, and higher consecration. For use in magical item creation, silver must be treated with a special combination of oils and tinctures.
Cost (per pound): 350 gp

Telstang: Also called "the trusty metal" or "truesilver", telstang is brittle and snaps easily if bent, making it unsuitable for use as weapons or armor. However, telstang has one powerful property: any organic material in contact with at least 2 pounds of telstang cannot be affected by any spells of the transmutation school. This effect takes 1 week of constant exposure to take effect, and lasts for as long as the telstang is worn and up to 24 hours after the telstang is removed. Telstang has the hardness and hp/inch of normal steel.
Cost (per pound): 10,000 gp

Zardazik: This rare, ferromagnetic, blood-red metal has all the strength and durability of normal steel. If at least 3 pounds of zardazik is used in the creation of a slashing or piercing weapon, it gains the singular unique power of zardazik: the power to body phase. Once a zardazik blade draws a creature's blood for the first time, it can never harm that singular creature ever again, instead passing through them without harm. This permits the weapon to be hidden inside of this creature, to be withdrawn and used to deadly effect later on. Each zardazik blade only works for one creature in this fashion, there after treating all creatures as normal.
Cost (per pound): 6,000 gp

New Metal Treatments:
Blueshine: Derived from a very complex procedure involving a complex series of precisely timed heatings, slakings, and prolonged baths in various arcane minutae such as liquified cockatrice feathers, mixed draconic bloods, and sweet water potions, blueshine is an expensive process to perform. However, the result is well worth it. Applying blueshine to a metallic item causes the item to be completely repaired of all damage (even pseudo-magical metals, such as hizagkuur, are repaired this way) and negative effects. Further, the item gains immunity to acidic effects. Blueshining an item takes 2 days of continuous work (only 2 periods of 4 hours each of rest can be attained in those 2 days, and they are not back to back), and produces enough solution to blueshine one object.
Cost (per procedure): 5,000 gp

Everbright: Everbright, an ancient and secretive dwarven procedure, grants a metallic object brilliance and endurance. An object treated with everbright gains a brilliant shine, akin to that of chromium, and never tarnishes or rusts, even when exposed to millennia of neglect or magical sources of rusting. In addition, if a spell with the [light] descriptor is cast upon an everbright object, the area of that spell is doubled.
Cost (per item): 5,000 gp

Habalar's Stealth: A highly prized procedure for rogues and anyone with stealth in mind, Habalar's stealth is the process of boiling an object in stealthslake (a secret formula, of course). Once so treated, the object becomes nonferromagnetic, nonreflective, and silent when clanged, negating the armor check penalty on Move Silently checks from armor. An object treated with Habalar's stealth also readily takes paints and dyes, granting a +4 on Disguise checks to conceal the object.
Cost (per item): 8,000 gp

[arguskos]

New Woods
Beetle Palm: Named such because their bark looks like the black and shiny carapace of a beetle, beetle palms are not notable for their wood itself, which is similar to oak, though it burns longer and cleaner. Indeed, the most notable thing about beetle palms is their fruit. The fruit of the beetle palm is a soft-rinded and bitter tasting plum-shaped fruit that grows at the base of the fronds in clumps of 2d4 fruit. If picked and eaten, a single fruit from the beetle palm heals the eater of 1d2+2 hp, and nourishes them as though they'd had a full meal, though the fruit goes bad in just under a day. If a clump of fruit is treated with the goodberry spell, each fruit instead heals 1d4+2 hp, has no maximum on hp healed each day, and stays fresh for up to 1 year (as a magical goodberry). These properties make beetle palms much sought-after by adventurers (for picking) and druids (for defending from said adventurers). Beetle palms grow in temperate regions, despite their name.
Cost (per single fruit): 20 gp
Cost (per single goodberry fruit): 500 gp

Calantra: A strong and hardy tree, calans are stout, red-barked trees with rich brown wood. Calantra is the heartwood of the calan tree, and is as tough as the tree itself. Calans are known to resist floods, frosts, fires (even red dragon breath), and calantra is just as strong. Calantra is immune to damage from natural sources of fire, frost, and water, and has hardness 15 and 20 hp/inch of thickness. It is well loved for carving, for wooden weapons, and even in rare cases for making wooden breastplates. Druids can wear calantra armor without breaking their oaths.
Cost (per pound): 500 gp

