Mundane Materials

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

The equipment many adventurers use within the world often are made with the same usual materials throughout, though there are special and rare exceptions to this. Here is a list of all the most common mundane materials used for equipment, as well as a few mundane materials that are somewhat more uncommon to use. Masterwork and magical fragile weapons and armor lack the fragile special quality for materials that have it unless otherwise noted in the item description or the special material description.

Steel

HP/inch 30; Hardness 10; Cost normal.; Weight normal.
The standard for most equipment, steel is used as the metal primarily in any weapon or armor that needs it, alongside other materials such as wood or leather as necessary.

Iron

HP/inch 30; Hardness 9; Cost 1/2 normal.; Weight 1-1/4 normal.
The former standard for adventurers until the advent of steel. Just like steel, iron is used as the metal primarily in any weapon or armor that needs it, alongside other materials such as wood or leather as necessary.

Stone

HP/inch 15; Hardness 11; Cost 1/4 normal.; Weight 2x normal.
Weapons, ammunition, and armor made of stone have the fragile quality.
Armor Stone can be used to create any armor made entirely of metal or primarily has metal components.

Bronze

HP/inch 30; Hardness 9; Cost normal.; Weight normal.
This easily worked metal can be used in place of steel for both weapons and armor.
Weapons, ammunition, and armor made of bronze have the fragile quality.
Armor Bronze can be used to create any armor made entirely of metal or that has metal components.

Bone

HP/inch 30; Hardness 5; Cost 1/2 normal.; Weight normal.
Bone can be used in place of wood and steel in weapons and armor. Other animal-based materials like horn, shell, and ivory also use the rules for bone weapon and armor.
Weapons, ammunition, and armor made of bone have the fragile quality.
Weapons Bone weapons take a –2 penalty on damage rolls (minimum 1 damage).
Armor The armor/shield bonus of bone armor is reduced by 1, but in the case of studded leather, the armor check penalty is also reduced by 1 (to 0).

Wood

HP/inch 10; Hardness 5; Cost 1/2 normal.; Weight normal.
Weapons, ammunition, and armor made of wood that are not normally made of wood have the fragile quality.
Weapons Wood weapons that are not normally made of wood take a –2 penalty on damage rolls (minimum 1 damage).
Armor The armor/shield bonus of wood armor is reduced by 1.

Gold

HP/inch 30; Hardness 5; Cost 10x normal.; Weight 1-1/2 normal.
Typically only used for ceremonial weapons and armor, metal equipment made from gold is fragile, heavy, and expensive.
Weapons, ammunition, and armor made of gold have the fragile quality.
Weapons Gold is often too soft to hold a decent edge, take a –2 penalty on damage rolls (minimum 1 damage).
Armor The softness and the weight of gold decreases the armor/shield bonus by 2, and increases the armor check penalty by 2.
Often golden armor is gold-plated rather than constructed entirely from gold. The rules shown are for the rare item constructed entirely of gold rather than being gold-plated. Gold-plated items triple the base cost of weapons and armor and have the same properties as the item the gold is plating.

Aptitude
Craftsman Apprentice
Related Skills
Craft, Knowledge (Engineering), Profession (Blacksmith)