Adamantine

The orcs began chanting, as their chosen warrior stepped forward. More muscle than I was used to seeing on orcs draped her frame, and she hefted a heavy-looking mace with a toothy grin. "Shield-Breaker! Shield-Breaker! Shield-Breaker!" rose the cries from their side of the battlefield. I grinned. Clearly, my opponent had been chosen with me in mind. Just as clearly, they didn't recognize the deep blue metal of my shield. Hefting it, I swaggered forward, eager to see the orcs' expressions when this shield failed to break.
Every culture that sees bards passing through on occasion has at least heard of Adamantine, even if few individuals ever see anything cast of the alloy in their lifetimes. Ballads of great heroes of war almost invariably include the hero acquiring a weapon, shield, or suit of armor made of the metal, whether or not they actually did. Rulers and governments pay kings' ransoms' worth in goods and trading rights to acquire even enough of the component materials to create a single suit of armor or a matching sword and shield. A smith who can confidently craft the alloy can command his own prices, and need fear no enemies; those who might menace such a person would find literal armies willing to protect such skill.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Dark indigo blue in color, adamantine objects are distinctive and unmistakable for those who have witnessed it before. Rather than shine the formed metal seems almost to absorb light, offering only dull reflections of its surroundings even when polished religiously.

Physical & Chemical Properties

There is no more durable material known to mortal races than adamantine. Shields and weapons cast of it neither crack nor break, and armor of adamantine plating cannot be pierced directly by any known methods or tools, including those also manufactured of the same alloy. It maintains its temperature under even the most extreme of conditions; warriors incinerated by white-hot fireballs while bearing adamantine items leave only the items behind, cool to the touch. Similarly, one need not worry about the accelerated possibility of frostbite in cold climes while bearing adamantine armor or other items.
Adamantine harbors an overwhelming resistance to magic as well, once it has cooled to its final state. Properly-shaped planes of adamantine, such as certain types of shields and armor plating, will even refract targetted magical effects.

Origin & Source

Adamantine is alloyed from several types of metal, carbon sources, and other materials, but the rarest of contributing components is certainly Extalt ore. Without the appropriate amount of Extalt available, False Adamantine will instead result from the process. It is the mysterious Extalt which catalyzes a unique bonding process when heated to an appropriate temperature as part of the mixture.

Life & Expiration

Thanks to its resistance to magic (see Properties), adamantine cannot be enchanted once formed, but is very willing to accept magical effects during its alloying process. Any enchantments that require specific physical representations, such as runes on an object, must have those representations formed as part of the initial casting process. For all the effort required to enchant it, adamantine retains any magic successfully applied to it for the rest of its existence.

Type

Metal