Junk Armor

April 19th, 2016

Today’s Magic Market features a trio of armors that may not quite seem like treasures at first, but just because they appear at the budget end of the magic item price spectrum doesn’t mean that they can’t be fun and exciting. While today’s armors may look like they’re made of junk (literally), they are actually potentially valuable to any adventurer.

CALTROPMAIL PRICE 3,250 gp
Slot armor; CL 9th; Weight 25 lbs.
Aura moderate conjuration

These suits of +1 chain shirt are actually made of innumerable caltrops that have all been hooked together with thin but durable metal wires. They are treated as having armor spikes, and the armor spikes are also treated as having a +1 enhancement bonus. Additionally, three times per day, as a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, the armor’s wearer can shake himself wildly, filling a 10-foot-radius area around himself with caltrops. These caltrops function as normal in all ways, except that they gain an enhancement bonus to attack and damage equal to the enhancement bonus of the caltropmail’s armor spikes. He is immune to caltrops created by his own suit of caltropmail.

None of a caltropmail’sunique abilities count as an enhancement bonus equivalent, and it is treated as a +1-equivalent suit of armor and a +1-equivalent set of armor spikes for the purposes of the cost of further improving its magical abilities.

Construction Requirements Cost 1,750 gp

Craft Magic Arms and Armor, major creation

KITCHEN ARMOR PRICE 5,400 gp
Slot armor; CL 9th; Weight 35 lbs.
Aura moderate transmutation

These suits of +1 banded mail are made from numerous pots, pans, stove parts, and similar pieces of clutter that can be found about the kitchen, all of which have been hastily forged together, forming a mismatched hodge-podge of large metal discs in different shapes, sizes, and metals, with handles sticking out in various places and occasional grease stains.

The scrounged metal used to create the armor has some lingering psychic energy from its time as kitchenware, which subtly affects the way the magic of the armor functions. The wearer is vulnerable to fire damage (suffering half again as much fire damage as he otherwise would), but all fire damage he suffers is nonlethal damage. If the wearer’s current non-lethal fire damage gained in this way is equal to or greater than 1/2 his maximum hit points, he begins to exude a delicious smoky scent, granting a +2 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls made against him with bite natural attacks.

As a standard action, the armor’s wearer can cause it to violently disassemble, effectively hurling dozens of kitchen utensils through the air. Each creature in a 30-foot line must succeed on a DC 15 Reflex save or suffer 5d6 points of bludgeoning damage. This causes the kitchen armor to gain the broken condition, and removes it from the wearer, causing its components to be scattered across the 30-foot line affected by this ability. The kitchen armor cannot be worn again thereafter until the broken condition is removed.

None of a kitchen armor’sunique abilities count as an enhancement bonus equivalent, and it is treated as a +1-equivalent suit of armor for the purposes of the cost of further improving its magical abilities.

Construction Requirements Cost 2,900 gp

Craft Magic Arms and Armor, resist energy, telekinesis

ROPE ARMOR PRICE 11,165 gp
Slot armor; CL 1st; Weight 25 lbs.
Aura faint transmutation

This armor is made entirely from layer after layer of wound ropes, which function as a suit of +3 hide armor. The ropes constantly twist and writhe as they move across the outer surface of the armor, inflicting 1d4 points of damage to any creature grappling or grappled by the wearer. Additionally, the wearer can cause a section of rope to extend itself from the end of the armor’s arm as a swift action. This effectively functions as a whip, except that it cannot be disarmed. Additionally, instead of making an attack with this whip, the wearer can choose to attempt to initiate a grapple, even if the target is not adjacent to him. If you successfully initiate a grapple in this way, the target is pulled towards you until it is adjacent to you. Additionally, the armor can be commanded to produce up to 200 feet of rope each day, which can be detached from the armor and used normally.

None of a rope armor’sunique abilities count as an enhancement bonus equivalent, and it is treated as a +3-equivalent suit of armor for the purposes of the cost of further improving its magical abilities.

Construction Requirements Cost 5,665 gp

Craft Magic Arms and Armor, animate rope