Chime Oak: Identical to oak trees in most respects, the very rare chime oak is perfectly transparent, as though made from glass. In the winter, unlike normal oaks, chime oaks do not lose their leaves. Instead, they freeze solid on the branches (thawing in the spring), and chime together in the breeze, creating a soft melodic sound that many creatures, including basilisks, find pleasant. Chime oak wood when cut slowly turns white over the space of an hour. Chime oak wood is immune to damage from cold, and further has a unique affinity for music. If used in the making of musical instruments, chime oak grants the item a +2 bonus on Perform checks made with that item (this stacks with any bonuses the item may grant normally, including masterwork ones). Chime oak instruments are known for their pure and sweet tone, making them much loved as harps and soft wood instruments (flutes and oboes and such).
Cost (per pound): 500 gp

Blueleaf: A durable, slender tree, blueleafs (not "blueleaves") are instantly recognizable, thanks to their electric blue leaves. Blueleaf wood is a good and strong wood, similar to pine in utility, but has a unique affinity for the casting of spells. If used as an extra material component for quickened spells, blueleaf wood lowers the level of the quickened spell by 1 during casting. Obviously, this makes it ideal for sorcerers and other spontaneous casters, and nigh useless for prepared casters.
Cost (per pound, treated for spell use [5 uses per pound]): 5,000 gp
Cost (per pound, untreated): 5 gp

Duskwood: A tall and thin tree with black bark and tough grey wood, duskwood has a powerful resistance to fire, so much so that it doesn't catch fire, even when subjected to the flame directly (unlike calantra, which just ignores natural fires, not magical). Duskwood is strong, and is suitable for making certain armors (most medium and heavy armors). Duskwood has hardness 20 and 20 hp/inch of thickness, and is immune to all fire damage, magical or otherwise. Further, if a piece of duskwood is used as an optional material component in a spell that produces fire damage, the spell is cast at -2 caster level. Conversely, if used as an optional material component in a spell that defends against fire damage (such as Resist Energy), that spell is cast at +2 caster level.
Cost (per pound, enough for 5 spell components): 500 gp

Felsul: Seeming to favor frigid conditions and poor soil, felsul is a short and strange tree, more akin to a bush than anything else. Felsul wood crumbles to the touch, making it useless for construction or as firewood. However, any spell that causes withering or decay, or that increases the damage dealt by another effect can use a piece of felsul as a universal material component instead of whatever it normally would use, even if the normal component has an expensive cost.
Cost (per pound): 15 gp

Hiexel: A tall and full tree, hiexels are very prone to rot, and have brittle and waxy wood. When burned, their wood produces a massive amount of smoke, making hiexel wood excellent for smoking food or for signal fires. Due to its fragility, hiexel is not suitable for magic item construction, but it is useful as a material component, able to replace any material component for any spell that creates mists or fogs.
Cost (per pound): 25 gp

Laspar: A hardy evergreen species, laspars appear like squat cedar trees. The tree itself is not remarkable, but its needles are. Boiled laspar needles are a potent laxative, and crushed needles produces a powerful sweet scent much used in candles and torches. Further, laspar needles serve as an optional material component for transmutation spells that change the state of something (ie. alter physical form or physical ability scores), increasing the caster level of such spells by 1.
Cost (per pinch of treated needles, enough for 1 spell): 100 gp

Roseneedle Pine: A smallish evergreen tree, roseneedle pines resemble 3-4 ft high yews with slim trunks. Roseneedle roots grow deep and wide, and are amazingly useful as fishing bait, as roseneedle pines have an excellent affinity for aquatic life. Roseneedle pine needles may be used as an alternate material component for any spell that involves fish or aquatic life as part of the spell itself (summon monster for a whale counts, but deep breath does not). Further, they boost the caster level for such spells by 1.
Cost (per pouch of needles, enough for 10 uses): 1,000 gp.

Shadowtop: The natural giants of the forests, the majestic shadowtop is akin to the redwood in size and stature, with irregular and dark leaves and many many branches. Shadow wood is strong and tough, though fibrous, and burns clean and long, making it much prized for campfires and cooking. Further, shadow wood has a strong affinity for magic, never needing crown meld or Merald's meld spells, and granting any item made from it +1 caster level (making it much beloved in the use of staves, rods, scepters, and wands).
Cost (per pound): 5,000 gp

Silverbark: A plentiful and common wood, silverbark grows like weeds in warm and wet environments, such as bogs, wetlands, and flooded ravines. Named for its silvery bark (which crumbles away with ease), silverbark trees are easily cut. They make poor adventuring weapons (were sturdiness is prime), but they are useful for the poor as defensive stakes or spears, good for a use or two before breaking or bending. Silverbark sap however, it much prized for use in poison antidotes and curative potions. If used as an additional ingredient in such items, it raises the caster level by 1. Silverbark sap also serves as a universal material component replacement for any curative spell, unless it has a material component of cost 1,000 gp or more.
Cost (per pound, enough for 1 item or 5 spell uses): 2,000 gp

