Runeplate
Description
Each plate of this heavy armour is crafted from an alloy of green iron and steel, repeatedly quenched in beggar's lye to cleanse unwanted impurities from the metal. The surface and fastenings are woven with orichalcum wire, with pieces of carefully shaped dragonbone used both as decoration and as backing for key pieces. The armour is usually marked with runes, and a full traditional suit of Wintermark Runeplate bears each of the runes somewhere on its surface, along with personal runes of significance to the smith and the intended wearer - these suits are almost always commissioned by a specific wearer. Crafting a complete suit is sometimes considered the pinnacle of the armour crafter's art.
Runeplate inspires the wearer, driving them to perform great deeds. Some wearers find merely wearing a suit to be very tiring; beyond the exhaustion caused by the weight of the armour there is a constant nagging need to do something. It is not uncommon for a warrior to collapse after removing a suit of Runeplate, emotionally wrung out by the experience.
In Dawn Runeplate is sometimes called crusader's plate and in contrast to Elfin Guard tends to be sparsely decorated. A wearer of Dawnish crusader plate needs no beautiful decoration to prove their glory, preferring to let their quality show through in their actions.
In Highguard the armour is often called cataphract's lorica and inscribed either with the specifically virtuous runes or without visible runes at all and instead with symbols of the imperial virtues. It is favoured by the cataphracts, but few chapters can afford to maintain more than a single suit of this expensive and valuable harness.
Rules
- Form: Armour. Takes the form of a suit of heavy armour. You must be wearing this armour to use its magical properties.
- Requirement: Any character can bond to this item.
- Effect: You gain two additional hero points.
- Materials: Crafting a suit of Runeplate requires twenty four ingots of green iron, five ingots of orichalcum and three measures of beggar's lye and three measures of dragonbone. It takes one month to make one of these items.