Formed by processes unique to Electricity-Dominant planes of existence, and the Elemental Plane of Lightning in particular, Dynamium is a milky blue-white material crackling with energy. In fact, though it is solid, it would best be described as solidified lightning. Dynamium is ductile and flexible, and smiths can work it about as easily as copper with the proper tools; therefore, the material has found many uses in special items over the millennia. Dynamium cannot be forged directly into armor or weapons, due to being too soft; however, it is possible to make an alloy of Dynamium and Iron which is about as hard as steel (and has the same game stats for Hardness, AC, and hit points). This material, sometimes called Brightsteel but more often simply "Dynamium" despite not being the actual mined material, is what is most often used in item construction,
Brightsteel looks like normal steel, but invariably bears a highly polished appearance and reflects light with close to mirror quality. It is also faintly luminous, glowing with the light of the raw Dynamium used to forge it, and provides light about half as bright as torchlight on its own. Dynamium/Brightsteel objects also have a distinct electrical current running through them, and weapons made from the material automatically deal an extra 1d6 points of electrical damage per successful hit. This "natural Shock" property of Dynamium is always present in it, even in Anti-Magic, Dead Magic, or other zones which affect or suppress supernatural abilities and effects, and cannot be turned off the way a normal Shock weapon's property can be. Dynamium armor, by contrast, absorbs part of the electrical energy of any electrical attack directed at it or its wearer, granting Electricity Resistance 5 to him or her. Finally, any item made entirely or mostly from Dynamium or Brightsteel accepts enhancements using electrical spells/powers more easily than most materials do; any such enhancement costs half the normal amount of XP to put into the item.
Unlike many other special materials, Dynamium does not automatically add Masterwork quality to items made from it. Dynamium items must have their Masterwork (or Masterpiece) components purchased seperately, though because the material is not significantly more difficult to work with than steel, they do not cost any more than normal.
Dynamium Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +80 gp |
| Armor | +6000 gp |
| Shield | +6000 gp |
| Weapon | +4000 gp |
| Other item | double normal price |
Nephelium is a very rare ferrous metal created when ordinary iron ore is saturated in strange, otherworldly radiations thought to be found only in a few remote areas of the Underdark. Though it is metallic, and bears most of the properties of iron (including its smelting temperature, magnetic properties, ease of working, and so forth), when doped with carbon to become steel the metal turns entirely translucent, and resembles glass or crystal in appearance more than it does metal. Nephelium items can be made masterwork or masterpiece normally, using the appropriate craft components.
Nephelium behaves as normal steel despite its strange appearance, except in one very important respect: items crafted from it have the ability to affect and be affected by incorporeal creatures normally. Essentially, they count as either corporeal or incorporeal at any given time, whichever is more beneficial to the creatures holding or using them. Thus, Nephelium weapons deal damage normally to incorporeal targets even if entirely nonmagical, and without the normal 50% miss chence; also, incorporeal creatures can pick up and move them at will, so a ghost could wield a Nephelium weapon without difficulty. This "natural Ghost Touch" property of Nephelium is always present in it, even in Anti-Magic, Dead Magic, or other zones which affect or suppress supernatural abilities and effects.
Though the property is natural and not actually a result of psionic or magical enhancement, Nephelium (even in ore form) can be detected as a strange "echo" or resonance in the psionic and magical fields, to creatures using a Detect Magic or Detect Psionics power. This echo always shows up as a very faint trace, of no particular school or discipline (or Universal if any of them), and is only detectable after viewing an area for at least 2 rounds. That is, the trace shows up only on the 3rd round and later. Creatures using such detection abilities who have some knowledge of the material (Knowledge (Arcana or Psionics) DC 30) can recognize the strange signal for what it is, but others are most often left scratching their heads in confusion or nervous from contemplating what kind of effect has left the trace. Miners looking for Nephelium have been known to hire spellcasters or psionic manifesters who know of the material to help locate veins of Nephelium ore this way.
Nephelium Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +80 gp |
| Light Armor | +2000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +4000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +6000 gp |
| Shield | +2000 gp |
| Weapon | +4000 gp |
Before the Thri-Kreen learned to forge metal, they used a substance crafted from sand and their own mildly acidic saliva to create useful objects. This substance, called Sandcrystal, is essentially an exceptionally hard form of glass. Kreen Sandcrystal can only be used to create items that are normally made out of metal, and since the Kreen crafters must use their own saliva to create and shape the material, it is more expensive than normal items are. Nonweapon items made of Kreen Sandcrystal cost double the normal amount, including any masterwork components added to them; weapons cost triple (again, including any masterwork components).
Kreen Sandcrystal weighs more than most metals do, and items made from it weigh 1½ times the normal amount. However, as a "natural" material, characters with restrictions on items they are allowed to use (such as Druids) may use Sandcrystal items without penalty if their restrictions prohibit "worked" materials such as metal. Additionally, Sandcrystal weapons can hit harder than normal ones due to their greater weight, and Sandcrystal blades are exceptionally sharp due to the glassy nature of the material. Therefore, Sandcrystal weapons have their critical threat range increased by 1- for instance, a Sandcrystal warhammer has a critical range of 19-20/×3, and a Sandcrystal longsword has a critical range of 18-20/×2. This extra threat range stacks with the Improved Critical feat and other effects which duplicate it (such as the Keen Edge and Weapon of Impact spells).
Sandcrystal has Hardness 8 and 5 hit points per inch of thickness. Though it is vastly superior to normal glass in its durability, it is generally inferior to steel in the same department.
Silmarillium is the proper name for a powerful, preternatural material the Ancient Taerans used to make most of their significant constructions. Most people on modern Taera have at least heard of it, and many have seen or used some, but do not necessarily know its name or properties. In fact, few people know the term "Silmarillium;" more often it is referred to by type (see the various "stones" below), or called simply "the Ancient Crystal."
One thing that very few people know or believe is that this powerful material is not mined, but made. Silmarillium of any type is artificial, made through processes which were (mostly) lost with the Annihilation. It appears in so many shapes and sizes not because the Ancients knew ways to cut it (although they did), but because they shaped it while it was being made, and the vast majority of Silmarillium objects were molded into their present form during their creation.
Despite the mysteries surrounding it, a few diligent or lucky souls of the modern world have learned how Silmarillium was made, and how to duplicate the process. This is how most modern Silmarillium weapons and armor were made; the Ancients had little need for melee weapons or armor to defend against them, so they wouldn't have wasted their favorite material on frivolously primitive pieces. For game purposes, those characters have taken the Craft Silmarillium feat one or more times (taking the feat each time allows only one specific type to be created). Each type lists the requirements to make it, much as with magic items. The costs listed, however, are needed for each pound the finished product will weigh, rather than fixed costs for making any item out of the material- except in the case of specific weapon and armor types, for which the market cost modifier is given normally.
General Properties
As a material, Silmarillium has Hardness 100, and 50 hit points per inch of thickness. It never dulls or rusts, and never needs any sort of maintenance other than an occasional polishing and/or cleaning for appearance's sake. Likewise, it is unaffected by all effects which say they affect "crystal" or "glass" objects, despite its crystalline nature, unless the description of the effect specifically says that it affects Silmarillium. Finally, Disintegrate spells, powers, and effects do not work on Silmarillium, though Disruption damage dealt by technological weapons or certain spells and psionic powers might still damage it if they penetrate its Hardness. The modifier to market price for items made of Silmarillium is based partly on the cost of the specific type used in the item, and is therefore given in the section for the particular type (see sections below).
Only items that are normally made out of metal can be made of Silmarillium; the Silmarillium replaces the metal. Thus, while an arrow could be Silmarillium, only the arrowhead would actually be made of it; leather armor could not be made of it at all, while studded leather would contain Silmarillium studs. Silmarillium items are considered masterpiece items without requiring the masterpiece component to be crafted or added into the price; essentially, the cost of the masterpiece component is included in the cost of making the item out of Silmarillium in the first place. This means that weapons crafted out of Silmarillium have a +2 enhancement bonus to their attack rolls, and the armor check penalty for Silmarillium armor is reduced by 2 compared to ordinary armor of its type. For the purposes of penetrating Damage Reduction, Silmarillium weapons count as Adamantine purely because of the material's extreme hardness (of course, this fact does not preclude the possibility of some creatures having DR -/Silmarillium).
Silmarillium blades are very treasured possessions, because they take advantage of another useful property of the material- the fact that it can form sharper edges than any other material. Silmarillium blades can easily cut most other materials, and have a sort of "anti-Hardness" bonus in them. Any successful strike by a Silmarillium blade on an object ignores the first 15 points of Hardness in it; furthermore, any enhancement bonus other than the masterpiece one adds to this ability. For each +1 enhancement bonus in a Silmarillium blade, it gains the ability to ignore another 5 points of Hardness in a target object. For instance, a +4 Silmarillium blade would have the ability to ignore the first 35 points. This does not allow the blade to deal extra damage on its own, but rather cancels out the ability of hard materials to resist damage, again similar to Adamantine. Silmarillium blades always have the Keen property (if slashing weapons) or Penetrating property (if piercing weapons), whether or not they have actually been enchanted with it (and this property stays active in an anti-magic area, since it is a property of the material itself and not an actual enchantment).
Because of the Hardness-penetrating property, Silmarillium blades can quickly cut through most enemy armor, rendering it less useful (or completely useless after enough strikes). Wielders of Silmarillium blades ignore the rule that Sunder attacks are not allowed against armor worn by an opponent; they may make Sunder attempts against armor normally, and the defender is allowed the usual attack of opportunity unless the attacker has the Improved Sunder feat. Furthermore, any attack made with a Silmarillium blade that misses because of an armor bonus to AC (subtract all other AC bonuses besides the armor bonus first, except for natural armor if any, and compare that AC with the one the attacker hit) has struck the armor, and may deal damage to it as if the blade's wielder had actively been attacking the armor. Treat this as though the attacker was originally making a Sunder attack against the armor, using the same AC hit to determine whether the armor takes damage, and granting the defender an attack of opportunity if applicable. If the attacker has the Improved Sunder feat, do not retroactively add +4 to the attack; the character must actively make a Sunder attack to gain the +4 bonus granted by the feat. Finally, any creature with a natural armor bonus to AC which takes strikes on its natural armor (that is, the attack missed due to the natural armor bonus alone- subtract all other AC bonuses including actual armor to make this determination) must make a Fortitude save against a DC equal to the attacker's bonus used for that attack, or take half damage from the attack even though it didn't actually hit. Thus, if a knight (10th-level Fighter with 18 STR and Weapon Focus) using a Silmarillium sword attacks an Adult Blue Dragon (AC 28, natural armor bonus +20) and hits AC 20, the dragon must make a Fortitude save (DC 17) or take half damage. Had the knight used his Power Attack feat to reduce the attack bonus, that would accordingly reduce the save DC for the dragon, but the dragon would take more damage on a failed save (or a successful hit on its full AC).
Silmarillium armor of any type provides an extra armor bonus equal to half its normal armor bonus; this bonus stacks with all other bonuses including any enhancement bonuses the armor has. Thus, a suit of Silmarillium Full Plate armor grants a bonus of +12 even without any magical or psionic enhancement. Furthermore, Silmarillum armor grants its wearer minor Damage Reduction; Light armor grants DR 1/-, Medium 2/-, and Heavy 3/-. These properties reflect the fact that Silmarillium is extremely difficult to bend or pierce, so weapons have a much harder time getting past it to damage the wearer.
