Moist Happenings
11-21-2003, 10:54 AM
Here it is:
GemStone IV - Magical Woods · on 11/12/2003 3:19:33 PM 453
The following is a listing of magical woods which can be used to create staves and shields as well as ranged weapons. Additional information is also provided below.
Yew
Type: Ranged Weapon
DU/ST Bonus: 0/0
Offensive Bonus: +2
Defensive Bonus: +2
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: Yews have a tremendous capacity for longevity, and it is from this that the yew has come to symbolize great age, rebirth and reincarnation. The yew produces a close-grained, elastic wood that is similar to maple.
Rowan
Type: Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 20/5
Offensive Bonus: +5
Defensive Bonus: +5
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: The rowan has long enjoyed its reputation to protect against enchantment, however there is also evidence that supports the fact that it has the capacity to channel enchantment as well when formed into rune staves, or sticks upon which runes are inscribed. Among the more rural human and sylvan communities, there are instances recorded where rowan wood is used for metal divining, as hazel twigs are used for water. Rowan has played a central role in druidic ceremonies for centuries, and among rural populations, sprigs are often placed over the main door of the house and also worn on the person to ward off false enchantment.
Examine a red rowan berry and you will discover that unlike other fruits that bear just a round hollow or dimple opposite their stalks, it carries a tiny, five-pointed star, or pentagram ? the ancient magical symbol for protection.
Carmiln
Type: Ranged Weapons, Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 20/5
Offensive Bonus: +6
Defensive Bonus: +6
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: There exist certain groups of trees that have always been revered. Superstitions surround them, that their branches, for example, should never be lopped or pruned. The carmiln is such a tree, almost always found in groups, or groves, and usually situated near a spring. carmiln is a hard-wooded tree, with oblong leaves bearing deeply incised edges, and bunches of finely scented white flowers in spring. Because of its density and durability it is considered to be a fine wood for a variety of uses. However, the myths of bad luck following indiscriminate cutting of it often accounts for a variation on the cost of the milled lumber. Those limbs harvested within the stricture of the ancient laws governing what time of day, month and season it is done are usually more difficult to find as well as preferred for use, especially in the creation of magical items.
Deringo
Type: Ranged Weapons, Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 30/10
Offensive Bonus: +8
Defensive Bonus: +8
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: A tall, brushy tree, the deringo hails from the southern regions of the west side of the Elanthian continent. It is a fairly common wood, often found growing in the same forests as other hardwoods such as oak, ash and maple. While its magical influences are not usually of great power, the availability of it as well as the ease of harvesting the deringo make it an extremely popular wood for all manner of magical articles. In the fall, the deringo is known for its vivid yellow-gold foliage, and the dramatic effect given by each of its leaves being edged in black.
Kakore
Type: Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 25/10
Offensive Bonus: +10
Defensive Bonus: +10
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: The kakore tree resembles the birch, in that it commonly has multiple boles instead of one. Its leaves are a silvery green shade with scalloped edges, and feature a tint of scarlet on the leaves? undersides which has earned it the nickname of `bloodleaf? trees. It is commonly found in marshy areas, and does not tolerate arid climates. Its wood is dense, with little give, and is of a beautiful deep reddish-brown hue. Thus, it is not usually a good choice for uses that require a supple snap such as the production of bows. Its magical inherency is subtle, but its widespread populations, as well as the beauty of its finish, promote the kakore?s popularity for use in medium-grade magical items.
Hoarbeam
Type: Ranged Weapons, Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 35/5
Offensive Bonus: +12
Defensive Bonus: +12
Rarity: Infrequent
Description: Named both for the silver-grayish hue of the wood and for the arctic region in which it grows, this strong variety of fir is a handsome tree with pointed crown of aromatic foliage. Its needles are evergreen, spreading almost at right angles in two rows on slender, hairy twigs. The hoarbeam?s cones are long and cylindrical, tinted a dark purple, and they sit upright on topmost branches. Prized for a variety of uses, the hoarbeam?s wood is light-colored and has a faint, irregular grain. It is resilient but still possesses enough elasticity to make it a fine choice for use in making bows. The hoarbeam is commonly found in northern forests, and it is said that the further north the specimens are harvested, the stronger will be its inherent magical qualities.
