Darksteel-3.5 material

[gooddragon1]

Darksteel is an extremely rare darkened yet reflective metal that is twice as heavy as steel but much harder. Due to the resistive properties of this material it cannot be worked as metal is normally worked, only effects that significantly manipulate life force (such as energy drain or death effects) can sculpt this material. Despite the weight of darksteel items made of it provide no penalties other than this weight over what a similar item made of steel would. Weapons can be made of darksteel even if they normally have nonmetal components, but those components must be darksteel as well. Darksteel is not magnetic even though it has steel mixed throughout it. Weapons or armors fashioned from darksteel are always masterwork items.

An item made of darksteel does not take damage from attacks that deal damage, effects that cause energy drain deal damage to it equal to the number of levels that would be lost (hardness is applied against this type of damage), effects that would remove or destroy a soul instead deal damage equal to the caster/manifester level of the effect and ignore hardness. Darksteel items cannot be repaired normally, however a darksteel item repairs itself by 1 point of damage every round. A darksteel item can be completely repaired or even reconstructed after being completely destroyed by an ability capable of bringing back a dead creature (the item is always willing, however to resurrect it the proper command thought must be projected to identify the item which is determined by the first sculptor of the item and the character or object resurrecting the item must have had physical contact with the item at some point). An item made of darksteel is considered to be a living weapon, however it can never become an intelligent item (although it is conceivable for constructs to be fashioned from it). An item made of darksteel can never lose magical or psionic properties imbued into it by improving it through magic item creation feats or psionic item creation feats by any means (including its natural magical properties).

Darksteel is steel combined with spiritual energy. This spiritual energy can only be imbued into the steel by casting a create greater undead spell as though creating an undead with 35 HD on the negative energy plane. The creature imbuing the spiritual energy cannot be undead because the natural negative energies from an undead attempting to create darksteel would interfere with the mixing process. This process works on 1 pound of steel and creates 2 pounds of darksteel over 1 hour (the sculptor must remain on the negative energy plane and spend a move action each round in concentration on the process). As mentioned above, sculpting darksteel cannot be achieved by normal means, it must be sculpted by effects that affect life force. An energy drain effect that can drain 36 or more levels can sculpt 1 cubic foot per level drained over 35 darksteel into any desired shape. An effect that would remove or destroy a soul can sculpt 1 cubic foot per caster level/manifester level/HD (whichever applies). Sculpting multiple items made of darksteel into a single item is possible, however if this is done the sculptor must choose a new command thought for the item created. Although darksteel is created through the manipulation of negative energy it is not evil although it is magical and can bypass the appropriate damage reduction.

Darksteel has 70 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 35.

Feel free to scream IMBA if you wish. This is just the most accurate rendition of darksteel for me.

/̵͇̿̿/ ̿-̅-̅-̅ Sindri

[DracoDei]

Loads better than adamintine (but you need to specify that it bypasses DR as if it were adamintine I think)... I like the fluff about creating it. I am unfamiliar with the source you are pulling it from. It doesn't look like a problem for balance as long as you price it much more than adamintine. That may require that you require some generic "expensive materials" to make it to keep the PCs from making there own once they can get the right spells/magic items to survive the creation process, but that seems reasonable for adaptation purposes...


What does IMBA mean?

[gooddragon1]

Loads better than adamintine (but you need to specify that it bypasses DR as if it were adamintine I think)... I like the fluff about creating it. I am unfamiliar with the source you are pulling it from. It doesn't look like a problem for balance as long as you price it much more than adamintine. That may require that you require some generic "expensive materials" to make it to keep the PCs from making there own once they can get the right spells/magic items to survive the creation process, but that seems reasonable for adaptation purposes...


What does IMBA mean?

Magic the gathering:
http://www.halfpricehobbies.com/catalog/images/darksteel_colossus%5B1%5D.jpghttp://sales.starcitygames.com/cardscans/MAGDST/darksteel_forge.jpg

(read the itallic text on the second one for some idea of where I got some of the flavor)

IMBA=Imbalanced

This stuff would probably be what some artifacts are made of... buying it is unlikely and making it (given where you have to be and for how long) is very subject to DM fiat.

[Temotei]

Hooray for something unique! Materials aren't something that come to mind right away in a homebrewer's head. While it could be overpowering, as long as the price is high enough, it should be okay, as DracoDei said.

[Glimbur]

Why does one pound of steel become two pounds of Darksteel? What is the rest of the mass made up of?