Most of the special properties of any particular type of Silmarillium come from the material's general property of absorbing, amplifying, transforming, and radiating energy of all kinds. The different types are each designed to affect energy differently. The Ancients undoubtedly knew of and used more kinds than the ones listed below, but those types must have been used so rarely that no record of them survives. Occasionally, new types not listed below are discovered by isolated crafters; most such types have such subtle differences in their properties that they are mistaken for a known type, but every so often a genuinely different discovery is made. PCs who learn to Craft Silmarillium might, at the DM's option, be able to learn how to make such new types, though any such cases are beyond the scope of this document and must be handled carefully on a case-by-case basis by player and DM working together.
It should be noted that occasionally, a particular piece of Silmarillium is unstable, and immediately dissolves into a glowing mist if hit with electricity. Since this unstable kind has been found in many Ancient devices, it is suspected that the Ancients used this property to allow some items to reshape themselves for new uses; however, the instability is less than useful today. Any particular piece of Silmarillium found has a 5% chance of being this special, unstable kind, and it will behave normally until hit with electricity. When electrified, the item must make a Fortitude saving throw as if it were magical (+2 bonus, +one-half its caster level if it has any enchantments in it). Failure means that part of the item dissolves into the glowing mist, which dissipates in 1d4 rounds; in effect, the item takes double damage from the electricity instead of the half damage most objects take, and does not get to apply its Hardness to the damage. Once the item loses half its hit points or more, it loses all enchantments or psionic empowerments that were placed on it, and becomes largely useless in any case. Damage taken in this manner cannot be repaired by any known means.
Other than the above-noted (occasional) weakness, no known material other than Silmarillium has more than an ice cube's chance in a volcano to score or cut any kind of Silmarillium, and no magic short of a full Wish or Miracle will harm it either.
Coldstone is a type of Silmarillium which absorbs heat and life energy, storing it for a time before releasing it in a fiery, explosive burst essentially equal to a Fireball spell. Coldstone produces an aura of cold under normal circumstances, similar in most respects to the racial ability of Frostlings. By concentration (a full-round action and a Concentration check vs. DC 15), an intelligent creature touching Coldstone can force it to release the energy pent up within it, in the fiery burst described above- this is treated as a Fireball, centered on the Coldstone, which deals 1 die of damage per day the Coldstone absorbed energy, up to a maximum of 10 dice. A Reflex save vs. DC 13 + 1 per die of damage is allowed for half damage. If the check succeeds by 5 or more, the creature can set a time delay of up to 1 minute before the Coldstone "goes off," thus allowing it time to set the explosive crystal down and get out of blast range. Coldstone is never harmed by this "bursting," it is merely venting extra heat. After producing a fire burst, a piece of Coldstone must absorb heat again for at least 24 hours before it is able to produce another such burst.
Coldstone which is not forced to "burst" in this way has a 5% cumulative chance per week of absorbing heat to "burst" on its own; the DM is allowed to check this at any time during the week (even during inopportune times such as combat). Coldstone which "bursts" on its own never gives any warning that it is about to do so, it simply causes an explosion, and any creatures within 20 feet take the damage. If it "bursts" in the second week or beyond, it will always cause a 10-die burst, and is not bound by the 24-hour rule above- if forced to burst again within 24 hours, it produces a 1-die burst, and is then exhausted as normal.
Coldstone radiates no light, and in fact looks like rather ordinary- though slightly yellow-orange-colored- crystal. Touching it causes 1 point of Cold damage to creatures which are not in some way resistant to Cold. Fire creatures, and others which take extra damage from Cold attacks, take 2d4 damage from touching Coldstone. Creatures in possession of Coldstone gain a +4 bonus to save against any Fire attack, and take 2 less points of damage (minimum 1 point) per die, but have a -4 save penalty to saves vs. Cold attacks, and take +2 points of damage per die from them.
It is possible to cast spells through a piece of Coldstone by making a Spellcraft check against DC 10 + 2 × the spell level; however, only a few spell types are affected by doing so. Fire spells cast through Coldstone always do minimum damage, and Cold spells always do maximum. Some Necromancy spells- specifically spells which drain life energy or cause negative energy damage- have a +4 enhancement to their save DCs, and do 1½ × normal damage. Coldstone cannot be enchanted in any way with Fire spells or abilities, but can be enchanted with Cold magic at half the normal cost in XP, materials, and time.
Because it also absorbs life energy, Coldstone is completely impervious to psionic powers of any kind. In fact, Coldstone absorbs psionic energy used near it; all psionic manifestations targeted within 20 feet of a piece of Coldstone have half the normal manifester level for level-based effects (or deal half their normal damage if they are damage-dealing powers, whether the damage scales with manifester level or not), except for 0-level powers (which are always completely absorbed regardless of whether any power was spent on them or not) and Ultrapowers (which are unaffected). Powers which directly target the Coldstone, or are centered on it, are completely absorbed regardless of level (even Ultrapowers). Even Creatures in possession of Coldstone have PR 15, or a +10 bonus if they already had PR. Clearly, Coldstone cannot be psionically empowered in any way!
Coldstone which touches a psionic creature absorbs 2d8 power points unless the victim makes a Fortitude save vs. DC 18, or DC 5 + 1 per point of damage done in the case of successful attacks by Coldstone weapons. While in direct contact with Coldstone, a psionic creature manifests powers as if they were automatically targeted close to Coldstone as described above (i.e. half damage etc.), and furthermore has a -4 penalty on its power check rolls or psionic attack save DC rolls, and deals 2 less points of damage (minimum 1 point) per die if the power deals damage (this does not affect ability damage or stun time from psionic attacks). Even powers which normally do not offer their targets saves allow saves when manifested by a creature wearing Coldstone. Such saves are generally Reflex saves in the case of powers which deal damage, but invisible attacks such as Concussion or attacks requiring actual attack rolls (such as Scorching Ray) cannot be dodged, and therefore offer Fortitude saves for half damage instead; powers which deal no damage typically offer Will saves to negate them altogether.
Psionic items striking or touching Coldstone must make a Will save vs. DC 15, or lose 2d3 charges (if charged), or cease functioning for 1d6 rounds (if not charged). This affects psionic weapons and armor as well. Psionic weapons striking a wearer of Coldstone armor lose their psionic bonuses for 1d6 rounds, do not add their enhancement bonuses to the damage, and do not cause any special effects they would normally cause, such as Dislocation.
A wearer of Coldstone armor gets +4 to save against any psionic effect, regardless of the save involved, and takes 2 less hit points of damage (minimum 1 point) per die. Coldstone shields do not grant any psionic damage reduction, but do grant +2 to save vs. psionic effects. The save bonuses stack, so a wearer of Coldstone armor and a shield gets a +6 bonus to saves against all psionic powers. Coldstone armor also grants its wearer Fire Resistance 30 and renders the character immune to heatstroke and the effects of natural heat, but causes any Cold attacks that hit the wearer to do maximum damage to him or her and subdual damage from natural cold to be doubled. Shields grant Fire Resistance 5, but add +1 damage per die to all Cold attacks which strike the wielder. It should also be noted that Coldstone armor carries a hefty drawback- if the Coldstone releases a "fiery burst" while the wearer is wearing it, that character takes maximum damage from the burst, and does not get a saving throw against it! This special case ignores the Fire Resistance granted by the Coldstone, of course.
Lifestone and Coldstone are opposites. If any two objects, one being Lifestone and the other Coldstone, are touched together, each cancels out the special properties of the other, though both retain the generic Silmarillium properties described above. If later separated by 3 feet or more, both objects regain their normal properties with no loss or change.
Craft Coldstone Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster level 5th+ or Manifester level 9th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, know either (Chill Touch and Dispel Psionics), or (Negate Psionics and Psychic Vampire). Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Coldstone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +1000 gp |
| Light Armor | +15000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +30000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +45000 gp |
| Shield | +15000 gp |
| Weapon | +50000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +5000 gp, +200 XP |
Darkstone is a type of Silmarillium which completely absorbs light and magic, without radiating either back. Light sources within 20 feet of a piece of Darkstone are dimmed to half the normal level of illumination. Spells that take effect within 15 feet of Darkstone are treated as though the caster were half his or her actual level, rounded down, and spells of 1st level or less are absorbed completely. Ultramagic spells are not so affected, but any spell, Ultramagic or not, which is centered on or directly targets a piece of Darkstone is completely absorbed with no effect. Darkstone therefore cannot hold any magical enchantment whatsoever, though it can be (and often is) psionically enhanced and empowered.
Creatures in possession of Darkstone have SR 15, or a +10 bonus if they already had SR. Any magic spell or ability used or cast by such a creature, however, has a -4 on its save DC, or always offers a save (even if the spell or effect normally wouldn't allow one, such as Magic Missile). Spells which do not normally offer a save generally allow Reflex saves for half damage, but spells requiring attack rolls to hit their targets instead allow Fortitude saves for half damage, and spells which do not deal damage allow Will saves to negate their effects entirely. Spells and abilities used by a creature wearing Darkstone also behave as listed above (half normal caster level, etc.), and any such spells or abilities that deal damage deal 2 less points of damage (minimum of 1 point) per die.
A spellcaster struck by a Darkstone weapon must make a Will save vs. DC 5 + 1 per point of damage done by the weapon, or lose one prepared spell (or spell slot for casters who do not prepare spells). If the caster is struck during the casting of a spell, that spell is absorbed; otherwise, choose the absorbed spell randomly.
Magic items striking or touching Darkstone must make a Will save vs. DC 15, or lose 2d3 charges (if charged), or cease functioning for 1d6 rounds (if not charged). This affects magic weapons and armor as well. Magical weapons striking a wearer of Darkstone armor lose their magical bonuses for 1d6 rounds, do not add their enhancement bonuses to the damage, and do not cause any special effects they would normally cause, such as a Flaming Burst.
A wearer of Darkstone armor gets +4 to save against any magical effect, regardless of the save involved, and takes 2 less hit points of damage (minimum 1 point) per die. Darkstone shields do not grant any damage reduction this way, but do grant +2 to save vs. magical effects. The save bonuses stack, so a wearer of Darkstone armor and a shield gets a +6 bonus to saves against all magical spells and abilities.
Lightstone and Darkstone are opposites. If any two objects, one being Lightstone and the other Darkstone, are touched together, each cancels out the special properties of the other, though both retain the generic Silmarillium properties described above. If later separated by 3 feet or more, both objects regain their normal properties with no loss or change.
Craft Darkstone Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster level 13th+ or Manifester level 7th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, know either (Deeper Darkness and Dispel Magic), or (Negate Magic and Energy Barrier). Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Darkstone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +1200 gp |
| Light Armor | +18000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +36000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +54000 gp |
| Shield | +18000 gp |
| Weapon | +60000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +6000 gp, +240 XP |
Deathstone is a rare type of Silmarillium which absorbs various invisible energies, changing and releasing them as negative energy, usually found today in the presence of undead or necromancers who often work with them. It is known to be an Ancient invention, despite the obvious danger it presents to living creatures, though the only clue to its uses during the Golden Age is that it is most commonly found in transportation devices such as Gateways and Wormhole Generators. It radiates no light, and in fact looks like rather ordinary- though deep red-colored- crystal. Living creatures which touch it, however, immediately appreciate the difference, because the Deathstone is always unpleasantly sticky to the touch regardless of the environment it is in, and it immediately deals 1d4 points of negative energy damage.
