Dweomermetals

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Dweomermetals and Other Special Materials

While iron, steel, copper, bronze and lead are the building blocks of any empire, centuries of mining and exploring have revealed numerous special materials which exhibit extremely useful properties. Often, such materials are rare or difficult to acquire, such as mithril. Others are not rare, but are exceedingly difficult to work with, such as siegestone or adamantium. Others are well-adapted to accepting magical enhancements and are thus prized and highly sought after.

Below is a list of Dweomermetals and other special materials, which may be used as the raw materials for making armor, shields or weapons. Each listing provides details as to the material's features, and a listing of its effects when shaped into each implement. Costs are provided as well.

Special material costs are not factored into a magic armor or weapon's Absolute Bonus. Instead, these costs are simply 'tacked on' to the magical enhancement and magical properties costs of the item in question.

Enhancing Innate Features

Some special materials have innate features, such as DR or ER, which can be enhanced by dedicating some or all of a magical enhancement bonus towards improving that feature. If the item has some or all of its enhancement bonuses spent in this fashion, all enhancement bonuses are added together to calculate the total enhancement bonus (and the cost of this and any future enhancement bonuses) of the item.

For example, a +2 adamantine full plate which has had its DR increased by +2 (to a total of DR 5/-) has an adjusted enhancement bonus of +4. To calculate the cost of such a thing, refer to the Magic Armor Enhancement Limitations table. In this case, a +4 enhancement bonus would cost 16,000gp, the adamantine special material cost for full plate would add another 15,000gp. Adamantine includes the cost of masterwork, but then the armor itself costs a further 1,500gp. Assuming the full plate has no magic properties, it has an enhancement bonus of +4, an absolute bonus of +4, and a total cost of 32,500gp.

The special materials listings describe which innate features can and cannot be boosted by applying some or all of the item's magical enhancement bonus to it.

Argent and Its Alloys

Argent is a very attractive metal, so much so that it is widely recognized as the most beautiful of the dweomermetals. Argent is hard and shiny while being fairly malleable and can be polished to an extremely fine polish. The color of argent is a rich, mellow, buttery glow, darker than gold but having a richer luster than that lesser metal. The real beauty of argent comes from the way it seems to spread light falling upon it into a rainbow of metallic colors that play and dance over its surface. This effect is independent of the surface polish, and even a roughly finished ingot will show this effect. Most argent is used in an alloy with steel, copper, or nickel, usually at least one half to two thirds argent, and the remainder being alloy metal. When it is alloyed with precious metals argent's rich luster is amplified into a blinding rainbow of glory. When it is alloyed with ferrous metals argent lends it's golden color to the piece, but the surface lustre is somewhat muted. One especially notable alloy of argent deserves mention, and that is ambergold. Ambergold is one third argent, one third silver, and one third copper, and is phenomenally useful for jewelry, weapons, and the like. Argent is only rarely mixed with aurium, because the two metals are nearly completely immiscible. This sort of blending problem is usually easily handled with magic, but the intense dweomerfixing strength of the alloy defeats most such measures. When argent bloodgold is created, it is a pleasure to look at indeed, as well as being phenomenally capable of fixing dweomers. Argent is unique in that it is used both as jewelry and as a structural metal. Argent is a versatile dweomermetal, and is used in many items and also in some of the lighter magic weapons. Argent is widely used where the appearance of an item is of importance, and is a primary ingredient in magical mirrors. Nearly every item can be made with argent, and if it were a little more effective at retaining enchantments it would be even in higher demand than it is, but it is only a little better at holding dweomer than is cuprium.

