Grodin's Tome of Smithing

Welcome
Welcome to Grodin's Tome! Here you will find out how to
implement Crafting in your world, decide how much impact it Expanding your World
causes and availability of items. With this you can even
The materials provided in this supplement can easily be
construct treasure for your party, giving depth to your world
modified to fit into your world. You can remove, rename, or
and expanding on various cultures.
modify them as you see fit. Depending on the world's
advancement level you can make some more common, add your
On Medieval Smiths own, make crafting easier or harder.
There are many other metals and variations of them that are
In medieval times smiths were commonplace, essentially every
used in construction, jewelry, and elsewhere, but this
village had at least one smith who could create various
supplement focuses only on equipment usage.
everyday tools, door knobs, nails, horseshoes, household
objects, door hinges, gates and weapons. Some even made
jewelry or torture devices. They produced items for common Guilds
people, as well as clergy, nobles, and knights. Blacksmiths
Crafting Guilds and similar organizations are an important part
affected local economy with their work, and were often found
of crafters life. Many joined one when young and became
in village and town councils. In cities and towns most belonged
apprentices to a Master - who were unlikely to be lenient as
to a Guild, through which they learned their craft as an
they were the ones taking financial ruin. The guilds don't have
apprentice ranking up until they became masters.
to strictly be focused on smithing, or crafting alone. It wasn't
Blacksmiths living in castles were in charge of producing
surprising that guilds were formed for merchants, musicians,
weapons and armor for their knights and man at arms, and craftsmen, and people from other professions.
blacksmiths were an important part of army in order to make
The Master himself would have been raised through the
new weapons, maintain and repair equipment, and create new
ranks in this manner, which was designed to forge the best
arrowheads.
blacksmiths as well as to regulate the number of workers to
Some monks in monasteries or abbies were also blacksmiths. reduce competition and preserve the prestige of the business.
While blacksmiths were not aware of exact chemical
It is interesting to note the basic parallels between smiths at
processes happening during smithing like in the modern age, this stage and the same process of advancement for young
they still recognized patterns and processes just at a larger knights seeking recognition. The industry itself, like many
scale, and their understanding of metallurgy and smithing
others, assumed legitimacy by creating a guild that was
grew. administered by the Masters which served the purpose of
Skilled blacksmiths carried a prestige for the high quality regulating the number of smith apprentices permitted and the
items they produced, armorers were usually commissioned by materials allowed.
the upper class that could afford armor, as all of armor was
measured and made exactly for the person wearing it.
During wartime, it was common that all blacksmiths have to
Ancient vs New
fulfill a quota of weapons and shields for their lord, some The main trope of D&D is fallen advanced civilizations and
required armors made to fit a range of people - often it was recovering their powerful and technologically advanced relics.
chainmail. It is Smiths direct exposure to war that advances The trope is opposite of reality where technological
equipment and innovation in an army, as advantage in the advancement comes with age. It is important to keep in mind if
battle can mean everything, it is no wonder Lords value their you are rediscovering old ways or discovering new ways, and
blacksmiths. being aware of this will help you distribute treasure, materials,
schematics, theories, and such.
Crafting
This supplement will explain most processes in summary, but
depending on your player's investment you might want to look
a big deeper into real smithing.
Steps of Crafting
1. What is the target template?

Pick which item you want to make, the effects will be placed on 2. Materials
it.
Apart from the material that the characters find as treasure
2. Which materials are you using and how much do
during their adventures, as part of the planning process they
you need?

See which materials you have, and which ones can you obtain.
Make sure you have enough quantity of it. You can pick an extra
in case something goes wrong.
3. What is the goal of the crafting? Pick Direction(s),
how many Effects you want, and describe them.
trading deals and routes are already established. Depending
Here the smiths describes what modifications to the item they
want to make, and what kind of effect do they want. The player
and DM work together to pick Directions, if the smith already
knows some of the Effects already they can specify them. The
list of Effects should usually not be given to players as they
might try to min-max, instead the DM should allow them to
describe what they want and then decide the appropriate
Effects. With time they will discover more Effects, and be able
to place more of them.
The smith decides how many Effects do they want on the
item, and that will increase the DC.
4. How long will the crafting take and where will it
take place?
likely) or know where to go about obtaining them (cross-planar
Having an access to appropriate workshop is important, so
make sure everything is ready. Base template determines time,
along with Events and some other minor factors.
can look for all the materials that are available in the location.
Availability and pricing
Mining sources (mining towns, outposts, and companies)
have the lowest prices if there are any materials left, most
on the location the ore might not be extracted and refined
yet.
Nearby towns that use the materials, and cities that have
large shipments will have the standard listed prices. Closest
city that heavily relies on the material will vary between
cheap and expensive.
Cities far away and few towns could have the materials
available at a higher price. But often any place that doesn't
need special materials will not have any available.
For rare materials, there might be certain individuals who
can supply them (some important NPCs in your campaign most
city, or a small adventure on its own).
If you don't want to go into too much detail, a single
Investigation check will suffice.

