Is there a "material altering" weapon enchantment?

[Kerrick]

Kerrick - IMO, Alter Weapon Material is overpowered for a 1st level spell, seeing as how Align Weapon - which doesn't involve a physical transmutation - is L2.

No, it doesn't involve a physical transmutation - it says that in the spell's description. It's treated LIKE a metal of that type - a steel sword changed to silver can still be rusted.

From an out-of-setting perspective, I don't think an Alter Weapon Material spell should exist at all; you might as well just strip the new DR rules out of 3.5 - which is a perfectly viable option, if you don't like them.

Why? I don't hear anyone complaining about the align weapon spell, and just as many creatures have alignment-based DR as they do material-based.

Last week, we fought two bodaks (DR 10/cold iron), and ONE PC had a cold iron weapon. We lost three of the party (out of 8 PCs) from death gaze; if it weren't for the party's mage casting alter weapon material on the cleric's mace, we'd have been toast. We like the new DR rules are aren't going to get rid of them, but with the sheer variety of different DR types out there, a spell like this is going to be invaluable to parties like us who are unprepared or just unlucky (the ranger used up the last of her silver arrows fighting the werewolves, the fighter lost his silver sword, and the cleric with the bless weapon spell got eaten) and now they have to face the vampire lord. Sucks to be them...

I think I would go L2 with it, or maye L3 (have to do some thinkin' bout it), and as a nod to game balance, add the caveat that it cannot affect weapons which already possess a magical enchantment.

Oops. Should have remembered that second part - it can only be cast on nonmagical weapns. I'll look at align weapon and make it more in line with that spell.