Sorry, I'm getting science in your D&D.

On a more "game mechanics" note, taking damage from negative levels but applying hardness is about the same as not taking damage from negative levels. Darksteel is stated to have Hardness 35. An Empowered, Maximized Enervation does 5-6 negative levels from a 9th level spell slot. Split Ray and Twin and such won't help because each ray is a separate attack. There just aren't effects that do enough negative levels to break the hardness of the material.

It takes a nontrivial amount of Trap The Souls to break even an inch of the stuff.

How does this interact with Disintegrate?

[gooddragon1]

Why does one pound of steel become two pounds of Darksteel? What is the rest of the mass made up of?

Sorry, I'm getting science in your D&D.

On a more "game mechanics" note, taking damage from negative levels but applying hardness is about the same as not taking damage from negative levels. Darksteel is stated to have Hardness 35. An Empowered, Maximized Enervation does 5-6 negative levels from a 9th level spell slot. Split Ray and Twin and such won't help because each ray is a separate attack. There just aren't effects that do enough negative levels to break the hardness of the material.

It takes a nontrivial amount of Trap The Souls to break even an inch of the stuff.

How does this interact with Disintegrate?

See, this is why I said "feel free to scream imba if you want to".

1>Note that darksteel items weigh double what normal items do. The space it takes up is the same, but it weighs more because of the spiritual energy.
2>Negative energy through negative levels is quantifiable but a death effect can kill regardless of level. That's why it's harder to do it with negative levels than a death effect.
3>Disintegrate is normal damage, only negative energy (and powerful negative energy at that such as from negative levels or death effects) can damage it.

Also, cost wise... It would take an epic level caster to make this stuff and while on the negative energy plane you could be attacked by any number of things. I can't really imagine a price being put on this stuff but it would definitely depend on how unlucky the caster making it was in their experience on the negative energy plane. Of course, once you have a few pounds you can sculpt it fairly easily with a few death effect spells.

[Dante & Vergil]

This is quite awesome as a D&D material. Now I want to see etherium done, like what it's properties are, described in Agents of Artiface.

[DracoDei]

Maybe only have some fraction of the hardness apply? 1/7 might be good...

[Rainbownaga]

So an ability that drains 36 levels can either sculpt 1 cubic foot into any shape desired or deal 1 point of damage.

Did I misunderstand something?

Also, why doesn't negative/positive energy damage do anything?

[Latronis]

This is quite awesome as a D&D material. Now I want to see etherium done, like what it's properties are, described in Agents of Artiface.

At one stage I almost got around to doing that kind of thing, probably based on something like dragon grafts. Sacrificing max hp per replacement body part helps give off that delicate filigree effect from little aetherium being available. The more and more you have the more construct qualities you get. Though I'm not really sure how would simulate that Aether-Lich dealy from too much enhancement

[Dante & Vergil]

At one stage I almost got around to doing that kind of thing, probably based on something like dragon grafts. Sacrificing max hp per replacement body part helps give off that delicate filigree effect from little aetherium being available. The more and more you have the more construct qualities you get. Though I'm not really sure how would simulate that Aether-Lich dealy from too much enhancement

That is the traditional use of etherium, but from Agents of Artiface,
At the part when Jace and Tezzeret go to a frozen plane to do a discussion with Nicol Bolas, the reason they are there for is etherium, in short. When Nicol Bolas describes etherium to Jace, he says that it is an extremely valuable metal that has the properties to hold any number of enchantments on it. This is the only reason why etherium is able to replace body parts.

[Fawsto]

But wait.. Am I missing anything? I mean, why would I want to buy overexpensive steel? What help it brings to my journeys? Even Adamantine does something special like ignoring hardness and applying some DR.

[Latronis]

At the part when Jace and Tezzeret go to a frozen plane to do a discussion with Nicol Bolas, the reason they are there for is etherium, in short. When Nicol Bolas describes etherium to Jace, he says that it is an extremely valuable metal that has the properties to hold any number of enchantments on it. This is the only reason why etherium is able to replace body parts.

Which can representated by the individual grafts. They are essentially magic items afterall. And mechanically the etherium enhanced creatures are representated as artifact creatures so gaining more construct like qualities as you have more and more etherium replacements fits just aswell.

How you would actually stat out the material itself I'm not sure but the graft rules fit very nicely IMO.

