Eldan
2013-11-06, 07:30 AM
Description and production
Ur (pronounced "oor", with an "oo" as in "food") is earth in its purest, elemental form, the atomic substance that gives other earth materials such as metals and soil their properties. The metal has a dull, grey-black colour slightly darker than lead and is extraordinarily hard, without being brittle.
Incredibly rare in nature, even on the elemental plane of earth, Ur is produced by an alchemical distillation process that involves rare salts, precious metals and a fair amount of cold iron. The result of the process is always a perfect, polished looking sphere about one inch in diameter. Such a unit of Ur can not be further shaped by any known process.
Making a one-inch sphere of Ur takes a Craft: DC 30 alchemy check and 300 gold pieces worth of raw materials. Unlike the normal rules for craft check, the process of making it always takes 3 days if the check is successful.
A unit of Ur has a market price of 900 gold pieces.
Properties
Ur has several interesting properties that make it interesting to alchemists and spellcasters and valuable to many others. Note that all these properties are natural and inherent to the material, not magical, and are as such unaffected by antimagic fields or any attempts to dispel them magically.
The first is it's extraordinary hardness and resistance. It is harder than any other known substance including adamantine, which has the drawback that once distilled, it can not be forged or shaped by any means. Furthermore, magical energies, especially those of both air and earth, simply slide off it without affecting it.
Ur has hardness 60. A one-inch sphere of the material has 100 hit points. It has magic immunity (infinite spell resistance), like that of a golem and is immune to both acid and electricity damage.
The second extraordinary property is the material's weight and curious effect on gravity. A unit or one-inch sphere of Ur weighs a little more than a pound, making it considerably denser than any other known metal, such as more than four times as dense as lead.
Ur has the ability to distort gravity and magnetism in unique ways. Most metal that comes into contact with Ur can only be separated from it with great difficulty. Any light object left near Ur will move slowly towards it, if it can do so along a surface.
Any metal that comes into direct contact with Ur can only be separated from it by a DC 20 strength check. If more than one unit of Ur touches the same piece of metal, the DC increases by +1 for every sphere after the first. Such a bond can hold up to 100 pounds of weight.
Any item that weighs one pound or less that is left unattended within 10 feet of a unit of Ur will move towards it over any surface at a speed of one foot per round or ten feet per minute.
Third, the touch of Ur is highly unpleasant or even painful to beings of elemental air and those of strong chaotic alignment. They will avoid its touch at all cost.
Creatures with the [air] subtype or any amount of damage reduction that can be overcome by cold iron or a combination of cold iron and another factor must make a DC 20 will save or immediately drop a unit of Ur they are touching or try to move away from it as quickly as possible. This is a mind-affecting fear effect, though not a magical one.
A unit of Ur can be used as an improvised weapon dealing 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage. Furthermore, it deals 1d6 points of untyped damage to all creatures with the air subtype or damage reduction that can be overcome by cold iron, as well as overcoming all damage reduction as if it was made from that material.
Applications:
Gravity Manipulatior:
In a simple magical ritual, Ur can be used to distort local gravity around it, making it stronger, weaker, or even changing it entirely so that creatures can walk on walls or ceilings. This is often used by planar travelers to make small zones of stability within planes that have unusual gravity traits.
A gravity manipulator is, in its most basic form, a circular metal sheet of about one foot in diameter, inscribed with magical runes and diagrams and often simple instructions, such as "this side up". In its middle is set a piece of Ur.
Creating a gravity manipulator requires a piece of Ur, the Craft Wondrous Item or Ritual Magic (my own homebrew) feat, 1000 gold pieces of material components and a full day of work.
The resulting manipulator is itself a magical item with a caster level of 5. The Ur in the middle loses its own gravity effect, which returns if the manipulator surrounding it should be destroyed or dispelled.
During creation, the creator of a manipulator has to choose which gravity trait (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/planes.htm#gravity) they want the item to radiate: normal, heavy or light gravity.
The manipulator creates a cylinder ten feet wide and extending ten feet above and below, with the manipulator at its center. Inside the cylinder, all gravity traits normally applying to the plane the manipulator is one, including subjective gravity, are replaced by the manipulator's gravity traits.
