Scorched Iron (3.5e Equipment)

= Scorched Iron =

Legend tells of a tale of a greedy king who coveted iron, and in the end was so burdened with his heavy treasures that he sank into the earth and was swallowed by its infernally hot core. Supposedly this is the origin of the material known as "scorched iron", a type of iron found deep within molten veins of earth in a certain former dwarven territory. Summary::Scorched iron, unlike normal iron, does not transmit heat well. Yet it has an incredible capacity to store heat and an impossibly high melting point, making it a potent defense against heat and a battery for heat at the same time.  Many a dwarf has lost a life mining the substance, finding seemingly cool iron only to find a thin superheated layer of iron below it holding back a lava flow. It appears as normal iron, scorched dark and black, the color of soot. It seems abnormally heavy, and even when subject to the most violent temperatures it barely rises above a dull cherry red glow. It is difficult to work with due to its high temperature and so its often hammers vigorously, not unlike cold iron, though the temperatures involved are anything but cold.

Any weapon primarily composed of metal can be made as scorched iron weapon. Scorched iron weapons count as cold iron weapons for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction. It doubles the weight of items, but is able to store heat energy within it. If the weapon is exposed to fire damage (including if you are struck by a fire attack) it stores the fire damage within it, up to 100 points of fire damage. Each hit with an scorched iron weapon deals up to 5 points of fire damage on each attack until its reserve of stored heat is depleted. Weapons made of scorched iron gain a 10% discount on any enhancements which deal fire damage.

Armor and shields can also be made with scorched iron. Armor and shields have their weight doubled, their Max Dex reduced by 1 (minimum 0), and their armor check penalty increased by +50%. Such armor or shields provides energy hindrance based on the type of armor or shield. Bucklers, light shields, and light armor have hinter 10%. Heavy shields and medium armor have hinter 25%. And tower shields and heavy armor have hinder 50%. Hindrance overlaps, it does not stack. Armor and shields made of scorched iron gain a 10% discount on any enhancements which grant fire resistance.

Scorched iron 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, scorched iron weapons and ammunition have a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls, though the armor check penalty of scorched iron armor and shields actually increase.

Scorched iron has 15 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10. Against fire, its hardness is 100, making it almost impossible to damage with fire.