Suth: Among the most prized of all trees, the suth grows in a bizarre, back-and-forth pattern, where the trunk grows right, then doubles back and grows left over itself, working upwards (similar to an accordion stood on end). The wood of the suth tree is unbelievably hard, so hard it takes superior weaponry or destructive magic to fell a suth. The wood cannot be worked without the proper tools and a lot of patience, but the wait is worth it. Suth wood lasts for decades and never cracks or shatters, making it much loved for book covers, shields, and druidic armor. As long as it is damp, it cannot be lit on fire either. Suth may be used in a shield or druidic plate armor, and if so used, it grants the item the masterwork quality. Further, suth is immune to being sundered, and cannot be short of a +1 weapon or magic spells used specifically to shatter it.
Cost (per pound): 3,000 gp

Vundwood: This rare species of tree is odd, in that vundwood has no central trunk. Instead, it grows lots of smaller branches which grow into one another and so on and so forth, forming a strong whole that is surprisingly hard to break down. They are medium height, rarely breaking 15 ft. Vundwood itself smells of cinnamon, and is good for smoking food, as it imparts a bit of spicy kick to the food in question. As for it's magical uses, vundwood exhibits a unique echoing property, causing any charged item made from it to spontaneously revert to half of its full charge count once every 1d12 months, until completely depleted. For this reason, vundwood is highly prized as a wand material.
Cost (per pound): 10,000 gp

Weirwood: Very rare, and highly prized, weir trees are fiercely defended from over-harvesting by druidic orders. They resemble much more massive oaks, soaring to hundreds of feet, even over shadowtops, given time, only with silvery brown leaves with a velvet underside. Weirwood is strong and durable, and is highly used in musical instruments for the warm and rich tone it brings to such objects. Further, weirwood has an affinity for sonic spells and light spells, enhancing their caster levels by 1 if used as an additional material component in the casting.
Cost (per pound, enough for 5 uses): 5,000 gp

Zalantar: A prolific wood in the southern lands, zalantar trees grow multiple trunks outwards from a single central root system, like the fingers of a splayed hand. The bark and wood of the zalantar is glossy black, leading to its other name: blackwood. Zalantar is tough and strong, suitable for weapons and armor. Zalantar doesn't have any truly unique properties for magical enchantment, but, it does ease the use of awakening or enchant an item spells, reducing their casting times to 1 minute, instead of 1 hour if the item in question is made of zalantar. Further, it glows very faintly mauve in the presence of undead (within 60 ft).
Cost (per pound): 500 gp

[arguskos]

<reserved for the new gemstones 1>

[arguskos]

<reserved for the new gemstones 2 or for extra material, depending on the gemstone entries>

You should be clear to post... though there's little to post ABOUT right now. :smallwink:

[Milskidasith]

Adamant: This jet-black, brittle, ferromagnetic ore is the source of the famed alloy Adamantine's strength. Adamant is unbelievably hard, and is as brittle. The main unique properties of adamant are its ability to overcome the hardness of any known material, its ability to shield against fire, and its brittleness. Ruleswise, adamant has 80 hardness and 20 hp/inch of thickness. However, adamant is so brittle that if struck or used as a weapon or armor it has a 20% chance to fracture, losing half its max hardness and a quarter of its max hp (eg. each time it fractures it loses 40 hardness and 5 hp). Finally, adamant suffers no effect from fire, and neither does any who make use of it in armor or shields. Armor or shields made from adamant grant fire resistance 10 to the bearer. Adamant may only be used to create objects made primarily of metal.
Cost (per pound): 1,500 gp.

So it provides fire immunity if used as armor, or merely the armor is immune to fire? If it's just the armor, with it's absurd hardness it would hardly be damaged anyway, though by being brittle, it's going to shatter very fast.


Adamantine: The most famous alloy of adamant combined with electrum and silver, adamantine retains the hardness of adamant but gains a rugged strength that permits it to shatter all but the most powerful objects. Adamantine has 40 hardness and 40 hp/inch of thickness. Though adamantine loses the protective functions of adamant (but retains the power to ignore all hardness of objects, except adamant and adamantine), it does have one unique property: adamantine readily accepts enchantments. It has no need for Merald's meld and crown meld spells during the enchantment process, and further it reduces the cost of enchantment by 10%.
Cost (per pound): 4,000 gp

This is quite possibly the cheapest material for high end adventurers; anything over 40k in enchantments is cheaper for that.


