Materials
The materials your gear is made from determine its effectiveness, durability, ease of repair, and aesthetic. The following are some of the materials that your gear may be made from.
|
Material |
Description |
Weight |
Cost |
Properties |
Repairability |
|
Adamantine |
As weighty as iron, as flexible as steel, and harder than both, adamantine is the most durable material for weapons and armor, as well as the most expensive. |
×1.5 |
×4 |
Hardy, low-maintenance (advantage), weighty (+2) |
DC 25 smith’s tools, access to a forge |
|
Bone |
Bones can be shaped into points for arrows and spears or tied together, along with shells and scales, to form a durable but high-maintenance armor. Due to its brittleness, bone requires constant repairs and has a short lifespan. |
×1/2 |
×1/4 |
Flaw, lightweight |
DC 10 sewing kit Weapons are not repairable |
|
Bronze |
Bronze is durable but weighty, and tends to be weaker than steel. |
×1.5 |
×3/4 |
Weighty (+1) |
DC 12 smith’s tools |
|
Cloth |
Cloth is the flimsiest of materials but also the lightest. Padded layers can be worn as independent armor, or underneath metal armors to increase comfort. |
— |
— |
Comfortable, flaw (piercing), underarmor |
DC 5 sewing kit |
|
Cold iron |
Alloys of iron and phosphorus are called cold iron. Cold iron is a semi-magical material which many fey creatures are vulnerable to. |
— |
×2 |
Feybane |
DC 20 smith’s tools |
|
Hide |
Tanned animal hides provide more protection than cloth, but are still easily punctured by blades and arrows. Leather that is left untreated or with the fur or scales still on is known as hide. |
— |
— |
Comfortable, wild |
DC 10 sewing kit |
|
Iron |
Iron is weighty and fragile, typically alloyed with carbon (to form steel). |
×1.5 |
×1/2 |
Rust, weighty (+2) |
DC 15 smith’s tools |
|
Leather |
Tanned animal hides provide more protection than cloth, but are still easily punctured by blades and arrows.. |
— |
— |
Flaw (piercing) |
DC 10 sewing kit |
|
Mithral |
Lighter than steel, mithral is a prized material for its ability to be worked into light, comfortable, and beautiful armor or weapons. |
×1/2 |
×3 |
High-quality, lightweight, low-maintenance (advantage) |
DC 25 smith’s tools, access to a forge |
|
Silver |
Usually an iron-silver alloy rather than pure silver. |
— |
×2 |
Silvered |
DC 20 smith’s tools |
|
Steel |
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that is lighter and sturdier than its counterparts, but requires skill and great heat to make. Steel is the basis of many sets of armor, including chain, plate, and the metalwork inside brigandine. |
— |
— |
Low-maintenance (expertise die) |
DC 15 smith’s tools, access to a forge |
|
Stone |
Hard and heavy. Stone can be challenging to shape beyond a knapped short blade and quite brittle. |
×2 |
Weapons ×1/2 Armor ×3 |
Fortified, weighty (+2) |
Not repairable |
|
Wood |
Wood is widely accessible and typically used for weapons. Weapons made of wood tend to be fire-hardened with special oils to increase their durability. |
— |
— |
Flaw (armor only) |
DC 15 woodworker’s tools |
Material Properties
The materials a weapon or suit of armor is made from determines how best it protects the adventurer using it, as well as how it needs to be maintained.
Comfortable. Armor with this property is comfortable enough to sleep in without penalty.
Feybane. When using a feybane weapon you have advantage on attacks made against fey. While you are wearing feybane armor fey have disadvantage on attacks made against you.
Flaw. A weapon with the flaw property breaks when you roll a natural 1 on an attack roll made with it. Armors break when you take a critical hit or roll a natural 1 on a Dexterity saving throw . If a damage type is noted in parentheses, the armor only breaks on a critical hit from that damage type, or the weapon only breaks if it does damage of that damage type.
Fortified. Fortified armor increases the Armor Class it grants by 1.
Hardy. While wearing hardy armor, the first critical hit against you since your last short or long rest becomes a normal hit. You cannot use this feature again until you make adjustments to the armor during a short or long rest.
High-Quality. These weapons and armor are considered one quality level higher (standard becomes fine, and fine becomes masterwork).
Lightweight. If the armor normally imposes disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks or has a Strength requirement, the lightweight version of the armor doesn’t.
Low-Maintenance. You gain advantage or an expertise die on maintenance checks made on low-maintenance gear.
Rust. When exposed to water and not maintained, this gear cannot be repaired.
Silvered. Weapons made from an alloy of silver are considered silvered for the purposes of damage resistances .
Underarmor. This armor can be worn under medium and heavy armors.
Weighty. The heaviness of some materials results in an increase to the armor’s Strength requirement, if the armor has one. The increase is noted in parentheses.
Wild. While wearing hide armor you cannot gain expertise dice on Deception and Persuasion checks made in urban environments.