Creatures in possession of Deathstone gain a +4 bonus to save against any life-granting, healing, or positive energy effect that they wish to resist, and gain 2 less points (to a minimum of 1 point) per die if applicable, because of the intense anti-life force generated by the Deathstone. Undead creatures which touch Deathstone gain 1d4 hit points and feel envigorated, and even mindless kinds sense and are attracted to the power infusing the crystal. Evil Clerics (or others capable of Rebuking undead) who brandish Deathstone during a rebuking attempt (but not a turn attempt), make the attempt as if 4 levels higher or with a +2 bonus, whichever gives the better chance of success.
It is possible to cast spells and manifest psionic powers through a piece of Deathstone by making a Spellcraft (or Psicraft) check against DC 10 + 2 × the spell or power level; however, only a few spell or power types are affected by doing so. Spells and powers which channel negative energy to damage their targets always deal the maximum amount of damage, and those which heal or restore life energy or always restore the minimum amount. Restorative and healing spells and powers have a -4 penalty to their save DCs, as well, while Necromancy spells (and powers which duplicate their effects) have a +4 bonus to their save DCs. Deathstone cannot be enchanted or empowered in any way with restoration or healing spells or abilities, but can be enchanted or empowered with necromancy or negative-energy abilities at half the normal cost in XP, materials, and time.
Deathstone weapons are a rather unusual case, in that they are incapable of harming any undead targets- the weapons heal their targets for an equal amount of damage that was done according to the dice, every time they hit undead creatures. Deathstone weapons do normal damage to constructs and other unliving creatures which are not actually undead, and any successful attack upon a living or Deathless creature with a Deathstone weapon is always treated as a critical threat regardless of the numbers rolled during the attack. On a non-critical hit, a Deathstone weapon deals an additional 1d6 negative energy damage to a living target, and it deals an extra 1d10 damage instead upon a successful critical hit. Deathless creatures take an extra 1d10 on a normal hit, and 2d8 damage on a successful critical hit. Any living or Deathless creature holding a Deathstone weapon gains one negative level that cannot be removed by any means, as long as the weapon is held.
A wearer of Deathstone armor gets +4 to save against any positive energy, life-restoring, or healing effect, regardless of the save involved, and gains 2 less hit points (minimum 1 point) per die. Deathstone shields do not reduce the gain from appropriate spells or powers, but do grant +2 to save vs. such effects. The save bonuses stack, so a wearer of Deathstone armor and a shield gets a +6 bonus to saves against all positive energy, life-restoring, or healing spells or powers. Deathstone armor and shields also bestow one negative level (each, if the wearer has both) on any living or Deathless creature wearing them, that cannot be removed by any means while the item is worn, just as Deathstone weapons do. More importantly, for its use by necromancers and their minions, Deathstone armor also has the effect of granting undead wearers Fast Healing 2d4 (roll the dice every round to determine the amount healed), while shields grant Fast Healing 1d4.
Deathstone and Sunstone are opposites. If any two objects, one being Deathstone and the other Sunstone, are touched together, each cancels out the special properties of the other, though both retain the generic Silmarillium properties described above. If later separated by 3 feet or more, both objects regain their normal properties with no loss or change.
Craft Deathstone Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster or Manifester level 14th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, know either two Inflict Wounds spells, or Painful Touch and Claws of the Vampire. Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Deathstone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +1200 gp |
| Light Armor | +60000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +120000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +180000 gp |
| Shield | +60000 gp |
| Weapon | +60000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +6000 gp, +240 XP |
Forcestone is a rare type of Silmarillium that enhances physical forces- "kinetic energy" in Ancient documents. Most often found in Ancient armor such as Crystal Plate and Powered Armor, it does not noticeably react with any other energy type. This means that it does not radiate light, nor does it have any sort of coloring, appearing simply as perfectly translucent crystal of incredible hardness. When any physical force is applied to Forcestone, it transmits the energy through itself and amplifies it, essentially producing more force out the other end than was originally applied.
Because it does not react with energy other than kinetic/inertial energy, Forcestone is considerably less useful to spellcasters and psionic manifesters than most types of Silmarillium. While such a character can cast spells or manifest powers through Forcestone like many other kinds of Silmarillium (Spellcraft or Psicraft check DC 10 + 2 × the spell/power level), doing so produces no benefit for the spell or power so channelled. People who do it are usually spellcasters or psionicists who have never encountered Forcestone before and are trying to figure out whether the object they have is a piece that's simply run out of energy, or is close enough to an opposite type to negate most of its special properties.
While Forcestone is virtually useless to supernatural folk, it provides considerable benefits to more physically-minded characters. Weapons made of Forcestone strike their targets with extra force, and deal extra damage on any successful strike. Furthermore, Forcestone bludgeoning weapons (such as Warhammers) gain the Hardness-penetrating ability of Silmarillium blades, including the ability to attack armor and natural armor, and automatically have the Impact property as well (which doubles their threat range just as the Keen property does for slashing weapons). Any Forcestone weapon that hits its target's AC deals an extra 1d6 damage, and any Forcestone weapon that deals a critical hit deals an extra 1d10 damage. This extra damage is the same kind as the weapon itself normally deals; for instance, a Forcestone warhammer deals extra bludgeoning damage.
Armor made of Forcestone has all normal Silmarillium properties except the Damage Reduction- because it transmits the force of blows so well, it does not offer that extra protection. That said, the force-amplification property does grant a valuable benefit- it grants the wearer a circumstance bonus to STR based on the type of armor worn. Light armor grants its wearer +2 STR, Medium grants +4, and Heavy armor grants a +6 bonus. Furthermore, because the armor helps its wearer move, Medium and Heavy armors made of Forcestone do not reduce the wearer's movement speed the way such armors usually do. This does not remove the armor check penalty, raise the maximum allowed DEX bonus, or Arcane Spell Failure chance; only the speed penalty is removed.
Though Forcestone shields do not raise their wearer's STR score the way Forcestone armor does, they may be used as weapons in the same manner as normal shields (see the Shield Bash Attacks section under the entry for Shields on page 125 of the Player's Handbook). When so used, a Forcestone shield gains the Impact ability and deals extra damage on a hit, just as any other bludgeoning weapon made of Forcestone would. A Forcestone shield with Shield Spikes loses the Impact property as a result of becoming a piercing weapon, but gains the Penetrating property simply for being Silmarillium, so there is essentially no loss to the shield's power as a result.
Craft Forcestone Prerequisites: 15 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster or Manifester level 12th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, know Telekinesis. Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Forcestone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +700 gp |
| Light Armor | +11000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +22000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +33000 gp |
| Shield | +11000 gp |
| Weapon | +35000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +4000 gp, +160 XP |
Lifestone is a type of Silmarillium which absorbs various invisible energies, changing and releasing them as life energy and a small amount of heat. It radiates no light, and in fact looks like rather ordinary- though slightly blue-colored- crystal. Living creatures which touch it, however, immediately appreciate the difference, because the Lifestone is always pleasantly warm to the touch regardless of the environment it is in, and it immediately heals 1d4 points of damage. Creatures in possession of Lifestone gain a +4 bonus to save against any death attack or negative energy attack (including Inflict Wounds spells), and take 2 less points of damage (to a minimum of 1 point) per die if applicable, because of the intense life force generated by the Lifestone. Undead creatures which touch Lifestone take 1d4 hit points of damage, and even mindless undead instinctively sense that doing so is a Bad Idea. Clerics (or others capable of Turning undead) who brandish Lifestone during a turning attempt (but not a rebuke attempt), make the attempt as if 4 levels higher or with a +2 bonus, whichever gives the better chance of success. This bonus does not stack with the one granted by Lightstone.
It is possible to cast spells and manifest psionic powers through a piece of Lifestone by making a Spellcraft (or Psicraft) check against DC 10 + 2 × the spell or power level; however, only a few spell or power types are affected by doing so. Spells and powers which channel life energy to heal their targets always heal the maximum amount, and those which attack life energy or use negative energy to cause damage always do minimum damage. Life-draining spells and powers have a -4 penalty to their save DCs, as well. Lifestone cannot be enchanted or empowered in any way with life-draining spells or abilities, but can be enchanted or empowered with healing abilities at half the normal cost in XP, materials, and time.
Lifestone weapons are a rather unusual case, in that they are incapable of harming any living targets- the weapons heal their targets for an equal amount of damage that was done according to the dice, every time they hit. Even a stab through the heart with a Lifestone sword will fill its victim with vigor and health even as the blood spurts out, and the wound heals and closes immediately upon drawing out the weapon. Lifestone weapons do normal damage to constructs and other creatures which are not actually alive, and any successful attack upon an undead creature with a Lifestone weapon is always treated as a critical threat regardless of the numbers rolled during the attack (making a Lifestone Mace of Disruption an exceptionally nasty weapon to use against them).
A wearer of Lifestone armor is immune to natural cold (though not Cold-based attacks), and gets +4 to save against any negative energy, life-draining, or death effect, regardless of the save involved, and takes 2 less hit points of damage (minimum 1 point) per die. Lifestone shields do not reduce the damage from appropriate spells or powers, but do grant +2 to save vs. such effects. The save bonuses stack, so a wearer of Lifestone armor and a shield gets a +6 bonus to saves against all negative energy, life-draining, or death spells or powers. Lifestone armor also has the obvious (and highly valued) effect of granting its wearer Fast Healing 2d4 (roll the dice every round to determine the amount healed), and shields grant Fast Healing 1d4. A character wearing either type of item lives (and continues to heal) until his or her hit points reach -20, rather than -10, and automatically gains the benefits of the Diehard feat whether or not the character has that feat or even meets its prerequisites. Characters wearing Lifestone armor or shields automatically stabilize when reduced to negative hit points, unless the armor or shield is removed somehow, but they are still killed (and stop healing immediately) upon reaching -20 hit points.
Lifestone and Coldstone are opposites. If any two objects, one being Lifestone and the other Coldstone, are touched together, each cancels out the special properties of the other, though both retain the generic Silmarillium properties described above. If later separated by 3 feet or more, both objects regain their normal properties with no loss or change.
Craft Lifestone Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster or Manifester level 14th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, know either two Cure Wounds spells, or Body Adjustment and Rejuvenation. Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Lifestone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +1200 gp |
| Light Armor | +40000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +80000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +120000 gp |
| Shield | +40000 gp |
| Weapon | +60000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +6000 gp, +240 XP |
Lightstone is the most common form of Silmarillium, and is the one most people think of when they refer to it (many people, in fact, are not aware that the other types are merely different versions of the same material). It was by far the most common form among Ancient devices and constructions, because of its properties. Lightstone is so named because it is most often found quietly radiating light, essentially equal to sunlight though less intense. If it is placed in strong light, such as a Daylight spell, or natural sunlight, it is perfectly translucent, flawless crystal, beautiful to look at, but not obviously special. When the light grows dimmer, however, Lightstone radiates back the light it has absorbed, and glows brightly (the dimmer the ambient light, the brighter it gets). While glowing, it emits a low-pitched, barely audible hum, with the pitch growing higher as the Lightstone glows brighter.