Mossbark
Type: Ranged Weapons, Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 30/10
Offensive Bonus: +15
Defensive Bonus +15
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: With its characteristic, shaggy bark on boles and limbs, the mossbark tree is easily identified within the hardwood forests it generally occupies. Featuring small, oblong leaves, it is a mid-sized tree with wide-reaching branches, giving the specimens a squat, wide shape. Mossbarks often grow in dense groves, where the moss from their branches combines to block passage through the trees. It is believed with good evidence that the mossbark uses this combination of mosses as a secondary means of propagation. While mossbark wood doesn?t carry powerful magical ability, none-the-less, what talent it does have makes it a popular choice for all manner of magical items. The finished wood is light in hue, similar, although lighter than pine.
Mesille
Type: Ranged Weapons, Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 20/5
Offensive Bonus: +15
Defensive Bonus: +15
Rarity: Infrequent
Description: The mesille tree is a tall, strong deciduous tree, often found on mountain slopes, and in areas with a cool climate. Its wood is both hard and resilient, and its foliage is reminiscent of the pin oak. Valued for both the density of the wood as well as its golden brown color and beautiful grain, the mesille is a fine choice for the production of a variety of magical articles.
Ipantor
Type: Ranged Weapons
DU/ST Bonus: 25/10
Offensive Bonus: +17
Defensive Bonus: +17
Rarity: Very rare
Description: Long a favorite of bowers throughout both sylvan and human territories, the ipantor tree is usually found in upland forests that occupying the foot of mountain ranges. It does not tolerate hot, arid climates, instead preferring a rich, loamy soil. The Western DragonSpires is the principal region where ipantor wood is harvested, and the tall, slender trees with their straight boughs and yellow-green leaves add grace and stature to the hardwood forests there. While the ipantor is a superior material for bows, something in the constituency of its inherent magic makes it unsuitable for other magical articles.
Witchwood
Type: Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 10/5
Offensive Bonus: +17
Defensive Bonus: +17
Rarity: Very rare
Description: Witchwood is a highly magical wood taken from a large twisted shrub which is said to grow only in graveyards. Only small weapons are likely to be made from it, and its most common use is in wands and staves. It is most potent when used for spells of subtle destruction and is often cursed.
Villswood
Type: Ranged Weapons, Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 30/15
Offensive Bonus: +18
Defensive Bonus: +18
Rarity: Infrequent
Description: The villswood tree is a medium-sized tree that is principally found in Wyrdeep Forest, although there are known instances of it growing within forests on the eastern side of the continent. It is thought that the villswood tree was brought west by migrating bands of Sylvans in past ages. The villswood has large, dark green leaves, and is as valued for its sprays of fragrant flowers in spring as it is for its sturdy, magical wood with its characteristic saw-blade grain.
Faewood
Type: Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 20/5
Offensive Bonus: +20
Defensive Bonus: +20
Rarity: Infrequent
Description: A favorite of Imaera's, faewood has long been a preferred material for use in holy items. A tall tree with a rounded crown, the faewood greets spring with upright clusters of showy white flowers that are exceptionally fragrant. It is said that one can locate a faewood tree in spring from a mile or more distance. The tree?s foliage is dark green and short-stalked, and its smooth bark is brown to gray. Faewood trees yield a pale brown, smooth or slightly pitted fruit that contains shiny brown seeds. These seeds are known to have healing properties, but they require refinement for in their natural state, they are poisonous.