Arandur: A very rare metal and the exclusive secret of the gnomish smiths, arandur is found as a natural blue-green ore amidst veins of vitreous glass. To prevent it from becoming as brittle as the glass it is found amidst, it must be slaked in the blood of a true dragon during the forging process, making arandur more than a task for the average smith. The finished metal is a silver-blue hue with a green reflective shine. Arandur has 15 hardness and 25 hp/inch of thickness. Arandur has several valuable qualities, including ease of enchantment, its natural sharpness, and the power to absorb magic missiles. Arandur always retains its edge, even when abused, granting it a natural +1 to the critical range of any slashing or piercing weapon it is forged into. Arandur armor can absorb magic missile and derivative spells (chain missile, force missile), reducing the damage done by each such missile by 2 (to a minimum of 1 damage per missile). Finally, much like adamantine, arandur has no need for Merald's meld and crown meld spells during the enchantment process, and further it reduces the cost of enchantment by 10%.
Cost (per pound): 6,000 gp

Cheap, and extra critical range that stacks with everything else. A crit builds dream. Absorbing magic missiles is a bit less powerful, but weapons of this are pretty useful.


Copper: This well-known easily worked metal is not actually suitable for magical enchantment, were it not for its interesting purification property. Copper serves as a leech for specific types of magical energy, specifically holy and unholy energies. When an item with strong holy or unholy energies is encased in a copper box for at least 1 day per caster level of the item, it loses those properties that grant it the holy/unholy aura (for example, placing a +1 unholy keen longsword into a copper case for 10 days leads to the unholy property being negated and only a +1 keen longsword remains).
Cost (per pound): 250 gp

De-enchantifiers so you can use the unholy artifacts you find. Not bad. Wait, does it work on artifacts, or just generic items?


Darksteel: A secret of a now extinct dwarven clan, darksteel behaves much like normal steel, but when exposed to a unique and secret formula of tinctures and oils and heated in even a simple bonfire, it rapidly becomes molten and can be recast into a mold (even a simple sand mold), taking any desired shape the forged wishes. Even more fantastically, darksteel retains any and all magical enchantments it may have through the entire process (this makes it possible to gain unusual enchantments on items, such as a keen light steel shield or a light fortification war hammer; in such cases, the ability still functions, provided it is possible for it to do so, your DM will decide). Further and more impressive yet, treated darksteel armor absorbs lightning directed at the wearer, granting them electricity resistance 10. Darksteel has 15 hardness and 35 hp/inch of thickness, and is silvery, with a deep purple reflective shine.
Cost (per pound, untreated [as steel]): 250 gp
Cost (per pound, treated [as above]): 6,000 gp

This is cool.


Dlarun: Among the strangest of the known metals, dlarun is made by roasting certain clays in a brick oven, picking out the white chips that result, and melting those chips in a crucible with other secret ingredients. The resultant soft, soap-like metal can be easily carved with a knife, and once fired again, hardens into a surprisingly lightweight and strong metal. Dlarun is nearly worthless as a weapon, bringing nothing but decreased weight to the weapon, but is excellent for decorative purposes, since dlarun steadies the mind. As long as at least 1 pound worth of dlarun is in contact with bare flesh, the wearer gains a +2 alchemical bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting and fear effects.
Cost (per pound): 5,000 gp

5k for +2 to saves, essentially. Not a bad investment.


Gold: The most famous of the metals, used for currency the world over, gold has one fairly minor usage in magical items: it serves as a super-conductor, automatically enabling all dweomerflow spells cast upon an item as part of the construction process to succeed. This use of gold requires at least 1 ounce of gold to be worked into the item in question and requires unique oils and tinctures for the gold.
Cost: (per ounce, treated for the usage): 500 gp

Cheap reassurance you aren't screwing up. Not bad.


Hizagkuur: This flaky mud can be worked into a metal through a complex and exacting process known to few, and if the process fails at any point, the hizagkuur remains mud. However, if the process succeeds, the mud is transformed into a brilliantly reflective white metal with numerous magical properties. First, hizagkuur cannot be reworked or repaired, due to the nature of its creation. If broken, only a limited wish, wish, or miracle can repair it. Second, hizagkuur reflects all magic cast upon it (not it's wearer, it) back at the caster. Finally, any creature coming into contact with hizagkuur directly suffers 2d12 electricity damage each round they touch the material. Due to its drawbacks, hizagkuur sees most of its use in battlements and fortress doors. Hizagkuur has 20 hardness and 40 hp/inch of thickness.
Cost (per pound): 10,000 gp

So I take it you couldn't wear this type of armor, with padding on the inside, or a weapon with a leather grip, and beat people/grapple people for 2d12 extra damage?