One thing that very few people know, or notice, is that the Lightstone glows longer in darkness than it should, if it were simply radiating back the light that was put into it- for instance, simply "charging" a piece of Lightstone in full sunlight for 5 minutes is generally enough to "power" its glow for more than an hour. Part of this can be explained away by the relative intensities of the light involved (glowing Lightstone never equals the full intensity of natural sunlight, unless it is forced to- see below), but even when this is taken into account, there is still too much light coming out of the Lightstone to account for. This is because Lightstone's primary property is that of amplification; whatever energy is put into it, comes out stronger in most cases. Furthermore, the energy comes out in exactly the same form that it went in; if a piece of Lightstone is charged in sunlight, it can affect undead (and any other creatures which are directly harmed by sunlight) exactly like ordinary natural sunlight does, while it is glowing later on. Furthermore, any creature harmed by any sort of light (including the undead mentioned above) take 2d4 points of damage for even touching a piece of Lightstone, regardless of whether (or how brightly) it is glowing at the time. Since even mindless creatures will instinctively recognize this, Clerics (and others capable of turning undead) who brandish Lightstone during an attempt to turn/rebuke undead, make the attempt as if 4 levels higher, or with a +2 bonus, whichever gives the better chance of success. This bonus does not stack with the one granted by Lifestone.
The amplification is also useful to spellcasters and psionic manifesters. With a Spellcraft (or Psicraft if using a psionic power) check against DC 10 + 2 × the spell or power level, a character can cast/manifest the desired effect through a piece of Lightstone that he or she is holding, which amplifies the effect of the spell or power that comes out. This has the effect of Heightening the spell or power by 1 level, just as if the Metamagic (or Metapsionic) feat had been used with it, but without requiring it to be prepared in a higher-level slot or costing extra power points. Also, any level-dependent effects the spell or power has are increased as if the caster/manifester's level were one higher. Thus, a 4th level Wizard's spells, if cast through Lightstone, would behave as though he were 5th level.
Lightstone, being an amplifier of psionic energy, can respond to the thoughts of sentient creatures, whether or not they are psionic. Any creature with an Intelligence score of 4 or higher can cause Lightstone to force more of its light out earlier than normal, by touching it and concentrating. This is a full-round action requiring a Concentration check against DC 15, which provokes attacks of opportunity. When the effect is used, the Lightstone throws off enough light to become blindingly incandescent, and its usually barely audible hum grows to a high-pitched squeal loud enough to deafen creatures within earshot if they fail a Fortitude save against DC 18, for 1d6 × 10 minutes. Even if the save succeeds, the squeal is loud enough to prevent any conversation below shouting level. Any creatures looking towards the Lightstone's wielder must make Reflex saves vs. DC 18 or be blinded for 1d10 rounds. The Lightstone can only be forced to "burst" like this for 10 rounds at a time, only once per day, and concentration must be maintained every round to keep it going. Psionic creatures and characters can cause this effect without actually touching the Lightstone, by "touching" it with any kind of Telekinesis power (including Far Hand), and concentrating as described above.
Weapons made of Lightstone automatically deal the "light damage" noted above for creatures vulnerable to light, on any successful strike. Furthermore, Lightstone blades (piercing and slashing weapons), by penetrating their targets to cause damage, have a chance to kill them outright. If a Lightstone blade scores a critical hit on a creature which can be killed by direct exposure to sunlight (or any other kind of light for that matter), the weapon's wielder may make a Concentration check to force the weapon to emit a burst of light as above. The target opposes the Concentration check with a Fortitude save, and if successful takes only 4d6 points of damage. If the weapon's wielder succeeds, the target is overwhelmed by the intense light burning through it, and disintegrates from the inside out.
Armor made of Lightstone has all normal Silmarillium properties, and those discussed above for Lightstone. However, the amplification property does cause an unfortunate side effect- if the wearer is targeted by any pure energy attack such as a laser beam or a Lightning Bolt, he or she takes 1½ × as much damage as normal on a failed save (round fractions down), because the armor actually increases the attack's power! This drawback doesn't stop most adventurers from donning a suit of Lightstone that fits them, of course, given its other benefits.
Lightstone and Darkstone are opposites. If any two objects, one being Lightstone and the other Darkstone, are touched together, each cancels out the special properties of the other, though both retain the generic Silmarillium properties described above. If later separated by 3 feet or more, both objects regain their normal properties with no loss or change.
Craft Lightstone Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster or Manifester level 10th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, either Craft Crystal Capacitor or know Limited Wish. Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Lightstone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +800 gp |
| Light Armor | +12000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +24000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +36000 gp |
| Shield | +12000 gp |
| Weapon | +40000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +4000 gp, +160 XP |
Mirrorstone is a type of Silmarillium which perfectly reflects all energy directed onto it, including light. It radiates no light, and doesn't look much like crystal- more a like specially shaped, highly-polished mirror (hence the name). Mirrorstone cannot be enchanted or hold any psionic powers (except with extreme crafting skill- see the Enhance Mirrorstone feat), because any attempt to do so reflects the energy back out before it can take hold. Any attempt to cast a spell, or manifest a power, on or through Mirrorstone causes the spell or power to rebound and affect the originator, if that is in any way possible. Despite this drawback, Mirrorstone weapons and armor often prove to be a nasty surprise to opponents in combat, since it looks like fairly normal (albeit highly polished) metal, and exhibits no obvious unusual properties.
The wielder of a Mirrorstone weapon can attempt to deflect any beam or Ray attack directed at him or her, by making a special attack roll (using the attacker's roll as the AC, or AC 22 if the attack normally always hits). If the Mirrorstone weapon-wielder's attack succeeds, the attack is deflected in another direction (use the Grenade-Like Missiles table to determine the exact direction), and does not strike the Mirrorstone's wielder at all. A result of 4, 5, or 6 on the Grenade-Like Missiles roll means that the attack reflects back on the originator, and affects that creature instead. To use this "deflect" attack, a character must take a ready action to deflect, and must not be flat-footed. A character with the Deflect Arrows feat does not need to make an attack roll to deflect an attack in this manner, but must still take a ready action to do so.
A wearer of Mirrorstone armor is completely protected from most energy beam or Ray attacks, gaining his or her normal armor bonus even against ranged touch attack rolls for such attacks. Any beam or ray that strikes the armor (i.e. misses because of the armor bonus) is automatically deflected as explained above, with no need for the armor's wearer to hold a ready action or make an attack roll to deflect. A Mirrorstone shield also adds its AC bonus to the wearer's AC for ranged touch attacks from beams or rays, and deflects them if they miss because of the shield, but it may also be used to actively deflect such attacks as described above for Mirrorstone weapons. If using a shield to actively deflect rather than a weapon, the character must make a Reflex save rather than an attack roll, but the process is otherwise identical (and characters with the Deflect Arrows feat, again, need not make the save at all if they ready an action to deflect).
Craft Mirrorstone Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster or Manifester level 10th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, know either (Gaze Reflection and any Globe of Invulnerability), or (Alternate Reality and Empathic Feedback). Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Mirrorstone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +700 gp |
| Light Armor | +10000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +20000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +30000 gp |
| Shield | +10000 gp |
| Weapon | +35000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +4000 gp, +160 XP |
Powerstone is not often seen today, but it was a very common type during the Golden Age, second only to Lightstone in ubiquity. The reason for this is that Powerstone is a form of Silmarillium specially designed to produce energy usable by devices, especially Ancient technological devices. Few people today know how to make it, even considered as a portion of the few who can make any form of Silmarillium at all; however, this does not mean it has no use in the modern world. In fact, Powerstone is arguably the most useful type of Silmarillium, since the energy it generates can be applied to magical and psionic items as well as technological devices. Powerstone looks like fairly ordinary translucent crystal, as it radiates no light; its color is a very light shade of green with a tinge of yellow. Touching Powerstone deals no damage to any living creature or construct, except those which are especially vulnerable to electricity in some way; such vulnerable creatures take 1 point of electrical damage for touching or handling it.
Nonliving objects, whether mobile or not, are what Powerstone was designed to augment. Powerstone converts the energy within it to a strange amalgam of several powerful energy types, which can be used to power any technological, magical, or psionic device. Magical and psionic items can be made partly or entirely from Powerstone, if the item's creator has the Craft Powerstone feat at the time of initial creation. Items partially crafted from Powerstone must be types of items that use gems or crystals somehow, such as a Helm of Brilliance. In such cases, Powerstone replaces the gems or crystals which would normally be used, and the item gains some extra Hardness and hit points from having Silmarillium components, though it also has double the normal cost of creation (in gold and XP alike) in addition to the weight cost of Powerstone noted below. An item made entirely from Powerstone, by contrast, gains all the qualities of Silmarillium listed above, and costs four times the normal price in gold and XP to craft (again, in addition to the weight cost). No item that does not use charges, or have a limited number of uses per day, gains a benefit other than the general Silmarillium properties from using Powerstone components in this manner. Also, items that are used exactly one time and are destroyed in the process, such as potions and scrolls, cannot make use of Powerstone at all. That said, when Powerstone is used in an item properly, the item gains either double the normal number of daily uses (if it has such powers), or automatically regains charges at the rate of 1/day (for partial Powerstone items) or 1/hour (for fully Powerstone items)- thus, Powerstone items rarely run out of energy and burn out, especially if their users are judicious in triggering them!
A Powerstone weapon that has special powers which could be augmented by Powerstone (as described above), has its cost calculated by adding either the 120000 gold cost in the table below, or quadruple its normal cost, whichever is higher (under many circumstances, the quadruple cost will be the lower one).
Powerstone armor is a slightly more interesting case. By itself, Powerstone armor gains (and grants) no more benefit than Powerstone weapons do unless it has a "charged" or limited-use ability. However, if the wearer is holding or wearing an item which could be affected by Powerstone construction, then the item regains charges simply from being held, though no item can gain more than 1 charge per day from touching Powerstone this way. Spellcasters and psionic manifesters who have the Craft Powerstone feat gain another benefit from wearing Powerstone armor they are proficient in- the armor actually grants them extra spell slots and/or power points each day, by effectively "recharging" the wearers themselves! Only wearers who have the Craft Powerstone feat, and are proficient in the armor type being worn, can benefit from this, because only they know enough about Powerstone to be able to siphon off the energy and use it- Powerstone was designed to charge objects, not living things. Wearers of Light armor gain 1 spell level or 2 psionic power points/day, whichever is preferred; those who wear Medium armor gain 2 spell levels or 4 power points. Finally, those who wear Heavy armor gain 3 bonus spell levels, or 6 psionic power points, per day. The spell levels gained from wearing Powerstone are treated as bonus spell slots for all purposes, though the wearer can choose what configuration of spell slots to use, provided the total number of gained slots does not exceed the daily limit (keep in mind that one spell level can be used to power two zero-level spells). Though not many people are able to make use of this ability of Powerstone armor, those who can usually do, regularly and often. Powerstone armor costs are calculated the same way as weapons, so armor with special abilities beyond simply being made of Powerstone will usually cost quadruple the normal amount.
