Full Item Description
Icesilk is a material similar in texture to normal silk, but woven from strands of ice. It is produced in the region of the Svetla Glacier, by the Ice Maidens. Icesilk is pure white, like the ice that they are woven out of.
There are 2 varieties that they come in: those that never melt (the most common variety) and those that melt on contact with human flesh.
History
Originally produced for the clothing needs of the Ice Maidens, Icesilk became a main exporting commodity to the Dragon Empire in the Lu Dynasty. This occurred when they were chanced upon by the sole surviving member of a team of diplomatic envoys sent out to negotiate a military pact with the Persians, who all died in an avanlache except for one.
At first, there was only 1 variety of Icesilk, the type that never melts that the Ice Maidens produce for exporting. Noble ladies and wives of rich merchants often ordered gowns made of this type of Icesilk to wear in summer. Thus, in the Dragon Empires, Icesilk is considered a luxury item.
Over time, however, one of the top families in the assassination trade saw an alternative use for Icesilk that, instead of never melting, would actually melt when it first comes into contact with human flesh. This family commissioned a Tuner Mage to alter the properties of Icesilk in accordance with its particular vision and a new variety of Icesilk came into being, which was used to fashion what later became the signature weapon of this family, the Ice Needles. This variety can only be found on the black market but like its counterpart that is sold legally, it too commends a high price.
Special Properties
Although Icesilk does not confer any magical properties to users, it is nevertheless an enchanted product. It is purely through the magical powers of the Ice Maidens that such a clothing material can be woven out of ice.
A gown woven from Icesilk will keep the wearer cool at all times. On the black market, there are also transactions on the sale of Icesilk that melts on contact with human flesh, which are used to make Ice Needles for assassination purposes (see 30 Unconventional Weapons)
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? Responses (12)
Updated: There might be some loose ends with respect to how the Ice Maidens are discovered and the concept of Tuner Mage maybe that could be expanded upon but I personally think that they go better into standalone subs. But if someone has a differing opinion, I'm also happy to hear about it and might rethink things. Other comments are also welcome, as always.
Yes, get to writing that 'Tuner Mage'. Sounds good!
I love this stuff. I love the two versions, and the ice needles. I just think this is a great addition to most campaign worlds! Not sure what else to add. Cool items! (no pun intended)
Put in a stub on the Tuner Mages but I don't promise to finish it any time soon. Would have offered to collab on it except I've got major wanderlust it seems with respect to submissions, might frustrate my collab partner no end b/c of it. But if someone is still interested, let me know.
(Note: I have linked it here and posted a comment on that. Yep, you can link stubs to submissions as well.)
Oh, and we are used to that wonderlust... might be you got infected by it here. :)
This is pretty nifty - there is another material about (don't have the link) which radiates heat that this is the mirror image of.
Undead might use garments of this nature to refrigerate themselves and extend the shelf life of their flesh. Similarly, adventurers could preserve their dead for later, somewhat easier resurrection.
It is indeed a good fantasy material to wrap your head around. ("So it is from ice? Like, from water?!") Nice work there.
What happens if it is exposed to fire or other form of intense heat? Would it simply turn into water again (and make a very expensive extinguisher :) )?
What a coincidence that you raised this point here as I've got another stub on a different type of silk (Flamesilk by title) that acts as a fire extinguisher.
I like it, these sort of very detail items which are essentially fluff can give a lot of flair to players. I know my players always really enjoyed dragging lots of crap like this around with them. Detail post like this can really a GM to flesh out his game world. So thanks.
This is a lovely utility submission. It adds color to the world without being an obvious adventurer inventory item.
Though I do like the needles.
Bonus points for having the links. Now write up something for the Tuner Mage stub. It does not have to be a lot, just enough that we know what they do. 1-3 lines should do it. You can flesh it out later.
This is, as mentioned above, a nice addition to an RPG world in the sense that they mostly add flavour. Most items here are heavy on the adventure hooks or high magic qualities.
Good job Moonlake!
Update: fixed broken links
Only wear this in a hot climate.