[gooddragon1]

But wait.. Am I missing anything? I mean, why would I want to buy overexpensive steel? What help it brings to my journeys? Even Adamantine does something special like ignoring hardness and applying some DR.

Not really purchaseable... but this stuff can be resurrected in almost the same way a character can be. Therefore an item made of this stuff can be subjected to some pretty insane stuff and still come back. It's also difficult to destroy with most damaging effects, so it can withstand stuff like being immersed in lava or the heart of a sun.

[gooddragon1]

More theory on darksteel: If you look at cards like darksteel colossus you may note little bits of light circulating around them. I theorize that darksteel actually negates almost any form of energy (excluding negative energy) that it comes in contact with. This means that it may be possible to parry physical attacks even with a large difference in strength between the wielder and the attacker. That's also probably why it's hardness isn't relevant to it's ability to ignore damage to it (except in the case of negative energy).

[Ouranos]

Problem is, it already exists in D&D.

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Darksteel

Can't find it referenced elsewhere, but am searching my Forgotten Realms book now.

[Temotei]

Problem is, it already exists in D&D.

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Darksteel

Can't find it referenced elsewhere, but am searching my Forgotten Realms book now.

But this version is different, and has fluff right here. :smallamused:

[Ouranos]

True. And can't find it in the actual FR book. My only suggestion is to change the name, simply due to it's prior existance.

[Jane_Smith]

He wishs it to be themed on MTG darksteel, thus i say keep it to darksteel. To hell with forgotten realms. :P Consider this a variant at the least or simply ignore its previous exsistance.

Though, I have to admit I dont even like the idea that anything can damage it. In magic: the gathering, darksteel -could not be destroyed-. Once made, it would last for an eternity. It was almost as if a time-stop spell was placed on each individual peice and it simply didnt react to outside stimuli. Enchantments on weapons make them immune to damage from weapons with lower-enchantments (or nonmagical)... so would it really be so op to make a material that cannot be destroyed by any means?

[arguskos]

True. And can't find it in the actual FR book. My only suggestion is to change the name, simply due to it's prior existance.
Darksteel was a variant material forged by the shield dwarves in the Forgotten Realms. It was never updated to 3.5, though I have a AD&D 2e book that discusses it's uses and stats.

Anyways, interesting thought for the MtG rendition of Darksteel. I likes it.

[Demented]

so would it really be so op to make a material that cannot be destroyed by any means?
Probably not, but wizards have to have all the nice things in 3.5.


1>Note that darksteel items weigh double what normal items do. The space it takes up is the same, but it weighs more because it wants to.

Fixed for awesome. :smallbiggrin:

[Jane_Smith]

^ I agree to the last statement completely. :smallbiggrin:

[Jallorn]

*Cough* Darksteel Warforged *Cough*

Also, I would say that the metal becomes denser as a result of the process, so it requires twice as much normal steel to. After all, energy isn't mass, so it doesn't weigh anything.

[Dante & Vergil]

We have this thread back and I would never thought that it would.

[Fortuna]

Also, I would say that the metal becomes denser as a result of the process, so it requires twice as much normal steel to. After all, energy isn't mass, so it doesn't weigh anything.

e=mc^2. It doesn't weigh anything unless you convert it. It's reasonable enough to assume that the amount of energy involved in creating a 35 HD undead is huge, I think. Even if (*does some calculation*) 61723811.4 joules seems a bit much, you are presumably drawing energy from the plane around you as well, making it even more awesome. And anyway, it only comes out to 17 kW, right?

[Jallorn]

e=mc^2. It doesn't weigh anything unless you convert it. It's reasonable enough to assume that the amount of energy involved in creating a 35 HD undead is huge, I think. Even if (*does some calculation*) 61723811.4 joules seems a bit much, you are presumably drawing energy from the plane around you as well, making it even more awesome. And anyway, it only comes out to 17 kW, right?

Yeah, I guess that works.

[TrollMike]

True. And can't find it in the actual FR book. My only suggestion is to change the name, simply due to it's prior existance.

The original source book is Magic of Faerun page 178

[Gildedragon]

So... It overcomes DR magic and is not disenchantable
How does a darksteel item interact with an artificer's retain essence ability?
As to being indestructible look at riverine or aurorum. They each do something your material does.
Now as it stands now your item isn't so much imbalanced as a-balanced. It is a DM fiat item.
I would instead go for a DR/Epic Hardness 30 or so and SR.