Mithral in Midnight
Mithril's Wikipedia reference
Mithral in D&D[edit]
The following are the official rules regarding mithral in the core rules.
Mithral: Mithral is a very rare silvery, glistening metal that is lighter than iron but just as hard. When worked like steel, it becomes a wonderful material from which to create armor and is occasionally used for other items as well. Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light. Spell failure chances for armors and shields made from mithral are decreased by 10%, maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, and armor check penalties are lessened by 3 (to a minimum of 0).
An item made from mithral weighs half as much as the same item made from other metals. In the case of weapons, this lighter weight does not change a weapon’s size category or the ease with which it can be wielded (whether it is light, one-handed, or two-handed). Items not primarily of metal are not meaningfully affected by being partially made of mithral. (A longsword can be a mithral weapon, while a scythe cannot be.)
Weapons or armors fashioned from mithral are always masterwork items as well; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given below.
Mithral has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 15.
| Type of Mithral Item | Item Cost Modifier | |
|---|---|---|
| Light armor | +1,000 gp | |
| Medium armor | +4,000 gp | |
| Heavy armor | +9,000 gp | |
| Shield | +1,000 gp | |
| Other items | +500 gp/lb. |
Mithral in Midnight[edit]
The following is from page 244 of Midnight Second Edition.
In Midnight, mithral weapons and armor have the properties and weight of mithral from the core rules, but count as adamantine for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction, providing damage reduction for armor, and granting nonmagical enhancement bonuses to weapons.
This means that in Midnight, mithral has the following properties.
- Weight - An item made from mithral weighs half as much as the same item made from steel.
- Strength - Mithral has 40 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 20.
- Armor - Armor made from mithral is one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations (though not when concerning a character's armor proficiency or class limitations on special abilities and armor, such as a barbarian's Fast Movement).
- Heavy Armor - DR 3/-; Spell Failure -10%; Max Dex bonus +2; Armor check penalty -3 (min 0); Speed (30 ft.) 20 ft. / (20 ft.) 15 ft., Run x4; A character who sleeps in heavy mithral armor is automatically fatigued the next day. He or she takes a –2 penalty on Strength and Dexterity and can’t charge or run.
- Medium Armor - DR 2/-; Spell Failure -10%; Max Dex bonus +2; Armor check penalty -3 (min 0); Speed (30 ft.) 30 ft. / (20 ft.) 20 ft., Run x4
- Light Armor - DR 1/-; Spell Failure -10% (min 0); Max Dex bonus +2; Armor check penalty -3 (min 0); Speed (30 ft.) 30 ft. / (20 ft.) 20 ft., Run x4
- Shields - Spell Failure -10% (min 0); Max Dex bonus +2; Armor check penalty -3 (min 0)
- Weapons - Weapons made from mithral have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20. Because all mithral weapons are masterwork, weapons and ammunition have a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls.
- Value - Only the dwarves of the Kaldruns have the knowledge concerning how to create items of mithral, yet even in the Kaldruns, mithral weapons and armor are extraordinarily rare. Mithral items are typically considered invaluable when bartering in other parts of the world.
Though mithral has some of the properties of adamantine, the rules do not state that mithral items have the same value as adamantine items, for the purposes of determining Craft cost and time.
Note on item type limitations: The core rules state that mithral items may only be made of mithral if they are primarily metal. The rules go so far as to state that a partially metal item would not benefit from being made of mithral, even in part. The rules for adamintine do not state this, instead limiting the creation of such items to items "normally made of metal," giving no further limitation. It is reasonable to extrapolate the differences to assume that in Midnight the mithral scythe blade would then have the properties of adamantine (being of masterwork quality, and having the ability to ignore hardness), but would not benefit from the other mithral properties (weighing half as much). The haft of this scythe would of course, remain wooden. This is merely an educated guess as to the intent of the rules, nothing in Midnight Second Edition states this.