Other than that, it's pretty cool, although being totally immune to magic would presumably mean you couldn't enchant such weapons.


Mithral: Known as truemetal, this silvery-blue highly reflective metal is prized by warriors of all kinds. Mithral is blessed with lightness of weight, magical resistance, and superior strength over steel. Mithral has 15 hardness and 30 hp/inch of thickness. When worked into a weapon, mithral halves the weight, and permits the weapon to be used as though it were a light weapon if it would be advantageous to the wielder (ie. a mithral greatsword can be used for Weapon Finesse, etc). As armor, mithral has an unpredictable reaction towards magic. When the wearer of a suit of mithral armor is targeted by a spell that affects them and only them, roll a 1d6. On a result of 1-4, the spell functions normally. On a result of 5, the wearer gains a +1 alchemical bonus to any required saves. On a result of 6, the damage dealt by the spell (if any) is reduced by 1 per die (minimum of 1 per die).
Cost (per pound): 4,000 gp

I prefer the old "armor is one category lighter" mithral, because a one in six chance of getting a 5% bonus to saves and a one in six chance of getting slightly reduced damage if it's a direct damage spell is not that great.


Silver: This well known metal was called the "Sword and Shield of the Art" by ancient craftsmen, for its role in the creation of fantastic magical creations. If an object is composed primarily of silver, then during the creation process it automatically succeeds on any checks related to the following spells: awakening, enchant an item, holy vesting, wondrous web, Merald's meld, crown meld, Obar's lesser purification, Azundel's purification, and higher consecration. For use in magical item creation, silver must be treated with a special combination of oils and tinctures.
Cost (per pound): 350 gp

Silver items: Autosuccess, without much else. It's cheap but boring, though I don't see why silver is as effective as steel weaponwise.


Telstang: Also called "the trusty metal" or "truesilver" by sages hoping to confuse others about the nature of telstang, this rare metal is an alloy of mithral, silver, copper, and platinum. Telstang is brittle and snaps easily if bent, making it unsuitable for use as weapons or armor. However, telstang has one powerful property: any organic material in contact with at least 2 pounds of telstang cannot be affected by any spells of the transmutation school. This effect takes 1 week of constant exposure to take effect, and lasts for as long as the telstang is worn and up to 24 hours after the telstang is removed. Telstang has the hardness and hp/inch of normal steel.
Cost (per pound): 10,000 gp

20k for immunity to an entire school of magic, and one of the more prolific ones, at that. This is broken.


Zardazik: This rare, ferromagnetic, blood-red metal has all the strength and durability of normal steel, and can be alloyed with anything, vanishing into the other metal as it was never there to start with. However, if at least 3 pounds of zardazik is used in the creation of a slashing or piercing weapon (alloyed or pure zardazik), it gains the singular unique power of zardazik: the power to body phase. Once a zardazik blade draws a creature's blood for the first time, it can never harm that singular creature ever again, instead passing through them without harm. This permits the weapon to be hidden inside of this creature, to be withdrawn and used to deadly effect later on. Each zardazik blade only works for one creature in this fashion, there after treating all creatures as normal.
Cost (per pound): 6,000 gp

Stab yourself, then hide the weapon in you. That's incredibly cool... but what if you go into an AMF? This seems fairly magical; imagine if, when walking into the AMF room of some paranoid guy, you suddenly drop over with a sword in your vitals.

[Ashtagon]

<reserved to disagree with first response>

[arguskos]

In order to your points, Mils:

Adamant grants the wearer the fire protection as well, but the fractures are a bitch.

Adamantine is sorta meant to be the baseline adventurer material, so yeah, looks like I tagged it.

Arandur was meant to be good for weaponry, so yuppers.

Copper doesn't work on artifacts, just normal items.

I like darksteel too. :smallamused:

Dlarun/Gold were meant to be fairly minor, though interesting, materials.

Hizagkuur cannot be enchanted whatsoever, meaning yes, you could do that, but it's really not cost effective.

Mithral, well, I dunno. I really dislike the lighter armor thing, preferring to let that be an enchantment instead of a property. I know a lot of people love it, but stuff like Twilight and Feycraft exist to do that sorta thing, and I prefer it that way.

Silver's weapon use is due to the oils required to make it magically accepting of enchantments. Just making a silver longsword isn't gonna get you super far, since silver=/=steel. However, treated silver=steel.

I didn't want to increase the price of telstang further. Perhaps only form changing and paralyzation magic?

Zardazik is non-magical, as is everything here, so that wouldn't happen. :smallwink: Also, it's my favorite as well.

