SPECIAL MATERIALS

In addition to magic items created with spells, some substances have innate special properties.

If you make a suit of armor or weapon out of more than one special material, you get the benefit of only the most prevalent material. However, you can build a double weapon with each head made of a different special material.

SPECIAL WEAPONS / ARMOR MATERIALS

Each of the special materials described below has a definite game effect. Some creatures have damage reduction based on their creature type or core concept. Some are resistant to all but a special type of damage, such as that dealt by evil-aligned weapons or bludgeoning weapons. Others are vulnerable to weapons of a particular material. Characters may choose to carry several different types of weapons, depending upon the campaign and types of creatures they most commonly encounter.

Adamantine: This ultrahard metal adds to the quality of a weapon or suit of armor. Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20. Armor made from adamantine grants its wearer damage reduction of 1/– if it’s light armor, 2/– if it’s medium armor, and 3/– if it’s heavy armor. Adamantine is so costly that weapons and armor made from it are always of masterwork quality; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below. Thus, adamantine weapons and ammunition have a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls, and the armor check penalty of adamantine armor is lessened by 1 compared to ordinary armor of its type. Items without metal parts cannot be made from adamantine. An arrow could be made of adamantine, but a quarterstaff could not.

Only weapons, armor, and shields normally made of metal can be fashioned from adamantine. Weapons, armor and shields normally made of steel that are made of adamantine have one-third more hit points than normal. Adamantine has 40 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 20.

Type of Adamantine Item	Item Cost Modifier
Ammunition	+60 gp
Light armor	+5,000 gp
Medium armor	+10,000 gp
Heavy armor	+15,000 gp
Weapon	+3,000 gp

Arcane Steel: This slightly darker than normal steel has multicolored lines that run through it at odd intervals. It is only found within the borders of the Mournland and is sometimes called Cyrite. Weapons fashioned from this material are considered magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. Armor made from Cyrite grants the wearer a +1 bonus on saves against spells and spell like abilities.

Type of Arcane Steel Item	Item Cost Modifier
Ammunition	+5 gp
Armor	+500 gp
Weapon	+250 gp
Raw Cyrite	10 gp/lb

Bronzewood: This exceptionally hard wood, native to Aerenal, is useful in the manufacture of armor and weapons. Unlike most woods, bronzewood can be used in place of metal to fashion heavy arms and armor – it is somewhat shapeable during manurfacturing and it keeps a sharp edge. Although dense and weighty compared to other woods, it is still lighter than steel: Items weigh 10% less when made from bronzewood than from steel. It is somewhat less obtrusive than steel and does not cause a penalty to the hide skill when in the woods. Only armor made from metal strips or plates can be mimicked by bronzewood.

Bronzewood has hardness 10 and 20 hps per inch thickness.

Bronzewood

Medium Armor +4000gp

Heavy Armor +9000gp

Other Items +500/lb

Byeshk: Mined in the Byeshk and graywall mountains, this rare metal is prized by smiths for use in jewelry and weapons. It has a lustrous purple sheen and is hard and dense. A bludgeoning weapon with a Byeshk head gain a +1 bonus to damage. In addition, Byeshk can overcome the damge resistance of the Daelkyr, which are resistant to all other weapons. Byeshk is difficult to work into armor and offers no protection above that of steel armor. An item made of Byeshk weighs 50% more than one made of steel. Byeshk has hardness 17 and 35 hps per inch thickness. +1500gp for weapons made of Byeshk.

Calomel: This white ore is mined in northern Argonnessen at great expense and danger. Weapons crafted from this ore bypass the DR of creatures with the Fire subtype as if it were a magic weapon.Weapons made of Calomel cost 2X the normal cost. Calomel has a hardness of 10 and 30hps per inch of thickness.

