Chapter 10 · Core Rules
Equipment, Crafting, and Materials
Philosophy
This chapter describes objects before they enter the Action Board: dice, DR, price, material, and manufacture. Two weapons of the same shape are not necessarily equivalent; workmanship, material, and enchantment are separate layers. Rules for attacking, dodging, parrying, and grappling appear in Martial Combat and Defenses.
Basic Weapons
A weapon is defined by two numbers. The table provides benchmarks that the GM can adjust. Any exceptional weapon—magical, legendary, or unusually crafted—states its own values. Damage does not include Strength, which is added under Martial Combat and Defenses.
Melee Weapons
| Weapon | Damage | Critical | Hands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dagger, knife | 1d4 | ×2 | 1 |
| Shortsword, mace, hatchet, spear | 1d6 | ×2 | 1 |
| Longsword, flail, morningstar | 1d8 | ×2 | 1 |
| Battleaxe | 1d8 | ×3 | 1 |
| Staff, club | 1d6 | ×2 | 2 |
| Trident-staff | 1d8 | ×2 | 2 |
| Pike, longspear | 1d10 | ×2 | 2 |
| Greatsword | 1d12 | ×2 | 2 |
| Greataxe, maul | 1d12 | ×3 | 2 |
Ranged Weapons
| Weapon | Damage | Critical | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sling, thrown dagger | 1d4 | ×2 | — |
| Shortbow, light crossbow | 1d6 | ×2 | — |
| Longbow | 1d8 | ×3 | caps usable Strength (see above) |
| Heavy crossbow | 1d10 | ×2 | slow reload |
Bow Strength. A mundane M1 bow can use no more than +5 Strength, even when its wielder is stronger. From M2 onward, a superior bow can use up to +10 Strength; this limit does not rise at M3, M4, or M5. Magical and ironwood bows always use the wielder's full Strength. These limits apply only to the attribute added to damage, not other bonuses from the weapon, character, or feats.
An axe is the weapon of the killing blow: it cuts deep on a critical (×3) but remains ordinary otherwise. Two-handed weapons add 1.5× Strength, making the greatsword and greataxe the rulers of raw damage.
Shields. A shield primarily parries, but can strike for 1d2 when necessary. Its price and that of other equipment appear below.
Firearms
Ordinary Cerberus firearms are dwarven powder weapons, generally muzzle-loaded and built for one shot before reloading. Rare repeating mechanisms are exceptions. They are expensive, loud, and slow, but place considerable power in the hands of someone without a warrior's Strength or an archer's Dexterity. Dwarven merchants often carry them; Askenon closely guards their mechanisms and powder.
| M1 Weapon | Damage | Critical | DR Ignored | Range | Capacity | Reload | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistol | 2d8 | ×3 | 8 | 100 ft | 1 | 2 ticks | 100 gp |
| Repeating Pistol | 2d6 | ×3 | 6 | 100 ft | 4 | 1 tick/chamber | 400 gp |
| Musket | 3d10 | ×3 | 16 | 600 ft | 1 | 3 ticks | 200 gp |
| Blunderbuss | 2d8 | ×3 | 8 | 30 ft cone | 1 | 3 ticks | 250 gp |
A loaded firearm shoots with an ordinary attack, spending one attack token and one tick slot before becoming empty. Strength and Dexterity never add to its damage. Dexterity, level, and other Reflex sources still matter in a duel against a dodge or parry, but an exceptional physique does not make powder explode harder. Enchantment and quality bonuses add to damage normally.
Reloading. Reloading is a general action spanning several ticks. Every stage spends one general action token and one slot under Reactive Combat. Stages must follow without interruption: prepare powder and ball, insert them, then ram and prime the mechanism. A pistol combines the last two operations and therefore needs only two ticks. Interrupting a stage loses the current reload, though not necessarily all ammunition; the GM decides what was spilled or damaged.
Carrying several loaded pistols is therefore valid. It trades reload time for price, weight, and the need to recover and reload every weapon after combat.
Repeating Pistol. This complex dwarven weapon has four chambers that its mechanism rotates before the barrel. It fires four times before becoming empty, with each shot spending an available attack token and slot. Each chamber reloads separately with a 1-tick general action; the wielder need not wait until all chambers are empty. With two general action tokens and two free slots, two chambers can be prepared during one tick.
Its rate of fire does not merge several shots into one attack. Every bullet spends its own token, produces its own critical d20, and meets DR separately. It remains a powder weapon: Strength and Dexterity do not add to damage.
Blunderbuss. Its shot fills a 30 ft cone and strikes every creature inside, including allies. Each target chooses and resolves a separate defense; damage, critical d20, and DR are also resolved separately. A target does not face several d20s merely because the blast contains several projectiles.