[Debihuman]

Adamantine already exists in 3.5. (See DMG). It's always spelled "Mithral" now because the word "Mithril" is owned by the Tolkien estate and cannot be used in 3.5. Mithral is also in the DMG.

See special materials here in the SRD: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialMaterials.htm.

The Magic item Compendium has more special materials in it. Blueshine is there as is Everbright.

Here is a more complete list, which includes the source books:

Abyssal Bloodiron: replicates cold iron, bonus to confirm crits. PH
Adamantine: bypasses /adamantine damage reduction, ignores hardness 20 and below when used to sunder items. DMG
Aurorum: restores itself if sundered. BoED
Baatorian Green Steel: enhancement bonus to damage. A&EG
Blueice: Slashing weapons deal bonus damage. FB
Bronzewood: reduces weight. A&EG
Byeshk: deals bonus damage with bludgeoning weapons, bypasses the damage reduction of daelkyr. ECS
Calomal: overcomes the damage reduction of creatures with the fire subtype. MoE
Crystal, Deep: deals bonus damage by channeling power points. EXH
Darksteel: deals bonus electricity damage. MoF
Dlarun: deals bonus frost damage. MoF
Dragonbone Bow: increases the range by 20' and makes the bow composite. Draco
Dragonfang: grants an enhancement bonus to attacks and energy damage of the respective dragon as an extraordinary ability. Draco
Duskwood: steel weapons weigh half as much. MoF
Fever Iron: deals bonus fire damage. MoF
Flametouched Iron: weapon is considered good-aligned. ECS
Frystalline: weapon is considered good-aligned. BoED
Gehennan Moghuth-Iron: penalty to attack and damage, but naturally poisonous. A&EG
Glassteel: makes hidden weapons harder to spot. RoF
Gold, Alchemical: increases the damage dice of a weapon.* MoF
Hizagkuur: deals bonus electricity damage. MoF
Iron, Cold: bypasses /cold iron damage reduction. DMG
Mournlode, Purple: overcomes undead damage reduction as silver or cold iron. MoE
Pandemic Silver:replicates silver, creates a 30 ft. aura of fear when unsheathed in windy conditions. CW
Pearlsteel: reduces the penalties of using a weapon underwater. SW
Platinum, Alchemical: increases the damage dice of a weapon.* MoF
Riedran Crysteel: deals bonus damage to psionic creatures. ECS
Rimefire Ice: deals bonus cold damage. FB
Silver, Alchemical: bypasses /silver damage reduction, reduces weapon damage. DMG
Serren: adds the ghost touched property. BoED
Solarian Truesteel: bonus to confirm crits. BoED
Starmetal: replicates adamantine, but deals extra damage to extraplanar creatures. CAr
Stygian Ice: chance to break when dealing damage, deals bonus cold damage and chance to deal WIS damage on hit. FB
Targath: overcomes the damage reduction of Aerenal deathless, reduces attack and damage. ECS
Thinaun: absorbs the souls of those who die while touching the weapon, and prevents their resurrection unless the caster has the weapon at hand. CW


I hope this helps.

Debby

[arguskos]

I am aware of all of that, Debi, but thank you. I also HATE the current Adamantine and Mithral stats (did I spell it wrong? Dammit, I'll fix that), for being deeply boring. Also, I already addressed the MoF materials, and my dislike of them.

This project is to give the metals an actual flavor all their own, make them truly unique and special, not just "mithral is light, adamantine is hard, etc".

[arguskos]

Ok, so, the first post has all the metals. I'll get the treatments up tonight (I hope :smalleek:). They're all fairly powerful, and all pretty unique.

[Mulletmanalive]

I'm saddened that you've chosen to ignore the Feaze...however you spell that radiation thing, reliance of Adamant and Adamantine, with their loss of quality under sunlight and loss of innate quality after being out of the underdark for more than three weeks.

To me that was what made them interesting.

I'm also baffled that you've basically just made adamantine hard, a quality you were complaining about being boring.

In the basic 2e Drow stuff, it was simply charged with a +3 enchantment because of it's resonance with the radiations of the underdark...

[arguskos]

I'm saddened that you've chosen to ignore the Feaze...however you spell that radiation thing, reliance of Adamant and Adamantine, with their loss of quality under sunlight and loss of innate quality after being out of the underdark for more than three weeks.

To me that was what made them interesting.

I'm also baffled that you've basically just made adamantine hard, a quality you were complaining about being boring.

In the basic 2e Drow stuff, it was simply charged with a +3 enchantment because of it's resonance with the radiations of the underdark...
Faezaress? Meh. This project is more about the updating of the book I have a picture of above.

