Enchanted Armor, and Overview

This article will attempt to explore the different kinds of enchanted armor, their function, and construction.

Terminology

"Enchanted" vs. "Magic"

• Magic armor is merely made from Magical Materials. It may be stronger, lighter, and tougher for it, but is not inherently enchanted. Such armor is of particular use to a mage or battling sorcerer as the materials can be tapped into as a source of power.

• Enchanted armor has all the same qualities, but has been given specific, permanent effects.

Common Effects

Enchanting an object is like painting a portrait, no two artists do it the same, and no enchantment effects the same two people in exactly the same manner. The most complex and expensive magical items are tailored to the specific individual, but as war does give rise to industry, a few common basic effects became the standard during the Mage Wars.

• Unbreakable - typically the first thing applied to most weapons and any armor is the ability to withstand great impacts without being bent or shattered. This consumes a significant portion of the item's capacity and is sometimes only applied to the breastplate. Not that this effect by itself does not in any way protect the wearer from impacts, it only stops the armor itself from bending.

• Untarnishing - a key element in making the item last forever is an effect which stops corrosion. This combined with Unbreaking means the item can be buried for hundreds of years without being destroyed. Untarnishing is relatively simple and consumes only a small amount of capacity, so is usually applied to anything metal.

• Stain Resistance - while this sounds minor, the ability to repel stains is considered a vital, must-have element for any enchanted armor(and a key reason chainmail is so uncommon). This effect is the easiest way to repel Orochi Red and thus protect at least the armor itself from having its enchantments disabled in battle.

• Deflection - very common is an effect which turns arrows and blades away. This cannot necessarily stop all hits(and is useless against blunt weapons), but it certainly makes the wearer more evasive. The stronger this effect is, the more capacity it consumes.

• Force Damping - an effect which dampens the force of blows so that less impact is delivered through the armor to the wearer. A full plate suit with this enchantment would provide proof against explosions as the effect extends slightly beyond the edges of the plates themselves.

• Anti-Magic - marrying this effect with any other effect on the same piece is challenging, as is ensuring it does not cancel out the effects of any other pieces worn. However, when properly executed this reduces the effects of harmful magics directed at the wearer.

• Elemental Counter-Magic - one common way of providing protection without the hassle of generalized anti-magic is the use of Elemental Counter-Magics to negate incoming attacks. This is relatively easy to do and if only one element is used can be made very strong for a small capacity cost. The downside is the lack of Counter-Earth magic and the relatively high price of materials required for such enchantments. If a strong enchantment is applies to different pieces of a suit, a warrior can be made relatively invulnerable to fire, wind, and water magics.

• Feathers - an effect which reduces the weight of the armor, either wholly or only for the individual wearing it. Easier to do that making the wearer stronger to bear the weight, and for a relatively low capacity-cost. As with most of these effects there is no "one" style for it, but the general concept is very widely employed.

• Strength/Stamina Effects - these are considerably less standardized as the other effects on this list, and much harder to make work for everyone who puts on the armor. But magics that make the wearer stronger and less easily tired are very valuable.

Exotic Effects

Most of the abilities beyond this list fall outside of "standard", but these are the more exotic but relatively common effects often found on enchanted armor:

• Magic Absorption - effect that absorbs part or all of harmful spells. Easier to create than anti-magic but at a higher capacity-cost, this is only used when the wearer expects to fight battle mages on a regular basis. Particularly wealthy adventurers might have an entire set of dedicated "wizard-breaking" armor with similar effects.

• Magic Deflection - redirects part or all of incoming spells. Can be done at a lower capacity-cost than absorption, easier to do than anti-magic

• Reflection - specifically the ability to reflect magic spells back at the caster

Basic Types

Plate armor is the most common for two reasons: it is easiest to enchant metal, and each piece must be enchanted individually. Enchanted leather is also found, though somewhat less frequently, for the same reason. Very rarely will one find enchanted chainmail, but if done correctly it could be extremely powerful due to the cumulative stacking effect of each ring.

Breast Plates

Far and away the most common piece of enchanted armor is a breast plate. Aside from the usual unbreaking/untarnishing effects