Parrying a Bullet. A primarily metal shield can intercept a firearm shot using normal parry rules. A large metal blade wielded in two hands—a greatsword or similar weapon—can also do so, but the defender has disadvantage on the Reflex duel. A small weapon, wooden weapon, or bare hand cannot parry a bullet. This restriction applies to firearms; arrows and other projectiles still follow Deflect Projectiles.
A successful parry stops the projectile entirely. When several shooters form a coherent volley, the grouping rules from Martial Combat and Defenses apply. The shield must cover the direction of every grouped shot.
Unreliable Powder. A maintained firearm loaded with dry powder requires no routine misfire roll. If powder is wet, the mechanism damaged, the charge improvised, or the chamber deliberately overloaded, the GM instead announces a prescribed chance check before the shot and states the consequences of failure:
| Result | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Hang Fire | The primer burns without igniting the charge. The shot fails; resetting costs a 1-tick general action, after which the shot can be attempted again. |
| Misfire | The charge is lost. The weapon must be fully reloaded. |
| Jam | The mechanism locks. The weapon cannot fire until dismantled: ten minutes, tools, and skilled hands. |
| Burst Chamber | The weapon is destroyed, and its wielder takes the model's damage without DR to hands and face. |
The GM chooses according to the fault. Wet powder or a misplaced primer causes a hang fire or misfire. A dirty, dropped, or forced mechanism jams. A chamber bursts only from a deliberately excessive charge, a fatigued weapon, or improvised manufacture—and never without warning the shooter of the risk.
Firearm Quality
Machining precision, chamber sealing, and tolerance for a stronger charge make quality especially important. For a firearm, this progression replaces the ordinary weapon quality damage bonus rather than adding to it. Price multipliers remain those of M1 to M5.
| Quality | Added Damage | Additional DR Ignored | Suggested Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | — | — | ×1 |
| M2 | +5 | +4 | ×2 |
| M3 | +10 | +8 | ×5 |
| M4 | +20 | +16 | ×10 |
| M5 | +40 | +32 | ×25 |
Fixed damage is multiplied on a critical. An M5 pistol deals 2d8 + 40, ignores 40 DR, and normally costs 2,500 gp; an M5 musket ignores 48 DR. Penetration does not distinguish physical DR from magical DR.
Enchanting a Firearm. An enchantment adds its fundamental bonus to damage and nothing else: it never grants penetration. Ignored DR comes from machining—the chamber's caliber, seal, and supported charge—and only quality raises it. A power designed with the GM can be an exception, but must be written on the weapon sheet like any other enchanted effect.
Humans enchant almost all such weapons. Askenon builds the mechanism, Cerberus applies red magic, and the fortune in gold demanded by the ritual adds to the weapon's already considerable price. No one controls both halves alone. Runic firearms exist, but the rune caste makes few and almost never sells them. A rune-marked pistol belongs to a dwarven hero or is the spoils of a theft remembered for years.
Ammunition. One pistol charge—powder and ball—costs 5 sp. A musket or blunderbuss charge costs 1 gp. A repeating pistol uses one pistol charge per chamber. Special powder, adamantine projectiles, and experimental ammunition are not included.
Price and Availability. A listed price describes what a weapon might cost when a seller agrees to part with it; it never guarantees market availability. Powder, plans, and advanced mechanisms are Askenon military and trade secrets. Even a simple pistol may require a contact, favor, smuggler, or authorization.
Quality makes rarity decisive. An M4 or M5 firearm may be unavailable regardless of the buyer's wealth. The GM should treat one as a reward, exceptional commission, or adventure objective rather than catalog merchandise. The multiplier measures labor; it does not create an artisan capable of the work.
Special Manufacture. Rifling that increases range, a waterproof mechanism, double barrel, compact weapon, cartridge that accelerates reloading, or reinforced chamber are nonmagical crafting projects. The player describes the effect with the GM, who prescribes the chances based on the artisan's experience, Intelligence, tools, plans, available time, and desired quality. A property producing a magical effect follows enchantment rules.
Cannons. A cannon follows the same principles but is siege equipment rather than a personal weapon. Damage, crew, loading time, and area depend on size; the GM sets them for the scene. A true cannon ignores at least 32 DR before quality and can damage fortifications. Valerium cannons are not ordinary powder weapons but exceptional creations with model-specific rules and risks.
Exploding Powder
Black powder can explode when flame, sparks, or electricity reaches a confined quantity. A loaded weapon does not explode merely because it is struck: its container must be pierced, opened, or exposed to an event capable of igniting the charge. When uncertain, the GM announces a prescribed chance check before determining whether the powder catches.
| Powder Quantity | Damage | Radius |
|---|---|---|
| Powder horn or personal reserve | 2d8 | 5 ft |
| Small barrel | 6d8 | 15 ft |
| Large barrel or military reserve | 10d8 or more | 30 ft or more |
DR applies normally, and the explosion cannot produce a critical. There is no standard Save to reduce its damage: every creature in the radius is struck. At the GM's discretion, a high-level character with exceptional Reflex may try to leave the area under the general rule; success avoids rather than reduces the explosion. An explosion ignites exposed powder in its radius and can cause a chain reaction.