1. Base Templates Salvaging Materials

Amount of material needed, crafting time, and any DC modifier. You can obtain materials by salvaging them from their natural
occurring nodes, from creatures, or by breaking down existing

Armor items. The GM can decide how many units of material are on
the target by standard, with harvesting DC being 14 +3 per
Armor Units Time DC rarity. A low roll yields one unit less as it wastes a portion (or a
poorer quality than expected), a much higher roll yields one
Light armors, Shield 2 3 days
unit more (or increases the quality due to its purity).
> Studded leather 4 5 days +2 Breaking down existing items removes all Smithing effects
Medium Armors 4 7 days from them (unless you are trying to re-use portions of it), and
> Breastplate, Half Plate 6 10 days +2 risks losing one or more Magical effects.
Heavy Armors 6 15 days
> Plate Armor 8 30 days +2 Special flames
Some rare materials might need special fire in order to be

Weapon soften enough for shaping, such as: Demonfire, Dragon's Fire,
Fire Elemental, Magical fire.
Weapons Units Crafting Alternatively you can get ember or coal with unique
d4 , ammo x10 1 2 days properties, harvested from different planes, or even creatures.
(Salamander's Ember)
d6 2 4 days
d8, d10 3 5 days
Refining ore
d12 4 7 days
In case of unrefined ore, it needs to be refined. This takes 1d4
days, or 2d4 if high amount of Units. Some ore can be
Time particularly difficult or take a very long time, this is noted in the
Crafting time can be shortened by a high roll, or by having
material section.
Assistants.
Creating alloys
Some metals are alloys and require to be made, the characters
can also experiment with different ratios or combinations to
produce different results. No weapon or armor will ever be the
same.
Creating alloys is Smith's Tools (Wis or Int) check.
3. Directions & Effects
The smith describes what Direction of Effects they want for
the item and how many. The final effects might be slightly
different than described, but they should get something similar
enough. As they craft more items, they will learn precise effects
they can obtain. Let them discover slowly and keep crafting
mysterious.
Example: Longsword with Offense 2, Versatility 1.
The more Effects you want, the higher the crafting DC is.
More on that in the Crafting roll section.
Item Quality
These are basically +1, +2, +3 on an item.
Offense
Increasing the amount of damage the item does, and improving
on character's offensive capabilities.
Defense
Reducing the amount of damage the character received, and
improving on their defensive capabilities.
Versatility
Gaining new options with the item, increasing the utility, and
ease of use.
4. Workshop
While smith's tools can be used in a workshop, and for minor
adjustments and maintenance of weapons on the road, for
majority of crafting a Workshop is needed.
You can rent one from a Guild you are allied with, a Merchant
company, or see if there are any Smith's who are not actively
using it and could rent it for you.
Eventually you will have a Workshop of your own.
Tools
The smith's bread and butter is their furnace, anvil, hammers,
tongs, punches. Other common tools are chisels, axes, swages,
drifts, sledge hammers, nails, and molds for making popular
everyday items.
Assistants
Your fellow party members and friendly NPCs can be your
assistants during crafting process, and so can be one of many
craftsmen hirelings you can hire.
Having 1 assistant: Reduces crafting time by 20%
Having 2+ assistants: Reduces crafting time by 33%
Assistant with equal Crafting Level as you: +1 to roll.
Assistant with higher Crafting Level as you: +2 to roll.
Long-term employees
If you are keeping the assistants hired for a long time, they can
craft items for you and earn you gold. They use their own
statistics for crafting rolls, with you granting them bonuses
instead:
Head Smith: You grant your assistants a bonus to their
crafting roll when you spend a short rest instructing them at
the Planning or Crafting phase, equal to the difference in your
Crafting Level. If you are available during the Event phase, you
can also give them a bonus then.
Apprentice Hireling costs
1gp per day for Crafting level 1, roll modifier +3 to +4.
3gp per day for Crafting level 2, roll modifier +4 to +5.
5gp+ per day for Crafting level 3, roll modifier +6 to +7.
Most craftsmen go on and establish their own smithy once
they are skilled enough and finish their apprenticeship, some
go ahead and create their own stores, join guilds and rank up,
or begin exclusively working for nobility. Hiring and even
meeting them should be more difficult, they already have the
skill and enough business sense to charge far more, tailor them
towards your campaign.
Transfer of items
You can let your assistants send you the item when it is
finished. Careful though as you risk losing it, depending on the
method of transport.
Material list
Cost for 1
unit Description
COMMON
Iron 10
Bronze
Copper
Silver 20
Steel 50 An alloy of iron that is difficult to make in large quantities.
Currency, used in displays of wealth, power, and fashion. It is sought after for enchanting and
Gold 200
spellcasting.
UNCOMMON
Superior Steel 400 Steel of exceptional quality, often made by chance and not design.
Glassteel 400 Created by wizards, it is glass with properties of steel. Nobility uses it for securing windows.
Cynabryl Steel 400 Has a vermillion (deep red) cast, which can be shined to a blood red colour.
Tungsten 400 Its workability decreases with impurity, advanced metallurgy skills are needed to purify it.
Obsidian 400 A volcanic rock glass, very rarely found far from volcanoes. More often used by tribes.
