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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spatzimaus" data-source="post: 3329480" data-attributes="member: 3051">Of course.  Our top metal is Orichalcum.  In reality, orichalcum is a copper/gold alloy, nothing more.  But in our world, it's an alchemical mix of Mithral, Mercury, Gold, and Adamantium; and by "alchemical mix", I mean that the four metals have to be magically bonded together WHILE being initially forged into the final item; you can't stockpile it.  This makes it the most expensive and most difficult material in the game (+20 DC, 600 gp/lb, although it only weighs 50% of the normal amount so you don't need as much).Likewise, our elemental crystals have names like "Diamond", "Sapphire", "Ruby", etc., even though they're not actually the chemically simple (carbon, aluminum oxide, etc.) gems we know by those names.  But it's convenient for the players; most people won't remember off the top of their heads what Dlarun or Arandur look like, but everyone knows Diamond.To make sure there's no confusion, I just meant that in the real world there are no Dragons; if there were, there'd be far more variety, and so the real world comparison of metals-vs-hides doesn't translate.  I didn't mean to imply that there aren't Dragons in my game; this IS D&D, after all. In our world, Dragons actually produce four rare materials useable for armors:Dragonbone (DC +16) is a Hard bone material.  You CAN use it for armors if you really, really wanted to, but it's much better as a weapon material; it's very light, and made from a red dragon, for instance, any weapon gains the flaming property for free.Dragonhide (DC +13, Hardness 10) is a Soft material.  It's the parts of the hide covered by very small scales.  It's not really "soft", of course, but it's close enough that you can use it for leather-type armors (without needing to treat it with tannin very much).Dragonscale (DC +15, Hardness 15) is a Flexible material.  It's the parts of the hide covered by moderate-sized scales.  It's not chain, of course, but it's as flexible as chain, and so for game purposes it's comparable.Dragonplate (DC +17, Hardness 20) is a Hard material.  It's the parts with large scales, obviously, and you have to be a size or two smaller than the dragon to use it.  The stat bonuses are pretty nice (for full plate, it's +3 AC, +2 ACP, +2 MaxDEX, resist ~20 to the appropriate elements, and -5% SF, and all of this stacks with magic), but it costs a hefty 250 gp/lb. The danger there is that if light armors reach the point where their ACP and SF are zero, there's no downside to Wizards and Sorcerers wearing them.  If you wear an armor you're not proficient in, you apply the ACP to attack rolls and some skill rolls, but if the armor HAS no ACP, what's the downside?So, high-DC materials used for light armors need to still cost a fairly large amount, or else you'll REALLY skew class balance.  As it is, even with our changes people are doing this, and Dragonhide seems to be the biggest abuser, so we're looking at changing its stats.Right.  And it's not just about sheer time; that high-end crafter KNOWS that you'll never find someone else who can do the job, so he'll charge what the market will bear.  Plus, there's often a flat "overhead" cost involved; if he had to travel to your city, it won't matter as much how many days you expect him to work, and even if he doesn't travel, you're asking him to drop all of his other work.  The "book" guideline of (material cost = final cost / 3) just falls apart for this sort of thing.But there's also a balance issue.  If everything's just a multiplier, people will completely avoid the items with slightly more expensive base costs.  Why take a Falchon, when a Greatsword always costs 33% less?  Why take a Double Sword, when a Double Axe costs 40% less and has comparable stats?  And are you really going to stick with that Greatsword if a Longsword costs 70% less?  It's worse for armors.The PHB masterwork makes these minor price shifts irrelevant by adding a relatively huge 150gp or 300gp cost to everything.  I don't want to go that far, but it's at least the right idea; flatten the curve a bit.I know, the DMG says that explicitly for some of its materials.  But note that I said "masterpiece", not "masterwork"; if you have ~10 levels of mastercraft, my point is that someone making a sword out of a really rare material (like Bloodsteel) would never settle for one of the lowest masterworks, let alone go non-masterwork; he'd go for one of the top tiers, something comparable to the skill/cost needed to work with the material in the first place.  So, I simply equated the two, and removed the mastercraft part entirely by mapping its various levels to rarer materials.</blockquote>

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