Lighting a fuse takes a 1-tick general action. The character preparing it states whether it burns for one, two, or three ticks; an improvised or wet fuse may require a prescribed chance check. Carrying powder in closed containers is normally safe. This rule supports plausible accidents, traps, and deliberate destruction, not automatic explosions of every shooter's reserves when struck.
Destroying an Object or Structure
Cerberus gives no universal HP reserve to every sword, door, and wall. When a character tries to break something and the outcome is uncertain, the GM prescribes the chances of achieving the declared result: splitting a shield, breaking a weapon, tearing out a lock, opening a breach, or collapsing a beam. One roll covers both striking the right point and overcoming the material.
In combat, deliberately targeting a carried weapon, shield, armor piece, or other specific object spends one attack and one tick slot. It always requires a prescribed chance check, even when an ordinary attack would have struck the wielder. The GM considers:
- the object's size and movement;
- its wielder's Reflex, position, and experience;
- the attacker's Strength and experience;
- both objects' shape, quality, material, and enchantment;
- the angle, footing, and actual force of the blow.
Before rolling, the GM states what success achieves. Depending on plausibility, success may chip, deform, disable, or completely destroy the object. Failure spends the attack without automatically harming the wielder; aiming at a sword is not a free attack against the body. A feat or technique can explicitly state another consequence.
Outside combat, no roll is needed when the result is certain. Given enough time, an axe breaks a wooden door and equipped workers open an ordinary wall. Prescribe a check only when time, noise, tools, resistance, or consequences make the result genuinely uncertain. A massive structure does not become destructible because of a good roll: the GM may require a cannon, explosives, an appropriate tool, or several stages before an attempt is possible.
Adamantine Destroys. Its density, hardness, and weight radically change the prescription. An adamantine weapon against wood, iron, steel, or stone makes the chances far more favorable and enables destruction a mundane weapon could not attempt. Against a stationary, sufficiently thin object, success may be automatic. This does not permit cutting a fortress in half with one blow: tool size, displaced mass, and the result's scale still matter.
Conversely, a true adamantine object is almost impossible to destroy. Another adamantine weapon, epic creature, high-level magic, or comparably violent event may damage it; an ordinary tool simply receives no chance. Compare enchanted objects in the same manner: adamantine does not automatically cancel a superior enchantment but remains a major physical advantage against the material supporting it.
Adventuring Equipment
Starting equipment remains narrative (see 5): characters do not go shopping during creation. Once money matters—re-equipping in town, bargaining, or buying a mount—the GM needs benchmarks.
Economic benchmark. A day laborer—lumberjack, porter, or servant—earns about 2 gold
pieces (gp) per day. Smaller purchases use silver pieces (sp) and copper pieces
(cp): 1 gp = 10 sp = 100 cp. Read every price against that wage: a 1 gp rope costs
half a day's labor.
Adventuring Gear
| Item | Price | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backpack | 1 gp | Hemp rope (50 ft) | 1 gp |
| Bedroll | 1 sp | Silk rope (50 ft) | 10 gp |
| Blanket | 5 sp | Grappling hook | 1 gp |
| Tent (2 people) | 10 gp | Pitons (×10) | 1 sp |
| Torch | 1 cp | Waterskin | 2 sp |
| Candle | 1 cp | Dry rations (1 day) | 5 sp |
| Hooded lantern | 7 gp | Crowbar | 2 gp |
| Oil flask | 1 sp | Hammer, shovel | 1-2 gp |
| Flint and steel | 1 gp | Healing kit (bandages) | 5 gp |
| Polished steel mirror | 10 gp | Manacles, padlock | 15-20 gp |
| Blank grimoire | 15 gp | Ink (vial) and quill | 8 gp |
Lodging, Food, and Services
| Service | Price | Service | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mug of beer | 4 cp | Private room for the night | 2 gp |
| Simple meal | 3 sp | Stabling per night | 5 sp |
| Good meal | 5 sp | Hot bath | 1 sp |
| Common-room floor for the night | 5 sp | Ship passage per day | 1 gp |
Mounts and Transport
| Animal / Vehicle | Price | Animal / Vehicle | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donkey, mule | 8 gp | Riding horse | 75 gp |
| Pony | 30 gp | Warhorse | 200 gp |
| Saddle and harness | 10 gp | Cart | 15 gp |
Mundane Weapons and Armor. As a benchmark, a simple weapon such as a dagger or club costs 1-2 gp, a common martial weapon such as a sword, axe, or bow costs 10-40 gp, and a shield costs 7 gp. Armor prices appear in the category table below. Even the weakest enchantment escapes this scale and costs thousands of gp (see 15). A warhorse costs less than a barely enchanted spearhead.