Darkwood: This rare magic wood is as hard as normal wood but very light. Any wooden or mostly wooden item (such as a bow, an arrow, or a spear) made from darkwood is considered a masterwork item and weighs only half as much as a normal wooden item of that type. Items not normally made of wood or only partially of wood (such as a battleaxe or a mace) either cannot be made from darkwood or do not gain any special benefit from being made of darkwood. The armor check penalty of a darkwood shield is lessened by 2 compared to an ordinary shield of its type. To determine the price of a darkwood item, use the original weight but add 10 gp per pound to the price of a masterwork version of that item.

Darkwood has 10 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 5.

Densewood: One of the most important products of the forests of Aerendal, densewood is a strong, hard, heavy wood similar to steel. It cannot be fashioned into armor or weapons. Dense items are twice as heavy as similar items made of normal wood and twice as expensive. It has hardness 8 and 20 hps per inch of thickness.

Dragonhide: Armorsmiths can work with the hides of dragons to produce armor or shields of masterwork quality. One dragon produces enough hide for a single suit of masterwork hide armor for a creature one size category smaller than the dragon. By selecting only choice scales and bits of hide, an armorsmith can produce one suit of masterwork banded mail for a creature two sizes smaller, one suit of masterwork half-plate for a creature three sizes smaller, or one masterwork breastplate or suit of full plate for a creature four sizes smaller. In each case, enough hide is available to produce a small or large masterwork shield in addition to the armor, provided that the dragon is Large or larger.

Because dragonhide armor isn’t made of metal, druids can wear it without penalty.

Dragonhide armor costs double what masterwork armor of that type ordinarily costs, but it takes no longer to make than ordinary armor of that type.

Dragonhide has 10 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10.

Dragonshard: Dragonshards are hard, translucent stones, similar to precious gemstones, appearing in three varieties: Gold veined Siberys shards, Khyber shards filled with veins of midnight blue to oily black and crimson swirled Eberron shards. Dragonshards are rarely found large enough to be crafted into items of any significant size. Most often, a small dragonshard is crafted into a piece of jewelry to serve as a personal focus to enhance the power of a dragonmarked character. A larger dragonshard, up to the size of a fist can be crafted into a larger focus item. Unattuned dragonshards have a hardness of 10, the process of attunment soften the stone slightly, reducing its hardness to 8. A dragonshard has 20 hps per inch thickness.

Eldritch Whorlwood: The ancient Giants often fashioned wands, staffs and other charged items from this material. The wood grain, when charged, is a complex pattern of whorls and shapes. As charges are used, the grain patterns straighten out, when the item is empty of charges, the grain is perfectly straight. Creatures that find such items can make a DC15 Knowledge (Arcana) check to determine how many chrges are left in it. The Eldritch Whorlwood tree thrives only when under magical care, but samples have been found in the wilds of Xen’drick. Many wizards colleges and universities would pay much to obtain a handful of seeds or a graftable branch. Eldritch Whorlwood has a hardness of 6 and 10 hps per inch of thickness. Wands and staffs made of whorlwood cost 5% more than normal.

Flametouched Iron: Mined only in Thrane, flametouched iron is rare and considered sacred by the church of the silver flame. When mined, this iron variety has a speckled, dark red color, resembling rust, but when it is refined, it takes on a shimmering silvery hue. Adherents of the church of the silver flame believe this metal carries the particular blessing of their deity and they use it to fashion holy symbols arms and armor. A flametouch iron weapon gains the good template, armor adds a +1 to resistance against spells and holy symbols allow the owner to turn undead at one level higher (it does not imbue the owner with turning ability though).Items without metal parts cannot be made from flametouched iron. It has hardness 10 and 30 hps per inch thickness.

Weapon/Armor +1000gp

Holy Symbol 750gp

Iron, Cold: This iron, mined deep underground, known for its effectiveness against fey creatures, is forged at a lower temperature to preserve its delicate properties. Weapons made of cold iron cost twice as much to make as their normal counterparts. Also, any magical enhancements cost an additional 2,000 gp.

Items without metal parts cannot be made from cold iron. An arrow could be made of cold iron, but a quarterstaff could not.

A double weapon that has only half of it made of cold iron increases its cost by 50%.

Cold iron has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10.