Argent Alloy

• Beauty: Very High (8 out of 10)
• Composition: 50% argent, 20% iron, 20% copper, 10% nickel

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Ambergold

• Beauty: Exquisite (10 out of 10)
• Composition: 34% argent, 33% gold, 33% copper

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Aurium and Its Alloys

Aurium is very soft, even softer than cuprium, but it is also very malleable. It has the second highest affinity for dweomer of any of the dweomermetals. It is a brilliant red and ruddy metal that can be polished easily to an extremely bright finish. It is a very pretty and attractive metal that is often used in jewelry, even mundane jewelry, simply for the very attractive appearance it presents. Since it is far more valuable than gold, this jewelry is almost always enchanted in one way or another. Because it is not a very sturdy metal, aurium is often mixed with another metal to strengthen it, usually gold or silver. Most alloys of aurium are of silver and/or gold, two parts silver or gold to three parts aurium. This alloy is harder and more durable than either pure aurium or pure gold, and is commonly called bloodgold. Lesser grades of aurium alloy are also called bloodgold, and are also desired for their appearance since the aurium admixture remains the dominant effect. Lesser grades of bloodgold may also be enchanted, and there is little technical difference between them and higher grades, except esthetically. Bloodgold has a very attractive color and luster, predominantly aurium's ruddiness with a golden or silvery sheen to the highlights. This alloy is the one most commonly used for magic jewelry. Brooches, phylacteries, necklaces, bracelets, etc, are often made of aurium. But aurium is most commonly used in applications where it may be inlaid into a larger surface of a more robust material. The bright and strong color of aurium suit it well to such applications, and in such uses it is often found inlaid into wands, staves, rods, censors, bowls, doors, walls, etc. Nearly any surface can accept an aurium inlay, and as long as there is not an excessive amount of wear, it is quite durable when used this way. A less common but even more decorative use of aurium is when it is drawn extremely fine and used as thread in clothing and tapestries. The beautiful color of aurium is especially well suited for these applications, and as long as there is a sturdy backing these sort of garments are usually very durable.

Bloodgold

• Beauty: Very High (9 out of 10)
• Composition: 60% aurium, 40% gold

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Bloodsilver

• Beauty: High (7 out of 10)
• Composition: 60% aurium, 40% silver

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Cuprium and Its Alloys

Cuprium has a moderate capacity for dweomer and is soft and brittle. Further, it is an unimpressive lackluster gray, and will not take a shine under even the best of conditions. However, it is readily dissolved in various acids, and can then be rendered into a powder and added to various paints, dyes, and coatings. It can also be soaked into cloth, wood, and leather, or added to various other ingredients to make powders, philters, potions, ointments, unguents,..well, you get the idea. Cuprium is actually the most widely used dweomermetal, but most people have never seen the actual metal itself, even experienced mages who have been actively making items for years. Nearly every piece of enchanted clothing, most potions, many magic staves and rods and wands, all have cuprium helping to bind the enchantment. Cuprium is almost never alloyed with anything, but occasionally it is used with a small amount of silver added to improve its physical properties or to improve its performance when it is to be used as a pigment. The color cuprium adds on its own, with no further pigments, is a very subtle iridescence, that when used on spidersilk or linen gives a very nice effect.

Cuprium-Infused Materials

• Beauty: Low (3 out of 10)
• Composition: 100%, powdered and infused

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Mithril and Its Alloys

Mithril is one of the oldest and best known of the dweomermetals, and for good reason. Mithril is hard, durable, resists shock well, has a high melting point, polishes to a nice sheen, and is a quite attractive metal. Mithril is often called true silver, due to its similarity to that metal, but to the trained eye it is immediately recognizable. The color of mithril is exactly like silver, a rich silvery luster, but the metal is actually shinier than silver and gives a sharper sheen. When well polished, mithril begins to look almost transparent, as if you were looking down into the surface of the metal. It is a most unsettling effect and instantly recognizable once you have seen it. Mithril is only barely less strong than aurium at holding an enchantment, and is hugely more sturdy. Mithril is much stronger than steel and is the most common dweomermetal used in magical armors and weapons. Add in the fact that mithril is a lovely metal and it is easy to see why it is the most widely used in weapons, especially those used to impress as well as defeat a foe. Unfortunately, demand for mithril is much too high to allow it to be used pure, for the cost would be prohibitive. Most magic weapons are made of an alloy called puremetal, which is one tenth part mithril, one tenth part argent, one tenth part copper, one tenth part nickel, one tenth part silver,and one half iron. This alloy is tough, very hard, easy to forge, can be heat treated to make it even harder while keeping its flexibility, and best of all, won't rust even before it is enchanted. Other common alloys of mithril use three parts mithril, three parts argent and four parts aurium to make peacemetal, and half mithril and half argent to make bladesilver. ( Most smiths feel bladesilver to produce the finest weapons of all, when the aesthetics of the weapon have any say in the matter.)