Craft Powerstone Prerequisites: 20 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster or Manifester level 17th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, ability to cast or manifest Lightning Bolt, and one of Wish, Miracle, or Psionic Reality Alteration. Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Powerstone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +2400 gp |
| Light Armor | +40000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +80000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +120000 gp |
| Shield | +40000 gp |
| Weapon | +120000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +10000 gp, +400 XP |
Sunstone, sometimes called Firestone, is a type of Silmarillium which radiates heat and light, occasionally becoming black and extremely cold as it absorbs more to radiate back later. Sunstone normally produces an aura of warmth within a radius of 10 feet, essentially what a large fire would produce without the danger of burning things. There is a 5% cumulative chance per week of normal heat radiation that a piece of Sunstone runs out of energy to radiate and needs to absorb more (the DM is normally allowed to check this at any time during the week, but see below). Sunstone which goes into "storage mode" becomes a very dark, purplish crystal, radiating no light and bitterly cold to the touch- so cold, in fact, that any creature touching it is affected during each round of contact as if by a Chill Touch spell from a 10th level caster. The absorption phase lasts 1d6 × 10 minutes, and then the Sunstone switches back to normal, radiative mode, none the worse for wear.
Sunstone radiates a golden-orange light, which observers frequently compare to a sunrise or sunset. Touching it directly causes 1 point of Fire damage to creatures which are not in some way resistant to Fire, though holdling it with thick cloth or similar fire-safe materials allows it to be handled safely. Cold creatures, and others which take extra damage from Fire attacks, take 2d4 damage instead. Creatures in possession of Sunstone gain a +4 bonus to save against any Cold attack, and take 1 less point of damage (minimum of 1) per die, but have a -4 save penalty to saves vs. Fire attacks, and take +1 point of damage per die from them. Sunstone can be used in place of Flint and Steel to light fires, though it takes twice as long to do so since it must be touched directly to the tinder, and does not produce any sparks.
It is possible to cast spells and manifest psionic powers through a piece of Sunstone, by making a Spellcraft or Psicraft check against DC 15 + 2 × the spell or power level. Fire spells and powers used through Sunstone always do maximum damage, and Cold spells and powers always do minimum. Illusion spells which create images of light (primarily Figments, Glamers, and Patterns) have a +4 enhancement to their save DCs, because light from the Sunstone enhances the images and makes them seem more real. Sunstone cannot be enchanted in any way with Cold spells or abilities, but can be enhanced with Fire magic and powers at half the normal cost in XP, materials, and time.
Sunstone weapons can be forced to radiate extra energy for up to 1 minute at a time, by concentration. This requires a full-round action by the wielder, and a DC 15 Concentration check. If successful, the Sunstone intensifies its radiation, becoming sheathed in a thin cloud of flaming gas in the process, and effectively becoming a Flaming weapon. This property is natural to the Sunstone, however, so much like the Keen property of all Silmarillium blades, it is not suppressed by Dead or Wild Magic zones, nor is it affected by dangerous radiation. After "flaming" for 1 minute, the Sunstone usually goes back to normal, and can even be forced to "flame" again in the following round- however, every time the ability is used, the DM rolls a check for the Sunstone going into its "storage mode," and each use of the flaming power (including the first one in any given week) increases the chance of the Sunstone running out of energy by 5%. Sunstone which has just come out of "cold storage" cannot be forced to flame for at least 1 hour.
A wearer of Sunstone armor gets +4 to save against any Cold effect, regardless of the save involved, and takes 2 less hit points of damage (minimum of 1 point) per die. It also makes its wearer immune to natural cold. Sunstone shields do not grant any reduction of Cold damage, but do grant +2 to save vs. Cold effects. The save bonuses stack, so a wearer of Sunstone armor and a shield gets a +6 bonus to saves against all Cold attacks. Unfortunately, Sunstone armor also causes any Fire attacks that hit the wearer to do maximum damage to him or her, and doubles the subdual damage the character takes from heavy heat, such as the desert sun. Shields add +1 damage per die to all Fire attacks which strike the wielder, but do not force a penalty in heavy heat like armor does. It should also be noted that Sunstone armor which goes into "cold storage" while the wearer is wearing it, automatically affects the character like a Chill Touch every round he or she continues to wear it, and furthermore does not allow a saving throw against the effect. This special case ignores the usual Cold protection granted by the Sunstone, of course.
Deathstone and Sunstone are opposites. If any two objects, one being Deathstone and the other Sunstone, are touched together, each cancels out the special properties of the other, though both retain the generic Silmarillium properties described above. If later separated by 3 feet or more, both objects regain their normal properties with no loss or change.
Craft Sunstone Prerequisites: 10 ranks in Knowledge (Ancient Technology), Spellcaster or Manifester level 11th+, ability to cast Daylight or manifest Control Light, know either (Searing Light and Sunburst), or (Burning Ray and Brilliant Blast). Also, knowledge of exactly what Silmarillium is made of is required before this feat can be taken; DMs are encouraged to have players quest for this knowledge.
Sunstone Costs:
| Item | Market Price Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +1000 gp |
| Light Armor | +12000 gp |
| Medium Armor | +24000 gp |
| Heavy Armor | +36000 gp |
| Shield | +12000 gp |
| Weapon | +50000 gp |
| Per Pound of finished product | +5000 gp, +200 XP |
Some weapons below are classified as "Light Ranged" weapons. The full rules for light ranged weapons are given in the Rules document. One-handed thrown weapons are typically classified as Light Ranged.
| Simple Weapons | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Cost | Dmg (S) | Dmg (M) | Critical | Range Increment |
Weight | Type | ||
| Unarmed Attacks | |||||||||
| Mace, Tail | 10 gp | 1d6 | 2d4 | ×2 | - | 5 lb. | Bludgeoning | ||
| Teeth, Metal | 150 gp | 1d4 | 1d6 | 19-20/×2 | - | 1/2 lb. | Piercing and Slashing | ||
| Light Melee Weapons | |||||||||
| Claw Glove (pair) | 15 gp | 1d4 | 1d6 | ×2 | - | 1 lb. | Slashing | ||
| Light Ranged Weapons | |||||||||
| Wedge, Throwing | 5 sp | 1d4 | 1d6 | ×3 | 30 ft. | 1/2 lb. | Piercing | ||
| Martial Weapons | |||||||||
| Weapon | Cost | Dmg (S) | Dmg (M) | Critical | Range Increment |
Weight | Type | ||
| Two-Handed Melee Weapons | |||||||||
| Gythka | 15 gp | 1d4/1d4 | 1d6/1d6 | ×3 | 20 ft. | 10 lb. | Slashing | ||
| Light Ranged Weapons | |||||||||
| Chatkcha | 5 gp | 1d4 | 1d6 | 18-20/×2 | 40 ft. | 1 lb. | Slashing | ||
| Exotic Weapons | |||||||||
| Weapon | Cost | Dmg (S) | Dmg (M) | Critical | Range Increment |
Weight | Type | ||
| Three-Handed Melee Weapon | |||||||||
| T'Klatka | 60 gp | 1d6/1d6/1d6 | 2d4/2d4/2d4 | 19-20/×2 | 10 ft. | 12 lb. | Slashing | ||
| Light Ranged Weapons | |||||||||
| Boomerang | 2 gp | 1d4 | 1d6 | ×2 | 50 ft. | 1 lb. | Bludgeoning | ||
| Boomerang, Bladed | 20 gp | 1d4 | 1d6 | 19-20/×2 | 40 ft. | 2 lb. | Bludgeoning and Slashing | ||
| Crossbow, Repeating Hand | 800 gp | 1d3 | 1d4 | 19-20/×2 | 30 ft. | 3 lb. | Piercing | ||
Boomerang: A boomerang is a carefully carved and shaped piece of wood, shaped like a wide V. They are commonly used by nomadic tribes of Nakhu, especially Leonals. At the DM's option, characters from such tribes may treat boomerangs as martial weapons rather than exotic, at the cost of losing one or more common martial weapons in their place. If the DM allows this, it is recommended that the lost martial weapon be one commonly seen only among urban dwellers, such as the rapier or ranseur.
A proficient user (and only a proficient user) of a boomerang can throw it in such a way as to return to the wielder if it misses (and only if it misses). This is effectively the same effect as the Returning special quality of some magical and psionic thrown weapons, but is not supernatural in any way (it results from the aerodynamic properties of the special shape of the boomerang itself). As such, a boomerang may still be thrown to return in a Dead Magic or Psionic Static Zone. A boomerang enhanced with the Returning special quality returns on a hit as well as a miss, and also returns when thrown by a nonproficient user (whether or not it hits).
A boomerang may be used by a proficient wielder as a club in melee combat, with no penalty.
Boomerang, Bladed: A bladed boomerang is shaped the same as a normal boomerang, but is made of metal and has sharpened edges.
A proficient user (and only a proficient user) of a boomerang can throw it in such a way as to return to the wielder if it misses (and only if it misses). This is effectively the same effect as the Returning special quality of some magical and psionic thrown weapons, but is not supernatural in any way (it results from the aerodynamic properties of the special shape of the boomerang itself). As such, a boomerang may still be thrown to return in a Dead Magic or Psionic Static Zone. A boomerang enhanced with the Returning special quality returns on a hit as well as a miss, and also returns when thrown by a nonproficient user (whether or not it hits).
A boomerang may be used by a proficient wielder as a short sword in melee combat, with no penalty.
Chatkcha: Chatkchas are specially shaped throwing wedges originally invented by Thri-Kreen. The original versions were made of Kreen Sandcrystal, but since the Kreen learned to forge metal, most chatkchas today are made with the lighter material (even by the Kreen themselves).
A proficient user (and only a proficient user) of a chatkcha can throw it in such a way as to return to the wielder if it misses (and only if it misses). This is effectively the same effect as the Returning special quality of some magical and psionic thrown weapons, but is not supernatural in any way (it results from the aerodynamic properties of the special shape of the chatkcha itself). As such, a chatkcha may still be thrown to return in a Dead Magic or Psionic Static Zone. A chatkcha enhanced with the Returning special quality returns on a hit as well as a miss, and also returns when thrown by a nonproficient user (whether or not it hits).
Claw Glove: A claw glove gives its wearer a +4 enhancement bonus on Climb checks, since the blades can be dug into handholds more easily than normal fingers can.
Arcane spellcasters suffer a 10% spell failure chance when wearing claw gloves.
Crossbow, Repeating Hand: This is simply a hand crossbow (as described on page 115 of the Player's Handbook) with the same technology as other repeating crossbows (described on page 116 of the Player's Handbook) applied to it. The rules for both weapon types apply.
Gythka: A gythka is a polearm with a three-leafed blade attached to each end, originally invented by Thri-Kreen. The original versions had blades made of Kreen Sandcrystal, but since the Kreen learned to forge metal, most gythkas today are made with the lighter material (even by the Kreen themselves).
A gythka is a.double weapon. You can fight with it as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon (see Two-Weapon Fighting, page 160 of the Player's Handbook). You can also strike with either end singly, a fact that allows you to take full advantage of openings in your opponent's defenses. A creature wielding a gythka in one hand can't use it as a double weapon- only one end of the weapon can be used in any given round.
A gythka can be thrown, in much the same way as a spear. If you throw a gythka, only one end of the weapon deals damage- that is, it is not possible to throw a gythka and use both ends to attack.
Metal Teeth: Metal teeth are false jaws that fit over the wearer's normal jaws, and enhance the creature's bite damage. A creature without a natural Bite attack that wears metal teeth gains a Bite attack dealing damage as listed in the table; a creature with a natural Bite attack wearing metal teeth instead has its critical range changed to 19-20/×3.
Metal teeth must be specially fitted to each individual user (hence the high cost). A character may attempt to use metal teeth made for another member of the character's own race, but the bad fit in such a case causes the wearer 1d2 points of damage per strike (whether it hits or misses).
