Mallyate.pdf

Athenaeum Arcane: Mallyate

Mallyate

by Bret Boyd

New Speciial Materiial:: Mallyate

Is your character tired of never having the right tool for the right

job? Maybe he’s stuck with a rapier against a gibbering mouther or

wearing a cold resistance armor against a red dragon. Fear not!

Mallyate is here to give a PC what he needs when he needs it for

every combat situation. Read on to discover the origins and pow-

ers of this strange new extraplanar material.

Physiical Appearance

weapon the bearer is familiar with. In this case,

“familiarity” means that the wielder must have

previously seen the desired item. He need not

even be proficient in its use (although this still

incurs the normal penalties). Here’s where the

size of the mallyate matters. The item it morphs

into must be of the same designated size. To

clarify, consult the following specifications.

In its natural state, mallyate is found in the shape

of a rough hewn cylinder and appears to be little

more than gray clay with streaks of midnight

blue. The size of the material is random (consult

the table below) and determines the

armor/weapon that the wielder can create (dis-

cussed later).

Armor Types per Mallyate Siize

Roll d6 Size

Length

Width Weight

Small: Any light armor, buckler, or light shields.

Medium: Any medium armor or heavy shields.

Large: Any heavy armor or tower shield.

1-2

Small

1 ft.

1 in. 2 lb.

3-5

Medium 4 ft.

2 in. 6 lb.

Large

8 ft.

4 in. 10 lb.

What Can IIt Do?

Weapon Types per Mallyate Siize

Small: Any light melee, dart, sling, bolas, hand

crossbow, or shuriken.

Medium: Any one-handed melee, light crossbow

(normal or repeating), javelin, or shortbow (nor-

mal or composite).

Heavy: Any two-handed melee, heavy crossbow

(normal or repeating), longbow (normal or com-

posite), or net.

On its own, mallyate is worthless except as an

awkward club (damage is 1d6-1). But once it is

attuned to its wielder (who must have an

Intelligence score of 3 or higher), its power

becomes apparent. At the end of the first 24

hours of possession (referred to as “attunement”),

the bearer realizes that he can call upon the

mallyate to shape itself into any type of armor or

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons ® Player’s Handboo, published by Wizards of the Coast,

Inc. This product utilizes updated material from the v3.5 revision.

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Athenaeum Arcane: Mallyate

No matter its shape, a mallyate item is always

considered masterwork (dimensions and weight

change to match the shaped weapon or armor).

Mallyate has a consistency closest to steel (hard-

ness 10, 25 hp/inch of thickness). If it is formed

into a projectile weapon like a crossbow, the

wielder must provide the ammunition (although

some sages believe that an advanced mallyate

type exists which provides energy-based ammu-

nition). When it is shaped, mallyate makes a faint

squishing noise and appears as though unseen

hands are forming it with lightning-fast speed.

shapes itself into his favored weapon—a bat-

tleaxe. Quite pleased with this, the fighter

decides to keep the strange, but sturdy, weapon.

Not long afterward, the fighter is attacked by a

group of skeletons. Knowing that a bludgeoning

weapon would be more effective against these

foes, his mallyate battleaxe suddenly morphs into

a flail. After making short work of the undead,

their orc cleric creator flees from the nearby

bushes. The fighter grins in anticipation and,

while pursuing, his flail morphs back into the

shape of his favored battleaxe. He hopes the

gods are finished throwing creatures at him for

the time being since he can not shape his mally-

ate weapon again until the next day.

When Mallyate Breaks

As a kind of “metal,” mallyate is susceptible

to rusting and sundering. In addition, there

are those magically inclined crafters who

wish to melt a mallyate item down and use it

as a component in other items to see what

might happen. Any condition, however,

which shatters, melts, or otherwise breaks a

mallyate item, causes it to immediately evap-

orate in a sizzle and puff of gray ash.

Unbeknownst to the wielder, the mallyate

actually reforms on the Astral Plane where it

originated, safe and whole once again.

