A couple of new metals from my Britannia 3E conversion (http://www.zipworld.com.au/~hong/dnd/britannia.htm).
Blackrock is a heavy substance that blocks magic, introduced in Ultima 6 as I recall. Britannian steel is something I made up off the bat, using Rokugani steel as an inspiration (but without simply going down the route of handing out bigger bonuses).
Do the prices given here seem about right? I've tried to price them using the same guidelines as for regular magic items. Ta.
Blackrock and Blacksteel
Blackrock is a strange ore with properties of magic resistance, found in seams deep underneath the Serpent's Spine mountain range. When refined, it yields blacksteel, a shiny, pitch-black metal that is dense, heavy and ultrahard. Blacksteel is nearly impossible to work, but the master smiths of Minoc have recently discovered the means to craft it into weapons and armour. These items benefit from blacksteel's extreme hardness, as well as its ability to disrupt magic.
Any suit of armour crafted from blacksteel has a natural enhancement bonus of +1, +2 or +3, depending on whether it is light, medium or heavy armour respectively. The armour also grants spell resistance to its wearer when worn. A suit of light armour grants SR 15, medium armour grants SR 17, and heavy armour grants SR 19. A shield crafted from blacksteel is treated as light armour for the purpose of determining its natural enhancement bonus and SR.
Any weapon forged from blacksteel has a natural enhancement bonus of +1 or +2. Weapons with a base damage of 1d4 or 1d6 gain a natural +1 enhancement bonus, while those with a base damage of 1d8, 1d10, 1d12 or more gain a natural +2 enhancement bonus. When a blacksteel weapon deals damage, the target is affected as though by a targeted dispel magic, cast at 5th caster level. This is an extraordinary ability.
Blacksteel has hardness 20 and 35 hit points per inch of thickness. Natural enhancement bonuses do not stack with any other enhancement bonuses; thus, a blacksteel (+2) longsword enchanted with a +5 enhancement bonus effectively has a +5 enhancement bonus. In an area where magic does not function, it still retains its natural +2 enhancement bonus. Blacksteel items are treated as masterwork items with regard to creation times. The masterwork quality does not affect the enchancement bonus of weapons or the armour check penalty of armour, nor does it add to the market price.
It should also be possible for other items besides weapons and armour to be fashioned that take advantage of blackrock's unique properties. If any such items have been created, their existence is not common knowledge.
Market Price: +32,000 gp (light armour or shield), +55,000 gp (medium armour), +80,000 gp (heavy armour), +33,000 gp (weapon damage 1d4 or 1d6), or +39,000 gp (weapon damage 1d8, 1d10, 1d12 or more).
Britannian Steel
While all steel created in Britannia is technically "Britannian steel", this term is properly applied only to the metal that is alloyed by the master steelsmiths in the city of Minoc. This lustrous substance is the pinnacle of the steelsmith's art, being harder, more durable and better able to hold an edge than any other form of steel (while blacksteel is harder, it is not a true steel). Only the master smiths of Minoc possess the knowledge necessary to craft items of Britannian steel.
A suit of armour or shield crafted of Britannian steel is less encumbering than normal. The arcane spell failure chance is decreased by 10%, maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, and armour check penalties are decreased by 3. Only armour made primarily of metal is meaningfully affected (for example, a chain shirt is affected, while hide armour or studded leather is not).
A piercing or slashing weapon crafted of Britannian steel has a threat range doubled compared to normal (this counts as a keen enchantment and doesn't stack with the keen edge spell, or similar magic). A bludgeoning weapon crafted of Britannian steel has its critical multiplier increased by +1 (again, this doesn't stack with magic that increases the weapon's critical multiplier). Weapons that deal both bludgeoning and piercing or slashing damage, such as morningstars, are treated as bludgeoning. Only weapons whose striking surfaces are made mostly of metal can be meaningfully affected (a sword or spear is affected, while a club or quarterstaff is not).
All armour, shields and weapons crafted of Britannian steel are of either fine or excellent quality. A fine quality item gains a natural +1 enhancement bonus, while an excellent quality item gains a natural +2 enhancement bonus; these bonuses don't stack with other enhancement bonuses. Britannian steel of fine quality has hardness 10 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness, while that of excellent quality has hardness 20 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness. Weapons and armour crafted of Britannian steel are treated as masterwork items with regard to creation times, but the masterwork quality does not affect the enhancement bonus of weapons or the armour check penalty of armour, nor does it add to the market price.
Market Price: +2,000 gp (fine quality armour or shield), +6,000 gp (excellent quality armour or shield), +9,000 gp (fine quality weapon), or +20,000 gp (excellent quality weapon).
