Elahinoor
There is no one ‘official’ material used by the Host for its arms and armor. Every Archangel has his, her, or its own personal opinion on what would be suitable; and the essentially feudal nature of Heaven precludes any sort of universal standard. That being said, weapons and armor constructed of Elahinoor are popular. Not too popular — the manner of their construction has awkward resonances to the angelic mindset — but not rare, either.
Elahinoor is solidified and shaped light, in much the same way that diamond is a crystalline form of carbon; the description is accurate enough, but neither descriptive nor evocative. To make Elahinoor one needs an authentic artificer (i.e., one with the Enchant skill) and several specialized pieces of equipment, including a ‘Phial of Galadriel’ (see below). The ‘raw’ light is teased out and induced to adhere to a grid of very thin glass threads. Once fixed, the grid of glass and light is beaten, folded and re-folded in a manner similar to the forging of Damascus steel, with the same general result; a material that is both supple and strong. Elahinoor is also considerably less massive than its equivalent in steel.
In game terms, a weapon made out of Elahinoor has an additional +2 to Accuracy. This reflects their lightness for their strength; even a battle-axe made out of the stuff is simply easier to control, and firearms with Elahinoor springs and grips have significantly less recoil. Brass knuckles (or boot-heels) made out of Elahinoor add 2 to Power, instead of 1.
Armor made out of Elahinoor subtract an additional 2 from an attacker’s roll to hit, and are sufficiently light and flexible that the wearer would not be encumbered, even if if In Nomine had actual encumbrance rules. All items made out of Elahinoor also have an additional -1 to be hit, and an inherent Protection of 3; alternatively, the GM can just rule that these items tend not to break except when dramatically appropriate. Finally, Elahinoor is easy to enchant; use of it gives a +1 to the roll.
‘Flavored’ Elahinoor
There are as many types of Elahinoor as there are types of light. Some of those types have virtues that can be passed along; artificers have spent not a little time working out which types of Elahinoor work best, and under what circumstances. The trick is in gathering the right sort of Elahinoor. Doing so requires a successful Enchantment roll at -2; failure means that Sunlight Elahinoor is acquired, instead.
Below are a few of the most popular types:
Firelight Elahinoor (Red)
This Elahinoor makes the best weapons; the bonus is +2 to Accuracy and +2 to Power. Also, a Firelight item may be used to start a fire, once per day. The flame will act pretty much like a match: it will not do damage on its own, but can ignite flammable items.
Forestlight Elahinoor (Green)
This Elahinoor makes the best armor: the bonus is +2 to Protection and -2 to hit. Weapons made from Forestlight Elahinoor also have a +1 to Power against Servitors of Death and Undead.
Helllight Elahinoor (Helllight)
This is what Infernal artificers generally have to work with; other types are known to the Horde, but not emphasized (the entire quantity over quality mindset). A weapon made out of HelllightElahinoor has a +3 to Power and no accuracy bonus; armor made from it has a +3 to Protection and no modifier to hit. There is no equivalent ‘Divinelight Elahinoor,’ and few angels wish to research the matter. The last holder of that Word cast a long shadow.
Manlight Elahinoor (Orange)
This type of Elahinoor requires light that has been taken exclusively from artificial sources. Originally developed by Servitors of Technology — but reverse-engineered by the Host — a weapon made from Manlight Elahinoor is treated as a corporeal relic/3 when it comes to determining disturbance. Actual corporeal relics made from Manlight Elahinoor add +3 to the roll, instead.
Moonlight Elahinoor (Silver)
This Elahinoor is prized by ethereals: weapons and armor made from it are effective level/2 talismans (adder) for the appropriate skill, and can be freely used in the ethereal plane.
Sealight Elahinoor (Blue)
The light to make this Elahinoor must be gathered from what light has penetrated at least thirty feet of open water. Armor made from Sealight Elahinoor floats; weapons made from Sealight may be operated underwater with no penalties (this includes firearms). Possession of any item made from Sealight will add +2 to Swimming rolls.
Sunlight Elahinoor (Yellow)
This is probably the most common type in its own right, as it is valuable in its own right and a ‘contaminated’ batch of another type of Elahinoor will usually revert to Sunlight Elahinoor anyway. Weapons made from Sunlight, when used on those with the Vulnerability (Sunlight) Discord, add the level of that Discord to their Power. An item made from Sunlight will also glow on command. The item can store up to 8 hours’ worth of light (to recharge, place in direct sunlight) and will illuminate a dark area about as well as a torch or small flashlight.
Starlight Elahinoor (Pure white)
Servitors of Lightning treasure this Elahinoor: among other things, it is a superconductor to about 400 degrees Centigrade, and as good a conductor as copper at about 800 degrees. Artificers specializing in the stuff find that the demand for simple wires and computer chips (items made that incorporate Starlight Elahinoor generally give a +3 bonus to appropriate rolls) is enough to keep them from bothering with making weapons. Except, of course, for the force swords (+4 Power, +2 Accuracy, Large Weapon), which are quite popular.
Twilight Elahinoor (Grey)
Twilight Elahinoor is almost never turned into weapons or armor, as it is more valuable to Sorcerers and artificers. Items made from Twilight Elahinoor give a +1 to Sorcery and Enchantment rolls: powdered Twilight Elahinoor gives a +3 bonus to either roll, but can only be used once.
‘Phials of Galadriel’
Even Heaven can be influenced by popular Earth culture, particularly the bits written by one of their Saints. A Phial is simply a container of one standard unit of ‘raw’ light, of whatever type being gathered. It has been long known that such containers can be essentially short-circuited, releasing all of the accumulated light in one blast. This will act exactly as a successful performance of the Celestial Song of Light (roll 1d6 for the CD), but will not cause disturbance unless the user decides to add personal Essence, or a mortal is damaged by the blast. Range is a 2 yard globe; Phials may be thrown.
Costs: Making an item out of Elahinoor adds 6 points to the cost. Phials of Galadriel are 3 points a ‘dose’.
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