If a wielder loses possession of his attuned mally-

ate (i.e. it is more than 5-feet away) for more than

10 minutes, it reverts back to its original unat-

tuned form. When given to (or taken by) anoth-

er creature, the same thing happens. However, if

the original wielder recovers the mallyate within

the 10 minutes, it is as if the item never left his

possession. This is apparently the amount of

time the intelligence within mallyate can recall its

previous wielder. Otherwise, the mallyate must

be attuned for 24 hours as if brand new to the

possessor

A wielder can change the mallyate’s simple form

(simple being weapon-to-weapon or armor-to-

armor) as a move-equivalent action once per day

for every character level he possesses (or every

hit die if a monster). If, however, it is changed

from a weapon to armor (or vice versa), the

process requires one full round and counts as

two shapings, being inherently more complicat-

ed. When the daily limit is reached, the final

form is maintained until the next day begins, at

which point the wielder can reshape the mallyate

as desired. That said, the same wielder can opt

to leave a mallyate item in the same form indefi-

nitely.

Hiidden Talents

Mallyate is highly valued for its versatility but,

unless the wielder knows what to look for, he

may never discover its real power—the ability to

produce magical qualities! To access the magic of

mallyate, a creature must either have heard of this

capability previously or perform one of the fol-

lowing actions:

• Cast identify on the mallyate

• Succeed a Sense Motive check (DC 25) and

learn of the ability from the mallyate’s con-

sciousness.

• Succeed a Spellcraft check (DC 25) and

learn of the ability by examination of the

mallyate.

Example: A 2nd-level fighter discovers a medi-

um mallyate deposit. He carries the strange

material with him, planning to sell it at the next

town. But, after 24 hours have passed, he and

the mallyate become attuned. The fighter reex-

amines the material and, much to his surprise, it

Once the wielder is aware that his mallyate item

can replicate magical qualities, he can call them

forth as he would shape the item. The maximum

enhancement bonus a wielder can elicit is equal

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Athenaeum Arcane: Mallyate

to his character level (or hit dice) divided by

three. Every time an item is changed/improved

in this way counts against the number of times a

mallyate item can be shaped per day.

Additionally, shaping magical qualities is slightly

more difficult than shaping overall form.

Switching from one (or a set of) magical enhance-

ment(s) to another requires a standard action (as

opposed to the move-equivalent action to change

simple form).

fully strikes first with her rapier. The rogue’s

level check totals 27 while the phasm’s level

check totals 30. The mallyate’s magic did not

function, so the rogue can only roll for damage as

a normal rapier.

Armor Example: A 7th-level fighter starts the

day with a +2 mallyate longsword (this +2 prop-

erty is equivalent to one-third the fighter’s level).

Later in the day, he finds himself under attack by

orc archers. Taking cover behind a rock, the

fighter starts to shape his +2 mallyate longsword

into an arrow deflection mallyate heavy steel

shield (requiring 3 shapings in total—2 shapes to

morph from weapon to armor and one shape to

alter the magical properties). Unsheathing his

ordinary hand axe, the fighter moves toward the

nearest archer while finishing the shaping

process (one round to shape from weapon to

armor and a standard action to change magical

qualities). On his way, two orcs fire again at him.

They must first roll their level checks (totaling 6

and 9 respectively). The first is a clean miss any-

way but the other scores a hit. Before rolling

damage for the orc’s arrow, we must determine

whether or not the arrow deflection enhancement

functions by rolling the fighter’s level check. His

roll totals 20 and, since the second orc’s roll only

totaled 9, the attack proceeds normally; the fight-

er rolling his Reflex save as per the rules for this

shield enhancement type.

One important distinction between mallyate mag-

ical weapons and armor and normal magical

weapons and armor is that mallyate versions do

not require an enhancement bonus of +1 to be in

place before improving into other properties. A

character can wield an arrow catching mallyate

shield without it needing to be a +1 arrow catch-

ing shield .

The second distinction is that, when opposing

other creatures, the magic of a mallyate may not

function. Since it was not constructed with time

honored arcane construction methods, a mally-

ate’s magical properties have a chance of failing

against the innate power of an opponent.

