Full Item Description
This armour appears as a non-descript, yet finely wrought suit of steel chainmail. On detailed examination, one can see that the individual links were not riveted closed, welded or pressed together. No visible seam appears on any link.
If carefully examined with the aid of magic, enchantments which serve to strongly hold the links together can be determined. Also, strong protective magic can also be detected. The metal can also be found to not be steel, but an alloy of unknown origin.
History
Duke Hagaris looked on with approval as Tyran, son of Eldreg approached the king. This knighting ceremony was a fitting reward for the young lad's bravery in the recent siege of the capital. Tryan's family was well known to the Duke, a line which has borne many skilled warriors.
Tryan was no different, a squire to Sir Aldred, an aggressive knight commanding a squadron of medium calvary. His force was tasked with cutting off the supply trains to the enemy force besieging the capital. When Aldred fell to enemy arrows, Tryan took command of the squadron and carried on with its mission. Enemy forces which were intended to reinforce the besieging troops and press for a breakthrough were instead consumed trying to protect their supply lines. This delay gave enough time for the combined armies of Duke Hugaris and Duke Astran to arrive at the capital and break the siege.
Tryan stepped in front of the king, and kneeled before him.
As he did so, his eyes glanced upon his armour and was suprised to see that something was amiss - it was not his suit! The buckles and straps were nearly new, and there was no evidence of repairs.
At that moment, the enchantments holding the chainmail links together sundered, releasing massive amounts of energy. The metal links uncurled and straightened and were propelled outwards by the released magic. Some flew outward end-first while others spun like buzzsaws.
Strangely, their trajectories curled to avoid the young would-be knight who wore the suit, but this did not extend to any others..
The king was closest to the blast and perhaps never knew what hit him. His royal armor, fortified itself by enchantments and forged from the finest steel was able to withstand the metal storm, but for this ceremony he was not wearing the matching greathelm. As a result, the line of the Grey kings ended as metal shredded regal flesh, bone and brain.
The court mage, Astrolis, standing a little back from the king had time only for a moment of panic before he too was engulfed by the screaming storm of blades. His own magics held off much of the onslaught, but with only robes he was eviscerated before he could act.
The sphere of death expanded quickly within the chamber and though its effects were more random as the distance grew, none inside bore defences sufficient to the task, including Duke Hagaris.
In a moment, a great many of the nation's finest where torn to shreds.
And in the middle of it all, Tyron stood dazed, his senses gradually returning to him. He could hear the sounds of many feet charging into the room...
Origin
These suits of armour are the product of the Assassin-mage Kagerith. This wizard specializes in creating items which deal in death. This armor was specifically created to allow it to be smuggled into areas protected against evil magic.
Magic/Cursed Properties
This chainmail has minor protective qualities - enough to exceed normal chainmail, but nothing remarkable. In any case, this is just a cover for it's main ability.
This chainmail is made of a special magical allow similar to 'memory metal'. Each link remembers it's form before it was twisted by magic into a link and closed. Twisting it into the links takes a great amount of energy and magic is required to hold it.
On command, or when a pre-chosen event occurs, it will explode violently, sending its links at lethal velocity in all directions. The wearer, however, is immune to the effects - either to allow for escape, or to produce a scapegoat.
Plot Hooks:
Boobytrap!
The PC's find such a suit during the course of an adventure, not knowing that it has been already prepped to detonate in the presence of a powerful, well-known figure.
So long as they do not meet this individual, the armour will serve as protection, but should they meet...
When you least expect it..
The PC's have been hired to provide extra protection for a VIP. An assassin wearing such a suit has been dispatched to kill the VIP. The local culture and situation is such that armor is not unusual, and the assassin will have no problem handing over his weapons at the door...
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? Responses (14)
Very topical. A magical bomb. Hamas would love a few of these in rl. 5/5
That's cool, great job valadar.
'and the assassin will have no problem handing over his weapons at the door...'- nice!!
This is weird, I again loved the effect/power more than the history, just as I did your last item, though the history is good. I think it is more a nod to the armor's ingenuity! I love it because of all of the possible applications in game-play it conjures up. Nice work valaddar!
A suicide bomber, minus the suicide. :P
Any specific suggestions on the histories? The LongSpear had a different style (mythic) then this one and I've been trying out a more technobabblish one here.
The histories are what I've been trying to develop for these submissions and admittedly they need work.
Ouch. Now that is a bad bomb if I have ever seen one, and nicely disguised, too. At least, I would think that it takes great expense and a lot of time (and magical power) to create, so it is not going to be produced very often. Still it is a dangerous toy.
Plot hook: one major bombing like the above was successful, the knowledge spreads quickly, and everywhere start people in charge getting concerned about possible security risks. If a rumour of another prepared attack gets out, people may start to panic, and act really weird around chainmails (or any armours, actually!). This may even lead to a rapid dislike of chainmails.
Heh, you should see the Platemail version.... :)
Yes, these items are generally one-off constructions. They are very expensive (that is why the target in the backstory was a king) and need suprise to be effective. Once mages know what to look for, these suits lose their effectiveness.
Updated: minor syntax correction
Not bad at all. Bravo for an interesting armor.
Interesting piece. Did not really need the story, but it is a nice touch.
Does any other mage know how to make these, or are they only the work of one man (so once he is dead, these pass into history (or do soon after)?
Heh, some people complain if there is no story!
In any case, I would let the GM decide on how well they are known. Their power is increased by their rarity. In this case, only Kagerith knows the way to make these suits (he has apprentices, but he is jealous of his secrets, so they only know part of the process). If his written works were stolen, then other mages could carry on with production.
you really have got a taste for evil, just like me.
good sub.
justone question; how didn't he notice that it wasn'y his own?, was it ensorcelled to make him forget, or what?
Distracted by the ceremony at hand. Or he was just 'thick' :)
Updated: Updated Freetext
Another great item iwhished i ad thought of it. I can see an evil empire outfitting some of its men with this, mixed with regular armor, and programmed to go of if they try to surrender to the rebels...