Ambrose Dall
On Raiments
Raiments are unique set of artifacts created for heroic individuals to aid them in a particular quest or following - called a domain.
One of the most famous examples of raiments are The Voice, a set of magical items crafted to provide the Druids with a powerful champion who could put steel behind the Order's mission. In time, this singular champion spawned a following which would become the Rangers. Eventually, The Voice was deemed too powerful, and the items were hidden - until 885 TA when the Archdruid Falstaff was given Thunder, the scabbard of The Voice, by the Elven Queen to begin his transformation to the Paladin of the Balance.
There is little recorded history of the creation of raiments. Most believe the knowledge of these items is held by a small cabal of craftsmen who remain hidden except in times of extreme need. In 900 TA, Ambrose Dall appeared at the court in Teufeldorf to provide services to the three kings and their companions. His arrival coincided with the opening of the Thousand Year Gate, although no direct link has been established.
Ambrose Dall, The Artifacer of Raiments
Ambrose Dall appears as a young man, of square jaw and close-cropped black hair. His eyes are grey but twinkle with flecks of many colors. He wears a simple robe with tools stuck in his belt and a plain, large sack flung over his back. His appearance gives few clues to his homeland, although a number of his tools are dwarvish or gnomish in nature. He has no discernible accent. He always appears at court and leaves court by teleport.
Party Raiments
Raiments are formed by combining normal magical items - unlike runes which have a more complex, customized and exacting design. Initially, raiments are a collection of three items - although powerful raiments from history have been known to have more (i.e, The Voice has eight pieces).
- Raiments have a domain (or theme). All powers build from this domain. For example, Hylax has the raiments of the Elder Mage.
- New raiments are limited to three items. For example, Hylax has the Cloak of the Elder Mage, the Pointy Hat of the Elder Mage, and the Eyeglasses of the Elder Mage.
- One item must be offensive, one defensive, and one is utility.
- One item has six slots, one has four slots, one has two slots. Each slot can contain the power from a single item that you own. For example, a Girdle of Giant Strength or a Wand of Fireballs.
- Raiments are 40th level and indestructible – they can only be destroyed by other artifacts of an equal or higher level. And, a 16th level Wand of Fireballs is now a 40th level Wand of Fireballs.
- Item charges are now in a pool (i.e., the Pointy Hat of the Elder Mage has 60 charges that can be used by any function).
- Many functions are now pumpable – so for 4 charges a Fireball does 2x damage; for 9 charges it does 3x damage.
- Items can be recharged by characters for 1000 gp per charge – or its equivalent in magic.
- Creation is a bit pricey, however. The item to be absorbed must be sacrificed + a payment of gold or magic equal to the new power for “components” the Artifacer uses to create the item. To change the power of a slot, the owner must repay this initial cost. The creation/alteration usually takes one year (can be done between Matcons).
- The raiments, of course, take magic item slots on character sheets.