Kargin Notes - Metals and Special Materials
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Minor Resonance: Uncommon. Several materials exist that resonate elementally with certain energy types, dealing 1 extra damage of one energy type on-hit if it’s a weapon or resisting the first 2 damage taken from another energy type if it’s a set of armor. See below:
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Arandur: Silver-blue armor with a green shine. Resists Thunder damage and deals Acid damage.
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Hizagkuur: Pale, silvery-gray metal. Resists Cold damage and deals bonus fire damage.
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Dlarun: Bone-white metal with green sheen. Resists fire damage and deals bonus Cold damage.
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Darksteel: Polished silver metal with a deep purple luster. Resists Acid damage and deals bonus Lightning damage.
Get creative and make other kinds of arms and armor like these! -
Pandemonic Silver: Rare. This material is mined from the plane of Pandemonium and resonates with even the slightest breeze when unsheathed. Creatures within 30 ft. of the weapon other than the wielder when it is unsheathed must make a WIS save or become deafened for 1d4 rounds and frightened for 1 round. In a light breeze, the save DC is 10. In a moderate wind, the save DC is 13. In strong wind, the save DC is 16. In a windstorm, the save DC is 19. Creatures already affected by the weapon or that made their save against the weapon cannot be affected by it again for 24 hours or until the severity of the wind increases. Otherwise it acts as an Alchemical Silver weapon.
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Rimefire Ice: Uncommon. Can be shaped just like wood and can catch fire when exposed to fire just like wood, but burns for Cold damage instead of Fire damage. It emits light in a 20-ft. radius. Armor cannot be effectively made with Rimefire Ice, but weapons made of wood can be made of Rimefire Ice and deal 1 bonus cold damage on-hit. Rimefire Ice will melt rapidly into vapor at temperatures above freezing if exposed for over 1 minute.
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Serren: Rare. Wood from Arborean trees. Weapons made of this material count as magical weapons for the purposes of overcoming the damage resistances of incorporeal creatures.
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Solanian Truesteel: Very Rare. Made of gleaming perfect iron mined from the fourth layer of Celestia. A weapon made from this material counts a roll of a 19 or 20 as a critical hit.
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Starmetal: Rare. Meteoric iron mined from fallen comets. It has an inherent mystic connection to the material plane and deals 1d4 bonus force damage to extraplanar creatures.
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Stygian Ice: Rare. Black ice harvested from Stygia, the fifth layer of Hell. Contact or damage from Stygian Ice deals 1d6 bonus cold damage, and also causes the victim to make a DC 11 WIS save or have its WIS score lowered by 2 until it finishes a long rest. A creature whose WIS is lowered to 0 in this way dies and rises as a Wraith in 2d4 rounds. Weapons made of this material are fragile and have AC of 13 and HP of 8. The ice melts slowly in above-freezing temperatures, taking 1 damage each hour and emitting a foul vapor as it melts.
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Thinaun: Very Rare. A dark glittering steel that absorbs souls slain with weapons forged from it. If the wielder is slain while holding the weapon, the wielder’s soul becomes trapped in the weapon. If a soul is already inside of the Thinaun weapon when it tries to absorb a soul, the previous soul is released to the afterlife. A creature whose soul is trapped in the Thinaun weapon cannot be resurrected unless the caster of the resurrection spell wields the weapon. Fiends and other such creatures can extract a trapped soul for their own purposes, meaning it can be used as a bargaining tool for those who traffic in souls.
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Urdrukar: Rare. Armor forged with this metal weigh 5 pounds heavier and have their max DEX modifier reduced by 1, if applicable. However, it also grants the wearer advantage on saving throws against being viewed or detected remotely by divination spells.
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Ysgardian Heartwire: A fine, flexible metal found in the mines of Nidavellir in Ysgard. It can’t make an entire set of armor but it can be incorporated into metal armor to force incoming critical hits to reroll their attack roll. If the reroll hits, the initial attack is still a critical hit. If the reroll misses, the initial attack is no longer a critical hit and is instead a regular hit. Costs 2,000 gp to modify armor in this way.
