Special Materials

It is possible to make armor (and weapons and other items) out of materials not commonly used, or which are unavailable in more mundane milieus. The cost for these materials is given as a price multiplier, the cost of the base item is multiplied out to get the cost of an item made from the special material. The various special properties of the materials will be further described below. Descriptions of hardness, health, and breaking items are in Appendix 2. The magic bonus from special materials is described in the section on magic armor.

When determining the cost to enhance a weapon, armor, or shield made from these materials, add their Magic Factor to the enhancement bonus granted to determine the total cost of the item.

To determine the cost of an item, multiply its standard cost by the cost factor, then add the base cost. Thus, a suit of soulsteel platemail would cost (2,000 x 200) + 100,000, or 300,000gp.

Adamantium armor and weapons are prized for their strength, and armor made from adamantium grants DR which may only be overcome with adamantium or starsteel weapons. Any armor normally made from iron may be reforged from adamantium. The check of the armor is the same as for steel.

Bloodstone may be used to make weapons. This stone is dark red in hue, streaked with brown and black, and may be chipped to form arrowheads, spear-points, and axes. It cannot be made into swords. Bloodstone weapons do 1d4 poison damage, if they do Piercing or Slashing damage. Dwarves may make stoneplate out of bloodstone, which functions as normal stoneplate, but any creature which attacks the wearer with natural weapons or unarmed strikes takes 1d4 poison, and any creature in grappling with the wearer takes 1 poison damage per round. If a creature swallows the wearer, they must make a DC 50 VR, or be *sickened* until they expel the armor.

Djinn Leather can be fashioned into any nonmetal armor (except Stoneplate). When created, the item gains a +4 enhancement bonus, chosen by the creator. This can be a flat +4 bonus, a special +4 bonus, a combination of flat bonuses and special enhancements, or a component of a larger special magical enchantment. This does not count against the cost to enhance the weapon, since the item’s Magic Factor (-4) negates this increase. If created by a creature with Craft Magic Arms and Armor or Mechanical Enhancements can incorporate this enhancement into a larger specific enhancement. Djinn Leather does not interfere with spellcasting.

Dragon hide comes from dead dragons and may be fashioned into leather or scale mail armor. The DR of the armor may be overcome only by magic. The armor further grants tolerance 5 for the associated breath weapon energy type of the dragon it came from.

Hihi’irokane can be fashioned into any metal item. When created, the item gains a +1 enhancement bonus, chosen by the creator. This can be a flat +1 bonus, a special +1 bonus, or a component of a larger special magical enchantment. This does not count against the cost to enhance the weapon, since the item’s Magic Factor (-1) negates this increase. A creature with Craft Magic Arms and Armor or Mechanical Enhancements can incorporate this enhancement into a larger specific enhancement when creating the item.

Mithril armor is prized because it is incredibly light for its durability. The DR of mithril armor may be overcome by adamantium or starsteel. Any armor made of metal may be made from mithril. Mithril armor does not have a max G for light or medium armor, and has a max G of 7 for heavy armor. The check of mithril armor is reduced by 5, to a minimum of 0, and there is no speed penalty when wearing mithril armor. The weight of mithril is 1/10th that of iron, although the price for a suit of mithril armor is still calculated based on how many pounds of iron are being replaced.

Moon Metal is a metal which may only be found on planetary bodies other than earth, with the most common source being the moon. It is incredibly dense, while also being remarkably resilient to damage. The max G of any armor made out of Moon Metal is increased by two, as the metal has been shaped by the lesser gravity of the moon, and does not weigh down on the wearer so harshly as one might expect.

Obsidian may be fashioned into bladed weapons. Obsidian weapons do an extra point of damage when they hit.

Orichalum can be fashioned into any metal item. When created, the item gains a +1 enhancement bonus, chosen by the creator. This can be a flat +1 bonus, a special +1 bonus, or a component of a larger special magical enchantment. This does not count against the cost to enhance the weapon, since the item’s Magic Factor (-2) negates this increase. A creature with Craft Magic Arms and Armor or Mechanical Enhancements can incorporate this enhancement into a larger specific enhancement when creating the item.

Soulsteel can be fashioned into any metal item. When created, the item gains a +2 enhancement bonus, chosen by the creator. This can be a flat +2 bonus, a special +2 bonus, a combination of flat +1’s and special +1’s, or a component of a larger special magical enchantment.This does not count against the cost to enhance the weapon, since the item’s Magic Factor (-2) negates this increase. If created by a creature with Craft Magic Arms and Armor or Mechanical Enhancements can incorporate this enhancement into a larger specific enhancement.

Silver may be fashioned into weapons in order to overcome some forms of DR. All weapons normally fashioned out of iron may be fashioned out of silver. Silver items are not solid silver, but rather plated.

Starsteel is a rare metal, as it comes from meteor impacts, and does not occur naturally.  It is lighter than adamantium, and stronger than mithril. Any armor made from metal may be made from starsteel, and the DR can only be overcome by adamantium or starsteel. There is no max G for light armor, the max G for medium is 6, and for heavy 4.  The check for armor made from starsteel is reduced by 3, to a minimum of 0. There is no speed penalty for starsteel armor, and its total weight is 1/3rd that of iron armor. As with mithril, the price is calculated based on the weight of the armor it replaces.

Titan Bone is made of metal, with incredible tensile strength, but very weak against torque. As the name implies, it comes from the bones of titans, and is thus somewhat difficult to come by. Weapons made from titan bone deal damage as if they were twice as large, but their SM increases by 5.

Treefolk Twine can be made into any nonmetal armor, weapon, or shield. The item has Regeneration 5, plus 2 per point of enhancement. The wearer gains fast healing 1, the item can heal up to 100 points per 24 hours, plus 50 points per point of enhancement.

Shields

A shield made of the given material gains only an AC shield bonus. A buckler or shield grants the AC bonus of a light armor of the appropriate type, heavy shield grants the bonus given by medium armor, and a tower shield grants the bonus of Heavy armor.