Mithril Alloy

• Beauty: Moderate (5 out of 10)
• Composition: 20% mithril, 80% iron

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Peacemetal

• Beauty: Moderate (6 out of 10)
• Composition: 30% mithril, 30% argent, 40% aurium

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Puremetal

• Beauty: Moderate (5 out of 10)
• Composition: 10% mithril, 10% argent, 10% copper, 10% nickel, 10% silver, 50% iron

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Bladesilver

• Beauty: Very High (8 out of 10)
• Composition: 50% mithril, 50% argent

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Adamantium and Its Alloys

Adamantium is often called the king of metals, and with good reason. It is extremely tough, extremely hard, and is quite malleable, although the force required to forge it is excessive. It is so refractory that magic must be used to generate enough heat to melt it. A bowl of adamantium can be used to heat iron until it boils into a vapor, and the adamantium will still be unwarmed. Indeed, one of the biggest drawbacks of using adamantium to make anything is the difficulty in doing anything to it. Adamantium is always used as an alloy, because the pure stuff is impossible to work with. Adamantium is most often alloyed with steel and aurium. Another problem with adamantium is that it is, to be frank, not a pretty metal at all. It is a dull dark gray, which sullenly refuses to accept any kind of high polish at all. It reflects light poorly, but it does betray its extraordinary nature by the electric blue highlights it displays under strong light, as well as having a sort of moire pattern to its surface which (if examined closely) seems to extend both above and below its surface. Adamantium is also brutally heavy, and has the charming property of granting its unlovely appearance to any alloy made of it, completely overwhelming the other metal's properties. It also is extremely rare and highly expensive. So why does anyone bother using the stuff at all? Because it can hold over triple the magic of aurium, its closest rival. It is almost perfect for armor and weapons, since an adamantium blade can be used to whittle a horseshoe even before it is enchanted. The simplest alloy of Adamantium is one third adamantium and two-thirds iron, and is called adamantine, a confusing situation to be sure. The alloy most commonly used is the remarkably ugly Dolemetal, so called for the dolerous effect it has on appearance. Dolemetal consists of one third adamantium, one third copper, and one third iron. For really powerful devices, aurium is substituted for the copper, creating Truemetal. Very rarely, the greatest wizardsmiths have a technique for smithing an alloy which is one third each of adamantium, aurium, and mithril, referred to as paramount alloy. Given the difficulty of working paramount alloy, this explains the legendary reputations of those smiths quite handily!

Adamantine

• Beauty: Ugly (2 out of 10)
• Composition: 34% adamantium, 66% iron

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Dolemetal

• Beauty: Ugly (1 out of 10)
• Composition: 34% adamantium, 33% iron, 33% copper

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Truemetal

• Beauty: Ugly (2 out of 10)
• Composition: 34% adamantium, 33% iron, 33% aurium

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other

Paramount Alloy

• Beauty: Ugly (1 out of 10)
• Composition: 34% adamantium, 33% mithril, 33% aurium

Item	Hardness	Hit Points	Innate Features	Enhanceable Features	Cost
Ammunition
Light Weapons
One-Handed Weapons
Two-Handed Weapons
Shields
Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Other