Urukke Steel (3.5e Equipment)

= Urukke Steel =

Summary::Urukke Steel, also known as Wootz or Damascus Steel, is a unusually hard high quality steel which keeps its edge. It is notable for its "wavy" texture and dark gray coloration.  Urukke steel is primarily forged by orqs as well as a few dwarves, giants, and kobolds who have discovered the art. The material is forged from iron and black hematite, as well as other impurities such as carbon. It is said the orqs use massive blast furnaces powered by the high speed winds in the mountains and canyons, which blast the material out of soil.

Any weapon primarily composed of metal can be made as an urukke steel weapon. Urukke steel weapons can bypass the hardness of substances up to hardness 15, and gain a +1 bonus to their critical range. This is added after multipliers such as from Improved Critical (so a scimitar is 17-20/x2, while an improved critical scimitar is 14-20/x2).

Armor can also be made with urukke steel. Such armor provides damage reduction, though it can be bypassed unlike the protection granted by adamantine armor. Light armor and shields gain DR 1/adamantine, medium armor and tower shields gains DR 2/adamantine, and heavy armor gains DR 3/adamantine. This adamantine stacks with other forms of DR/adamantine, and an urukke steel shield and armor stack (but not multiple shields or multiple armors). For example, the best protection, a urukke steel tower shield and urukke steel heavy armor, grants DR 5/adamantine.

Urukke steel is so costly that weapons and armor made from it are always of masterwork quality; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below. Thus, urukke steel weapons and ammunition have a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls, and the armor check penalty of urukke steel armor is lessened by 1 compared to ordinary armor of its type.

Urukke steel has 20 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 15.