Alchemical Projectiles
Throwing an alchemical bomb, ampule, or vial takes a 1-tick general action. It targets a visible point within 30 ft and shatters there. This is not an attack: it spends no attack token and can never produce a critical. Beyond 30 ft, the GM may allow the throw with a prescribed chance check and choose the landing point on failure.
The DC printed on the item is not a crafting DC. It is the DC of the Save caused by the effect: Reflex to turn away or escape spreading material, Fortitude to resist an impact, gas, or toxin, and Will only when the preparation genuinely attacks the mind or deceives the senses. A projectile without a DC simply changes the environment.
A physical projectile has fixed power because it comes from its ingredients, not its user's level. Alchemical spells remain the way to create an effect that scales with caster level. Reference preparations include:
| Projectile | Primary Effect |
|---|---|
| Acid Flask | burns and corrodes nonmagical DR |
| Incendiary Grenade | creates a persistent area of fire |
| Shrapnel Grenade | projects fragments in every direction |
| Smoke Grenade | blocks lines of sight |
| Spider Resin | sticks feet, a door, or an object |
| Blinding Salt | blinds for one tick |
| Thunderstone | blocks hearing and verbal components |
| Suffocating Spores | causes nausea and prevents speech |
Smoke, wind, water, fire, and cover interact with these effects normally. A player can invent a use not anticipated by the item entry; the GM resolves it through the fiction and, when needed, a prescribed chance check.
Armor Categories
Armor subtracts its DR from every blow that reaches the character, and does nothing else. Roll the attack's damage directly, subtract DR, and remove the remainder from HP.
DR does not distinguish blade from spell. Spell damage reaching the character is reduced in the same way, whether a parry has already blocked half or the full effect lands.
The category indicates how much of the body is covered. Each material gives the physical DR of medium armor; then apply the coverage factor. Functional armor always retains at least 1 DR after rounding.
| Category | Physical DR Factor | M1 Iron DR | M1 Iron Price | M1 Steel Price | Time to Equip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | ×0.5 | 1 | 10–15 gp | 20–30 gp | 3 ticks |
| Medium | ×1 | 2 | 50 gp | 100 gp | 1 minute |
| Heavy | ×2 | 4 | 250 gp | 500 gp | 10 minutes alone, 5 with help |
These are benchmarks for functional M1 metal armor. Leather, reinforced cloth, wood, and bone have their own constraints, described with their materials. Custom work and exceptional quality cost more. Mithril and adamantine have no fixed price: the GM considers purity, quantity, mine of origin, politics, and the object's history.
Light Armor
Light armor reduces neither Speed nor Reflex. It can generally be hidden under clothing, worn during a true rest, and used without unfavorable circumstances for stealth, swimming, climbing, or acrobatics. When prepared and accessible, equipping or removing it requires one general action during each of three ticks.
Medium Armor
Medium armor imposes no numerical penalty to Speed or Reflex. It does create an unfavorable circumstance when silence, flexibility, or swimming genuinely matters. Sleeping in it normally provides no true rest. It is the usual compromise between coverage and freedom of movement.
Heavy Armor
Heavy armor favors parrying and endurance over dodging.
- Its physical DR is twice the material's medium-armor DR.
- Speed decreases by 10 ft or 20%, whichever reduction is greater. Calculate this from Speed before armor, then round final Speed down to the nearest 5 ft.
- Reflex rolls to dodge take −5 or −20%, whichever penalty is greater. Apply the percentage to the total Reflex modifier before the d20. Attacks, parries, and other uses of Reflex are unaffected.
- It creates a strongly unfavorable circumstance for stealth, swimming, climbing, and acrobatics, and normally prevents true rest while worn.
- Against a weapon attack, it reduces the critical multiplier by 1, to a minimum of ×1. A ×2 critical becomes an ordinary hit; a ×3 axe critical becomes ×2. DR then applies normally.
For example, a Speed of 60 ft loses 12 ft rather than 10, then becomes 45 ft after rounding down to the nearest 5. A character with a +40 Reflex modifier takes −8 to dodge rather than −5.
Enchantments are never multiplied by armor category. Add them after physical DR: light, medium, and heavy armor with the same enchantment all receive the same magical bonus.
| Enchantment Level | Added Magical DR |
|---|---|
| Levels 1–2 | 4 |
| Levels 3–4 | 8 |
| Levels 5–6 | 16 |
| Levels 7–8 | 32 |
| Level 9 | 64 |
| Level 10 | 128 |
Magical DR doubles at every threshold, like HP. Armor meant to face epic weapons must therefore combine exceptional material with an enchantment.