If left alone, a gravity manipulator will float ten feet above a surface and remain in the same orientation. Its orientation can be changed as a full round action, though this requires a DC 15 strength check.
If there is a surface of the correct orientation relative to the manipulator, creature can walk on that surface as if it was the ground, while surfaces with a different orientation are treated as walls, inclines or ceilings, as appropriate.
If creatures move into or out of the cylinder from an area of gravity with a different orientation, they must make a DC 20 reflex save or tumble check or fall prone, but never take any tumble check.
Ur weapons
There are two applications of a unit of Ur in weaponry, either as sling ammunition or by setting it into the head of any bludgeoning weapon. These weapons are slightly awkward to use for the untrained, but their density means they deal a lot more damage than normal.
A sphere of Ur may be used as ammunition for any sling of small to large size. It counts as a lead ball, but always deals damage as a sling two size categories larger, to a maximum of huge and an additional +1d6 points of untyped damage to certain creatures, as described under properties, above, as well as overcoming damage reduction like cold iron.
However, the ammunition's weight makes it difficult to use, giving a -4 penalty to hit, unless the wielder takes exotic weapon proficiency (sling with ur ammunition), which also gives him proficiency with all other types of sling.
With a DC 20 craft: weaponsmithing check and a day of work, a unit of Ur may be set into any bludgeoning melee weapon of small or larger size. The weapon is from then on treated as cold iron in addition to any other special materials it may have, for purposes of both enchanting and overcoming damage reduction and deals an additional +1d6 points of damage to certain creatures, as described under properties, above. Furthermore,it's base damage is increased as if it was one size category larger.
Like with sling ammunition, a bludgeoning weapon with an Ur head is awkward to use, giving it a -4 penalty to hit, ulnless the wielder has exotic weapon proficiency (ur weapon). A character with Exotic Weapon Proficiency (ur weapon) is proficient with all weapons containing Ur, if he is also proficient with the base weapon.
Example: A fighter is proficient with warhammers. He takes exotic weapon proficiency (ur weapon) as well. This means he is now proficient with a warhammer containing Ur.
A wizard takes exotic weapon proficiency (ur weapons). However, since he is not proficient with martial weapons, he is still not profient with a warhammer containing Ur.
Ur (pronounced "oor", with an "oo" as in "food") is earth in its purest, elemental form, the atomic substance that gives other earth materials such as metals and soil their properties. The metal has a dull, grey-black colour slightly darker than lead and is extraordinarily hard, without being brittle.
Incredibly rare in nature, even on the elemental plane of earth, Ur is produced by an alchemical distillation process that involves rare salts, precious metals and a fair amount of cold iron. The result of the process is always a perfect, polished looking sphere about one inch in diameter. Such a unit of Ur can not be further shaped by any known process.
Making a one-inch sphere of Ur takes a Craft: DC 30 alchemy check and 300 gold pieces worth of raw materials. Unlike the normal rules for craft check, the process of making it always takes 3 days if the check is successful.
A unit of Ur has a market price of 900 gold pieces.
Properties
Ur has several interesting properties that make it interesting to alchemists and spellcasters and valuable to many others. Note that all these properties are natural and inherent to the material, not magical, and are as such unaffected by antimagic fields or any attempts to dispel them magically.
The first is it's extraordinary hardness and resistance. It is harder than any other known substance including adamantine, which has the drawback that once distilled, it can not be forged or shaped by any means. Furthermore, magical energies, especially those of both air and earth, simply slide off it without affecting it.
Ur has hardness 60. A one-inch sphere of the material has 100 hit points. It has magic immunity (infinite spell resistance), like that of a golem and is immune to both acid and electricity damage.
The second extraordinary property is the material's weight and curious effect on gravity. A unit or one-inch sphere of Ur weighs a little more than a pound, making it considerably denser than any other known metal, such as more than four times as dense as lead.
Ur has the ability to distort gravity and magnetism in unique ways. Most metal that comes into contact with Ur can only be separated from it with great difficulty. Any light object left near Ur will move slowly towards it, if it can do so along a surface.
Any metal that comes into direct contact with Ur can only be separated from it by a DC 20 strength check. If more than one unit of Ur touches the same piece of metal, the DC increases by +1 for every sphere after the first. Such a bond can hold up to 100 pounds of weight.
