Special Materials

Most of the Core Rulebook’s special materials can be found on Athas, albeit in alternate forms. In addition to those described there, there also exist unique materials that have their own uses and unique properties.

Adamantine
While weapons and armor made from adamantine, also called “dwarven steel”, can be found on Athas, they are quite rare. Nearly all items made from adamantine are relics from a long past age, scavenged from ruins by elves and treasure hunters. Raw adamantine cannot be bought on the market, and weapons and armor constructed from adamantine are considered priceless relics. Adamantine has the same qualities as listed in the Core Rulebook.

Agafari
Agafari is the Athasian equivalent of darkwood. For weapons affected by the inferior material rule, agafari is considered an inferior material.

Brambleweed
This plant appears to be nothing more than a thick, twisted mass of brown-grey vines covered in thick thorns.

Growing at incredible speed, brambleweed is a nuisance that grows as a mass of thorny vines. Only the ends of each vine actually grow; the rest is an almost impassable wall of thorns. As the vine grows, the older portions of the plant harden from lack of moisture, forming a trellis for the rest of the plant to climb as well as creating a deadly defense for the newer shoots. Hardened brambleweed does not burn and is often used as a defensive bulwark by creatures that cultivate the plant for just this purpose.

A creature thrown onto the brambleweed or finding itself tangled in it suffers terrible puncture wounds from the thorns. Most individuals who wind up in a brambleweed patch die trying to free themselves from the plant‘s thorns.

Brambleweed grows 1 foot per day, unless stopped. As long as the plant continues to receive nourishment, it will continue to grow at an alarming rate; even the lack of moisture has no effect on its growth, only causing the outer growth to become hardened and create a tough defense for the undergrowth it surrounds.

Brambletree
A squat, thorny tree with gnarled, clublike boughs and long, sharp spines covering its bark, brambletree is a cultivated form of brambleweed used in constructing weapons. It is created by cutting and pruning brambleweed growths so that the plant grows upright into a brambletree. Lengths of straightened bramble are harvested and used as thorn-covered clubs or other wooden weapons.

A brambletree weapon deals piercing damage in addition to its normal types and is immune to fire.

The weapon's price increases based on its type:

Crystal, Living
Living crystal is crystal of above-average quality renowned for its strength and its psionically-resonant nature. It is actually two different materials: the crystalline web material of a crystal spider used in making weapons, and the tissue of the crystal spider itself for making armor. The freshly-taken material must be treated within a day of its extraction by channeling psionic power into it, preserving its inherent psionic nature. One power point is required for every treated pound of material.

While a weapon made of living crystal is no different from a mundane crystal weapon for a nonpsionic character, a psionic wielder of a living 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, and with the expediture of his psionic focus, the wielder can channel psionic power into a melee weapon or ranged weapon made of living crystal. For 2 power points, the living 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. For weapons affected by the inferior material rule, living crystal is considered inferior. The price of a living crystal weapon is that of a non-metal weapon, plus the modifier from the table below.

Armor made of living crystal is no different than metal armor for a nonpsionic character, but a psionic wearer of living crystal armor can focus psionic power through it, gaining an amount of damage reduction in the process. As a free action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and with the expediture of his psionic focus, the wearer can channel psionic power into armor made of living crystal. For 2 power points, the living crystal armor confers to the wearer damage reduction 5/metal. The armor will stay charged for 1 minute or until a hit is scored on it, whether or not the damage reduction applies to that particular hit. Unlike metal armor, living crystal armor isn’t considered made of metal so druids can wear it without penalty. The price of living crystal armor is that of non-metal armor, plus the modifier from the table below. Living crystal has 15 hit points per inch of thickness and a hardness of 8.

Dasl
Dasl is a special kind of crystalline material created by thri-kreen and often used to manufacture their weapons. An item made from dasl is treated as if it was made from iron and is not considered to be made from inferior materials. However, for purposes of harming creatures with damage reduction, a dasl weapon is not treated as being made from metal. An item made from dasl costs ten times what it normally would. Thus, a dasl chatkcha costs 200 Cp instead of the 20 Cp a stone or bone chatkcha would.

