Meteoric Iron (3.5e Equipment)

= Meteoric Iron =

Summary::Iron from a meteorite that radiates heat naturally, and is infused with otherworldly properties.

Meteoric iron is presumed by some lofty-minded scholars to come from pieces of the sun, fallen to earth. In truth, its origin is slightly more material, where ferrous rocks exposed to the magical radiation of the void get captured into the atmosphere and fall to the ground, leaving smoldering craters in their wake. Because of the small size of most meteors and the extreme rarity of the event, meteoric iron is exceedingly rare.

Meteoric iron is iron infused with the element of fire. It looks like a darker iron with a dull, reddish gleam, often emitting wisps of steam from its heat. In space, microscopic particles bombard such meteors, leaving enclosed tiny crystalline deposits throughout the iron that draw a constant backdrop of heat energy from the elemental plane of fire. As such, meteoric iron is hot to the touch even in a cold environment. Objects fashioned of meteoric iron emit warmth in a radius roughly equivalent to its size, sufficient to gird a single person or more against the cold. Items fashioned from meteoric iron protect the wearer or user from the effects of cold weather and climate when held, as per endure elements, conferring level 3 cold protection. Furthermore, meteoric iron has the following properties when used to create specific items.

Meteoric iron is nearly completely immune to all forms of fire and heat and takes no damage from fire effects of any kind. Shaping meteoric iron is done by magic, or forged under very special conditions.

Armor and/or Shields
A creature directly touching a meteoric iron surface or wearing meteoric iron armor without proper heat-resistant underpadding takes 1d4 points of damage every round, unless they have resistance to fire of at least 5.

A creature gains resistance to cold while wearing meteoric armor. The values can be found in Table: Cold Resistance.

Weapons
Weapons fashioned from meteoric iron, often called meteoric weapons, deal meteoric damage. Meteoric damage is otherworldly in nature, and highly in tune with the forces of elemental fire. Weapons made of meteoric iron automatically bypass any damage reduction belonging to a creature with the Cold subtype.

Certain fire-based weapon enhancements become enhanced when used on meteoric weapons. Flaming and flaming burst weapons made from meteoric iron deal an additional +1d6 of fire damage on a successful attack, and an additional +1d10 on a critical hit.

Miscellaneous
Items that recreate spells with the Fire descriptor (such as wands) function at +4 caster level and +2 to save DC when fashioned from meteoric iron.

Statistics
An observer can identify meteoric iron with a DC 30 Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (architecture and engineering) check. Crafting them is done with a +15 to the Craft DC.

Meteoric iron has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10.

Value
Meteoric armor and shields have double the base cost of a masterwork item of its kind. Added costs are +500 gp (light or shield), +2,000 gp (medium), or +4,500 gp (heavy).

A proper underlay to wear meteoric iron armor without incurring damage must be made of fire-retardant or resistant material, such as dragon- or salamander hide. The underlay is part of the armor and increases its weight by 5 pounds, the effective armor check penalty by 2 and the arcane spell failure chance by 5%. Such an underlay adds 1,000 gp to the cost of light armor, 2,000 gp to the cost of medium armor, and 3,000 gp to the cost of heavy armor.

Meteoric weapons have twice the cost of a masterwork weapon +1,500 gp. This includes the cost for fire-resistant hilt wrapping, preventing damage to the wielder's hands.