Any item that weighs one pound or less that is left unattended within 10 feet of a unit of Ur will move towards it over any surface at a speed of one foot per round or ten feet per minute.
Third, the touch of Ur is highly unpleasant or even painful to beings of elemental air and those of strong chaotic alignment. They will avoid its touch at all cost.
Creatures with the [air] subtype or any amount of damage reduction that can be overcome by cold iron or a combination of cold iron and another factor must make a DC 20 will save or immediately drop a unit of Ur they are touching or try to move away from it as quickly as possible. This is a mind-affecting fear effect, though not a magical one.
A unit of Ur can be used as an improvised weapon dealing 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage. Furthermore, it deals 1d6 points of untyped damage to all creatures with the air subtype or damage reduction that can be overcome by cold iron, as well as overcoming all damage reduction as if it was made from that material.
Applications:
Gravity Manipulatior:
In a simple magical ritual, Ur can be used to distort local gravity around it, making it stronger, weaker, or even changing it entirely so that creatures can walk on walls or ceilings. This is often used by planar travelers to make small zones of stability within planes that have unusual gravity traits.
A gravity manipulator is, in its most basic form, a circular metal sheet of about one foot in diameter, inscribed with magical runes and diagrams and often simple instructions, such as "this side up". In its middle is set a piece of Ur.
Creating a gravity manipulator requires a piece of Ur, the Craft Wondrous Item or Ritual Magic (my own homebrew) feat, 1000 gold pieces of material components and a full day of work.
The resulting manipulator is itself a magical item with a caster level of 5. The Ur in the middle loses its own gravity effect, which returns if the manipulator surrounding it should be destroyed or dispelled.
During creation, the creator of a manipulator has to choose which gravity trait (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/planes.htm#gravity) they want the item to radiate: normal, heavy or light gravity.
The manipulator creates a cylinder ten feet wide and extending ten feet above and below, with the manipulator at its center. Inside the cylinder, all gravity traits normally applying to the plane the manipulator is one, including subjective gravity, are replaced by the manipulator's gravity traits.
If left alone, a gravity manipulator will float ten feet above a surface and remain in the same orientation. Its orientation can be changed as a full round action, though this requires a DC 15 strength check.
If there is a surface of the correct orientation relative to the manipulator, creature can walk on that surface as if it was the ground, while surfaces with a different orientation are treated as walls, inclines or ceilings, as appropriate.
If creatures move into or out of the cylinder from an area of gravity with a different orientation, they must make a DC 20 reflex save or tumble check or fall prone, but never take any tumble check.
Ur weapons
There are two applications of a unit of Ur in weaponry, either as sling ammunition or by setting it into the head of any bludgeoning weapon. These weapons are slightly awkward to use for the untrained, but their density means they deal a lot more damage than normal.
A sphere of Ur may be used as ammunition for any sling of small to large size. It counts as a lead ball, but always deals damage as a sling two size categories larger, to a maximum of huge and an additional +1d6 points of untyped damage to certain creatures, as described under properties, above, as well as overcoming damage reduction like cold iron.
However, the ammunition's weight makes it difficult to use, giving a -4 penalty to hit, unless the wielder takes exotic weapon proficiency (sling with ur ammunition), which also gives him proficiency with all other types of sling.
With a DC 20 craft: weaponsmithing check and a day of work, a unit of Ur may be set into any bludgeoning melee weapon of small or larger size. The weapon is from then on treated as cold iron in addition to any other special materials it may have, for purposes of both enchanting and overcoming damage reduction and deals an additional +1d6 points of damage to certain creatures, as described under properties, above. Furthermore,it's base damage is increased as if it was one size category larger.
Like with sling ammunition, a bludgeoning weapon with an Ur head is awkward to use, giving it a -4 penalty to hit, ulnless the wielder has exotic weapon proficiency (ur weapon). A character with Exotic Weapon Proficiency (ur weapon) is proficient with all weapons containing Ur, if he is also proficient with the base weapon.
Example: A fighter is proficient with warhammers. He takes exotic weapon proficiency (ur weapon) as well. This means he is now proficient with a warhammer containing Ur.
A wizard takes exotic weapon proficiency (ur weapons). However, since he is not proficient with martial weapons, he is still not profient with a warhammer containing Ur.