Blackrock is a heavy substance that blocks magic, introduced in Ultima 6 as I recall. Britannian steel is something I made up off the bat, using Rokugani steel as an inspiration (but without simply going down the route of handing out bigger bonuses).
Do the prices given here seem about right? I've tried to price them using the same guidelines as for regular magic items. Ta.
Blackrock and Blacksteel
Blackrock is a strange ore with properties of magic resistance, found in seams deep underneath the Serpent's Spine mountain range. When refined, it yields blacksteel, a shiny, pitch-black metal that is dense, heavy and ultrahard. Blacksteel is nearly impossible to work, but the master smiths of Minoc have recently discovered the means to craft it into weapons and armour. These items benefit from blacksteel's extreme hardness, as well as its ability to disrupt magic.
Any suit of armour crafted from blacksteel has a natural enhancement bonus of +1, +2 or +3, depending on whether it is light, medium or heavy armour respectively. The armour also grants spell resistance to its wearer when worn. A suit of light armour grants SR 15, medium armour grants SR 17, and heavy armour grants SR 19. A shield crafted from blacksteel is treated as light armour for the purpose of determining its natural enhancement bonus and SR.
Any weapon forged from blacksteel has a natural enhancement bonus of +1 or +2. Weapons with a base damage of 1d4 or 1d6 gain a natural +1 enhancement bonus, while those with a base damage of 1d8, 1d10, 1d12 or more gain a natural +2 enhancement bonus. When a blacksteel weapon deals damage, the target is affected as though by a targeted dispel magic, cast at 5th caster level. This is an extraordinary ability.
Blacksteel has hardness 20 and 35 hit points per inch of thickness. Natural enhancement bonuses do not stack with any other enhancement bonuses; thus, a blacksteel (+2) longsword enchanted with a +5 enhancement bonus effectively has a +5 enhancement bonus. In an area where magic does not function, it still retains its natural +2 enhancement bonus. Blacksteel items are treated as masterwork items with regard to creation times. The masterwork quality does not affect the enchancement bonus of weapons or the armour check penalty of armour, nor does it add to the market price.
It should also be possible for other items besides weapons and armour to be fashioned that take advantage of blackrock's unique properties. If any such items have been created, their existence is not common knowledge.
Market Price: +32,000 gp (light armour or shield), +55,000 gp (medium armour), +80,000 gp (heavy armour), +33,000 gp (weapon damage 1d4 or 1d6), or +39,000 gp (weapon damage 1d8, 1d10, 1d12 or more).
Britannian Steel
While all steel created in Britannia is technically "Britannian steel", this term is properly applied only to the metal that is alloyed by the master steelsmiths in the city of Minoc. This lustrous substance is the pinnacle of the steelsmith's art, being harder, more durable and better able to hold an edge than any other form of steel (while blacksteel is harder, it is not a true steel). Only the master smiths of Minoc possess the knowledge necessary to craft items of Britannian steel.
A suit of armour or shield crafted of Britannian steel is less encumbering than normal. The arcane spell failure chance is decreased by 10%, maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, and armour check penalties are decreased by 3. Only armour made primarily of metal is meaningfully affected (for example, a chain shirt is affected, while hide armour or studded leather is not).
A piercing or slashing weapon crafted of Britannian steel has a threat range doubled compared to normal (this counts as a keen enchantment and doesn't stack with the keen edge spell, or similar magic). A bludgeoning weapon crafted of Britannian steel has its critical multiplier increased by +1 (again, this doesn't stack with magic that increases the weapon's critical multiplier). Weapons that deal both bludgeoning and piercing or slashing damage, such as morningstars, are treated as bludgeoning. Only weapons whose striking surfaces are made mostly of metal can be meaningfully affected (a sword or spear is affected, while a club or quarterstaff is not).
All armour, shields and weapons crafted of Britannian steel are of either fine or excellent quality. A fine quality item gains a natural +1 enhancement bonus, while an excellent quality item gains a natural +2 enhancement bonus; these bonuses don't stack with other enhancement bonuses. Britannian steel of fine quality has hardness 10 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness, while that of excellent quality has hardness 20 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness. Weapons and armour crafted of Britannian steel are treated as masterwork items with regard to creation times, but the masterwork quality does not affect the enhancement bonus of weapons or the armour check penalty of armour, nor does it add to the market price.
Market Price: +2,000 gp (fine quality armour or shield), +6,000 gp (excellent quality armour or shield), +9,000 gp (fine quality weapon), or +20,000 gp (excellent quality weapon).
