Stygian Steel (3.5e Equipment)
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Stygian Steel[edit]
When Levistus was imprisoned in his icy tomb, it was not without a fight. The planes of hells were briefly consumed in war, and as Levistus' forces fell their bloody weapons of steel sunk to the depths of the frozen sea. Eons passed, and glaciers slowly ground the tools into one another forming one massive cold forged deposit, chilled in a million years of supernatural frost and ultimately changed. So goes the supposed origin of this strange frosty metal. In spite of the name, its origins are not always from the lower planes. It occurs when normal iron is placed in a place of supernatural chill and slow forged, ground together atom by atom over the course of ages. The resulting iron absorbs heat easily and locks it inside, while giving nothing away without effort. In spite of draining heat with ease, stygian steel does not melt and must always be cold forged. Stygian steel could be considered the opposite of scorched iron, draining away heat and making other things colder. It appears as normal iron, yet its surface always coated in a rime of ice from the air, easily shattered into thin whisps of mist and reformed in seconds. It it rather dense, formed from a great deal of iron compressed in a small space and chilled.
Any weapon primarily composed of metal can be made as stygian steel weapon. Stygian steel weapons count as cold iron weapons for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction. It doubles the weight of items, but is able to absorb heat within it, emptying itself only in presence of cold. If the weapon is exposed to cold damage (including if you are struck by a cold attack) it effectively "stores" the cold damage within it by displacing its locked up heat, up to 100 points of cold damage. Each hit with an stygian steel weapon deals up to 5 points of cold damage on each attack until its reserve of "stored" cold is depleted. Weapons made of stygian steel gain a 10% discount on any enhancements which deal cold damage.
Armor and shields can also be made with stygian steel. 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 cold based on the type of armor or shield. Bucklers, light shields, and light armor have hinder 10%. Heavy shields and medium armor have hinder 25%. And tower shields and heavy armor have hinder 50%. Hindrance overlaps, it does not stack. Armor and shields made of stygian steel gain a 10% discount on any enhancements which grant cold resistance.
Stygian steel 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, stygian steel weapons and ammunition have a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls, though the armor check penalty of stygian steel armor and shields actually increase.
Stygian steel has 15 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10. Against cold, its hardness is 100, making it almost impossible to damage with cold.
| Type of Stygian Steel Item | Item Cost Modifier |
|---|---|
| Ammunition | +160 gp |
| Light armor, bucklers, or light shields | +1,000 gp |
| Medium armor or heavy shields | +4,000 gp |
| Heavy armor or tower shields | +9,000 gp |
| Weapon | +8,000 gp |
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