Armor of the Shadow Dragon (Magical Plate Armor):

It is unclear when exactly this armor was made but it is said that there is a fantastic set of black plate armor made from the blood of the dragon god "Styphon the Black." It is believed by many scholars to be ancient, perhaps thousands of years old but the alchemist who made the armor is also unknown. The style does not appear to match that of any other armors.

There are a few other suits of armor reputed to have been forged from the blood of dragon gods but they are extremely rare and valuable. Often these armors are considered to be worth a fortune. Some scholars believe that the armor was originally created for a black paladin or priest of darkness serving the fell dragon god. Of course not having a date of creation makes it hard to tell for sure. What is known is that the armor is often worn by those who worship Styphon the Black.

The armor is a suit of black plate armor. The armor is both quite attractive yet repellant at the same time. It is of extremely fine workmanship, equal to the best dwarven armor craftsman. The helmet of the armor appears to be stylized to remind one of a Night Stalker Dragon skull. The armor itself has design of dragon scales mixed with design of bones as if to both make one think of a Night Stalker dragon while also thinking about death and perhaps a hint of necromancy.

One of the enchantments on the armor makes it able to fit most wearers although limited to those from the size of dwarves to those the size of an ogre. It would not fit a gnome on the lower end or a troll or giant on the upper end. It will size to fit both male and female wearers. Otherwise, the armor fits perfectly and has almost no encumbrance to the wearer. The armor is lightweight, almost weightless.

Due to being made from the blood of Styphon the Black, the armor is able to withstand a huge amount of damage, more than most suits of plate armor. It is not as tough as a suit of armor made from the dragon goddess Zandragal might be however. The black armor has the ability to regenerate any damage it takes although it is believed that if the armor is destroyed, the enchantment will be dispelled.

There is an enchantment of shadow meld on the armor. When activated, the wearer will completely disappear into shadows and is extremely hard to see. Because of this, individuals who like to assassinate from the shadows often will prize the armor. The enchantment can be activated up to three times per day with a duration of twelve minutes per activation.

Stories tell that there is a curse associated with the armor. The curse seems to effect wearers in different ways. Mostly it is a case where it effects some worse than others. In its mildest form, it seems to be a distrust of those around them. Usually, this means that wearer will be extremely weary of those around and be a bit snippy. It usually takes a few months for this to develop. The worse level is a state of intense paranoia of all those around. They will assume that everybody else is out to get them or steal the armor. Often the wearer will react to thwart those around them, often resulting in a huge amount of bloodshed. In some cases but not always what starts as a distrust will develop into paranoia. Especially those of strong will do not fall prey to the curse as often. In some cases, this paranoia seems to occur as soon as they put the armor on for the first time while in other cases it can take months to come to the forefront. Interesting, the curse seems to effect those who are the most evil the most. It is interesting that the curse does not seem to dissuade many from wanting to possess the armor.

A.R. Rating:

S.D.C.:

Weight:

Special Features:

Enchantments:

Regenerating Armor: Damage inflicted on the armor is restored / regenerated at the rate of 10 S.D.C. per hour. If the armor is destroyed (Reduced to 0 S.D.C.), the enchantment is broken and the armor is worthless.
Sizes to Fit: Armor will adjust to fit any wearer from around 4 feet tall to 7 feet tall and will fit perfectly to the wearer. Will not fit those larger or smaller than listed dimensions but will form fit to both female and male wearers.
Shadow Meld (3 x per day): Has a duration of twelve minutes per activation. The armor completely blends with shadows and become totally invisible, even to a "see the invisible" spell. The shadow must be at least five feet long to be an effective hiding place. The wearer can move through the shadow or from shadow to shadow. While in shadow/darkness, prowls at a 60% proficiency (or at +15% to normal prowl skill, whichever is greater.)
Intense light will dispel the shadow, although wearer can flee into another shadow. Feeble light, less than three torches, will only create more shadows.
While hidden in shadow, is still susceptible to magic, psychic and physical attacks, although attackers are -5 to strike (because they can't see wearer). Area affect magic does not suffer any such penalty.
Weightless: The armor only weighs only about an ounce and has no mobility penalties and half prowl penalties.

Curse:

Distrust / Paranoia:

Distrust: In the mild form, the wearer of the armor will get the feeling that others around them are often lying to them but not out to actively get them. It will be hard to convince them, -10% to charge and impress rolls. They will also tend to watch those around them carefully and tend to be snippy.
The lesser curse will usually take several weeks (1D4) to come to the forefront. There is no saving throw against this curse.
Paranoia: Instead of just thinking that everybody is probably lying to them, the wearer of the armor things that everybody is out to get them or steal the armor. Often, the wearer of the armor will decide that they need to get those armor them before they are eliminated or the armor. As one might expect, this curse is often a self fulfilling prophecy. Once you are out to get them, they will often be out to get you as well.
Those with a nagging distrust of others before donning the armor need to save vs insanity or be effected by the curse. Otherwise, they have to save once every two months against insanity. In this case, the wearer has to miss two saving throws against insanity in order for the curse to come to the forefront.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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