Special materials
| Material | Item | Hᴅ | hp | Th. | DC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/cloth | — | 0 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Rope | — | 0 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Ice | — | 0 | 3 | 1 | – |
| Glass | — | 10† | 1 | 1 | – |
| Leather/hide | — | 2 | 5 | 1 | – |
| Wood | — | 5 | 10 | 1 | – |
| Wood | Chest, small | 5 | 1 | 1⁄8 | 17 |
| Wood | Hafted weapon, light | 5 | 2 | 1⁄5 | – |
| Wood | Hafted weapon, 1H | 5 | 5 | 1⁄2 | – |
| Wood | Projectile weapon | 5 | 5 | 1⁄2 | – |
| Wood | Shield, light | 5 | 7 | 3⁄4 | – |
| Wood | Door, simple | 5 | 10 | 1 | 13 |
| Wood | Hafted weapon, 2H | 5 | 10 | 1 | – |
| Wood | Door, good | 5 | 15 | 1 1⁄2 | 18 |
| Wood | Chest, treasure | 5 | 15 | 1 1⁄2 | 23 |
| Wood | Shield, heavy | 5 | 15 | 1 1⁄2 | – |
| Wood | Door, strong | 5 | 20 | 2 | 23 |
| Wood | Shield, tower | 5 | 20 | 2 | – |
| Wood | Door, barred | 5 | — | 3 | 25 |
| Stone | — | 8 | 15 | 1 | – |
| Stone | Masonry | 8 | 90 | 12 | 35 |
| Stone | Hewn (solid) | 8 | 540 | 36 | 50 |
| Iron/steel | — | 10 | 30 | 1 | – |
| Iron/steel | Blade, light | 10 | 2 | 1⁄15 | – |
| Iron/steel | Blade, 1H | 10 | 5 | 1⁄6 | – |
| Iron/steel | Chain | 10 | 5 | 1⁄6 | 26 |
| Iron/steel | Shield, buckler | 10 | 5 | 1⁄6 | – |
| Iron/steel | Blade, 2H | 10 | 10 | 1⁄3 | – |
| Iron/steel | Hafted weapon, light | 10 | 10 | 1⁄3 | – |
| Iron/steel | Manacles | 10 | 10 | 1⁄3 | 26 |
| Iron/steel | Manacles, Mw. | 10 | 10 | 1⁄3 | 28 |
| Iron/steel | Shield, light | 10 | 10 | 1⁄3 | – |
| Iron/steel | Hafted weapon, 1H | 10 | 20 | 2⁄3 | – |
| Iron/steel | Shield, heavy | 10 | 20 | 2⁄3 | – |
| Iron/steel | Door, iron | 10 | 60 | 2 | 28 |
| Iron | Bars (bend) | 10 | 20‡ | 2⁄3 | 24 |
| Mithral | — | 15 | 30 | 1 | – |
| Adamantine | — | 20 | 40 | 1 | – |
| Adamantine | Manacles, Mw.Ds | 20 | 15 | 1⁄3 | 52 |
- † Officially glass has a d20 hardness of 1, but it’s actually harder than steel (just very easy to break once hardness is overcome).
- ‡ The Hit Points (and diameter) of iron bars are not actually given in the rules. The values are based on real world examples.
Formula for Break DC ? ( Hᴅ×2 + ½Hᴅ/in. )
Faerûn
Metal
Adamant
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.55) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
This is the pure metal form of the hard, jet-black ferromagnetic ore known as adamantite, from which the famous alloy adamantine is made. Adamant is rarely found in nature, but when it is, it is always be in large spherical pockets in hardened volcanic flows.
Adamant is one of the hardest substances known on Toril, but it is also brittle. A sword made of adamant could slice through most metals—but would snap off if struck by another blade or even a smartly wielded wooden cudgel. It sees use in Faerûn only in dwarven experimentation and in styluses used to etch metal with names, strike chased ornamentation, and imprint inscriptions. Such a stylus shatters if dropped to the floor, though the chips can be used to scratch things. Adamant styluses typically costs 35 to 50 gp, if one can be found at all; Waterdeep and the Great Rift of the dwarves are the best places to shop for one.
Adamant is a gleaming, glossy black. Any reflections seen in it acquire rainbow edges, and this peculiar optical property is the sure-fire way to identify this surprisingly light, valuable metal.
Adamant is worth five times its weight in gold and takes enchantments readily. Some dwarves have worked together with human wizards to make adamant plate armor bound about with enchantments so that when it shatters, the pieces hang together around the wearer, providing some—albeit flawed—protection. Specifically, adamant shields against all fire and heat, magical or nonmagical, that it comes in contact with, so a wearer of adamant armor can stride through a small fire (one which still allows him the use of some oxygen to breathe) unscathed and even emerge from a fireball blast suffering only 1d6 points of damage from fiery damage to exposed areas. Items made primarily of adamant automatically succeed in all item saving throws vs. normal fire, cold, and electricity. They receive a +6 bonus to all item saving throws vs. magical fire and a +4 bonus to all item saving throws vs. acid, disintegration, and lightning. Unless items are enchanted to compensate for adamants brittle nature, however, they receive a −4 penalty on all item saving throws vs. crushing blow and fall.