RARE
Orichalcum 600 A rare ore often mistaken for another. Associated with sun worship.
Darksteel 600 A forgotten alloy of steel, the secret of it is lost with the Dwarven clan that created it.
Cold Iron 600 Iron that never touches fire, must be mined, refined, and forged without it.
Cobalt 800 A difficult material to work with, favored by mage hunters for it's absorbing properties.
Moonsilver 800 Silver blessed by the moon or night deity. Rituals exist to create it, somewhere.
Mithril 800 A very light material favored by the ancient Elven civilizations.
Dragonscale 800 Value varies per scale quality which is determined by dragon's age and scale condition.
Arandzur 800 Natural metal that must be tempered with blood of an ancient creature.
Adamantite (Drow
800 Adamantium alloy mostly used by the Drow in the Underdark. Two variants exist.
Steel)
VERY RARE
Infernal Iron 1600 Material similar to Iron found in Nine Hells.
Adamantine 1600 Adamantium alloy as crafted by the dwarves and kept a most guarded secret.
Shadowsteel 1600 A difficult alloy to make found in Shadowfell.
Titanium 2000 A lustrus white metal, any remains and deposits of it are jealously guarded.
Starmetal (Meteorite) 2000 Believed to be essence of dead gods, a gift from gods, or a great omen.
Scarletite 2000 Cursed ore that is extremely difficult to mine or work with.
Smithing
With the materials prepared, workshop setup for the project,
all tools in order, it is time to begin smithing.
Crafting Level
The character's Crafting Level is zero plus a point for each of
these they fulfill:
You have proficiency bonus in Smith's tools
Had a mentor for a period of time
Had a master teaching them for a period of time
Level 7
Level 16
Reached 20 in Strength or Constitution
One with the forge: When a character has Crafting Level of
4 but no double proficiency bonus on Smith's tools, they obtain
it upon reaching Crafting Level 5.
Crafting roll
The main crafting roll determines how many Effects you
successfully place on the item, decide how many Effects you are
aiming for before rolling.
Crafting DC = 15 + 6 per Effect
Halve DC of amount of Effects equal to your Crafting Level.
Example
A young adventurer has Crafting Level of 2.
If they want to make a Longsword with 2 Offense Effects, the
DC is 21 (15 + 3 + 3).
But if they want to make it with 3 Offense Effects, the DC is
27 (15 + 3 + 3 + 6).
This represents how hard it is to make powerful items, keeps
the balance in check, and provides evident character growth
over a long period of time.
The result
On success you are progressing well through the crafting. If you
fail and don't roll high enough, you might get less Effects
depending on the number of Effects you rolled over. And if you
roll much higher than needed, you might upgrade or gain
another Effect. The Event stage determines the final item.
Passion
Smith gets a point of Passion every 5 levels. The GM can also
give Passion when the character really invests themselves into
crafting, a large character development happens that they
reflect in smithing, or internal conflicts and emotional
investment bring it out in them.
You can spend a point of Passion to count your Crafting roll
as if you rolled nat 20, gain advantage on a roll with the item
you have created, or to count your Crafting Level as 2 higher for
crafting one roll.
Adjusting Passion
If you would like the characters to create powerful
items for themselves more often you can award
Passion every 4 levels. And if you forget to award
Inspiration, you can merge it with Passion)
Manuals & Patterns
Manuals come in forms of schematics and ancient tomes that
guide the person through creation of an item or enchantement.
In your world they might be few and rare, or nearly common.
Effect: Your Crafting level is considered 1 higher for crafting
this, and if you roll 9 or less on dice, it becomes a 10. Depending
on the manual can work only for a specific effect like
Offense>Balanced, or it can only work for a specific
combination of 4 effects on the exact base item.
Repairing
Proper maintenance will take care of most minor issues, but
there is a chance a large flaw occurs when fighting dangerous
foes. Those need to be carefully repaired with a check. The GM
determines when an item is damaged. Critical failures (or
successes in case of foe) causing large flaws would happen too
often, so generally keep it story-focused, or cause a flaw if there
are three bad criticals (or enemy action that would count the
same) in a single encounter.
Exercising maintenance more often would be more
encouraging than constant flaws and repairs.
Re-shaping Optional rule: Rarity price
A single check to reduce the size of the item but keep all As everyone distributes wealth differently you are encouraged
magical properties and effects. This works well with GM to adjust the pricing of materials to fit your world. However
granted magical treasure, allowing the smith to reshape it so there is an option to charge for materials based on rarity of the
someone else can use it, or save a weapon that is near a final item, with players spending gold as they progress through
breaking point. The DC is 12 + X Effects (X = 1 uncommon, 2 the crafting process.
rare, 3 very rare, 4 legendary), discounted by the Crafting level
just like the standard crafting roll. Rarity Weapon price
A far more complex reshaping would be adding more Uncommon 500-1,000gp
materials onto the item and imbuing it with similar magic in Rare 4,000gp-6,000gp
order to size it up. Difficult, and requires Enchanter who can
perform similar enchantment as the one on the item. DC is
Very rare 20,000gp-30,000gp
determined by the DM in this case.
Rarity Armor price