Dasl has a hardness of 7 and 15 hp per inch of thickness.

Drake Hide
The hide of a drake is of such value that most sorcerer-kings forbid their sale. They have instructed templars to confiscate any such items that appear in the market in the name of their sorcerer-king. Because drakes are so rare it is easy for templars to claim the item was stolen from the sorcerer-king and have the seller put to death. Elves, of course, defy these edicts at every turn, and make a fair profit selling drake materials while just one step ahead of their templar pursuers.

One drake produces enough hide for four suits of masterwork hide armor, three suits of masterwork banded mail, two suits of half-plate, or one suit of full plate for a Medium creature. Drake hide otherwise has the same qualities as dragonhide.

Drake Ivory
Drake ivory is extraordinarily strong and easy to work compared to the bone that most Athasian weaponsmiths use. Since it can only be obtained from the claws and teeth of deadly drakes, it is rare, expensive, and forbidden (see drake hide, above). Weapons made from drake ivory cost an additional 2,000 Cp to enchant. Weapons crafted from drake ivory cost twice what they normally would. A double weapon that is only half crafted using drake ivory increases its cost by 50%. For purposes of damage reduction, drake ivory is considered equivalent to cold iron. For weapons affected by the materials rule, drake ivory is considered inferior.

Drake ivory has a hardness of 10 and 30 hp per inch of thickness.

Giant Hair
Giant hair is very strong and frequently woven together to form a very strong cord. While sometimes used in armor, it is most frequently used to create rope. This rope costs 50 Cp for 50 feet, has a hardness of 5 and 2 hp per inch of thickness.

Gray-forged Steel
During the last few years of the Cleansing Wars, a small group of psions, preservers, and warriors sought to create a singularly powerful weapon in a last ditch effort to throw back the ever-victorious forces of the Champions of Rajaat. During their research, they stumbled upon the formulation of a steel alloy that they were able to infuse with the planar energy of the Gray itself. This rare metal is dull gray in color, and no amount of buffing or shining can make it sparkle. Weapons made out of this alloy give off little wisps of gray vapor when exposed to cold temperatures, and are always slightly chilly to the touch.

All attempts to use Gray-forged steel in the construction of armor is unsuccessful.

The wound from any piercing or slashing weapon wrought from Gray-forged steel is especially debilitating to living foes. On a successful critical, a living creature struck with a Gray-forged weapon must make a Fortitude save (DC 17) or become fatigued for one round. Characters who are already fatigued from any source other than the effect of a Gray-forged weapon instead become exhausted for one round, after which time they revert back to their fatigued status (if applicable); characters already suffering from the fatigue effect of a Gray-forged weapon instead have the total duration of the fatigue increased by an additional round.

Gray-forged steel is an exceptionally hard metal, having a hardness of 15 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness. The alloy’s strange connection to the Gray also gives it another unusual property, allowing a destroyed weapon to be reformed into its original state when taken to the Gray, restoring the item seamlessly. Each hour spent in the Gray heals the weapon of one hit point.

Weapons forged from this alloy are always of masterwork quality. Gray-forged steel is very rare and the secrets of its creation are believed to have been lost to the passage of time, so today the only known source of this material are relics forged during the Cleansing Wars era.

Weapons made from Gray-forged steel cost 3,000 Cp more than their normal metal counterparts. The masterwork component cost is included in this price.

Iron
Iron (and most other metals) is rare on Athas, but weapons and armor made of iron can still be found. In all of the city-states, there are at least a few craftsmen that are able to work iron. The only fresh source of iron is the mines in the city-state of Tyr. Many of the iron weapons and armor available for sale have been scavenged from ruins. Weapons made of iron (including iron-based compounds like steel) can bypass the damage reduction possessed by some Athasian monsters.

Silver, Alchemical
The process of binding silver to weapons has been greatly refined on Athas. Very little silver is actually needed in the process, and it can be bound to weapons crafted from dasl, obsidian and bone, as well as those made from iron. Athasian alchemical silver otherwise has the same qualities as alchemical silver.