Pearl (3.5e Equipment)

Pearl
The lustrous pearl is said to have a calming effect that eases tension. Pearl used for crafting is often compared to using crystal or stone. Occasionally, it is also called nacre.

Summary::An ideal material for use in aquatic environments. Long lasting and available, but it does take some work to put it to any use. Pearl isn't just those little round gems-of-the-sea, its the shell too, and therein lies the biggest cache of potential. From pieces of a clam's great shell, to thousands of small shells linked together to form chain mail, pearl gear is useful and elegantly pleasing to look at. However, it comes at a price. It also comes in four different colored varieties for several purposes.

White
White pearl gear costs three times as much as standard gear. It can substitute for metal, wood or other hard and inflexible materials. Once broken, only magic can mend a break. It weighs the same as standard items. White pearl is the most common of pearl and is produced by many clams, scallops and oysters.

Black
Black pearl is a bit trickier to work with, as craftsmen are often much more careful in creating useful things with it. Only studied hands are trusted with this material. Armor Check Penalties are reduced by one as all black pearl items must be masterwork items. Arcane Spell Failure reduces by 10%. Armor’s Maximum Dexterity Bonus is improved by 1. Black pearl gear costs five times as much a normal gear (plus the masterwork component). Black pearl is less common, as it originates from only a few kinds of oysters.

Copper-Red
Copper-red pearl is a marvelous material, being beautiful, hard and resilient. It is occasionally mistaken as aged metal, glazed ceramic or bloodstone in appearance, being quite rare, often surviving a long age of use and being handed down among later generations (or ending up in private collections or museums). This pearl is tougher than white pearl. These items are always masterwork items and cost ten times as much as normal items (plus the masterwork component). Copper-red pearl is harvested from the knight conch, which are slow growing as well as rare.

Blue-Green
Possessing a fanciful iridescent luster, blue-green pearl is a wonderful jewel, but unusually dense and heavy. This pearl is primarily used in the manufacture of the great staff as it is far too cumbersome and expensive for widespread usage. It's slick surface and density make it particularly viable in weapon ammunition underwater. Thrown weapons and other ranged projectiles made of blue-green pearl gain effectiveness, taking a -1 penalty on attack rolls for every 5 feet of water they pass through. This penalty is in addition to normal range penalties but supersedes the ranged attacks underwater rules.

Blue-green pearl is typically harvested from an uncommon abalone that prefers cold water sea caves. Huck limpets also produce blue-green pearls.

Pearl Gear
Pearl gear is typically not traded. However it does occasionally make its way into market places on land. It is very difficult to resize a suit of armor made from pearl without using magic to alter it. Any check made to resize a suit of pearl armor for a new wearer (without proper magical aide, such as a pearl shape) suffers a &minus;6 penalty.