Decorating Uncommon
Rare
1,000-2,000gp
8,000gp-10,000gp
Adding decorations to the item prolongs the crafting time
Very rare 50,000gp-80,000gp
depending on the complexity of it, often additional unit of
material can be added. Metal can be folded to show off layers of
Item Adjustments: Ammo, d4 weapons, and weakest
it, some chemical acids can be used to create minor effects and
armors in their category should be on the bottom of price range
transitions, engravings can be added, and minor ornamental
or 25% cheaper.
modifications can be made.
d12 weapons, and strongest armors in their category should
be on top of the price range or 25% more expensive.
Smithing process TLDR
1. Heat metal until it obtains forging color.
2. Shape the metal by hammering on the anvil (forging), re-
Optional rule: Attunement
If an item has a total of 3 Effects on it (including Automatic
heat, repeat.
ones), it requires Attunement.
3. Join two same or similar metals (welding) if necessary.
The DM is welcome to adjust the number to fit their
4. Heat treat (or quench) to get specific hardness.
5. Repeat 1-4 for different pieces campaign, or have it ignore Automatic Effects. But once
determined, it shouldn't be changed.
6. Combine the pieces (comfortable wood+leather handle,
crossguard, the blade)
7. Finish: Polish or use grindstone for smoothness and edge.