Tail Mace: Lizardfolk make these weapons to enhance the damage done by their tails. A tail mace is a heavy weight attached to the tail by a specially made and fitted clasp. Only creatures with natural Tail attacks have tails thick and strong enough to use tail maces. A tail mace changes its wearer's tail attack damage to the value listed in the table above.
Throwing Wedge: A throwing wedge is essentially a larger, heavier version of a shuriken. They are normally triangular or square-shaped, but exotic shapes (including the star shape of a shuriken) are not unknown.
T'Klatka: Sometimes called a three-bladed sword or a triblade, a t'klatka is a unique weapon designed to be used in three hands. Originally invented by the four-armed Thri-Kreen, it may be used by two-armed creatures such as humans, but only with special training (thus, as an Exotic weapon). The original versions were made of Kreen Sandcrystal, but since the Kreen learned to forge metal, most t'klatkas today are made with the lighter material (even by the Kreen themselves).
A t'klatka is a.triple weapon. A character with more than two hands can fight with it as if fighting with three weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with three weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and two light weapons. You can also strike with any end singly, or two of the three ends, a fact that allows you to take full advantage of openings in your opponent's defenses. A creature wielding a t'klatka in two hands can't use it as a triple weapon, only as a single or double one- only one or two ends of the weapon can be used in any given round. A t'klatka cannot be used one-handed, except by creatures large enough to wield it as a light weapon, and even then it may only be thrown (see below).
T'klatkas have cavities placed between the three blades, designed for use in disarming opponents. When using a t'klatka, you get a +2 bonus on opposed attack rolls made to disarm an opponent (including the roll to keep from being disarmed if the attack fails).
A t'klatka can be thrown, in a manner similar to throwing wedges and chakrams, though it is not very aerodynamically sound and cannot fly far. If you throw a t'klatka, only one end of the weapon deals damage- that is, it is not possible to throw a t'klatka and use two or three ends to attack.
Taera has many more special and superior items than most worlds, due to its long history and development.
One of the more important available item types is the Masterpiece category of weapons and armor (nothing else however). Masterpiece weapons cost 600 gold more than the normal price, rather than 300 as for Masterwork, and grant a +2 bonus to attack rolls rather than +1. It is possible to get Masterpiece ranged ammunition as well, as noted in the table below (the given price is for exactly one arrow/bolt/bullet). Armor and shields can also be Masterpiece, and have -2 on their armor check penalties rather than -1. Masterpiece armor and shields cost 300 gold more than their normal cost, rather than 150.
It is worth noting, at this point, that neither the Masterpiece nor the standard Masterwork category (and their associated rules) applies to Ancient technology. The Ancients had access to manufacturing and crafting techniques far superior to those of the modern world (as evidenced by the fact that those machines with all their working parts can still function today, several millennia later), and as a result any technological item is considered to be of at least Masterwork quality for the purposes of enchantment or empowerment with magic or psionics. Technological items which have never had parts replaced or jury-rigged should be considered Masterpiece quality, and any repair attempts that exceed the necessary Craft DC by 10 or more can bring full function (and the Masterpiece quality) back to a damaged device. Thus, Ancient devices do not have "masterwork" or "masterpiece" versions, despite being otherwise mundane items. This rule applies to all Ancient technology, even weapons and armor.
Intelligent items on Taera do not use the standard rules for sentient items detailed in the DMG. Instead, they use the rules introduced in Malhavoc Press's Book of Eldritch Might III (pages 48-56), and reprinted in the Complete Book of Eldritch Might (pages 62-71). These rules treat intelligent items as the NPCs they properly should be, even including a special class for item "characters" and feats designed solely for intelligent items to gain. In brief, intelligent items require a special feat to create (Life to the Inanimate), and gain XP only through infusion by their wielders/users. An item requires ¼ the normal amount of XP to go up a level; thus, a 1st-level item requires 250 XP to reach 2nd level. This allows intelligent items to grow with the characters they help, making them as useful at high levels as they were at lower ones (albeit at the cost of slowing the owners' character growth slightly).
There are three exceptions to the standard rules introduced in the Book of Eldritch Might. First, items are allowed to multiclass if they can move under their own power (this is a variant suggested in the Book, but is explicitly adopted in Taeran games). In some ways this makes the item less powerful with levels than it would be if it continued progression as an intelligent item; however, since the item's own abilities will stack with its wielder's (for example, a Fighter attacking from a flanking position with a sword that happens to have Rogue levels can get Sneak Attack damage), and furthermore may develop abilities as a standard character class that it would not as a pure item, this loss may be worth it to some. Multiclassing items gain feats at every 3rd level, just as normal characetrs do, and gain any bonus feats granted by their class levels as normal. Second, an intelligent weapon, armor or shield with a +5 enhancement bonus is allowed, at 20th level, to take the Weapon or Armor Enhancement Bonus feat to raise itself to +6, even though that makes it an Epic item by standard rules. Third, intelligent items in Taeran games can become Epic level themselves, just as their users can; special rules extensions for Epic intelligent items are detailed below.
Epic Intelligent Items
| The Epic Intelligent Item | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class Level |
Special | ||||
| 21st | Artifact Resilience | ||||
| 22nd | Feat | ||||
| 23rd | - | ||||
| 24th | Feat | ||||
| 25th | - | ||||
| 26th | Feat | ||||
| 27th | - | ||||
| 28th | Feat | ||||
| 29th | - | ||||
| 30th | Feat | ||||
Attack Bonus and Saves: The Epic intelligent item gains +1 to its BAB every other level, exactly as characters of standard classes do. Thus, it gains no attack bonus at 21st level, but goes up to +16/+11/+6/+1 at 22nd, then +17/+12/+7/+2 at 24th, etc. Similarly, intelligent items improve all their saves at every even-numbered level.
Spell-Like/Psi-Like Abilities: The Epic intelligent item gains no more spell-like or psi-like abilities through level-ups, but it may continue to do so through gained feats (see below). It is worth noting that the most powerful of Epic intelligent items may gain the ability to use Epic spells or powers, or even Ultraspells or Ultrapowers, through such feats.
Artifact Resilience: An intelligent item that reaches 21st level is considered an artifact for the purposes of spells such as Detect Magic, Mordenkainen's Disjunction, and others which treat artifact-level items differently from standard magic items. Furthermore, at this level the intelligent item gains 10 hit points instead of just 1, and also gains 10 points of Hardness. This is the only level at which the item gains these traits, though taking certain Epic Item-Only feats (see below) may allow an item to become even more difficult to damage or destroy. This ability only renders the item equivalent to a Minor Artifact, not a Major one, though certain Epic Item-Only feats (such as that allowing the use of Epic magic/psionics) can turn the item into a Major Artifact.
Feats: The Epic Item gains a feat at every even-numbered level, just as it did in pre-Epic levels, though its selection of feats expands to include the special Epic Item-Only feats introduced below. These feats are listed here rather than in the Skills & Feats file, both for ease of reference, and because standard characters cannot take them (they are available only to Epic-level intelligent items). Items at this level may also take ability-increasing feats (e.g. Great Charisma, Great Dexterity, etc.) for ability scores they possess, though not to give themselves ability scores they did not previously possess. Thus, an item incapable of motion under its own power (which thus has no STR or DEX score) may not take Great Dexterity or Great Strength.
The item can control anyone that sees it.
Prerequisites: CHA 21, Influence User, Influence Viewers, Super-Telepathy, Item level 28th.
Benefit: The item can attempt to control the actions of anyone able to directly see (or otherwise sense) it, once per day. The item selects up to a number of such creatures equal to its number of Item levels above 20th for the attempt; all selected creatures must be able to see or otherwise directly sense the item, though they need not be within any particular range or even aware of each other. The target or targets must make a Will save, with a save DC equal to 10 + half the item's number of levels above 20th + its CHA modifier. If a target fails, the item completely controls its actions for one hour per Item level above 20th, as if by a Dominate Monster effect. As with that effect, if the item tries to make a creature do something totally against its wishes- such as attacking friends, comitting suicide, or the like- the creature gets a new saving throw with a +4 bonus to throw off the effect. Targets of this effect often do not realize that they are under the item's control specifically; even those that remember a mental voice prodding them to act do not typically realize that the voice came from the item itself rather than (for example) a powerful spellcaster keeping watch over the item.
Taking this feat makes the item a Major Artifact if it was not one already, and thus virtually indestructible. The DM should select a method whereby the item may be destroyed, which is not known to the item's owner (or even, necessarily, the item itself). The item becomes able to repair itself at the rate of 1 hit point per round if it was not previously capable of self-repair, and only damage dealt by its secret method of destruction cannot be repaired.
The item can send messages to people in their dreams.
Prerequisites: CHA 13, Emit Image, Empathy, Super-Telepathy, Item level 21st.
Benefit: The item can communicate with anyone whom it can identify unambiguously (whether by name or not) by constructing a dream containing the desired message, as if by the Dream spell, except that the item cannot designate a messenger (it itself is the messenger) and is not put into a trance by the sending. Dreams created by items with this ability are typically very mysterious, bizarre, and/or cryptic, with heavy symbolism and highly prophetic overtones (which ensures that they're remembered upon awakening). The item itself always appears in the dream somehow, though it is rarely apparent to the dreamer that the strange voices being heard (delivering the message) are in fact coming from the item. Typically, only people who know the item in waking life will recognize its voice in the dream.
The item's spell-like abilities overcome spell resistance much more easily than normal.
Prerequisites: Ability Penetration, Item level 21st.
Benefit: With all its spell-like abilities, the item adds a +6 bonus to caster level checks made to overcome a creature or other item's spell resistance.
Special: The effect of this feat overlaps (does not stack with) the bonus granted by Ability Penetration.
The item makes itself much harder through magic.
Prerequisites: Item level 21st.
Benefit: The item's Hardness increases by 3.
Special: An item can gain this feat more than once. Its effects stack.
The item gains a spell-like ability of truly legendary might.
Prerequisites: WIS 23 or higher, Expanded Spell-Like Ability, Extra Spell-Like Ability, 24 ranks in Psicraft or Spellcraft.
Benefit: The item gains a new spell-like ability (usable once per day) dupliacting an Epic spell or psionic power. The rules for standard-level spell-like abilities with XP costs also apply to Epic spells with XP costs, and additionally any effect that requires a Ritual (that is, contribution of spell slots by more creatures than the actual caster) may not be used more often than once per X-day period, where X is the number of casters contributing slots (including the actual caster of the Epic effect). For example, Greater Spell Resistance (which requires two additional creatures to contribute 6th-level slots to the casting) would only be usable once every 3 days. Finally, the item may not dupliact any Epic spell effect that it could not create by taking 10 on a Spellcraft check- that is, the Spellcraft DC of the chosen effect must be less than or equal to the item's number of Spellcraft ranks + its INT modifier + 10. For example, an item with 26 ranks in Spellcraft and an INT score of 18 would be limited to effects with a Spellcraft DC of 40 or less.
A psionic item taking this feat gains an Epic psi-like ability, instead of a spell-like ability, and must abide by all restrictions given above except that it uses Psicraft in place of Spellcraft.
Taking this feat makes the item a Major Artifact if it was not one already, and thus virtually indestructible. The DM should select a method whereby the item may be destroyed, which is not known to the item's owner (or even, necessarily, the item itself). The item becomes able to repair itself at the rate of 1 hit point per round if it was not previously capable of self-repair, and only damage dealt by its secret method of destruction cannot be repaired.