Kheferu: Quarried from rare meteorite craters, it is an extremely hard, red substance. When forged as an alloy with iron, carbon and other materials, it has the same strength and ductility of alloy steel, but with a distinctive sheen and crimson hue. A Kheferu weapon bypasses all damage reduction possesses by creatures with the Earth subtype. Items made with kheferu cost 2x normal, in addition, any magicial enhancements cost an additional 2000gps. It has a hardness of 10 and 30hps per inch of thickness.

Livewood: Another special wood from the forests of Aerenal, this is a green colored hardwood with a strong magical nature. When livewood trees are felled, they do not die, but they stop all growth. In most respects, livewood is the same as normal wood, however a few spells react differently: Plant Growth causes it to sprout small branches and leaves. Diminish Plants has no effect. Speak with plants allows the caster to speak to a livewood object but it would have no greater awareness of the area than the caster. Blight deals 1d6 damage per lvl caster. A character can use treestride to move from one livewood item to another as long as the items are large enough. Animate plant will animate a livewood item. Dryads are fond of forming relationships with livewood trees due to the fact that even if the tree is felled it does not die. The price of a livewood item is 1.5 times normal.

Mithral: Mithral is a very rare silvery, glistening metal that is lighter than iron but just as hard. When worked like steel, it becomes a wonderful material from which to create armor and is occasionally used for other items as well. Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light. Spell failure chances for armors and shields made from mithral are decreased by 10%, maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, and armor check penalties are lessened by 3 (to a minimum of 0).

An item made from mithral weighs half as much as the same item made from other metals. In the case of weapons, this lighter weight does not change a weapon’s size category or the ease with which it can be wielded (whether it is light, one-handed, or two-handed). Items not primarily of metal are not meaningfully affected by being partially made of mithral. (A longsword can be a mithral weapon, while a scythe cannot be.)

Weapons or armors fashioned from mithral are always masterwork items as well; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below.

Mithral has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 15.

Type of Mithral Item	Item Cost Modifier
Light armor	+1,000 gp
Medium armor	+4,000 gp
Heavy armor	+9,000 gp
Shield	+1,000 gp
Other items	+500 gp/lb.

Mournlode, Purple: This metal is only found under the Field of Ruins in the Mournland. It possesses special abilities depending on what it is used for. Items made of Mournlode have the same statistics as iron but for the following:

Weapons: Weapons made of Mournlode will bypass the DR of undead creatures as if it were cold iron or alchemical silver (whichever is more effective).

Armor: Armor made of Mournlode grants a +1 resistance to saves against any spell, spell-like ability and supernatural abilities used by undead.

Holy Symbol: A holy symbol created with Mournlode deals an additional Class level worth of hps on a successful turn attempt.

Weapons or armor made of Mournlode cost an additional 700gps. A holy symbol made of this material costs 400gps. Items without metal parts cannot be made from Mournlode.

Riedran Crysteel: The Inspired Lords of Riedran supervise the mining of a crystaline substance that can be alloyed with iron to form riedran crysteel. Crysteel makes excellent weapons and its crystaline structure make ir resonate with psionic energy. When wielded by a character with at least 1 power point, it gains a +1 to damage. Crysteel can be affected by a shatter spell but gains a +4 bonus due to the steel. Crysteel has hardness 10 and 20 hps per inch thickness. A weapon make of this material costs an additional 1500gps.

Silver, Alchemical: A complex process involving metallurgy and alchemy can bond silver to a weapon made of steel so that it bypasses the damage reduction of creatures such as lycanthropes.

On a successful attack with a silvered weapon, the wielder takes a –1 penalty on the damage roll (with the usual minimum of 1 point of damage). The alchemical silvering process can’t be applied to nonmetal items, and it doesn’t work on rare metals such as adamantine, cold iron, and mithral.

Alchemical silver has 10 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 8.

