[RPG] How to one obtain an adamantine weapon

damage-resistancednd-5eweapons

In the Monster Manual, gargoyles, golems, helmed horrors, and xorns all enjoy either immunity or resistance to:

bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren't adamantine

Is it actually possible to obtain a nonmagical adamantine weapon?

  • Although the Dungeon Master's Guide describes adamantine armor (p.150) and Daern's instant fortress (p.160) as being made of this metal, and provides an AC for destructible adamantine objects (p.246), there's no mention of adamantine weapons.
  • The creation spell (PH p.229) can produce an adamantine weapon that lasts for a single minute.
  • The true polymorph spell (PH p.283) can't turn a regular weapon into adamantine, but it might be able to turn a goblin into one for an hour.
  • The only way to obtain a (somewhat) permanent adamantine weapon in the game seems to be to loot one from drow elves (MM p.127).
  • A PC (perhaps even a drow) with proficiency in smith's tools could presumably craft a nonmagical adamantine sword during downtime at 5gp per day (PH p.187), except that unlike silvered weapons, there's no pricing for adamantine.

It's seeming like mugging an NPC drow is the only by-the-book way to tool up against gargoyles.

Best Answer

Find one as treasure / Go on a quest for it

By the book is a little odd to ask for here — the place to find an adamantine weapon is in the game world, not in some rule in the PHB that would give players unfettered access to powerful treasure.

For a veneer of by-the-book analysis, unenchanted adamantine items are listed as magic items in the DMG (pp. 146–8, 150). There's only armour listed, but adding an adamantine weapon to a treasure trove would be a trivial bit of homebrewing (that many DMs wouldn't even consider homebrewing).

So the answer is: go on a quest for adamantine, either in weapon form, or raw material form and then a second quest to find the legendary smith who can work “one of the hardest substances in existence.” Or mention the desire to your DM, and get lucky finding it in a treasure cache. That's how you get an adamantine weapon.

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