Silver is known for its chemical purity and effectiveness against the forces of the occult. A complex process involving metallurgy and alchemy can bond silver to a weapon made of steel so that it becomes more effective against such creatures without compromising its effectiveness against other foes. A weapon augmented in this manner bypasses the damage reduction of certain creatures such as lycanthropes and vampires, and allows the wielder a 50% chance to strike incorporeal undead such as ghosts as if it were magical. The alchemical silvering process can also be applied to armors made of steel, which allows the wearer to retain a +1 armor bonus against incorporeal attacks.
The alchemical silvering process can’t be applied to nonmetal items, and it doesn’t work on rare metals such as adamantine, cold iron, and mithral.
Alchemical silver has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 8.