Heat treatment
Bellows are replacing the old method of the apprentice blowing
air into tubes into the base of the fire to enable the furnace to
reach a high enough temperature. A differentially hardened
blade will usually be coated with an insulating layer, like clay,
but leaving the edge exposed.
Quenching is rapid cooling of a hot workpiece, usually
through submerging in water or oil. Water quenching is more
violent due to the much faster cooling rate than oil. This
produces an edge that is exceptionally hard and brittle, but is
backed-up by softer, tougher metal.
Tempering is done to achieve greater toughness by
decreasing the hardness of the alloy by controlled heating of
the quenched work-piece to a temperature below its "lower
critical temperature". Low tempering temperatures may only
relieve the internal stresses, decreasing brittleness while
maintaining a majority of the hardness. Higher tempering
temperatures tend to produce a greater reduction in the
hardness, sacrificing some yield strength and tensile strength
for an increase in elasticity and plasticity.
Flame hardening is often used to harden only a portion of an
object, by quickly heating it with a very hot (usually magical)
flame in a localized area, and then quenching the steel. This
turns the heated portion very hard, but leaves the rest
unchanged.
Item Effects
Keep smithing a mystery and don't show your players all the
effects. Instead allow them to explain what are they trying to
accomplish or get, and let them explore and enjoy the mystery
of smithing and creating powerful items. Let them keep notes,
and explain some options as they grow in their mastery, or find
them out in character.
silver.
Bolded text= New Effect option
(Shield) Gauntlet: Reduce AC gained from this shield by 1.
↑= Upgrade to this by spending another Effect on it.
Unarmed attacks made while wearing a gauntlet deal 1d4
( ) Item requirement
Item Quality
Weapon: +1/+2/+3 costs 2/4/6 effects.
Armor: +1/+2/+3 costs 3/5/7 effects.
Offense
Weapon
Balanced: Increase to hit by +1 (↑: +2).
Dangerous/Razor Edge: Increase damage by +1 (↑: +2).
Massive: Increase weapon die size by one (↑: two). Increase
Str requirement by 1 (↑: 2).
(Two-handed) Pommel strike: As a bonus action you
can strike your opponent with pommel for 1d4 blunt
damage.
(Axe) Splintering: On critical hit destroy target's shield, if
no shield then reduce their AC by 1.
(Blunt) Disorienting: On hit, reduce target's speed by 5ft.
(↑: On critical hit, DC15 Con save or fall prone)
(Heavy) Powerful: As a bonus action you can Shove a
Medium or smaller target you attacked this turn. (↑: Large
or smaller)
Armor
Spiked: If an enemy misses your AC by 10 or more with
their melee attack, they take 1d4 piercing damage.
(Shield) Slamming: The shield counts as a Light weapon
that can deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage.
Defense
Weapon
Parrying: When enemy rolls a natural 1 on attacking you in
melee range, as a Reaction you may perform an Attack of
Opportunity
(Has a shaft) Supportive: You ignore 5ft from any
movement reduction effects.
Hook & Bait: As a reaction, you can move 5ft. If you
provoke an Attack of Opportunity, you can Attack of
Opportunity back.
Armor
Smooth: Reduce slashing damage by 2 (↑: 3).
Silver lining: Once per short rest you can give
disadvantage to attack of a creature that is vulnerable to
bludgeoning damage plus strength modifier.
(Shield) Towering: As a bonus action, increase your AC
and dex save by 1 until start of your next turn.
(Medium armor) Comfortable: You can sleep in the
armor with ease.
(Non-Light armor) Grounded: Increase the weight of
armor by 10/20 if medium/heavy. Any effect that would
move the bearer against their will is reduced in distance by
5 feet, armor gains Disadvantage on Stealth.
Hardened: Reduce physical damage taken by 1 (↑ 2).
Versatility
Pattered: There are patterns of contrasting metal on the
item.
Scary: You gain +2 to Intimidation (↑: +4)
(Weapon or Shield) Spell focus: The item can be used as
a spell focus for purposes of casting spells, but decrease the
weapon die size or AC by 1. (↑: Weapon die size doesn't
change.)
Weapon
Hook: Advantage on disarming shields.
Elongating: Your weapon gains Reach until the start of
your next turn. Once per short rest.
Altered edge: Adjusted or unusual edge. Your weapon die
is 2d4 instead or d8, 2d6 instead of d12. Or vice versa.
(Reach) Danger zone: Your range becomes difficult
terrain.
Footwork: When an enemy moves into your melee range,
you can move 5ft within their range.
Armor
Light-weight: Lower the weight of armor by 5/10/15 if
light/medium/heavy. Reduce strength requirement by 1. (↑:
Removes Disadvantage on Stealth)
Hidden pocket: Get +2 for hiding a small object on
yourself (Small compartment: +4).
Blend in: Get +1 to Stealth checks, once per long rest you
can reroll a Stealth check but must use the new roll. (↑: 2,
gain advantage instead of a reroll)
Event Stage
No creation is same as any other, and life of adventurers is full
of hurdles. This is where you introduce a dynamic event that
will affect creation of the item. You can run Event(s) if your
player rolls too low in order to offer them a chance of
redemption, or you can run them as you see fit as a GM.
All Events are different from one another, so you should
assign Smith's Tools to an attribute fitting for the situation. Or
even ask for different skill check depending on Event and their
improvized solution.
While a character decides which Direction they are going,
Events can often influence which Effects the item will obtain at
the end.
Environment
Think about the environment and what could apply to what
they are doing. This can range to a single check, to an
encounter, or even a short adventure.
Region too cold/warm? Issues with heat, possible cracking or
high flexibility.
Nearby magic being constantly cast? Strange effects latch
onto the item.
Deity looking over the area, or cursed? Strange surges of
energy, or odd sensations.
Crafting area too crowded? Too large distance between
tools? Minor work accidents, or longer crafting time.
Distractions from other people, or sudden interest into
something else?
Material
There can rise issues through the crafting process related to the
materials used.
Combined materials have a unique interaction? Re-
balancing the design, apply something else.
Material suddenly needs a stronger fire, or needs a unique
tool? Improvisation, emergency response.
Mterial is hard to shape and needs much more effort put
into it? Exhausting work, high strength needed.
Assistants
Did someone make a mistake? Increase crafting time,
another check to compensate for the error.
Did one of them do something weird but interesting? Let it
be, enhance, or adjust it.
Did they get injured during the process? Lose one assistant
temporarily, spend healing spells.
Crafting
Is there a crack somewhere? Work more, or improvize a
filler.
Is the shape a bit wrong? Adjust the template, spend more
time, or improvize better reshaping solution.
Is there too much or too little material? Get more material,
or remove excess.
Are you obviously not getting the effect you want? Go in a
different direction, or spend additional time reworking it.
Are you not aware you're crafting during a special event?
Refer to Special events.
The schematic has something that seems impossible to do,
or contradicts itself? Improvise or find more information
Magical
The item requires intense emotion as a part of the crafting
process? How do they channel them?
Strange sprites appearing? Or even spirit? Dealing with
them.
The energies become scattered due to caster's state? They
have to find an anchor and focus.
An otherworldy creature influences the item from afar.
Other
Vague unintentional symbolism? Bring it out or hammer it
away.
Driven passion and unable to stop working? Constitution
check.
Saboteur?
Rumours circle that you're creating something dangerous
A local noble or wizard wants to watch you work.
A smith is convinced you stole their crafting secrets.
A noble or king wants the item for themselves and demands
it.
WIP Quirk
Unusual color
Looks more or less valuable
Creates odd noise when used
Reacts strangely when touched by some liquid
Vulnerable to one specific type of damage
Draining the user
Glowing
Materials & Effects
✓= Automatically gained.

↑= Upgrade to this by spending another Effect on it.

