Improving Cold Iron. P.E.AC.H.

[Badgercloak]

When I first got my 3.5 DMG I was disappointed when I got to the special materials and it says that, well cold iron really doesn't do anything. Yes it bypasses DR on demons and fey but that's all it made fore.

No more! By tweaking some of the flavor, making it like darkstone from the Darksword Trillogy. I present to you the new Cold Iron:

Cold Iron: This special iron mined deep underground is prized for its magic suppressive property. When wielding or wearing cold iron weapons and armor and you are targeted by a spell, in a spells area of effect or casting a spell there is a chance that it suppresses that magic. Light weapons and armor: 10%, one handed weapons, light steel shields and medium armor: 20% two handed weapons, heavy steel shields, and heavy armor: 30%. These bonuses do not stack, use the highest bonus. Cold iron weapons and armor are always master work due to the skill required to forge it. Also magical enhancements to cold iron items cost an additional 2000 gp. Only items made of metal can be made with cold iron. Cold iron has 30 hp per inch of thickness and hardness 10.

It's probably over powered but what do you think Playgrounders?

[Eloel]

Shhh, silver doesn't do anything either.

[hamishspence]

It does deserve a little more to it.

There's a Kipling poem- Cold Iron:

"Gold is for the mistress, silver for the maid-
Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade."
"Good!" said the Baron, sitting in his hall,
"But Iron- Cold Iron- is master of them all."

It goes on- but the point is that Cold Iron needs more.

[Badgercloak]

Indeed. Since it cost twice as much to enchant I figured maybe it's difficult due to it's nature: magic suppression.

[jiriku]

It might fit more smoothly with existing mechanics if you gave it an inherent spell resistance based on the mass of cold iron carried. Difficult to do that without exposing the mechanics to munchkinry, though.

[Epsilon Rose]

I like this. It reminds me of a book I once read. In it magic was common so bars would have cold-iron studs (I think, it could have been some other architectural feature) so that drunk mages wouldn't blow them to bits or mess with the drink's alcohol content. I imagine most bars and shops in a DnD world would do something similar.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Indeed. Since it cost twice as much to enchant I figured maybe it's difficult due to it's nature: magic suppression.

It doesn't cost twice as much just an extra 2,000gp, when you enchant it.
Granted you have to pay this everytime you enchant the weapon, but its only twice as much for a +1 sword.

[Jarrick]

I like it. Anything that helps curb magic's pwnage a little is ok in my book.

[Fizban]

Well, I guess I'll be the bad guy, because I don't like it. It's a 30% ('cause you know it'll only be used in heavy armor) chance to completely negate any spell with an area effect, for a markup of maybe 1,500gp. Alternatively, it's a freebie 10-20% negation whenever you're fighting demons or fey and thus have your cold iron weapon out. Either way, it's as good as a +2-6 bonus on saves with evasion extra.

For Cold Iron armor, might I suggest a bonus on saving throws against magic? Scaling based on weight, bonus of +1/+2/+3, price of 2,000/8,000/18,000? That's double price for non-standard bonus type (assuming you want it to stack, otherwise no one will use it), and we'll call the non-standard slot and magic only restrictions a wash.

I seem to have lost the link, but another poster created a special material called Nullstone for this kind of purpose. When gathered in large quantities, such as when used as a building material or when carried by a platoon of soldiers, it gave the area/everything in it spell resistance. You could make Cold Iron do something similar for warding bars and such. I'd say that this kind of serious anti-magic isn't something you want in the hands of the PCs, however, so I'd leave off the price tag and just have it come up, otherwise you'll have them pulling McGuyvers over anything that uses magic.

[Eldan]

Having percentages of magic resistance is pretty unusual in this edition... how about giving either a (scaling or not) spell resistance, or just an alchemical bonus on saving throws against all spells?

Have you thought about improving Cold Iron weaponry as well? For a while, I thought about them having a Dispel Magic effect included. Because just ignoring some DR is really boring.

[Cieyrin]

It doesn't cost twice as much just an extra 2,000gp, when you enchant it.
Granted you have to pay this everytime you enchant the weapon, but its only twice as much for a +1 sword.

Weapons made of cold iron cost twice as much to make as their normal counterparts. Also, any magical enhancements cost an additional 2,000 gp.

On another note, Cold Iron isn't actually special like Adamantine or Mithral, it just refers to the method that the iron was worked, as it was cold forged to maintain its qualities, not melted and mixed with other materials to be me made into steel. Cold forging is more time consuming, hence making weapons with this method costs more.

[ericgrau]

Right for the base weapons but the cost of the enchantments aren't doubled.

IRL cold iron isn't a different material but in D&D it really is. It's special iron from deep underground AND it's cold worked like real cold iron.

[Cieyrin]

Right for the base weapons but the cost of the enchantments aren't doubled.

Yeah, exactly. I assume that's what that "also" is supposed to refer to the fact that the making of a cold iron weapon is more expensive, not that the enchantment is double + 2000. The Holy Avenger just adds 2000, I believe, so it would follow.

[DracoDei]

I remember another thread on this subject. No idea how far back though...