Duskwood
This species of tree grows widely all over
Faerûn, and is named for the eerie appearance of its
tightly growing groves. Smooth, with small branches at
the top of 60-foot trunks, duskwood trees have black bark
and smoky gray wood that is as tough as iron.
Any steel or mostly steel weapon (such as a sword or a
mace) made from duskwood is considered a masterwork
item and weighs only half as much as a normal steel item
of that type. Weapons not normally made of steel or only
partially of steel (such as a club or a battleaxe) either
cannot be made from duskwood or do not gain any special
benefit or penalty from being made of duskwood.
Duskwood doesn’t work well as armor; it can’t be
shaped into rings like steel, and overlapping plates don’t
flex well. (Even the wood shape spell can’t create the
level of detail needed.) However, duskwood breastplates
are possible, with the following statistics: armor bonus
+5, maximum Dex bonus +4, armor check penalty –2,
arcane spell failure 20%. A duskwood breastplate is
treated as light armor for the purposes of movement and
other limitations.
Duskwood weighs half as much as steel, has hardness
10, and has 30 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: Weapon +1,500 gp; breastplate+3,000 gp.