Glassteel
Bolded text= New Effect option
Glassteel is expensive as only capable wizards can produce it.
( ) Item requirement The small amounts available are generally used for a variety of
laboratory equipment, windows in wealthy villas, or for an
Iron exotic-looking weapon or armour suit. The exceptionally rare
winged elves prize glassteel, using it for much of their armoury
Most common metal used for crafting. No special properties,
and architecture (which suggests they have an alternative
however you can perform Alloy check to adjust its form, as Iron
supply or means of manufacture).

can be Pig Iron, Wrought Iron, Cast Iron, Mallable Iron, White
✓ In-between: Gain +1 DC for every Effect placed.

Iron, Gray Iron. More easily damaged and affected by rust, and
Weight reduction: Remove Heavy from weapon or
losing edge.
Disadvantage on Stealth from armor.

✓ Limited: After 1st Effect, every next Effect adds another

(Shield) See-through: As a reaction you can give a target
+2 DC.
performing Attack of Opportunity against you disadvantage.

(Armor) Blend in: In snowy envirovements, gain advantage

Steel on Stealth.

Used by smiths with more experience or knowledge who have
at least a partial understanding of metallurgy. With how many
variants there are and how versatile it is, it is sought after and
rarely can identical steel be found in two different locations.
(Weapon) Hard to track: Increase your to hit by 1 for every
attack after the first one, until the end of your turn. (↑: Until the
beginning of your next turn.)

✓ Semi-limited: After 3rd Effect, every next Effect adds Cynabryl Steel (Red Steel)
another +2 DC.
Red steel behaves similar to normal steel, it protects protects
Optional rule: Make Steel the default material for your
against harmful curses. Cinnabryl steel is hard to enchant due
weapons and armor if your society is advanced enough.
to its natural effects.

✓ Enchanting DC +2

Bronze ✓ Curse resistance: Gain advantage on Saving throws vs

curses and hexes.

An alloy between copper, small amounts of tin, and other

✓ Semi-limited: After 2nd Effect, every next Effect adds +2
metals in small amounts. The price of it varies depending on
Crafting DC.

quality of the alloy, but it has been used since ancient times.

Blood-red: Gain +2 Intimidation.

✓ Enchanting DC -3

✓ Smithing DC +2
Superior Steel
Silver Steel of exceptional quality, often made by chance and not
design.

✓ Soft: Items crafted by Silver are counted as -2 Item Quality

✓ Creation DC: To make this alloy, you need to roll DC26 with
for attack and defense purposes.

Smith's Tools (Int or Wis).

✓ Bane: The weapon deals double damage against creatures
that are vulerable to Silver.

(Weapon) Silver coating: Removes the Soft property from Tungsten

Silver, Bane deals 2d6 radiant damage to Shapeshifters.
Gold
Symbol of wealth and a currency, Gold is too soft to be anything
Found deep underground and difficult to extract due to its ore,
Tungsten is used in small quantities for alloys with other
metals to increase their toughness and heat resistance. With
sufficient purity it is used to make equipment, however it is
difficult to work with due to its hardness.

more than on display.

✓ Smithing DC +2:
✓ Royal: Items crafted by Gold look royal, increasing the value
of it.
✓ Enchanting DC -4:

✓ Soft: Items crafted by Gold are counted as -2 Item Quality for

attack and defense purposes.
Obsidian Orichalcum
A brittle volcanic glass, usually only found in towns near a A dark golden color, this material is a good conduit of magic
volcano which increases it's value elsewhere. But it is rarely and surprisingly durable, unlike gold, it can be found paired
used in battle due to its short life span, favored by tribes.
with it in sun symbolism. The material always feel warm to the
✓ Too Brittle: Whenever obsidian armor gets hit by a critical touch than it should be.

attack, or obsidian weapon gets critical failure on an attack, ✓ Enchanting DC -5

reduce its item quality by 1 until short rest.

✓ Empowering: Gain +1 to Strength and Constitution saves.

✓ Thorns: When you deal damage (weapon), take melee (Weapon) Blaze: It deals an additional 1d4 fire damage when
damage (armor), or are grappled, the target takes additional set on fire.

1d4 piercing damage.

(Armor) Warmth: Gain resistance to Cold damage and
✓ Enchanting DC -2
weather. (↑: Immunity.)
✓ Hard to work on Every Effect adds +2 DC.
Cobalt
Cold Iron This strong material has been favored by mage hunters for it's
A mystical metal, iron that must not be touched by flame and magical absorbing properties, however it requires an incredibly
must be coldforged into the wanted shape. There are difficulties hot non-magical fire to be properly shaped, most often from
obtaining this as all ore is refined with fire, and verifying some lava.

iron was not refined by it is almost impossible. Instead of using ✓ Crafting DC increased by 2.

the forge the smith must only use the anvil and hammer ✓ Enchanting DC increased by 5.

without any heat.