Metals and Crafting Materials
A weapon or suit of armor first has the physical properties of its material. Iron, steel, wood, bone, mithril, and adamantine do not produce the same object even when an artisan gives them identical shapes. Material can modify DR, damage, Reflex, or how the object interacts with its environment.
Material and enchantment are separate, cumulative layers. Armor's physical DR adds to its enchantment DR, and other material properties remain active. Dispel Magic can suppress or destroy an object's magic, but never turns mithril into iron or removes its physical and natural advantages.
Several objects made from the same material do not stack the same roll bonus repeatedly unless their entries explicitly allow it. A mithril weapon and mithril armor therefore do not grant +10 to the same Reflex duel. The properties below also require a genuine piece of equipment: a shard, coin, or decorative jewel does not protect like armor.
Craftsmanship Quality
Shape defines what an object is, material defines what it is made from, and quality defines the care used to produce it. These three layers stack. Enchantment then forms a fourth independent layer: an M4 steel sword retains its quality and added damage when enchanted or when its magic is dispelled.
Every nonmagical crafting project targets a quality from M1 to M5. M1 represents a functional object made by a competent artisan. Each subsequent rank adds +2 weapon damage or +1 physical armor DR.
| Quality | Workmanship | Weapon | Armor | Suggested Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | Functional | — | — | ×1 |
| M2 | Fine | +2 damage | +1 DR | ×2 |
| M3 | Superior | +4 damage | +2 DR | ×5 |
| M4 | Masterwork | +6 damage | +3 DR | ×10 |
| M5 | Masterpiece | +8 damage | +4 DR | ×25 |
A weapon's bonus is part of its fixed damage and follows critical rules normally. An
armor bonus is added after the coverage factor, so heavy armor never doubles quality.
Magical DR is added afterward. For example, M3 heavy steel armor has 4 × 2 + 2, or
10 physical DR, before enchantment.
Price multipliers are benchmarks rather than a universal catalog. They represent labor, material lost to trials, experimentation, and the rarity of artisans capable of the required rank. Actual price always depends on region, commission, and access to a proper workshop.
Crafting a Nonmagical Object
Before beginning, the artisan declares the shape, material, and target quality. The GM prescribes the chances of success based on:
- Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence relevant to the work;
- the experience of the artisan and assistants;
- available tools, forge, plans, and models;
- the material's difficulty and target quality;
- time invested and material sacrificed during trials.
High quality does not come from rapidly repeating the same roll. It requires a more demanding project from the beginning. M4 may need a master workshop, weeks or months of work, and specialized assistants. M5 can become a life's work, require a lost technique, or depend on exceptional circumstances. The GM can declare the project impossible until those conditions are met.
On failure, the GM chooses a consequence proportionate to the announced risk: no progress, lower quality, additional delay, a correctable flaw, or loss of some materials. An ordinary repair restores function, but only an artisan capable of the object's quality can guarantee preservation of every bonus.
Iron
Iron is common, easy to work, and simple to repair. An iron weapon deals the normal damage for its shape with no penalty for being cheaper. Medium iron armor has 2 physical DR before quality and enchantment.
Ordinary iron can reach M3. Iron objects beyond this limit rely on exceptional ore, treatment, or technique and are considered separately by the GM. Iron oxidizes more readily than steel and endures long campaigns poorly without maintenance, but remains the metal of armies, villages, and field repairs.
Steel
Steel holds an edge longer, withstands repeated impacts better, and permits much more precise work. A steel weapon also deals the normal damage for its shape; its advantage lies in durability and the qualities a master can achieve. Medium steel armor has 4 physical DR before quality and enchantment. M1 heavy steel armor therefore has 8 physical DR.
Steel can reach M5. At equal shape and quality, a steel object costs about twice as much as its iron equivalent. This remains a benchmark: where ore and blast furnaces are plentiful, the artisan's work may matter far more than the metal difference.
Ordinary Wood
Wood produces bows, staffs, clubs, hafts, shields, and plate or lamellar armor. Giving it the shape of a sword does not reproduce a fine blade; the GM decides which weapons suit the material. An appropriate wooden weapon deals normal damage for its shape.
| Property | Effect |
|---|---|
| Light Armor | DR 1 |
| Medium Armor | DR 2 |
| Heavy Armor | DR 4 |
| Maximum Quality | M3 |
| Buoyancy | Wood floats and makes recovery from water easier |
| Insulation | When dry, halves remaining electrical damage |
Insulation requires armor, a shield, or cover made primarily from wood. A simple wooden handle does not protect its wielder. Apply all DR first, then halve the remaining electrical damage and round down. Soaked wood loses this property until dry.
Ordinary wood grants no DR against fire. Sustained exposure can ignite or warp it and destroy its quality; the GM considers intensity, duration, and whether the object can be extinguished or repaired.
