Onyx (3.5e Equipment)

= Onyx =

Summary::This lusterous black stone seems to darken the air around it and vibrate with a terrible energy. It is best used for weapon and armor for necromancers due to the resonance it has for necromantic energies.  It is stone, not metal, for the purposes of effects and abilities which rely on metal.

Any weapon primarily composed of metal can be made as an onyx weapon. An onyx weapon can be used as a focus replacing the material components of the animate dead spell, which is not consumed on casting. A onyx weapon can be used to animate up to 1 HD of undead for every 1000 gp in value it has (so for example a non-magical onyx greatsword, worth 2050 gp, can animate 2 HD worth of undead while a +5 onyx greatsword, worth 52,000 gp, can animate 52 HD worth). Weapons made of onyx gain a 10% discount on any enchantments which use or channel negative energy. Onyx has 10 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 8.

Armor can also be made with onyx. Such armor is often styled in disturbing skeletal images. If a living creature wears onyx armor they may delay the effects of gaining negative levels for 1 round (for light armor), 3 rounds (for medium armor) or 5 rounds (for heavy armor). In addition they get a +2 bonus on saves to remove negative levels.

However if an undead creature wears onyx armor, they instead gain turn resistance +1 (for light armor), +3 (for medium armor) or +5 (for heavy armor). This stacks with any pre-existing turn resistance. In either case, armor made of onyx gain a 10% discount on the Death WardMIC, Ghost Touch, and Undead Controlling enhancements. In addition Ghost Touch armor is only a +2 bonus for onyx armor. Onyx shields can also be made (as listed below) but their bonuses do not stack with onyx armor.

Onyx 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, onyx weapons and ammunition have a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls, and the armor check penalty of onyx armor is lessened by 1 compared to ordinary armor of its type.