As for Adamantine, it DOES have more abilities: the power to more easily accept enchantments, and to ignore ALL hardness, not just half. It's also significantly more durable than it was, and while yes, it's not much more interesting, I personally like it more than the 3.5 adamantine. Besides, I tried really hard to come up with something better, and really just couldn't for it. It's just so well known as "the hard metal" that I felt I should keep it as such primarily.

I should make note of the fact that I'll be giving new item enchantment rules, using a lot of updated spells that have unique rules. That's what all those spell names are. :smallwink:

[Milskidasith]

Comments posted.

[arguskos]

Responses posted. :smallwink:

Treatments tomorrow, and woods to come this weekend.

[Roc Ness]

Cool stuff. :smallbiggrin:

I love that Mithral can be used to finesse heavy weapons, although I'm saddened that it no longer grants the extra +2 to an armor's total Dex mod.

[cha0s4a11]

.............
Darksteel: A secret of a now extinct dwarven clan, darksteel behaves much like normal steel, but when exposed to a unique and secret formula of tinctures and oils and heated in even a simple bonfire, it rapidly becomes molten and can be recast into a mold (even a simple sand mold), taking any desired shape the forged wishes.
.........


Does this mean that all it takes to render any sword made out of this material into a pile of goo that will be ineffective for the rest of the battle is that its wielder gets hit by a fireball?

[Ashtagon]

Does this mean that all it takes to render any sword made out of this material into a pile of goo that will be ineffective for the rest of the battle is that its wielder gets hit by a fireball?

Only if you expose it to the secret formula at the same time :smallwink:

[Debihuman]

I am aware of all of that, Debi, but thank you. I also HATE the current Adamantine and Mithral stats (did I spell it wrong? Dammit, I'll fix that), for being deeply boring. Also, I already addressed the MoF materials, and my dislike of them.

This project is to give the metals an actual flavor all their own, make them truly unique and special, not just "mithral is light, adamantine is hard, etc".


Your welcome even if you already had that information. Still, I think the information is helpful for anyone reading this thread who didn't already know where the various materials can be found in case anyone wants to see the "official" versions for comparison.


I look forward to seeing how your interpretation of the magical materials differs from the current ones.

I think I have a copy of that Volo's Guide somewhere. I haven't looked at it in years. I think it is great that you want to update it.

Debby

[arguskos]

The treatments and first three woods are up. I'll hammer out the remaining woods tomorrow, hopefully.

[Roc Ness]

Cool. Love the druid-beetlewood thing. :smalltongue:

Y'know. I had a teacher named Weir, so I'll be expecting the wood to be enduring. :smallbiggrin:

[arguskos]

Cool. Love the druid-beetlewood thing. :smalltongue:

Y'know. I had a teacher named Weir, so I'll be expecting the wood to be enduring. :smallbiggrin:
Weirwood? Yeah, weir trees are tough bastards, and their wood doesn't slouch either. I'll get the rest of the woods up tomorrow. The gemstones... ugh, there's like 50+, but I'll see what I can do.

[Fizban]

Re: Zardazk: even if it was magical (though you've stated it isn't), an anitmagic field wouldn't do much to one inside your body. Body blocks line of effect. Oddly enough, this means that there are actually pockets of magic working just fine inside the antimagic field at all times, you just have to look inside the caster it's centered on. Maybe get yourself swallowed whole by something else.

[arguskos]

Ok, added another five woods. I'll try and do the rest tomorrow, but I may be busy, not sure yet. Sorry for the slow progress, it's a pain converting stuff and I've been busy.

[Die2Win]

\
Adamantine: The most famous alloy of adamant combined with electrum and silver, adamantine retains the hardness of adamant but gains a...


I'm not sure how to say this without sounding rude since I am new to this forum, but electrum is a combination of gold and sliver. So to me the "and sliver" sounded redundant.

[arguskos]

I'm not sure how to say this without sounding rude since I am new to this forum, but electrum is a combination of gold and sliver. So to me the "and sliver" sounded redundant.
No no, you are correct. However, Adamantine is specifically made from a combo of 2/8 electrum, 1/8 pure silver, and 5/8 adamant. The balance must be correct, and the best way to secure such is through using a large quantity of pure silver. :smallwink:

Also, I apologize for the lack of activity in this thread. I keep meaning to come back to this, but life has been busy recently, and it's fallen by the wayside. I'll pick it back up sooner than later.

