Special Materials

The choice of one's weapon or armor is an important one, with entire character archetypes being defined by whether they're using full plate or studded leather; a greatsword or a quarterstaff. However, many players then fail to consider a very important part of their equipment - what it's made of.

Dungeons and Dragons, being set in a fantasy equivalent of medieval Europe, gets to enjoy medieval Europe's relatively higher concentration of forgeable iron, meaning steel arms and armor for everyone. However, being a fantasy setting, it also gets to enjoy psychic crystals, screaming silver and dragonhide. Heck, you can even wear armor made of water - and I don't mean in a frozen state. Throughout the various books there is a long list of possible building materials: some impressive, some regrettable. Here I've collected every one printed in official capacity and given a brief explanation of what they do and what they're best suited for. Also included is the short but nonetheless exhaustive list of templates that can be added to your equipment.

Get Rich Quick

In D&D, much as in real life, how well you're doing is ultimately contingent on how much money you have.

So much for a fantasy game, huh?

No joke, though, a character's worth will generally comes from two places: magic and magic items. (The fact that one of these is not inherently available to all characters is a small reminder on this system's balance.) Monks, oft maligned as the bottom of the barrel for core classes, need a boatload of practically standardised magic items just to bring their class features up to a passably-functional level. Druids, meanwhile, do go gently into that good night as naked as a jaybird - and in the form of a jaybird, too, at their option.

So if you want to get rich quick, what are your options? If you look at the Craft, Perform, and Profession skills, even astronomical DCs still result in paltry income. Fortunately, as is the case with any sufficiently large system that has enough different minds behind it, there are exploits in place that can be capitalized on by the players. It's probably safe to assume that none of these were intended by the game designers, but as is always the case, too bad ha ha ha.
Presented here, then, is a handy list of Ten 100% rules-legal, 100% obscene methods for amassing in-game wealth. You may not be rich, but you can at least pretend to be for one night a week.