✓ Spellcatcher: As a reaction you can reduce spell damage
✓ Coldforged: Creating this material from iron ore is a DC25 taken by 1d6 + your proficiency bonus. (↑: Once per long rest
Smith Tools (Str) check, crafting time is doubled.
you can halve the damage instead.)

✓ Fae Bane: This weapon deals bonus 2d6 necrotic damage (Armor) Nullify: Once per short rest as a reaction you gain
against fae. On armor, Fae must succeed a Wisdom save DC15 advantage to saving throws against a spell effect. (↑:
or target someone else.
Permanently)

Fae Ender: On armor it gives Fae disadvantage for attacking (Weapon) Disruptor: The target has disadvantage to their
you, on Weapon it gives the Fae disadvantage on their next next concentration check.
attack or saving throw.

(Weapon) Fae Hunter: This weapon counts as +1 against Fae,

and you can reroll damage dice that lands on 1 against them.
Dragonscale
Obtained from dragons, the scales vary in quality depending on

Darksteel
Darksteel behaves like steel but is lighter, and when coated in
certain oils whose formula is known to few who found the last
remains of it, and heated in even a small fire, it becomes
the age of the dragon and the actual state of the scale. It is not
unusual for a small surge of the material comes to the market
after a dragon is slain, however it is quickly picked away by
those knowing its true value, and collectors with an expensive
taste.

molten, and can be poured into molds to be cast into a new ✓ Scale quality: If the scale is from Adult dragon, it gains Item
shape. Remarkably, darksteel can be melted and recast without Quality +1. If it is from Ancient dragon, it gains +2 instead.

destroying or (usually) altering existing enchantments on the ✓ Dragon warning: The item glows when dragon of same
metal. It has the further property of absorbing all natural and color the scale is is within 5 miles.

magical lightning or electrical energy into itself, without (Armor) Element immunity: Gain resistance to the element
conducting any of it to a wearer or being in contact with it.
of dragon's color. (↑: Immunity.)

✓ Item quality +1
(Weapon) Draconic rage: Deal additional 1d8 (element)
(✓ Armor) Unconductive: Gain resistance to Lighting and damage. The element corresponds the dragonscale's color. (↑:
Thunder damage (↑: Immunity.) but reduce your movement 2d6)
speed by 5ft.
Arandzur
Arandzur is a rare natural metal found in igneous rock, usually
as streaks of blue-green ore amid vitreous glass. So that it does
not become as brittle as the glass it is found in, it must be
tempered with the blood of an ancient creature in its forging.
Mithril
A very light material favored by the ancient Elven civilizations,
a quality grade armor is highly sought after by spellcasters due
to its lack of interference with magic and ease of use, and its
light properties by everyone else.

The finished forged metal is silver-blue with a green reflective ✓ Item quality +1

shine.
✓ Feathery: Remove Stealth disadvantage (on armor), and
✓ Enchanting DC -5.
Heavy (on weapon).

(✓ Weapon or Shield) Spell focus: The item can be used as (✓ Armor) Flexible: Increase Dex range by 1.

an spell focus, but decrease the weapon die size or AC by 1. (↑: (Armor) Gentle wear: Reduce Armor Proficiency
No decrease.)
requirement by one step, down to none.

Empower: Increase Spell attack by 1. (↑: Additionally, increase (Non-heavy one-handed) Flowing: Gain the Light (non-
your Spell save DC by 1.)
heavy, one handed weapon) or Finesse trait.
(Weapon) Tremble: Deal 1d6 magic damage with every hit. (Light one-handed) Cutting wind: Your Two-handed
(↑: 1d10 instead.)
Fighting attack becomes a part of the Attack action and you
(Armor) Ley Channels: Gain advantage on Concentration don't spend a Bonus action on it.
checks.

Spellslinger: When damage by a physical spell, your next hit

deals an additional 1d10 damage of the same type.
Adamantine
A closely guarded secrets by the dwarves, their most successful

Adamantite (Drow Steel) alloy of incredibly hard to find adamantium ore. It is not
surprising to see them taking up arms over any known deposits
Drow in the Underdark have bountiful of adamantium ore, and of it.

Adamantite is their most used alloy due to the effects it obtains ✓ Item quality +1

from the magical radiation (Faerzress). The process of creating (✓ Armor) Enduring: All critical hits are turned into normal
the alloy takes at least a month and can reach up to a year, after hits against you, gain resistance against non-magical fire and
which two variants are revealed a successfully radiated one and non-magical cold attacks.

nonradiated one. This process is the reason so many of drow (✓ Weapon) Superior structure: Add an additional weapon
equipment loses its properties on the surface, the non-radiated damage die. (↑: On critical, deal an additional weapon die
variant is usually sold or used by the surface raiders.
damage.)

(✓ Variant: Radiated): Item Quality +1. Enchanting DC -8. If (Armor) Stand strong: Once per short rest, reduce damage
exposed to sunlight for a week, it loses its enchantments. by a non-magical attack by half. (↑: Twice.)