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BAATORIAN GREEN STEEL (Banesteel)
This sickly green metal is very rarely found outside of the Outer Planes. This is because the ore needed to make the
metal is only found on the Lower Planes, specifically the Nine Hells of Baator. The most common users of
baatorian green steel are the baatezu themselves, who use weapons and armors made of this metal in the Blood War
(their eternal fight against the tanar’ri). This metal is also known as banesteel because the material tends to mirror
the baatezu’s fondness for surgical strikes – weapons made of baatorian green steel inflict far more critical hits than
their mundane counterparts. Baatorian green steel weapons gain a masterwork bonus to hit and damage, as well as
bonuses to their threat range and critical confirmation rolls. In a similar manner, banesteel armors have a
masterwork bonus to resist critical blows, increased protection values, and small bonuses to maximum dexterity,
armor check penalty, and arcane spell failure. Finally, much like celestial mithril, the metal of baatorian green steel
is infused with the essence of the plane of its origin. As such, all items forged of this metal are considered to be
both lawful and evil for purposes of damage reduction. -
TANAR’RI RED STEEL (Bloodsteel)
This rare metal is another product of the Blood War and the Lower Planes. In this case, the metal is crafted in the
infinite layers of the Abyss and is used primarily by the tanar’ri. Tanar’ri red steel is also known as bloodsteel - both
for being the color of fresh blood as well as the tendency for weapons forged of this metal to cause horrific wounds,
especially during critical strikes. Bloodsteel functions best when made into weapons of war. It grants a masterwork
bonus to hit, increased damage, and a higher critical multiplier. For armors and shields, it provides very limited
benefit. Its lighter weight provides for a slightly reduced arcane spell failure chance, as well as a masterwork bonus
to resist critical hits. The primary reason to find bloodsteel armor is that the metal is tougher than mundane steel,
allowing it to stand up to repeated beatings in combat. Like its infernal counterpart of baatorian green steel, tanar’ri
red steel is infused with the essence of its plane of origin. For this metal, however, all items forged from it are
considered to be both chaotic and evil with regard to damage reduction. -
GITHYANKI MITHRIL (Mindsilver)
This very rare, highly prized, metal is mined and forged on the Astral Plane by the githyanki. Items made of this
metal have a dull silver appearance, with faint highlights that resemble distant clouds. (Over a long period of time,
the patterns of these highlights will drift and change shape.) Githyanki mithril performs nearly identically to
celestial mithril, save that its masterwork properties are its to hit, critical check, AND critical damage bonuses. It
also provides a bonus to base damage and range increment. And much like glowsteel, it is considered to be silver
with regards to damage reduction. Likewise, armors of githyanki mithril are nearly identical to celestial mithril,
although the chance of arcane spell failure is not as low and it does not resist critical strikes any better than normal
steel. However, the reason why it is called mindsilver is the reason why the githyanki use it to forge their dreaded
silver swords and try to keep them out of non-gith hands. The metal is inherently psionic, and weapons made from
this metal more easily disrupt the spells or psionic powers of a struck foe. Additionally, armors forged of mindsilver
grant the wearer a small bonus vs. mind-affecting abilities as well as a small increase in mental hardness, allowing
the wearer an increased defense against mental attacks. Due to its inherent psionic nature, items of githyanki mithril
do not require any crystalline components to be psionically empowered. -
CRANOR (Tree-gold)
This metal isn’t metal at all. Instead, it is specially treated and hardened tree sap. It is most commonly found among
elves or forest-based metal-poor cultures. Weapons made of tree-gold tend to be sharper than metal, gaining a
masterwork bonus to hit, a small increase in range increment, an increased threat range, and an improved chance to
cause a critical hit. As cranor is not a metal, it is immune to rust and electricity. This nonconductive property
extends itself to those who wear tree-gold armor. Also, as the material isn’t metal, druids may wear any type of
armor when it is made from tree-gold. However, cranor also has its drawbacks. As it is merely tree sap, items made
from this material tend to be brittle and are more easily broken. Additionally, cranor is vulnerable to sonic attacks. -
LAEN (Smokesteel)
Laen is a cloudy gray crystal that, from a distance, resembles solidified smoke. (Hence, the alternate name of
smokesteel.) Much like cranor, this very rare material is n’t truly a metal. It is actually a dense crystal found on the
Elemental Plane of Earth. This density is what provides the benefits associated with it. Weapons receive a
masterwork bonus to hit, increased damage, increased critical multiplier, as well as improved hardness and hit
points. Additionally, any weapon formed of laen is considered to be blunt, regardless of its actual shape. Armo r
gains increased protective value, a resistance to critical hits, along with better hardness and hit point values. As
smokesteel is not a metal, it is immune to rust and fire, and druids may wear any armor formed from this material.
Armors made of laen impart the fire resistance to their wearers. However, as a crystal, smokesteel is vulnerable to
cold, which makes it brittle and prone to shattering. -
STORMWOOD
This material is used primarily to improve the performance of ranged weapons. Stormwood is the name given to
lumber harvested from trees that grow on either on the highest mountain peaks of Arborea or the windswept tunnels
of Pandemonium. Having grown in the punishing winds, items made of stormwood have an affinity for the air. As
a result, weapons made of stormwood are very lightweight, and are able to thrown (or fired) much further than their
mundane counterparts. (Pandemonium stormwood differs from its Arborean cousin in that missiles made from it
give a distinctive whistle when fired or thrown.) Although intended primarily for ammunition such as arrows or
bolts, some bounty hunters find cause to make melee weapons out of stormwood. This is because these weapons
become capable of inflicting only nonlethal damage, but at no penalty to hit (although there is a small decrease to
the weapon’s threat range).