Whether in the shape of armor or weapon, the

wielder sets a target number by rolling a level

check (d20 + character level). [GM Note: Ideally,

the target number is rolled every round the mally-

ate is in use. If this proves too much of a hassle,

just roll it at the beginning of the combat or even

at the beginning of each day if that is easier.] This

target number is opposed by the level/hit die

check of the opponent each time the mallyate’s

magical enhancements come into play. If the

wielder’s check is the higher, the item functions

as it should. If the opponent’s check is higher,

the mallyate’s magic does not work against it in

that particular instant (although the item still

functions as a nonmagical version of its current

form).

Contiinuous Usage

If a mallyate item continuously remains

shaped with magical properties, the mysteri-

ous force within it will burn itself out within

one month. To ensure this does not occur,

the wielder must leave the item in a non-

magical shape or unshaped altogether for a

continuous 24 hours. First-time wielders

receive quite a shock when their magical

mallyate reverts to its original unshaped form.

The only way to “recharge” a depleted mally-

ate is to return it to the Astral Plane for one

month. Few wielders, however, have the

patience to stay with the material while on

this plane; preferring to leave it go or deter-

mined to find another fresh mallyate deposit.

Weapon Example: A 16th-level rogue starts the

day with spell resistance (19) mallyate leather

armor (this +5 property is equivalent to one-third

the rogue’s level). Later in the day, she needed

to shape the armor into a +4 bane (aberrations)

mallyate rapier (requiring 3 shapings in total—2

shapes to morph from armor to weapon and one

shape to alter the magical properties). When the

phasm she was expecting finds her, she success-

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Athenaeum Arcane: Mallyate

There are circumstances when a magic item must

make a saving throw. Normally, these saves are

determined by using an item’s caster level. But

since mallyate does not have its own caster level,

saving throws instead use the level/hit dice of the

last attuned creature. If the last attuned creature

is unknown, simply roll a d20 to determine wield-

er level.

magnet, pulling them through the Plane of

Shadow and onto the Material Plane. Less pow-

erful spells and abilities can have the same result

but the chances are not as good. In game terms,

whenever a shadow-related spell or ability is

used, there is a 10% chance per spell level (or

approximate level for abilities) that a bit of mally-

ate appears somewhere within a 1d4 mile radius.

What About Cost?

Those are the facts. Most of the remaining ques-

tions surround the mallyate’s innate intelligence.

The best answer sages can come up with con-

cerning the intelligence’s purpose is that it is a go-

between, or translator, for material and wielder. It

allows the attunement process to exist in the first

place; making a wielder’s thought patterns com-

patible with the mallyate’s transformational capa-

bility. But where did the intelligence come from?

As far as your campaign goes, there is no right

answer. The only constant is that the intelligence

cannot be directly spoken to as it is little more than

a dull consciousness. However, if the GM decides

to build a mallyate mythos into the campaign, that

can change. Below are a few examples of where

mallyate intelligence might originate.

Mallyate items are truly priceless. As long as it

can be shaped, this material is the perfect item for

any given situation. Since a mallyate item is bal-

anced, in game terms, for each wielder, formulat-

ing a price isn’t a necessity. The GM should feel

comfortable introducing this special material at

any level of play. For purposes of determining

PC equipment wealth, if a mallyate is discovered

before 3rd-level, give the item a base masterwork

cost of 300 gp. At higher levels, mallyate value is

the average of the best magical weapon and

armor enhancements it can be shaped into. For

example, a 9th-level PC would count his mallyate

as a 13,500 gp item (18,000 gp for a +3 weapon

plus 9,000 gp for a +3 armor divided by two).

• Previously unknown entities native to the

Astral Plane who become absorbed into

mallyate on contact. A campaign could cen-

ter on finding and releasing one of these

harmless creatures.

• Souls are trapped within pieces of mallyate

by an evil entity as part of an elaborate

scheme. When the time is right, these souls

cause mallyate to fuse to their wielder’s

exterior and take control of their minds!

• Exiled prisoners from another plane or

dimension, stripped of personality, and set

adrift on the Astral Plane inside mallyate.

• Botched planar traveling magics cause the

caster’s (or traveler’s) essence to become

lost in the Astral Plane. The traveler’s body

collapses but his soul is diverted into a piece

of mallyate.

