Kevlarium (3.5e Equipment)

Kevlarium
Summary::In a search for a lightweight strong fiber for tires in anticipation for a shortage of petroleum, alchemists stumbled across the synthetic alchemical material known as kevlarium. Forming into thick pale yellow fibers, it proved to be light, strong, thermally durable, and ended up forming excellent body armor.  It is the material of choice of military forces, protecting them from dangerous ranged combat long enough for them to get into melee, or counter with their own ranged attacks.

Kevlarium can only be applied to armor made out of fabric or leather (such as padded, leather, studded leather, and hide) as well as armors with multiple pieces like chain shirts, chain mail, scale mail, and splint mail. However, the rare flexible fabric or leather weapon can also benefit (slings, saps, whips, and scourgesCW).

Qualifying armor made out of kevlarium grant the wearer endure elements as an extraordinary effect due to its thermally resistant properties. It resists slashing and piercing attacks, entangling the offending weapon in its fibers. Light armors offer DR 1/bludgeoning, medium armor offers DR 3/bludgeoning, and heavy armor (where any might exist) offer DR 5/bludgeoning. The damage reduction is doubled against ranged attacks.

Weapons made of kevlarium gain little benefit, other than being unusually resistant to cold and fire damage (damage is quartered before applying hardness). It's resistance proves useful, however, when combating any creature with any sort of retributive cold or fire damage such as the heat aura of a remorhaz or someone under the effect of a fire shield spell. The weapon and user take no damage from such effects while using a kevlarium weapon.

Kevlarium proves more useful in various tools. A cloth, fabric, or leather object can be made from or coated in kevlarium, granting it the same resistance to cold and fire damage as weapons, and in the case of kevlarium rope, it has 12 hit points, hardness 3, can be burst with a DC 29 Strength check. It weights 10 lbs for 50 feet of kevlarium rope. Other uses include gloves, where they serve as potent heat padding allowing creatures to handle extremely hot objects for short periods of time, protecting the hands until it takes enough damage to be destroyed.

Kevlarium needs special preparation so all weapons and armor made from it are always of masterwork quality; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below. Thus, kevlarium weapons and ammunition have a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls, and the armor check penalty of kevlarium armor is lessened by 1 compared to ordinary armor of its type.

Kevlarium has 20 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 3.