Azurite (3.5e Equipment)

Azurite
Azurite (often mistakenly called Seastone) is a substance that has many properties akin to both metals and minerals and was first discovered within the ancient ruins of temples dedicated to the Sea God Azurai. While the real properties of the material have nothing to do with water or the sea specifically, it is believed that the material itself contributed to the culture's longevity. In a time of fervent religious crusades, wars waged between countless faiths culminated in nigh-global destruction of all civilized culture. The Azurai followers' shrines and temples, built almost entirely from Azurite stone endured, thanks to the material's unique ability to absorb ambient magic. Surviving texts from the era detail the alchemical processes with which Azurite is created. Following the rediscovering of azurite, it is often used to fashion magic proof jail cells to restrain criminal spellcasters.

Statistics
Azurite is a faintly green-tinted cobalt-blue material. It comes in mineral form, where it is called azurite stone. Azurite stone boasts a hardness of 16 and 32 hit points per inch of thickness. It usually uses granite as a material basis for the alchemical process, but hematite can also be used, in which case the resulting azurite stone is slightly purplish of hue and slightly magnetic. A barrier of azurite stone has an effective spell dampening equal to the inches of thickness it has. As such, a 20-inch thick azurite stone wall completely absorbs any spell cast by a non-epic spellcaster.

Azurite in metal form is called azurite steel, using hardened steel as a basis for the alchemical process, and possessing a hardness of 12. While azurite steel holds the same absorption quality as azurite stone, it may still be targeted by focused magic and can carry enhancements which, due to the material's very high magic retention, remains active for a very long time, though enhancing an item made from azurite steel is very difficult. Most famously, magic items fashioned from azurite steel are unaffected by dispelling magic, and their abilities are not surpressed in an antimagic field. In an area of antimagic, a +1 azurite steel sword remains a +1 azurite steel sword, though any magical effects extending beyond the item itself are repressed. Azurite steel magic items can still be disjoined, though doing so requires the caster to make a successful caster level check against 11 + the item's caster level, as if using a dispelling.

Armor and Shields
Armors and shields fashioned from azurite steel diminish the power of any spell cast upon the wearer.

A creature gains spell dampening depending on how heavy it is. Light armor has spell dampening 1, medium armor has spell dampening 2, and heavy armor has spell dampening 3. Similarly, an azurite heavy shield increases the wearer's spell dampening from armor by an additional point, or 2 points in case of a tower shield. Bucklers and light shields do not increase the spell dampening effect. Spells cast by the wearer carry the same penalty, making azurite steel armor very impractical for spellcasters.

Azurite steel armor and shields are heavy and ungainly. They have half again the weight of a regular steel item. The maximum Dexterity bonus to AC lowers by 2, the armor check penalty increases by 4, and the arcane spell failure chance increases by 20%.

Weapons
Weapons fashioned from azurite steel ignore damage reduction based on magic and alignment and penetrate magical effects. Azurite steel weapons bypass defensive magics that grant improved Armor Class, temporary hit points or damage resistance, like shield, mage armor or stoneskin, and disrupt barriers like magically created shields and walls of force enough to let the item pass through.

Azurite steel weapons that have been magically enhanced also gain a special property. Once per round, such a weapon can destroy a magical effect active on any target it hits in combat, as per a targeted dispel magic with an effective caster level equal to twice the weapon's raw enhancement bonus. A capable spellcaster is capable of tapping into this inherent quality by channeling their own power into the weapon, increasing the effective caster level of the dispelling effect by half their own caster level.

Value
Azurite steel armor and shields are always masterwork and have the cost of ten times a masterwork armor of its kind. On top of this, light armor, bucklers and light shields have an additional cost of +2,000 gp, medium armors and heavy shields have an additional cost of +5,000 gp, and heavy armors and tower shields have an additional cost of 10,000 gp. Azurite steel weapons are always masterwork and have the cost of a masterwork weapon +5,000 gp. Magic azurite steel weapons and armor cost half again as much as regular magical weapons and armor.