Ironwood
Ironwood is not a tree species. It forms when a magical technique transforms real wood down to its substance. The result retains grain and buoyancy but becomes as hard as metal, rotproof, and impossible to ignite with ordinary fire. The magic sustaining this transformation can still be dispelled until it permanently settles into the material.
| Property | Effect |
|---|---|
| Light Armor | DR 2 |
| Medium Armor | DR 4 |
| Heavy Armor | DR 8 |
| Maximum Quality | M5 |
| Ironwood Bow | Uses the wielder's full Strength without a cap |
| Insulation | Halves remaining electrical damage even when wet |
| Resilience | Does not burn or rot and still floats |
Ironwood retains shapes compatible with wood: bows, staffs, clubs, hafts, shields, lamellar armor, and similar constructions. The Ironwood spell can temporarily create this material or assist its manufacture. A caster can maintain one object per caster level for free or fix the transformation with a gold enchantment. After five uninterrupted years in the second form, the object can no longer be dispelled. The spell never grants M quality for free: the artisan's skill, tools, and project still determine the final rank.
Leather and Reinforced Cloth
Leather, fur, padded layers, and woven fibers make armor that is easiest to wear discreetly. They can also produce a sling, whip, or other appropriate flexible weapon, dealing normal damage for its shape.
| Property | Effect |
|---|---|
| Light Armor | DR 1 |
| Medium Armor | DR 2 |
| Heavy Armor | Impossible with ordinary materials |
| Maximum Quality | M3 |
| Insulation | When dry, halves remaining electrical damage |
Light leather or cloth armor receives all ordinary benefits of its category: it can be hidden, worn while resting, and does not hinder movement. Medium armor made from many layers remains hotter, thicker, and unfavorable for swimming. Soaked material loses insulation until dry. Cloth can burn and leather can char; like wood, their DR does not apply against fire.
Hide, fur, membrane, or silk harvested from a remarkable creature can exceed these limits and receive an effect chosen by the GM, like the bone, horn, and shell below. Dragonhide armor or monstrous silk is not treated as ordinary leather or cloth.
Bone, Horn, and Shell
Long bones become spikes, clubs, or hafts; horns make short blades and composite bows; shells and broad bone plates make shields or armor. Common animal material uses these values:
| Property | Effect |
|---|---|
| Light Armor | DR 1 |
| Medium Armor | DR 2 |
| Heavy Armor | DR 4 if the creature provides sufficient plates |
| Maximum Quality | M3 |
The harvested creature can completely change the result. The GM may increase DR, permit M4 or M5, and give the object one effect inspired by the creature: elemental resistance from dragon armor, protection against petrification from a basilisk, abnormal repair from troll hide, or a similar property. This effect is never automatic and does not copy the monster's entire sheet. The GM considers the creature's age and power, the harvested part and its condition, available quantity, and the artisan's skill.
Harvesting a material does not craft the object. The pieces must be preserved, cleaned, cut, and assembled with the crafting prescribed chance check. Failure may lose the desired property without destroying all the material.
Composite Objects
An object can combine several materials but does not automatically gain every advantage. For an attack, the material that actually delivers the blow—blade, point, mass, or projectile—determines damage and penetration. For armor, shields, or cover, the material forming most of the protective surface determines DR and resistances. A wooden handle does not insulate a steel sword, while an adamantine arrowhead is sufficient because it strikes the target.
Mithril
Mithril resembles bright silver crossed by cold reflections. It is light, but lightness does not explain everything: the metal leads its wearer through movement. A warrior enclosed in mithril armor can move faster than an unarmored person, reacting before fully understanding the danger as though the metal began the motion first.
| Property | Effect |
|---|---|
| Light Armor | 4 physical DR and +5 Reflex |
| Medium Armor | 8 physical DR and +5 Reflex |
| Heavy Armor | 16 physical DR, +5 Reflex, and critical reduction |
| Mithril Weapon | +5 Reflex when attacking or parrying with it |
| Mithril Shield | +5 Reflex when parrying with it |
| Poison Resistance | Armor or a significant protective piece grants +3 on Fortitude Saves against poison |
| Stacking | Mithril bonuses do not stack with one another on the same roll but stack with enchantments |
Mithril armor ignores the Speed and dodge reductions of its category, then grants its own +5 Reflex. Heavy mithril armor remains a complete shell: it cannot be concealed beneath clothing, still takes time to equip, and retains unfavorable circumstances from its bulk when swimming, squeezing through spaces, or sleeping.
The Purifying Metal. Pure mithril destroys physical poisons that touch it. A dose placed on the metal is neutralized even when amplified by Poison: when the substance carrying the magic disappears, the amplification collapses with it.
This purification provides the following protection:
- parrying with a mithril weapon or shield destroys poison applied to the opposing weapon;
- a poisoned weapon striking mithril armor loses its dose before poisoning the wearer, even when damage passes through DR;
- liquid poison, powder, or paste placed on the metal is neutralized;
- a mask or helmet designed to pass inhaled air over mithril neutralizes poison before it reaches the lungs.