Special: An item can gain this feat more than once, gaining a new spell-like ability (or daily use of an existing spell-like ability) each time. It must still follow the restrictions detailed above. Taking this feat more than once does not make the item a Major Artifact several times, or remove, change, or add to the method of destruction selected by the DM when it first became a Major Artifact, nor does the item's capacity for self-repair increase.
The item greatly enhances its own structure with magic.
Prerequisites: Item level 21st.
Benefit: The item gains 1 extra hit point per Item level.
Special: An item can gain this feat more than once. Its effects stack.
The item gains a new spell-like ability of a level beyond the bounds of normal magic.
Prerequisites: WIS 20 or higher, Extra Spell-Like Ability.
Benefit: The item gains a new spell-like ability (or another daily use of one of its existing spell-like abilities) of 10th level or higher, provided that this does not give it any more spell-like abilities/daily uses at the chosen level than it has at a lower level. Also, the item may not gain a spell-like ability of a particular level unless its WIS score is at least 10 + the chosen level (for example, it may only gain an 11th-level ability if its WIS score is 21 or higher). Because there are no actual spells at 10th level or higher, the item actually gains a spell-like ability duplicating a spell of less than 10th level, modified by metamagic so as to increase its effective level to 10th or higher. For example, an Empowered Meteor Swarm is an 11th-level ability, because Empower Spell costs +2 levels to use and Meteor Swarm is a 9th-level spell.
Special: An item can gain this feat more than once, gaining a new spell-like ability (or daily use of an existing spell-like ability) each time. It must still follow the restriction of being unable to gain an ability at a particular level if that would give it more spell-like abilities at the chosen level than it has at any lower level, as well as the restriction on level limited by WIS score.
The item gains a new spell-like ability.
Prerequisites: Item level 21st.
Benefit: The item gains a new spell-like ability (or another daily use of one of its existing spell-like abilities) of any level 6th-9th, provided that this does not give it any more spell-like abilities/daily uses at the chosen level than it has at any lower level. Alternately, the item can gain two spell-like abilities of levels 3rd-5th, or three abilities of 1st or 2nd level, or four 0-level abilities. For example, an item could use this feat to gain a 7th-level ability as long as its number of spell-like abilities at each level 0-6th is greater than its current number of 7th-level abilities (note: this is not the case for a 20th-level item, which has 3 6th-level and 3 7th-level).
Special: An item can gain this feat more than once, gaining a new spell-like ability (or daily use of an existing spell-like ability) each time. It must still follow the restriction of being unable to gain an ability at a particular level if that would give it more spell-like abilities at the chosen level than it has at any lower level.
The develops a new, strong power.
Prerequisites: Item level 21st.
Benefit: The item gains the ability of a weapon or armor, as described in the DMG or elsewhere. It may gain a +2 ability with this feat.
Alternately, the item may choose to improve an existing ability if it has one that is part of a chain (such as Flaming, Flaming Burst, and Fiery Blast). If it chooses this, it may gain a more powerful ability in the chain that costs up to +3 higher than its current ability; for example, if the current ability costs +1, then the item can replace it with an ability from the same chain that costs up to +4.
Regardless of what ability it wants to gain, an item can never gain an ability with a cost higher than its own actual enhancement bonus; thus, a suit of +4 armor cannot gain any ability that costs +5 or higher (even as an upgrade). Also, an item is limited to no more than double its enhancement bonus in total special abilities taken; thus, the armor in the example above would be limited to a total of +8 spread over all of its abilities. Finally, an item cannot gain an ability that would normally require Craft Major Artifact to infuse into an item with this feat, unless it is already a Major Artifact through some other combination of feats or crafting.
Special: An item can gain this feat more than once, each time either gaining a new ability or adding +2 to the total value of the ability it eventually gains. Thus, taken twice, the item can develop a +4 ability. If used in this way, the item takes the feats but gains no actual benefit until the value of the desired ability has been earned. If the item is trying to upgrade an existing ability, but is unable to reach the desired ability with only +3, then each Greater Weapon or Armor Ability feat taken increases the value by +3 until the item has enough to acquire the desired ability. For example, a Holy sword (+2 ability) could upgrade itself to Holy Power (+8 ability) by taking this feat twice. Of course, due to the restriction above the sword would need to be +8 before it could upgrade the ability.
The item can influence the actions of anyone that sees it.
Prerequisites: CHA 17, Influence User, Super-Telepathy, Item level 21st.
Benefit: The item can attempt to make anyone able to directly see (or otherwise sense) it do as it mentally commands. Once per day, it can use a Mass Suggestion that targets up to one creature per Item level, with a save DC equal to 10 + the item's number of levels above 20th + its CHA modifier. In contrast to the actual spell, the creatures targetted by this special Mass Suggestion need not be within 30 feet of each other, nor even aware of each other; they need only be able to see the item itself. Targets of this effect often do not realize that they are under the item's influence specifically; even those that remember a mental voice prodding them to act do not typically realize that the voice came from the item itself rather than (for example) a powerful spellcaster keeping watch over the item.
Special: An item can gain this feat more than once. Each time it does, it gains another daily use of this ability.
The item can cast a spell-like ability with exceptionally great effect.
Prerequisites: Item level 24th.
Benefit: All variable, numeric effects of a single chosen spell-like ability are maximized, then doubled. An Intensified spell-like ability deals twice maximum damage, cures twice the maximum number of hit points, affects twice the maximum number of targets, and so forth, as appropriate. For example, an Intensified Horrid Wilting ability would deal 16 points of damage per caster level to all targets, up to a maximum of 400 points at 25th caster level. Saving throws and opposed rolls (such as the one made when Dispel Magic is used) are not affected. Spell-like abilities without random variables are not affected.
Special: Once chosen, the spell-like ability affected by this feat cannot be changed, though the feat may be gained more than once (choosing a another spell-like ability each time). If an item has more than one daily use of the chosen spell-like ability, then it can only Intensify one of those daily uses.
The item can repair itself, becoming virtually indestructible.
Prerequisites: Epic Hardening, Epic Toughening, Influence User, Superior Ego, Item level 30th, 30 ranks in the Craft skill associated with the item (for example, Weaponsmithing for a sword, Woodworking for a wooden staff, etc.).
Benefit: The item repairs itself at the rate of 1 hit point per round. Taking this feat makes the item a Major Artifact if it was not one already, and thus virtually indestructible. The DM should select a method whereby the item may be destroyed, which is not known to the item's owner (or even, necessarily, the item itself). Damage dealt by its secret method of destruction cannot be repaired, but all other damage can be repaired by the item's self-repair capacity.
Special: An item can gain this feat more than once, and its effects stack, though the item only becomes a Major Artifact (and gains a selected method of destruction) once, no matter how many times the feat is taken. Each time this feat is taken, the item repairs an additional hit point per round; thus, an item taking this feat three times would repair 3 hit points per round.
The influences others' actions and thoughts much more easily than normal.
Prerequisites: CHA 15, Ego Boost, Item level 21st.
Benefit: The item adds a +2 bonus to the saving throw DC to any of its powers which control or influence its user, or other nearby creatures. This bonus stacks with the one granted by Ego Boost, in the case of the item's user.
Special: This feat may be taken more than once. Its effects stack.
The item can move by teleportation.
Prerequisites: Sight, Item level 28th, must have Dimension Door, Teleport, or a higher-level derivative of one of them as a spell-like ability.
Benefit: The item is able to teleport itself to any point in space that it can see, once per round, at will, as if by the spell Greater Teleport. Effects which prevent that spell from functioning will also stop the item from teleporting in this way. This ability only allows the item to teleport itself, not its user or anything held on or attached to it (though anything entirely contained inside the item goes with it when it teleports)
The item can see everything as it truly is.
Prerequisites: WIS 13, Darkvision, Sight, Item level 26th.
Benefit: The item has constant True Seeing, as the spell, to a radius of 120 feet.
The item can never be put aside, dropped, sheathed, or otherwise removed from its user's grasp unless it wants to be.
Prerequisites: Animate Self or Float, Intuition, Telekinetic Hands, Item level 24th.
Benefit: By careful use of its movement, the item can prevent itself from being lost by its user if it does not want to be lost. If the item is held in the user's hands, then it cannot be dropped, stolen, or disarmed unless the item's consciousness is somehow disabled, or the item itself does not mind being dropped by its user. A Dispel Magic cannot force the item to relinquish this "sticktoitiveness," but a Break Enchantment or Remove Curse can if the caster succeeds on an opposed caster level check (i.e., 1d20 + caster's level against 1d20 + item's level). If the item is forced to relinquish its hold this way, the effect of this feat is suppressed for 1 minute, after which time it returns.
In the table below, weapon and armor abilities that require the Craft Major Artifact feat to imbue into an item are designated with a @ symbol. Items containing these extraordinary abilities become Major Artifacts automatically, with all the characteristics such items entail (notably sentience).
| Armor Special Abilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ability | Base Price Modifier | |
| Enlightenment | +(3+power level)@ | |
| Prodigy | +(3+spell level)@ | |
| Energy Restoration | +11@ | |
| Horrifying | +11@ | |
| Rulership | +11@ | |
| Indestructible | +12@ | |
| Lifespreading | +12@ | |
| True Invulnerability | +14@ | |
| Idealization | +15@ | |
| Grand Guardian | +16@ | |
| Specific Armors | ||
| Specific Armor | Market Price | |
| Weapon Special Abilities | ||
| Ability | Base Price Modifier | |
| Enlightenment | +(3+power level)@ | |
| Prodigy | +(3+spell level)@ | |
| Battlemastery | +11@ | |
| Devotion | +11@ | |
| Horrifying | +11@ | |
| Rulership | +11@ | |
| Degenerate | +12@ | |
| Indestructible | +12@ | |
| Perfection | +12@ | |
| Discord | +13@ | |
| (Creature) Enslavement | +13@ | |
| Justice | +13@ | |
| Reanimating | +13@ | |
| Fatekiller | +14@ | |
| Itembane | +14@ | |
| Copying | +15@ | |
| Life Trapping | +15@ | |
| Specific Weapons | ||
| Specific Weapon | Market Price | |
| Drilbus | ||
| Drilbu | Market Price | |
| Psicrowns | ||
| Psicrown | Market Price | |
| Rings | ||
| Ring | Market Price | |
| Rods | ||
| Rod | Market Price | |
| Staffs | ||
| Staff | Market Price | |
| Universal Items | ||
| Item | Market Price | |
| Wondrous Items | ||
| Item | Market Price | |
| Bag of Epic Holding, Type I | 1,250,000 gp | |
| Bag of Epic Holding, Type II | 2,500,000 gp | |
| Bag of Epic Holding, Type III | 3,700,000 gp | |
| Bag of Epic Holding, Type IV | 5,000,000 gp | |
| Major Artifacts | ||
| Item | Cost to Create | |
| Firestar | 14,600,000 gp + 1,169,000 XP | |
| Medallion of Power | 5000 XP (with possible failure) | |
| Primal Gem | 174,000 gp + 14,520 XP | |
Magical and Psionic Item Descriptions
In the descriptions below, prices are given only for items below Major Artifact level- items of Major Artifact level are never sold except under very special circumstances, and the sellers can reasonably name their own prices for such mighty items. Major Artifacts and lesser items alike are listed with the Cost to Create normally. In the case of Minor and Major Artifacts, the listed cost takes into account any special cost considerations of using the Artifact creation feats; for example, any item requiring Craft Major Artifact automatically has the base cost multiplied by 10 as mandated by the feat description.