Type of Alchemical Silver Item	Item Cost Modifier
Ammunition	+2 gp
Light weapon	+20 gp
One-handed weapon, or one head of a double weapon	+90 gp
Two-handed weapon, or both heads of a double weapon	+180 gp

Soarwood: Rare, even in the abundant forests of Aerenal, soarwood possesses a magical bouyancy. Ships made from soarwood skim effortlessly over the surface of the water. Soarwood is a necessary component in airships and elemental galleons. The speed of a boat made from soarwood is twice that of a normal one. Soarwood has hardness 5 and 10 hps per inch thickness. Boats made from this cost 4x normal.

Starmetal: Starmetal is an alloy made from meteoric iron, it is equal to adamantine for all purposes, and has a connection to the material plane that does an extra 1d6 damage to extraplanar creatures while they are on the material plane. Creating a weapon from starmetal adds an additional 5000gp to the cost, armor made of starmetal costs the same as adamantine armor or the same type.

Susalian Chainweave: Made by a techique known only to the greatest elven armorsmiths, this material is an elaborate weave of chain links knitted together to provide additional protection against some blows. When attacked by a slashing or bludgeoning weapon the armor stiffens at the point of impact and diffused the force of the blow, effectively giving the wearer DR3/piercing.

Type of Chainweave Item	Item Cost Modifier
Susalian Chainweave Heavy armor	+42000gp
Susalian Chainweave Light armor	+28000gp
Susalian Chainweave Medium armor	+35000gp

Targath: This is a soft metal, mined in the northern coast of Argonnessen, often fashioned into periapts of health. Even a small amount of targath worn on the body gives a +2 bonus to fortitude saves vs disease. It also is an anathema to the deathless of Aerenal, they shrink from it’s touch andit can overcome their damage reduction. Luckily for the undying court, weapons made of targath are inferior to steel weapon and take a –1 penalty on attack and damage rolls. Targath has hardness 9 and 20 hps per inch thickness.

Ammunition +3gp

Light Weapon +30gp

One handed Weapon +100gp

2 handed weapon or both

heads of a double weapon +200gp

Thinaun: This dark steel alloy has an attraction to recently departed souls, if a creature dies while in contact with a weapon made from thinaun, its soul is drawn into the sword. It remains there until the weapon is broken or it is replaced by a new soul. Attempting to raise or resurrect a creature whose soul is held in a thinuan weapon will fail unless the caster is in possession of the weapon.

Type of Thinaun Item	Item Cost Modifier
Thinaun 2 handed or both heads of 2 headed	+10000gp
Thinaun Light Weapon	+15000gp
Thinaun One handed or One end of 2 headed	+20000gp

Special Psionic Materials:

Crystal, Deep: Deep crystal is crystal of above-average quality found at the hearts of large veins or deposits of mundane crystal (see below). Deep crystal is renowned for its strength and its psionically resonant nature. Mundane crystal is used for many items of psionic manufacture, such as dorjes, power stones, and psicrystals. Deep crystal is a better grade.

While a weapon made of deep crystal is no different from a mundane crystal weapon for a nonpsionic character, a psionic wielder of a deep crystal weapon can focus psionic power through it, increasing the damage that weapon deals. As a free action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, the wielder can channel psionic power into a melee weapon or ranged weapon made of deep crystal. For 2 power points, the deep crystal weapon deals an extra 2d6 points of damage. The weapon will stay charged for 1 minute or until it scores its next hit. Bows, crossbows, and slings bestow this power on their ammunition. All missile weapons lose this effect if they miss. However, they may be recovered and charged again.

Any weapon made of deep crystal costs 1,000 gp more than its noncrystal counterpart. Any item could potentially be made out of deep crystal. Because deep crystal armor is considered to be made out of metal, druids cannot wear it.

Deep crystal has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and a hardness of 10.

Crystal, Mundane: Mundane crystal can be used in place of metal in weapons or armor, using a special forging process. The fortified crystal possesses the properties of a similar masterwork steel weapon or armor, except for visual appearance.

Weapons and armor made of mundane crystal cost the same amount to make as their masterwork counterparts. Any item could potentially be made with mundane crystal. Because mundane crystal armor is considered to be made out of metal, druids cannot wear it.

Mundane crystal properly forged has 25 hit points per inch of thickness and a hardness of 8.