Note: These rules are meant to be used in combination with my other house rules.
New special material rulesThese rules are meant to be used in replacement of the special material rules found in the DMG.
AdamantineThis 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 (overcome by adamantine weapons) and energy resistance to acid, cold, fire, and sonic damage (but not electricity). The damage reduction and energy resistance are based on the Base Attack Bonus of the person wearing it: light armor grants a bonus equal to a quarter of the character's Base Attack Bonus (to a minimum of 1), medium armor grants a bonus equal to half the character's Base Attack Bonus (to a minimum of 1), and heavy armor grants a bonus equal to the character's Base Attack Bonus. For example: a suit of adamantine breast plate would give a character with a Base Attack Bonus of 10 damage reduction 5/adamantine and acid, cold, fire, and sonic resistance 5. An adamantine shield adds a +2 equipment bonus to the wearer's Reflex saves against spells and effects that deal half damage on a successful save.
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 +40 gp
Light armor +2,000 gp
Medium armor +4,000 gp
Heavy armor +8,000 gp
Weapon +2,000 gp
Shield +2,000 gp
Cold IronThis 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. In addition, any creature with Spell Resistance struck by a cold iron weapon has its Spell Resistance lowered by five points (to a minimum of 0) for one round. Multiple attacks in the same round overlap and do not stack for this effect.
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.
DarkwoodThis 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. A weapon made from darkwood is treated as being light for purposes of using Weapon Finesse. In every other way, the weapon behaves as a weapon of its normal size. Thus, a character could use their Dexterity modifier to hit with a darkwood quarterstaff.
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.
DragonhideArmorsmiths 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.
Dragonhide has a natural resistance to the type of energy associated with the dragon's breath weapon (fire for red dragons, electricity for blue dragons, cold for silver dragons, etc). A suit of dragonhide armor bestows energy resistance of that type of energy based on the type of armor and Base Attack Bonus of the wearer: light armor grants resistance equal to half the character's Base Attack Bonus (to a minimum of 1), medium armor grants a bonus equal to the character's Base Attack Bonus, and heavy armor grants a bonus equal to double the character's Base Attack Bonus. A dragonhide shield adds a +4 equipment bonus to the wearer's Reflex saves against spells and effects that deal half damage on a successful save if it deals the type of energy damage associated with the dragon.
Because dragonhide armor isn’t made of metal, druids can wear it without penalty.
The cost of dragonhide armor is shown in the table below, 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.
Type of Dragonhide Armor Armor Cost Modifier
Light armor +1,000 gp
Medium armor +2,000 gp
Heavy armor +4,000 gp
Shield +1,000 gp
MercurialA mercurial weapon is a normal weapon created with a hollow channel partially filled with mercury. This allows the weight of the weapon to shift, allowing the wielder to deliver powerful blows, often at the sake of accuracy.
When using a mercurial weapon and using Power Attack, the user may take an additional penalty to hit of up to two points, gaining the extra damage as normal. This means that the wielder could effectively take a penalty of up to two points more than their Base Attack Bonus. Even if the wielder has a way to shift the penalty to something other than their attack roll (such as taking the penalty to Armor Class with the Shock Trooper feat), this additional penalty is always taken to the attack roll.
Only slashing or bludgeoning melee weapons primarily made of metal can be made mercurial. Thus, a greatsword or morningstar would be suitable, but a spear or arrow would not be.
The cost for making a mercurial weapon is triple the cost of the normal weapon. Mercurial are always considered masterwork quality. Add the +300gp cost modifier after tripling the base cost of the weapon. Thus, a mercurial greatsword would cost 450 gp.
MithrilMithril 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 mithril 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 mithril 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 mithril weighs half as much as the same item made from other metals. A weapon made from mithril is treated as being light for purposes of using Weapon Finesse. In every other way, the weapon behaves as a weapon of its normal size. Thus, a character could use their Dexterity modifier to hit with a mithril greatsword. Items not primarily of metal are not meaningfully affected by being partially made of mithril. (A longsword can be a mithril weapon, while a scythe cannot be.)
Weapons or armors fashioned from mithril are always masterwork items as well; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below.
Mithril has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 15.
Type of Mithril 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 +50 gp/lb.
SilverWeapons can be made from mundane silver, which has the ability to harm creatures like lycantrhopes and certain outsiders. Silver is much softer than steel, and is ill-suited for making weapons. Adventurers often have weapons made of alchemical silver (see below), as it retains the strength of steel.
Weapons made of silver deal damage as though they were one size category smaller. Thus, a medium silver longsword would deal 1d6 damage instead of 1d8, and a medium silver greatsword would only deal 1d8 instead of 2d6. Only weapons normally made of metal can be made of silver. Thus, a dagger, longsword, or arrow would be suitable, but a club would not be.
A silver weapon costs twice as much to create as a normal version would. If the weapon is masterwork, apply the +300 cost after doubling the base price.
Silver has 10 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 6.
Silver, AlchemicalA 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. This process results in an alloy that is as strong as steel but with the properties of silver.
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 mithril.
Alchemical silver has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10.
Alchemical Silver Weapon Cost Modifier
Ammunition +2 gp
Light weapon +20 gp
One-handed weapon, or one +90 gp
head of a double weapon
Two-handed weapon, or both +180 gp
heads of a double weapon
TrollhideTrollhide is a type of leather armor specially hardened in rare alchemical oils. It can be formed from any type of leather, and is, in fact, seldom prepared from troll hide, but it is a popular name for the material. Trollhide offers much greater protection than normal leather armor with very little extra impediment on movement. Only leather armor and hide armor can be made of trollhide. The leather used in studded leather armor is too flexible to be made of this stiff material.
The armor bonus of leather armor made of trollhide increases by two points (to a total bonus of +4). The armor bonus of hide armor made of trollhide increases by three points (to a total bonus of +6). In either case, reduce the maximum Dexterity bonus of the armor by one point and increase the armor check penalty by one point and the arcane spell failure by 5%.
Leather trollhide armor costs 200gp more than normal to create, and hide trollhide costs 400gp more to create. Trollhide armor is always considered masterwork quality. Thus, the total cost of leather trollhide is 360gp and the total cost of hide trollhide is 565gp.