Ruic
Type: Ranged Weapons
DU/ST Bonus: 25/10
Offensive Bonus: +20
Defensive Bonus: +20
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: The ruic tree is usually found in southern forests, with mild climates and dependable precipitation. It is a tall, wide-boughed tree with a thick canopy, and produces a superior, reddish-gold wood for use in making bows. While it carries a good magical influence for that use, it is not generally used for other magical articles because of its tendency to `snap?, i.e. send a current ? or backlash -- of magic back through the individual casting the charge. The general consensus is that the energy released from the bow through the shaft as the arrows leaves it prohibits a `snap? from occurring with bows made from the wood.
Orase
Type: Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 20/10
Offensive Bonus: +20
Defensive Bonus: +20
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: Harvested from its native forests in the Pinefar forests, orase wood has long been a favorite material for magical articles by the halflings who settled those mountains. Hardy in the most rugged climates, the orase is a medium-sized tree that coexists well with the conifers of that region. Its bark is rough, and its branches are usually forked and irregular, making it a good material for staves and shields, but unsuitable for use by bowers. It has a highly defined grain that makes the shields produced from it highly prized. It is, additionally, exceeding hard and dense and carries a substantial magical talent.
Fireleaf
Type: Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 35/15
Offensive Bonus: +22
Defensive Bonus: +22
Rarity: Very rare
Description: From the Barony of Riverwood comes the fireleaf tree, whose bright orange and red leaves in autumn give the impression of the tree being enflamed from a distance. During the spring and summer, the fireleaf is robed in dark green elliptical leaves with a slight ruby hue on their undersides, each of which ends in a short tooth. The tree?s bark is gray-green and furrowed into long ridges. Fireleaf trees have long been considered an excellent wood for staves and shields, and it is believed that the more vivid red the underside of the leaves, the more potent is the tree?s magical potential.
Glowbark
Type: Ranged Weapons, Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 40/20
Offensive Bonus: +22
Defensive Bonus: +22
Rarity: Very rare
Description: Glowbark trees are named for the propensity of the trees to have tiny, phosphorescent organisms living in the bark of the trees, giving them a luminescence seen only during the darkest night of the moon?s phase. It is also believed that the strong magic residing in the glowbark?s wood adds to this shine, as well as benefiting the organisms. The glowbark is a medium-sized tree with generous, straight boughs, making it a fine choice for the production of magical items of all types. Glowbarks grow well in secluded forests within the western reaches of the Elven Nations.
Wyrwood
Type: Ranged Weapons
DU/ST Bonus: 30/10
Offensive Bonus: +24
Defensive Bonus: +24
Rarity: Very rare
Description: Obtaining the precious wood of the great wyrwood is a dangerous proposition. According to stories told by the men and elves of the mysterious Wyrdeep Forest, these rare, solitary trees are said to entangle and hang woodsmen and hunters with grisly results. Thought to be a cousin of the willow, the wyrwood is a large tree with 1 or more straight and usually leaning trunks, upright branches, and narrow or irregular crown. Its leaves are narrow and lance-shaped, often slightly curved to one side, and they grow densely upon the tree?s boughs. While these trees have been known to grow within the forest, they are most commonly found not too far distant from streams. They are known to have an exceptionally deep taproot, which probably accounts for their ability to live a distance from a water source, having tapped instead into underground springs. It is also thought that the taproot is the source for their superior magical qualities. Wyrwood is usually only used to produce bows; any contact of the wood with metal soon produces corrosion of the ore, with the result that the studs and banding common with shields and staves is unsatisfactory.
Illthorn
Type: Shields, Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 40/20
Offensive Bonus: +25
Defensive Bonus: +25
Rarity: Extremely rare
Description: From a rare tree found in Gyldemar Forest, the wood of the illthorn is preferred for items that aid in warding magic, though it does not inherently provide such a benefit. The illthorn is a large, aromatic tree with straight trunk and conical crown that becomes round and spreading. Its leaves are star-shaped with 5, and sometimes 7, long-pointed finely sawtoothed lobes. The bard of the illthorn is grey and deeply furrowed into narrow scaly ridges. These ridges conceal the tree?s long thorns, which can quickly burrow deeply into hands or body, and then come easily off the bole to remain imbedded beneath the skin. While the thorns do carry a weak poison, they have never been known to be deadly to anything larger than small rodents and birds. The poison can, however, impart a flu-like illness that lasts from a few hours to a couple days. The illthorn is not well suited for bows due to its lack of elasticity, however, with its innate magical talent, it yields excellent staves and shields.
