BakerOfBedlam
2006-08-05, 02:48 PM
I'm currently working on a new setting for my game (which I'll probably post up here once it's finished/close enough to finished), and I was thinking of special materials for weapons. The setting is going to be fairly low-magic, but I still wanted the relative diversity that magic weaponry and such brings. Hence, new special materials. Here's the "flavor text" I thought up for this one.
Nulinum
Very nearly any material in the world can be used to channel magic, from iron to gems to oak to stone. One metal, however, is a blatant exception to this rule, and it is called "nulinum". Only found in very small ammounts in the mines of Vjeldast*, it posseses absolutely no ability to channel magic energies of any kind. In fact, after a complex alchemical purifying process called quenching, nulinum will all but cancel out any magic near it. Nulinum is generally as hard as steel, but is considerably heavier. Standard nulinum posseses a faint silvery shine, while quenched nulinum is completely matte, and nulinum of both varieties is a dull shade of dark gray with small purple flecks throughout.
Any weapon or armor that is primarily made of steel can be instead made of nulinum. Any item made of nulinum of any kind is masterwork (included in the cost), and can never be enchanted in any way.
A standard nulinum weapon grants its weilder a +2 on any check to sunder or destroy a magic object. A weapon made of standard nulinum is 1.5x the weight of a normal steel weapon, and adds 450gp to the base cost of the weapon.
A standard nulinum suit of armor grants its wearer SR 10. Any suit of armor made from standard nulinum increases the arcane failure chance by 10%. This 10% applies to divine casters as well**. A suit of armor made from standard nulinum is 1.5x the weight of a normal steel suit, and adds 700gp to the base cost of the armor.
A weapon made of quenched nulinum grants its weilder a +4 on any check to sunder or destroy a magic object. If a spellcaster of any kind is hit by a weapon of quenched nulinum, they must pass a DC 18 Fortitude save or loose all spellcasting ability for 1d3 rounds.
A weapon made of quenched nulinum is 1.5x the weight of a normal steel weapon, and adds 900gp to the price.
A suit of armor made from quenched nulinum grants its wearer SR 13. Spellcasting (arcane or divine) is impossible in a suit of quenched nulinum armor. A suit of armor made from quenched nulinum is 1.5x the weight of a normal steel suit, and adds 900gp to the price.
Any spell targeting an item of quenched nulinum automatically fails.
*Primary dwarven kingdom.
**This forces divine casters to roll for 10% spell failure just like an arcane caster would.
Nulinum
Very nearly any material in the world can be used to channel magic, from iron to gems to oak to stone. One metal, however, is a blatant exception to this rule, and it is called "nulinum". Only found in very small ammounts in the mines of Vjeldast*, it posseses absolutely no ability to channel magic energies of any kind. In fact, after a complex alchemical purifying process called quenching, nulinum will all but cancel out any magic near it. Nulinum is generally as hard as steel, but is considerably heavier. Standard nulinum posseses a faint silvery shine, while quenched nulinum is completely matte, and nulinum of both varieties is a dull shade of dark gray with small purple flecks throughout.
Any weapon or armor that is primarily made of steel can be instead made of nulinum. Any item made of nulinum of any kind is masterwork (included in the cost), and can never be enchanted in any way.
A standard nulinum weapon grants its weilder a +2 on any check to sunder or destroy a magic object. A weapon made of standard nulinum is 1.5x the weight of a normal steel weapon, and adds 450gp to the base cost of the weapon.
A standard nulinum suit of armor grants its wearer SR 10. Any suit of armor made from standard nulinum increases the arcane failure chance by 10%. This 10% applies to divine casters as well**. A suit of armor made from standard nulinum is 1.5x the weight of a normal steel suit, and adds 700gp to the base cost of the armor.
A weapon made of quenched nulinum grants its weilder a +4 on any check to sunder or destroy a magic object. If a spellcaster of any kind is hit by a weapon of quenched nulinum, they must pass a DC 18 Fortitude save or loose all spellcasting ability for 1d3 rounds.
A weapon made of quenched nulinum is 1.5x the weight of a normal steel weapon, and adds 900gp to the price.
A suit of armor made from quenched nulinum grants its wearer SR 13. Spellcasting (arcane or divine) is impossible in a suit of quenched nulinum armor. A suit of armor made from quenched nulinum is 1.5x the weight of a normal steel suit, and adds 900gp to the price.
Any spell targeting an item of quenched nulinum automatically fails.
*Primary dwarven kingdom.
**This forces divine casters to roll for 10% spell failure just like an arcane caster would.