Adamantine
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.55) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
This alloy, of five-eighths adamant to two-eighths silver and one-eighth electrum (itself a natural alloy of silver and gold) retains the hardness of adamant, but combines it with a rugged durability that makes adamantine so hard to shatter that it is the favored substance for the making of war hammer heads, the best nonmithral armor, and harbor chains. (By one of the miracles granted by the gods, adamantine can also be derived by combining steel and mithral—if one knows how.) Adamantine is black, but has a clear green sheen in candlelight—a sheen that sharpens to purple-white under the light given off by most magical radiances and by will-o’-wisps.
Adamantine is tricky to make, and must be forged and worked at very high temperatures by smiths who know exactly what they are doing and who have access to special oils to slake and temper the hot metal in. Almost all such expert smiths are dwarves, as the Deep Folk guard the secrets of working adamant jealously, but a priest or wizard seeking to enchant items can make use of finished adamantine items and need not necessarily have to work with a smith to create an adamantine work anew.
Adamantine readily takes enchantments, adding a +2 bonus to all saving throws of awakening, enchant an item, holy vesting, and wondrous web spells cast upon it. It is often the primary material for enchanted armors.
Items made primarily of adamantine automatically succeed in all item saving throws vs. normal fire, cold, and electricity. They receive a +4 bonus to all item saving throws vs. acid, crushing blow, disintegration, fall, magical fire, and lightning.
Arandur
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.56) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Copper
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.56) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Darksteel
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.56) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Dlarun
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.56) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Gold
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.56) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Hizagkuur
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.57) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Mithral
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.57) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Known as truemetal to the dwarves, this silvery-blue, shining metal is derived from soft, glittering, silvery-black ore found in rare veins and pockets all over Faerûn—from the depths of the Underdark to surface rocks, particularly in the easternmost Sword Coast North lands. Mithral can be combined with steel (varying alloys of iron and carbon) to derive adamantine if one has no access to adamantite ore, but this process is both difficult and known only to a very few dwarves, who do not perform it for nondwarves unless there is a very good reason.
Mithral is the lightest and most supple of metals hard enough to be used in the making of armor; it is extremely valuable. Against magical attacks, it has an unpredictable nature: Whenever magic contacts it, roll 1d12. On an odd result, it does nothing; on an even result, it alters the magic, either giving a +1 saving throw bonus to beings very nearby (in other words, the wearer of mithral armor) or lessening damage done by the magic by 1 point per die. (The result more favorable to the mithral wearer or bearer should be chosen.)
Items made primarily of mithral automatically succeed in all item saving throws vs. normal fire, cold, and electricity. They receive a +2 bonus to all item saving throws vs. acid, disintegration, magical fire, and lightning and a +6 bonus to all item saving throws vs. crushing blow and fall.
Silver
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.57) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Telstang
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.58) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Zardazik
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.58) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Blueshine
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.59) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Everbright
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.59) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Habalar’s Stealth
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.59) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Wood
Beetle palm
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.59) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Hardness: ; HP/inch: ; Weight: ; Cost: .
Calantra
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.60) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Hardness: ; HP/inch: ; Weight: ; Cost: .
Chime oak
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.60) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Hardness: ; HP/inch: ; Weight: ; Cost: .
Blueleaf
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.61) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Hardness: ; HP/inch: ; Weight: ; Cost: .
Bluewood
Unapproachable East, p.58
Hardness: ; HP/inch: ; Weight: ; Cost: .
Crafted by the Volodni (plant people), very similar to darkwood but can be used in place of metal armor. Weighs 50% of a normal item, but does not change the weight category.
Darkwood
d20 SRD • Pf SRD • Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.64) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd • Magic of Faerûn p.180
Hardness: 5; HP/inch: 10; Weight: 1⁄2 normal wood; Cost: As masterwork +10 gp/lb. (normal wood weight).
This rare magic wood is as hard as normal wood but very light. This wood from the zalantar subtropical tree is black, hence its Northern names “blackwood” or darkwood. Any wooden or mostly wooden item (such as a bow, arrow, or spear) made from darkwood is considered a masterwork item and weighs only half as much as a normal wooden item of that type. Items not normally made of wood or only partially of wood (such as a battleaxe or mace) either cannot be made from darkwood or do not gain any special benefit from being made of darkwood. The armor check penalty of a darkwood shield is lessened by 2 compared to an ordinary shield of its type.