Bag of Epic Holding: Bags of Epic Holding are a natural extension of the more common Bags of Holding for people of truly prodigious might and resources, who (as a result of their accumulation of or association with truly enormous sums of wealth or amounts of goods) need the convenience of an entire castle vault's worth of space in a portable form. Some such people use Living Vaults, but those who are not spellcasters (and who do not wish to exclusively rely on spellcasters for access to their stored items) need another solution. There are four known types of Bags of Epic Holding, which correspond proportionally to the lesser variety, as shown below.
| Bags of Epic Holding | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bag | Bag Weight |
Contents Weight Limit |
Contents Volume Limit |
Market Price |
| Type I | 15 lbs. | 250,000 lbs. | 3,000 cu. ft. | 1,250,000 gp |
| Type II | 25 lbs. | 500,000 lbs. | 7,000 cu. ft. | 2,500,000 gp |
| Type III | 35 lbs. | 1,000,000 lbs. | 15,000 cu. ft. | 3,700,000 gp |
| Type IV | 60 lbs. | 1,500,000 lbs. | 25,000 cu. ft. | 5,000,000 gp |
Firestar: The Firestar is a legendary item capable of vast destructive power. Often quested-after by knights serving kingdoms and empires in wartime, the item is shrouded in mystery and speculation; of all the Major Artifacts in recorded Taeran history, the Firestar is probably the best known simply because of the obsessive desire warmakers have for it once they hear stories about it. This is because, in contrast to most weapons (even weapons of the Ancients available today), the Firestar is capable of causing destruction over large areas; one activation of the artifact can easily destroy an entire city and lay waste to the fields around it for miles. Numerous legends exist of the Firestar destroying whole armies at one blow, and any general who controls it is said to be invincible.
The Firestar is a sculpture- a five-pointed star- of deep red-orange crystal, like flawless ruby, but extremely hot to the touch- it is capable of setting fires by touch, simply by being left alone on flammable material long enough. Any creature or object touching the Firestar takes 1d4 points of Fire damage per minute. Creatures without Fire resistance typically need thick leather gloves or other such coverings to handle the artifact safely. Because it is made of hot, translucent crystal, it is possible to cast spells or manifest psionic powers through the Firestar much like one can cast/manifest them through various types of Silmarillium; the caster or manifester need only succeed on a Spellcraft or Psicraft check as appropriate (DC 15 + 2 × the spell or power level) to do so. While this has no noticeable effect on most spells or powers, any spell or power with the Fire descriptor that is used through the Firestar is Maximized, as though the Maximize Spell or Maximize Power feat had been applied to it, but without raising its level, casting/manifesting time, or requiring expenditure of the psionic focus. These, however, are not its primary function- that function is to create a thermonuclear explosion, as though from a Nuke spell cast by a 30th-level caster (save DC 40, when it matters), once per day. The Nuke is always centered on the Firestar itself, when set off, but the wielder of the artifact is rendered completely immune to the explosion by the power embedded in it- as, of course, is the Firestar itself. Thus, the Firestar can be used over and over again to produce mass destruction, and is a truly horrific weapon in the wrong hands.
Each "point" of the star that is the Firestar is actually a separate item; the five individual "shards" are carefully carved so as to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle when all five are brought together. It is only possible to fit them together in one specific order, due to the way the pieces are carved, so each shard is distinguishable from the others by the shape of the facets on its "inside" edges- that is, the parts that fit together with the other shards to assemble the entire Firestar. Each shard is just as hot as the entire artifact, and can Maximize Fire spells just as the entire item can, but only when all five shards are brought together and correctly slotted into each other can the Firestar's full potential be unleashed and cause a Nuke. This becomes important because, perhaps as a safety mechanism against misuse, or perhaps because the full power of a Nuke is simply too much for the material of the item to channel, the complete Firestar is unstable. Each time the Nuke power is used, the item must make a DC 40 Fortitude save or be immediately split apart into the five shards, which are scattered far and wide through dimensional rifts opened up by the unleashed power of the explosion. Thus, if the save fails, the Firestar shards must be found and gathered again before the item can produce another explosion.
The shards, of course, have their own lesser powers which render them useful items in their own right, other than just letting spellcasters get maximum potential from their Fire spells. Each shard has its own suite of powers, which can be activated both when the shard is alone and when it is joined to other shards. The entire Firestar, therefore, once assembled, can produce all of the effects from all five shards in addition to the actual Nuke. Use of these lesser powers does not cause any instability in the complete Firestar, so wielders of the artifact have historically been very careful about when they used the Nuke and relied on the other powers before that time came. Furthermore, each shard has two resonant powers which only become available when the shard is joined to one or both of the shards that are adjacent to it in the completely assembled Firestar; for example, the second shard has a power which only activates when it is joined to the first shard, and a different power which only activates when it is joined to the third shard. Likewise, the first shard has a power (separate from the second shard's resonant powers) which activates only when it is joined to the second shard, and another resonant power which only works when it is joined to the fifth shard. Finally, as shards join together, their powers- both individual and resonant- become harder to resist. Each shard joined increases the save DCs of all shards connected to it by 2; thus, the Fireball power of the second shard has a save DC of 24 when that shard is in an assemblage of three. Only properly joined shards get this bonus and the resonant powers, so if a person has the first, second, and fourth shards, then the fourth shard has neither resonant power and its base save DCs, while the other two shards each have one resonant power of their two, and a bonus of +2 to their powers' save DCs. The list of shards and their powers is given below. All powers are at caster level 30, and the save DCs listed for the resonant powers do not include the bonus from joined shards.
| Medallion of Power Specific Granted Abilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wearer's Class | Crystal Color | Granted Powers |
| Adept | Green-Gray | +2 (unnamed) bonus to all skill checks, all spells cast at +4 caster level, gain one extra spell slot per spell level. |
| Ardent | Swirled Purple and Green | All powers used at +4 manifester level, bonuses provided by Mantle granted abilities double. |
| Aristocrat | Orange | +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls and saving throws, +6 (unnamed) bonus to all skill checks. |
| Barbarian | Maroon | +4 (unnamed) bonus on attack and damage rolls, attacks ignore 10 points of DR. |
| Bard | Yellow-Green | +4 (unnamed) bonus on skill checks, all spells cast at +4 caster level, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Cleric | Green | Gain one extra Domain spell slot per spell level, all spells cast at +2 caster level, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Commoner | Silver | +2 (unnamed) bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws. |
| Conjoiner | Ultramarine | All spells cast at +2 caster level, all psionic powers used at +2 manifester level, can use Medallion as Cognizance Crystal with 19 PP, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Dragon | Gray | Get spell-like (or psi-like) abilities as if one age category higher, +4 (unnamed) bonus to SR, all spells cast at +2 caster level, all psionic powers used at +2 manifester level, can use Alternate Form ability once/day (or one more time per day if dragon race normally has it). |
| Druid | Green-Brown | Use Wild Shape as though 4 levels higher (gaining extra uses per day, extra allowed sizes, etc.), +4 (unnamed) bonus on Wild Empathy checks, all spells cast at +2 caster level, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Elementalist | Blue | All spells cast at +6 caster level, can Supercharge spells three times/day instead of once, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Engineer | Metallic Gold | +10 (unnamed) bonus to all checks made for class skills, +5 (unnamed) bonus for all other skill checks, +4 (unnamed) bonus on saving throws. |
| Expert | Yellow-Orange | +8 (unnamed) bonus to all skill checks, +4 (unnamed) bonus on saving throws. |
| Favored Soul | Light Green | All spells cast at +2 caster level, gain one Ultramagic spell slot, all Energy Resistance types gain 10 points, class-granted Damage Reduction gains 10 points. |
| Fighter | Red | +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls and saving throws, Medallion can provide up to 500 XP towards (magical) enchantment of a weapon, armor, or shield that the wearer is enchanting, attacks ignore 10 points of DR. |
| Hexblade | Mottled Red and Blue | +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls, all spells are cast at +4 caster level. Gain one extra daily use of all class features (such as Hexblade's Curse, Psionic Sink, etc.), and one extra daily spell slot for every spell level. Gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Mage | Periwinkle | +2 (unnamed) bonus to all skill checks, all spells cast at +4 caster level, gain one extra spell slot per spell level. |
| Mage-Priest | Aquamarine | All spells cast at +6 caster level, gain one extra spell slot per spell level, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Monk | Lavender | +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls and AC, gain 10 feet of movement on all movement forms, can use Medallion as Cognizance Crystal with 19 PP. |
| Naturalist | Midnight Blue | All spells cast at +4 caster level, gain +4 (unnamed) bonus on all Manipulation-related skill checks, gain one extra spell slot per spell level usable only for Manipulations, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Psion | Purple | All powers used at +4 manifester level, can use Medallion as Cognizance Crystal with 25 PP. |
| Psychic | Mauve | +2 (unnamed) bonus to all skill checks, all powers used at +3 manifester level, can use Medallion as Cognizance Crystal with 19 PP. |
| Psychic Warrior | Magenta | +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls, all powers are used at +3 manifester level, can use Medallion as Cognizance Crystal with 19 PP. |
| Ranger | Brown | +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls, +4 (unnamed) bonus on all checks made for class skills, all spells are cast at +4 caster level. Gain one extra daily spell slot of every spell level. Gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Rogue | Yellow | +4 (unnamed) bonus to all skill checks and saving throws, Sneak Attack deals an extra +1d6 damage, gain +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls when opponent is flat-footed or unable to use DEX bonus to AC. |
| Scout | Yellow-Brown | +4 (unnamed) bonus to all skill checks and saving throws, Skirmish deals an extra +1d6 damage and grants an extra +1 AC, range of special sense (Blindsense, etc.) extends by 30 feet, gain one extra daily use of spell-like or psi-like abilities granted by Scout class levels. |
| Sorcerer | Sky Blue | All spells cast at +4 caster level, can use Medallion to use one known Metamagic feat on one spell without raising its level or casting time, three times per day, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |
| Soulknife | Dark Violet | +2 (unnamed) bonus to all skill checks, Sneak Attack deals an extra +1d6 damage, all powers are used at +2 manifester level, can use Medallion as Cognizance Crystal with 15 PP. |
| Swashbuckler | Red-Orange | +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls, all class-granted AC bonuses increase by +1, Medallion can provide up to 500 XP towards (magical) enchantment of a weapon, armor, or shield that the wearer is enchanting, attacks ignore 10 points of DR. |
| Warlock | Mottled Indigo and Gold | +4 (unnamed) bonus on Use Magic Device and Use Psionic Device checks, Eldritch Blast deals an extra +3d6 damage, all Invocation save DCs get a +2 (unnamed) bonus. |
| Warrior | Reddish-Gray | +2 (unnamed) bonus on attack rolls and AC, attacks ignore 10 points of DR. |
| Wilder | Pink | All powers used at +4 manifester level, can use Medallion as Cognizance Crystal with 25 PP. |
| Wizard | Blue | All spells cast at +6 caster level, gain one extra spell slot per spell level, gain one Ultramagic spell slot. |