Ordinary mithril armor does not purify an entire cloud by itself; vapor can circulate around it. The wearer still gains +3 on the Fortitude Save. Mithril does not remove poison already inside the body, restore lost HP or attributes, or neutralize disease, acid, or curses.
Purifying Water. A pure mithril object placed in a waterskin, pitcher, or cauldron neutralizes poison in about one minute. Armor or a helmet left in a poisoned well can make the water drinkable, but a large volume takes more time. The GM considers poison quantity, water volume and circulation, and the mass and exposed surface of mithril. A fragment can purify a waterskin; it cannot instantly clean a river.
Fed Mithril. Mithril does more than destroy poison: it draws strength from it. When mithril armor absorbs a true toxic dose, directly or through a protective piece in the same set, its surface tightens, fine scratches vanish, and its veins brighten. It gains +5 physical DR until the next true rest. Several poisons do not stack this bonus. A trace or heavily diluted toxin is insufficient; armor immersed in a genuinely poisoned well is always fed.
Acclimated Mithril. Years of exposure or an exceptional toxic event can make this reinforcement permanent. Acclimated armor gains +5 physical DR regardless of category: medium armor rises from 8 to 13. A new poison can still feed it for a temporary 5 additional DR, reaching 18 in this example. Equipment normally acclimates only once. Objects exceeding this limit are artifacts with histories told by the GM, not products of mechanically repeating cheap doses.
Mithril in the World. The largest known veins lie in Kaz'Baba, the dwarven realm of mithril. Its smiths do not merely speak of smelting it; they say they cultivate it. Some pieces rest in toxic pools between two stages of forging. The water emerges clean and the metal denser. Ancient armor can carry the memory of poisons lost for generations.
Mithril is also political. Askenon controls its extraction, while Cerberus controls much of its enchantment. Gold and mithril cross the sea in one direction, while potions, enchantments, and war beasts travel in the other. The metal has already changed history: during the war against Vlad Varanov, the dwarves supplied the mages of Cerberus with enough mithril for three suits of armor. A mithril suit is never merely expensive gear. It can be a treaty, a debt between kingdoms, or proof that a secret mine survives.
Jumping into the Wine. Portin, the dwarf of numbers serving King Merenin, owned a mithril beard pencil. At a reception, it slipped from his hand and fell into a barrel of costly Cerberus wine. Alcohol is a poison, albeit a mild one, so the mithril immediately began purifying the wine into water.
Portin understood and jumped into the wine to recover the pencil before the entire barrel was lost. He remained completely submerged for fifteen seconds, found it, and emerged before an audience that had missed nothing. He had tried to limit the damage; the wine was ruined anyway, along with his dignity.
Dwarves now say “jump into the wine” when someone ruins something valuable, especially when an attempt to repair one's own mistake only makes it more spectacular. Merchants eventually carried the expression across the sea, to Portin's dismay. He knows exactly how many seconds he spent beneath the surface and still corrects exaggerations.
Adamantine
Adamantine is a black metal that reflects almost no light. Its density defies an object's proportions: a sword weighs like a siege ram, armor like a fortress gate. It is incredibly heavy, dense, and hard.
| Property | Effect |
|---|---|
| Light Armor | 8 DR; minimum +10 Strength |
| Medium Armor | 16 DR; minimum +15 Strength |
| Heavy Armor | 32 DR; minimum +20 Strength |
| Small or One-Handed Weapon | minimum +10 Strength; doubles damage dice |
| Two-Handed Weapon | minimum +15 Strength; doubles damage dice |
| Shield | minimum +15 Strength |
| Light Penetration | a light weapon or projectile ignores 8 DR |
| Medium Penetration | a one-handed weapon ignores 16 DR |
| Very Heavy Penetration | a two-handed weapon ignores 32 DR |
| Quality | can reach M5; quality bonuses stack normally |
Extreme Mass. Minimum Strength is a true usage requirement measured against the character's current Strength. A creature below it can move the object with levers, a cart, or help, but cannot attack or parry properly with the weapon. Armor can be placed on such a creature but immobilizes it enough to make combat impossible. Dexterity never replaces Strength for this requirement; once met, Dexterity can replace Strength for damage when the weapon and technique normally permit it.
Ingots themselves require rails, cranes, and crews. Discovering a vein is not enough to steal it; the ore must still be removed from the mountain.
Weight in the Impact. An adamantine weapon retains its length, reach, number of hands,
and threat range but rolls twice its damage dice. Double the number of dice without
changing their size: 1d2 becomes 2d2, 1d8 becomes 2d8, 1d10 becomes
2d10, and 2d6 becomes 4d6. Apply this multiplication after any change genuinely
caused by the size of weapon or wielder.