[lesser_minion]

No no, you are correct. However, Adamantine is specifically made from a combo of 2/8 electrum, 1/8 pure silver, and 5/8 adamant. The balance must be correct, and the best way to secure such is through using a large quantity of pure silver. :smallwink:

I think it would be better to just write the ratios of gold, silver, and adamant - electrum can have a number of different gold contents, so that recipe isn't especially useful. Either that, or call it a mixture of electrum and adamant, and specify the gold content of the electrum.

Also, you might want to clarify whether that ratio should be interpreted as being by mass, by volume, or by number of moles.

[arguskos]

I think it would be better to just write the ratios of gold, silver, and adamant - electrum can have a number of different gold contents, so that recipe isn't especially useful. Either that, or call it a mixture of electrum and adamant, and specify the gold content of the electrum.

Also, you might want to clarify whether that ratio should be interpreted as being by mass, by volume, or by number of moles.
...given that it's a semi-magical formula, I don't see why I can't just name it as electrum+an extra volume of pure silver. :smallconfused:

Also, the amounts just need to be in correct proportions by percentages. You could be working in pounds, ounces, liters, or stones, as long as you have 5/8, 2/8, and 1/8, respectively.

[Glimbur]

Also, the amounts just need to be in correct proportions by percentages. You could be working in pounds, ounces, liters, or stones, as long as you have 5/8, 2/8, and 1/8, respectively.

You are incorrect. Let's do some math. First, I'll throw out adamant because good data are not available on it and it will just complicate the example.

Our ratio of gold to silver is 50:50.

Let's do it by volume. 1 cc of gold is 19.3 grams. 1 cc of silver is 10.49 grams. That means our mass ratio is 64.8 mass% gold and 35.2 mass% silver.

Do it by mass. 10 g of gold and 10 g of silver. This is 0.95 cc of silver and 0.518 cc of silver. That's 64.7 volume% silver and 35.3 volume% gold.

Atomic ratio: let's use one mole of gold and one mole of silver. One mole of gold masses 196.97 grams. One mole of silver masses 107.87 grams. This makes our mixture 35.4 weight percent silver and 64.6 wt% gold.

[sreservoir]

I think you're having rounding errors in your percentages. reeks of intermediate rounding.

[Glimbur]

Exact mathematics aren't the point there, the point is that 50 volume % silver is different from 50 weight % silver is different from 50 atomic % silver in a mixture.

[arguskos]

Glimbur, as long as you ensure the percentages work out, the mass is irrelevant, which is the entire point here. You could be using .56 liters 1 thing and 1.2 liters the other, as long as the percentages work out correctly.

Disclaimer: I am not a chemist, nor a math person in any way. The numbers above are randomly chosen for example, and not mathematically sound.

Let's call this a unique property of this specific formula, and move on.

[Hyooz]

If the whole point of this is to give formulas like that, and thus add more "real-world" flavor to these metals, hand-waving inconsistencies like this away and calling it magic just seems to defeat the purpose.

[arguskos]

If the whole point of this is to give formulas like that, and thus add more "real-world" flavor to these metals, hand-waving inconsistencies like this away and calling it magic just seems to defeat the purpose.
*sigh* It was a part of what the entry in the original source said, so I quoted it cause I liked it. I'll just go delete it, and everything like it, since I don't have the inclination or time to give proper scientific formulas for every damn material.

[Glimbur]

The easy way to be scientifically accurate here is to be consistent on what you specify. If you want one pound of silver to four pounds of gold, say that, or a 1:4 ratio of weight of silver to weight of gold. If you want to do it by volume, that's fine too. It's not really fitting with the setting to do it by atomic ratios. I just jumped in because you said you could use 1:3:5 and have it be liters or pounds or whatever.

tl;dr Make the ratio in terms of mass or in terms of volume and don't mix them.

I'm done redirecting the thread.

The woods so far (through Laspar) look reasonable. Blueleaf is situationally powerful but won't see much use until mid or high levels due to the cost and the need to be able to quicken on a spontaneous caster. Once I read Felsul correctly and realized it didn't make Animate Dead cheaper I was not worried about it either.

[arguskos]

Changed adamantine, telstang, and zardazik to no longer mention alloying or other materials, thus there will be no arguments on how to make them.

I reallllly need to get back to this project. Perhaps I'll do some more tonight.

EDIT: Also, concerning blueleafs, I didn't figure there would be any concern. I've been blasted more than a few times for not throwing spontaneous casters enough bones in my work, so people saying it's too good confuses me. It's powerful, sure, but 1k per use, it's not super cheap.

[arguskos]

Finished the woods. Will start on the gemstones... eventually. Damn, this project has a lot of crap in it.

[Temotei]

Finished the woods. Will start on the gemstones... eventually. Damn, this project has a lot of crap excellence in it.

Fixed that for you.