Lor
Type: Staves
DU/ST Bonus: 30/10
Offensive Bonus: +25
Defensive Bonus: +25
Rarity: Very rare
Description: The lor, or commonly called the silver lor, is a tall, slender tree that grows to great heights. Often called lovers? trees, it was the custom of the Faendryl elves to plant lor trees as a pair, and there are records of some of these famous pairs living well past 600 years. First found in abundance within the extensive forests surrounding the early Faendryl settlements, the lor has declined in succeeding centuries, and is now quite rare. Efforts to initiate plantings of lor trees in other parts of the Elven Nations have met with little success, resulting in workable lor wood being extremely rare and expensive when it is found. The lor, with its graceful lofty boughs has long symbolized wisdom, or having long sight with a clear vision of what is beyond and yet to come. For this reason, the most common use of lor wood is in the production of staves.
Sephwir
Type: Ranged Weapons
DU/ST Bonus: 30/15
Offensive Bonus: +25
Defensive Bonus: +25
Rarity: Extremely rare
Description: A cousin to the modwir, the sephwir is a highly magical wood that hails from the western DragonSpires, found growing within the fabled forests of Yuriqen. Thus, any quantities of sephwir remaining in use today can be assumed to have been harvested before the Yuriqen forests were closed. This results in the wood being both rare and almost priceless. There are unverified reports of individual trees growing in the Turamzzyrian region of Helt, however no living trees are commonly known. Attempts to propagate the trees in other areas have met with no success, and it is thought that this is due to a critical connection between the magic known to have been resident in the soil of Yuriqen and the sephwir trees living there. Sephwir makes a superior wood for bows, and weapons crafted of the beautiful, silver-hued wood figure prominently in fables surrounding the archer armies of the Yuriqen Sylvans.
Additional Notes:
The DU/ST Bonus, Offensive Bonus, and Defensive Bonus values only apply when used to craft staves, bows, crossbows, or shields. If used to craft any other weapon or armor, the properties of normal wood apply (-90 ST, -20 DU). The base breakage values for staves, bows, and crossbows assume a wooden construction. Shields assume wooden with steel reinforcement.
The stave/shield woods that have a rarity of "uncommon" may be used as weapon hafts/shafts for other weapons, but will not impart any special properties to those weapons. Combining one of these magical woods with a magical metal in a shield will not stack bonuses; only the metal bonus will apply.
These woods should not generally be applied to commonplace uses. For example, making a picture frame out of fireleaf or faewood is about as sensible as making a candlestick out of rolaren.
There should be no more bows or staves created with metals; all are to be crafted from wood. The mundane woods of Elanthia, such as maoral or fel, may still be used to craft staves, shields, and bows (see following restrictions for bows). Similar to forging a sword from steel, though, these mundane woods may be enchanted to create magical items. Shields may still be crafted from metal; the assumption is that such shields are normal wood with magical metal reinforcement.
This message was originally posted in The Next Generation of GemStone, World and Roleplay Improvements. To discuss the above follow the link below.
http://www.play.net/forums/messages.asp?forum=30&category=101&topic=10&messag e=4281
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GemStone IV Magical Woods ... continued · on 11/12/2003 3:37:32 PM 454
The last little paragraph didn't make it in my last post:
Of the mundane woods of Elanthia, only the following materials are usable for bows: yew, maple, oak, ash, elm, hazelwood, fel, haon, and maoral.
This message was originally posted in The Next Generation of GemStone, World and Roleplay Improvements. To discuss the above follow the link below.
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