Weapons, armor and some other items can sometimes be crafted using materials that possess innate special properties. If you make a suit of armor or weapon out of more than one special material, you get the benefit of only the most prevalent material. However, you can build a double weapon with each head made of a different special material.
Each of the special materials described below has a definite game effect. Some creatures have damage reduction making them resistant to all but a special type of damage, such as that dealt by evil-aligned weapons or bludgeoning weapons. Others are vulnerable to weapons of a particular material. Characters may choose to carry several different types of weapons, depending upon the types of creatures they most commonly encounter.
The following list of special materials are specific to FFD20:
Crystal, Living
HP Half; Hardness 1.5x; Cost Weapon +1,600 gil, Armor +1,300 gil.
Crystals mined deep within crystal mines that have become hardened via years of absorbing background magic. Equipment crafted with living crystal are more prone to completely shattering than normal weapons but require much more force to reach that point.
When a living crystal weapon hits a target, several shards will splinter off and dig into the target, causing them to bleed for 1 point of damage, with an additional point of bleed for each point of weapon enhancement. This effect does not stack with itself or any other form of bleed. Once a target has been bled with the weapon, it cannot inflict bleed until 1 round has passed at which point the broken shards regenerate over time. Power weapons can be made out of living crystal but do not grant any benefit to ranged attacks.
Equipment made of living crystal is also counted as being masterwork. Living crystal counts as crystal for overcoming DR.
Crystal, Elemental
HP Half; Hardness 1.5x; Cost Varies
| Type of Item | Item Cost Modifier |
|---|---|
| Light Amor | +24,150 gil |
| Medium Armor | +26,150 gil |
| Heavy Armor | +30,150 gil |
| Weapon | +8,300 gil |
Crystals mined within close proximity to the legendary elemental crystals, areas of highly concentrated temperatures and weather, or from the elemental planes. Equipment crafted with elemental crystal are more prone to completely shattering than normal weapons but require much more force to reach that point.
Weapons crafted with elemental crystal have a portion of their power transferred in each attack, dealing normal weapon damage plus 1d6 of their element (Earth, Fire, Holy, Ice, Lightning, Shadow, Water, or Wind) plus 1 point of elemental damage for each point of weapon enhancement. This extra damage is not multiplied on a critical hit. This damage cannot be turned off, and the elemental crystal weapon cannot ever benefit from enchantments, rings, or runes of the element it is weak to (fire cannot have water) but may still benefit from abilities like spellstrike. Power weapons can be made out of elemental crystal.
Armor crafted with elemental crystal has a certain resistance to their own element, granting the wearer 5 points of resistance to their element (Earth, Fire, Holy, Ice, Lightning, Shadow, Water, Wind), plus 5 more resistance for each point of armor enhancement. This resistance does not stack with any other resistance of the same type.
Equipment made of elemental crystal is also counted as being masterwork. Elemental crystal counts as crystal for overcoming DR.