(✓ Variant: Non-radiated): Item Quality +1. (Weapon) Penetrating: Increases your critical hit range to
19.
Moonsilver
(Purified silver with ritual). (Called Alchemical Silver or
Infernal Iron
Goddess' Tears in some parts.) Moonsilver is silver touched by Ore obtained from Nine Hells, where it is often used for forging
Luna, and lends some of Luna's protean nature to the material. Soul coins, and Hellfire weapons.

Helps Werewolves control themselves by wearing it, but cutting ✓ Soul Enchanting DC -10
(✓ Alloy variant) Infernal
on it brings the memories of the betrayal and crits.
Steel: You can turn Infernal Iron into Infernal Steel with DC 28.
✓ Creating it requires a special ritual or process.
Gain +1 Item Quality.

✓ Enchanting DC -4.
(✓ Weapon) Soul-catcher: Anyone slain by it has their soul
✓ Moontouched: Deal additional 1d6 radiant damage as captured into the weapon and cannot be resurrected by anyone
weapon, or increase all Saving throws by 1 as armor.
else until the next soul replaces it (↑: Can capture up to 100
Sacred: When Cleric uses this item to cast Channel Divinity, the souls.). If resurrecting someone through it, halve cost for
DC is increased by 1. resurrection due to the target soul being nearby.

✓ Fiery: Deal an additional 1d4 fire damage (if weapon) or

obtain fire resistance (if armor) (↑: 1d8 or Immunity).

Wrathful: Once per short rest, gain advantage on all attacks,

but everyone else gets advantage against to attacking you.

Primal screams: Deals 1d4 psychic damage to all enemies

within 5ft of the target when you hit them (if weapon), or
around yourself when hit (if armor). (↑: 1d8 instead)
Shadowsteel Scarletite
An alloy of strange ore from Shadowfell and iron, the forging As an ore it is very difficult to mine as portions of it can explode
portion of making it is incredibly frustrating due to its and splatter, killing and infesting the miners. Refining it is a
incorporeal properties it obtains when touching other non- complex poisonous process that stabilizes it enough to be
living matter.
shaped into desired object, after which some of its properties
✓ Item Quality +1:
are re-activated.

(✓ Weapon) Fade in: Critical hit on rolling natural 19.

✓ Refining it is a DC 28 check with Smith's Tools (Wis)
(✓ Armor) Fade out: When opponents rolls a natural 17, they ✓ Item Quality +1.

miss unless it is a natural weapon attack or an unarmed attack.

✓ Restoring: If the item is broken or damaged, it repairs itself
(Armor) Shade: Gain advantage on Stealth checks. if at least 10hp worth of blood is spilled on it.

(✓ Weapon) Acquired Taste: Deal an additional 1d8

Titanium necrotic damage to any creature you have damaged previously
with it. (↑: Advantage on tracking it.)

Titanium is a lustrous white metal, most often mistaken with
Mithril in ancient texts. Any ore nodes of it are jealously
(Armor) Blood-fueled: If
guarded for its incredible properties, being lighter than steel
but several times stronger. It is almost the perfect metal to craft
(✓ Armor) Regenerate: You can spend up to 4 Hit Die to heal
yourself with once per short rest.
you take damage, as a reaction you gain +2 AC until the
beginning of your next turn.

with.
(Weapon) Consume: You have advantage on Grapple checks
(✓) Item Quality +2.
with it.
(✓ Armor) Non-corroding: Resistance to Acid damage. (↑:
Immunity)

(✓ Armor) Heat resistant: Resistance to Fire damage. (↑:

Immunity)

(Weapon) Deadly: Increase weapon die size by one.

(Light weapon) Momentum: If you have Extra Attack feature

and use Bonus Action for an off-hand attack, you make two off-
hand attacks instead of one.

Starmetal (Meteorite):
Also called Meteorite. Believed to be essence of dead gods, a gift
from gods, or a great (good or bad) omen. Starmetal shines
with the nature of the divine and warps fate slightly as part of
its basic nature. Can be found in meteors.

(✓) Item Quality +2.

(✓) Fated. Once per long rest, gain advantage to a single roll.

(✓ Armor) Non-corroding: Resistance to Acid damage. (↑:

Immunity)

Bind. Deals an extra 1d8 damage to creatures not on their

home plane.
 Want to help out?

End of version
Let me know what you think of the doc! All
feedback is welcome.

0.9
Coming up next is Enchanting since it is heavily
referred to in this document. Basic gist is
DC15+8 per enchant (halved just like Smithing).
You can place your 1-4 level spells into an item,
there's a couple of different Enchanting
methods, and a bunch of other effects.

After that: non-metal materials for weapons with

shafts, light armor. Basically fletcher and
Leatherworker variants.

Cover Art: Todor Hristov - Able Blacksmith

 
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