Voidglass Armor for Starfinder First Edition (Patreon)

Starfinder First Edition specifically assumes that special materials like adamantine are already used in armor construction to the greatest degree possible in each suit, so there's no need for special adamantine rules such as exist in the feudal fantasy version of the game. But some people adore having options, including fantasy terms having game mechanical effects in science-fantasy games. And, I admit, I am one of those people.

So, I'm doing special armor materials for Starfinder First Edition. Links to all my Starfinder special materials for armor articles (which is just three, at time of writing) can be found, along with links to many other Starfinder entries, at the Paying-Patreon Exclusive Starfinder First Edition Index.

Special Armor Materials

Armor made of special materials can only be made of ONE special material. You can't have your armor benefit from being made of both adamantine and mithral, though legends claim there was once a special material that acted as both, called dragonsteel...

Special Armor Material: Voidglass

Voidglass is a form of crystalized darkness that cannot be created in the normal Material Plane, but can exist within the plane as a psychically reactive, nonmagical material. In ancient times only the elder-god worshiping grioths had any source of voidglass, which they still use extensively in weapons, armor, and even starship and city construction. However, the advent of hyperspace travel revealed that voidglass could be created accidentally when jumping from the Plane of Shadow into hyperspace. Once this was understood, voidglass factors were build in the Plane of Shadow, with hyperspace crucibles exposing raw planar shadow material to trans-dimensional forces, creating voidglass with relative ease.

Voidglass armor uses specially tempered voidglass of various purity and density, often backed and augmented with ceramic and resin materials. While voidglass armor could be largely translucent, most armor designs cover the voidglass with scratch-resistant resin coatings, leaving clear sections only where doing do can be useful for visibility purposes. It it thus generally easiest to identify voidglass armor by examining the suit's helmet.

Cost is +25%

Voidglass armor grants the wearer a second saving throw against ongoing mind-affecting effects the character initially failed a saving throw to resist. This saving throw is at the same DC, and making the second saving throw has the same effect as making the initial save would have (for example, ending the effect if a success initial saving throw would have negated it). For light armor this second saving throw takes place 3 rounds after the initial failed save. For heavy armor, it takes place 2 rounds after the initial failed save. Voidglass armor only gives a single additional saving throw against any specific application of a mind-affecting effect.

Because more experienced and hardened minds require more advanced forms of voidglass to protect, the cost of upgrading higher-level suits of armor is much higher. Voidglass armor with an item level 5 or more lower than the character level of the wearer has a much reduced effect. In that case all the voidglass can do is grant a +1 enhancement bonus to Will saving throws against mind-affecting effects.

Voidglass tens to absorb small amounts of light and sound. As a result, armor check penalties for suits of voidglass armor are halved when being applied to Stealth checks.

(Some voidglass helmets have psychic heads-up displays, which overlay their data directly in the wearer's mind. This often freaks out non-psychics. Art by Breaker Maximus.)