Darkleaf
Pf SRD, (ARG) • A&EG, p.19
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Clothing | +500 gp |
| Light armor | +750 gp |
| Medium armor | +1,500 gp |
| Other items | +375 gp/lb |
Hardness: 10; HP/inch: 10; Weight: 1⁄2 normal leather/hide; Cost: see table.
Darkleaf cloth is a special form of flexible material made by weaving together leaves and thin strips of bark from darkwood trees, then treating the resulting fabric with special alchemical processes. The resulting material is tough as cured hide but much lighter, making it an excellent material from which to create armor. Spell failure: −10% (minimum of 5%); maximum Dexterity bonus: +2; armor check penalty: −3 (minimum of 0).
An item made from darkleaf cloth weighs half as much as the same item made from normal cured leather, furs, or hides. Items not primarily constructed of leather, fur, or hide are not meaningfully affected by being partially made of darkleaf cloth. As such padded, leather, studded leather, and hide armor can be made out of darkleaf cloth (although other types of armor made of leather or hide might be possible). Because darkleaf cloth remains flexible, it cannot be used to construct rigid items such as shields or metal armors. Armors fashioned from darkleaf cloth are always masterwork items as well; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below.
Duskwood
Magic of Faerûn, p.178 • Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.61) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Weapon | +1,500 gp |
| Breastplate | +3,000 gp |
Hardness: 10; HP/inch: 30; Weight: 1⁄2 steel; Cost: see table.
This species of tree grows widely all over Faerûn, and is named for the eerie appearance of its tightly growing groves. Smooth, with small branches at the top of 60-foot trunks, duskwood trees have black bark and smoky gray wood that is as tough as iron.
Any steel or mostly steel weapon (such as a sword or a mace) made from duskwood is considered a masterwork item and weighs only half as much as a normal steel item of that type. Weapons not normally made of steel or only partially of steel (such as a club) either cannot be made from duskwood or do not gain any special benefit or penalty from being made of duskwood.
Duskwood doesn’t work well as armor; it can’t be shaped into rings like steel, and overlapping plates don’t flex well. (Even the wood shape spell can’t create the level of detail needed.) However, duskwood breastplates are possible. Duskwood breastplate: armor bonus +5, maximum Dex bonus +4, armor check penalty −2, arcane spell failure 20%, treated as light armor.
Felsul
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.61) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Hardness: ; HP/inch: ; Weight: ; Cost: .
Hiexel
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.61) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Hardness: ; HP/inch: ; Weight: ; Cost: .
Ironwood
Hardness: 10; HP/inch: 30; Weight: as normal steel; Cost: +1,400 gp (ironwood + wood shape + permanency).
Ironwood is a magical substance created by druids from normal wood. While remaining natural wood in almost every way, ironwood is as strong, heavy, and resistant to fire as steel. Spells that affect metal or iron do not function on ironwood. Spells that affect wood do affect ironwood, although ironwood does not burn. Using this spell with wood shape or a wood-related Craft check, can fashion wooden items that function as steel items. Thus, wooden plate armor and wooden swords can be created that are as durable as their normal steel counterparts. These items are freely usable by druids.
Further, if you make only half as much ironwood as the spell would normally allow, any weapon, shield, or suit of armor so created is treated as a magic item with a +1 enhancement bonus.
{{ins|Casting ironwood on darkwood, creates a material as strong, heavy, and resistant to fire as mithral, with all the other properties of
Laspar
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.62) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Leafweave
Races of the Wild, p.168
Live oak
Real world
Live oak has evergreen foliage, and is widespread in warm coastal regions (southern Virginia and California to northern Mexico). Live oak is particularly suited for shipbuilding, such as its use in the USS Constitution.
Phandar
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.62) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Roseneedle Pine
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.62) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Shadowtop
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.62) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Silverbark
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.63) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Suth
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.63) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Vundwood
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.63) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Weirwood
Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical (1996, AD&D, p.64) by Ed Greenwood with Eric L. Boyd
Hyborea
Orichalcum
Magic metal of Atlantis, this metal is used in any summoning spell. It acts as a Rod of Rulership on the being summoned. When the being has completed its task the metal will turn to silver and be useless for magical purposes.(GDGH-50)
Black lotus
Powder made from one of these flowers strikes the inhaler dead, no saving throw applicable. One flower will kill one being human or monster.(GDGH-50)
Purple lotus
In powder form, one of these flowers induces a deep sleep which can last 1–12 days depending on the die. There is no saving throw for this dust.(GDGH-50)
This powder, when mixed with any type of liquid and taken into the system through drinking or puncture of any type, causes instant paralysis. One flower makes one application which paralyzes for 1–12 days.(GDGH-51)
Yellow lotus
Powder made from one of these flowers causes a light unconsciousness from which the inhaler can easily be awakened by a loud noise or a sharp slap. Powder from 2 causes death.(GDGH-51)