Its mass also adds fixed damage according to use:
| Category | Examples | Added Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Dagger, knife, arrowhead, bolt, light projectile | +5 |
| Medium | Sword, mace, axe, or other one-handed weapon | +10 |
| Very Heavy | Greatsword, greataxe, maul, pike, or other two-handed weapon | +20 |
Strength, quality, and enchantment bonuses add after dice and mass. All fixed bonuses follow the critical multiplier normally. An M3 adamantine longsword therefore deals 2d8 + 10 + 4 + attribute before other effects. An adamantine arrowhead gives the entire attack doubled dice, the +5 bonus, and penetration even when the bow uses another material.
Piercing Matter. When an adamantine weapon or projectile applies DR, it ignores 8, 16, or 32 points according to the mass category in the damage table: light, medium, or very heavy. Apply this to total DR down to a minimum of 0, without distinguishing physical armor, natural shell, cover, or magical protection. A target with 20 physical DR and 24 magical DR has 44 total DR; it applies 36 against an adamantine arrow, 28 against a sword, and 12 against a maul.
Near-Absolute Hardness. Ordinary weapons, falls, common tools, and mundane acid normally cannot break or permanently deform true adamantine. High-level magic, an epic creature, or another adamantine object can still damage it. Working or repairing it requires a forge, tools, and technique capable of overcoming that hardness; possessing ore never guarantees the ability to make an object.
Adamantine Vigil. In light, adamantine remains matte black. When no outside light reaches its surface—during night or when supernatural darkness smothers it—its edges and veins emit a cold white glow. Its own light does not end this state.
| Exposed Adamantine | Illuminated Radius |
|---|---|
| Fragment, rivet, or small tool | 5 ft |
| Weapon or shield | 15 ft |
| Armor | 30 ft |
| Large structure | Based on size, at the GM's discretion |
The vigil works in natural and supernatural darkness. Creatures inside its radius see normally: magical darkness is not dispelled but no longer blocks vision. It immediately returns when the adamantine moves away. Completely covering the metal blocks its light, allowing the wielder to hide it deliberately.
The glow neither harms nor automatically blinds drow; it simply removes their advantage from fighting in darkness. Adamantine grants no special resistance to lightning or electrical damage.
Adamantine in the World. Dwarves mine it for weapons and armor, but also for mining tools, counterweights, fortress anchors, vault doors, and siege projectiles. Adamantine rivets mark their most valuable tunnels: an extinguished lamp does not doom the miners, and a drow incursion cannot turn those galleries into absolute darkness.
A vein sometimes reveals itself simply. Prospectors extinguish their lanterns and wait. If white lines appear in the black rock, they have found adamantine. They must then find a way to move it.
Chapter Summary
- A mundane weapon is defined by its dice, critical multiplier, and required hands.
- A loaded firearm provides high damage and penetration without adding Strength or Dexterity. Reloading then takes two or three ticks. Quality adds +5 to +40 damage and +4 to +32 ignored DR.
- An enchantment adds its fundamental bonus to weapon damage or magical armor DR, never to Reflex. An enchanted shield gains a magical level without an automatic numerical bonus.
- Material and enchantment are separate, cumulative layers; dispelling magic never removes material properties.
- Quality ranges from M1 to M5. Every rank after M1 adds +2 weapon damage or +1 physical armor DR, added after the coverage factor.
- Iron, wood, and ordinary animal materials give medium armor 2 DR, compared with 4 for steel and ironwood. Dry wood, leather, and cloth halve remaining electrical damage.
- Medium mithril armor has 8 physical DR; light has 4 and heavy has 16. All accelerate the wearer and neutralize poisons touching the metal directly.
- Medium adamantine armor has 16 DR but requires +15 Strength. Adamantine weapons double their dice, add +5 to +20 damage, and ignore 8 to 32 DR according to mass, regardless of source. In total darkness, the black metal produces light even against supernatural darkness.
- Prices are economic benchmarks. Exceptional objects, rare materials, and uncertain crafting projects remain subject to GM judgment.
- An M1 pistol costs 100 gp, a musket 200 gp, a blunderbuss 250 gp, and a repeating pistol 400 gp. Quality uses ordinary multipliers ×1, ×2, ×5, ×10, and ×25, but a high-quality weapon may be unavailable at any price.
- Alchemical projectiles use a 1-tick general action and cause the Save stated by their effect; their DC is never a crafting difficulty.
- Confined powder can explode when genuinely ignited. Incendiary, shrapnel, and smoke grenades form the standard explosive assortment; more specialized ammunition remains a unique object designed with the GM.
- Destroying an uncertain object uses one prescribed chance check. In combat, targeting a weapon or equipment piece spends one attack and one slot; adamantine enables destruction normally beyond reach.