• Somewhere in the Astral Plane’s endless sil-

very skies is hidden the last of a race of

dragons once thought extinct. Every few

decades, the dragon lays a cluster of eggs

that, due to the mother’s ancient state, can-

not hatch. The unborn souls of the dragons

survive as a dull imprint of an intelligence

that will never realize life.

Oriigiin Theoriies

There are few facts concerning the origins of

mallyate. The first is that the material begins as

bits of matter floating around on the Astral Plane.

These are of various sizes and shapes and are, on

their own, unremarkable objects. However, these

bits of matter occasionally get funneled through

vortices in the Plane of Shadow and are deposit-

ed onto the Material Plane. Their trip through the

Plane of Shadow somehow transforms these mere

“bits of matter” into something quite unique.

Mallyate can arrive on the Material Plane within

normal stone or simply deposited onto open

ground. The former is discovered accidentally

while mining while the latter is stumbled upon by

creatures passing by.

If a random deposit was the only method by

which mallyate originated, such deposits would

be few and far between. High-level spells or

powerful supernatural abilities relating to dark-

ness and shadow seem to draw astral bits like a

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Athenaeum Arcane: Mallyate

• The forms of long-dead gods break apart

after dying on the Astral Plane. The pieces

from the bodies scatter across the plane,

imbued with an echo of the deity’s once-

considerable consciousness and power.

Adventure Hooks

There are several ways to introduce this adapt-

able material into a campaign. Here are a few

examples.

• Discovery: While the PCs are on the road,

underground, or even in a dank urban

basement, the way mallyate enters the

Material Plane allows it to be found virtual-

ly anywhere.

• Treasure: A great many monsters kill crea-

tures and take their possessions back to the

lair. When the PCs eventually kill these

monsters, those possessions become their

own. It is standard fare in a campaign to

introduce new items, like mallyate, in this

fashion. More intelligent monsters may

actually be wielding the mallyate when the

PCs encounter them.

• Quest: After a self-styled “shadow mage” is

defeated not far from the PCs current loca-

tion, a sage contacts them for a job. The

party is hired to infiltrate the shadow

mage’s now defunct lair and search for a

mallyate deposit. The sage knows of the

material’s shadow related appearances and

wants to study the material in detail.

• Reputation: A high-level bard makes an

appearance at the same tavern the PCs are

visiting. The half-elf’s weapon is as spon-

taneous as his songs, for as the bard sings

of various warriors, his weapon changes

shape to match the subjects! After the

show, the bard offers anyone knowledge of

where to find more of mallyate for the right

price.

• Inheritance: Whether the PCs have a base

of operations or are on the road, a courier

catches up with them. The man bears a

chest belonging to one of the PCs recently

deceased relatives. Family heirlooms

inside now belong to the PC. Clothing and

jewelry fill out the bulk of the chest, but at

the bottom is a peculiar steel-like mass…

Behiind the Scenes:: Why Only

Armor and Weapons?

For an in-game reason, one could argue that

it’s simply the nature of all creatures to be

combative and adversarial and the mallyate

responds to this basic nature by forming only

armor and weapons. As for an out of game

explanation, these are the easiest items to

work with the concept of shapechanging

items. If you’re a GM who wants to allow

mundane mallyate equipment, there isn’t any-

thing wrong with that. Perhaps a PC wants

to shape his small mallyate into a crowbar.

This author says, “Why not?” On the other

hand, if a PC wants to shape his medium

mallyate into a staff of fire , that could prove

problematic as more rules crop up than this

pdf addresses. To shape these more compli-

cated items, a GM might rule that the PC must

succeed a Use Magic Device check (as if he

had it as a class skill) (DC 20 + item’s caster

level) to shape the magic item. Even if suc-

cessful, the magical properties of the item

may still not function against other creatures

as per the opposed level check rule for nor-

mal mallyate magical qualities.

In the same vein, a PC might want to shape

his mallyate weapon into a silver or adaman-

tine one. To do so requires knowledge that

the weapon has magical potential (see the

“Hidden Talents” section above). Shaping

into a different material altogether requires

the same standard action as changing magical

enhancement bonuses does. When used

against other creatures, the same opposed

level check rules apply as well.

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