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Imbue Armor


Armor imbued with an enhancement grants you special benefits while it is worn. Additionally, when your armor receives its 1st-level enhancement, it also grants a +6 bonus to Stamina. A 5th-level enhancement increases the Stamina bonus to +12, and a 9th-level enhancement increases it to +21.

Clothing as Armor Treasures

A hero who has a kit that provides no armor, such as the Martial Artist or Sniper kit, can create and make use of leveled armor treasures that imbue mundane clothing with supernatural power. At the Director's discretion, heroes who don't use kits, such as elementalists and nulls, can also benefit from such treasures.

1st-Level Armor Enhancement

Item Prerequisite: Varies

Project Source: Texts or lore in a language determined by the enhancement

Project Roll Characteristic: Might, Reason, or Intuition

Project Goal: 150

Awe: When you start this project, choose either Charming or Threatening. If you choose Charming, you gain an edge on Presence tests made to win other creatures over or make a good impression. If you choose Threatening, you gain an edge on Presence tests made to intimidate, coerce, or bully.

Damage Immunity I: When you start this project, select three damage types. You have immunity 5 to those damage types.

Disguise: You can use a maneuver to cause this armor to take the form of any type of clothing that you have been in the presence of—a noble's dress, a guard's uniform, a cultist's robes, and so forth. The armor loses none of its protective qualities while transformed into other clothing.

Iridescent: When you are the sole target of an ability, you can use a free triggered action to reveal that the ability was targeting an afterimage of you in the same space as you. The power roll for the ability is treated as an 11. You can't use this enhancement again until you earn 1 or more Victories.

Magic Resistance I: Your characteristic scores are treated as 1 higher (to a maximum of 2) for the purpose of resisting the potencies of magic abilities.

Nettlebloom: Whenever you are grabbed by an adjacent creature, your armor sprouts toxic nettles. While that creature has you grabbed, they are weakened.

Phasing I: Once per turn, you can move through 1 square of solid matter. If you end your turn inside solid matter, you are forced out into the space from which you entered it and you take 5 damage that can't be reduced in any way.

Psionic Resistance I: Your characteristic scores are treated as 1 higher (to a maximum of 2) for the purpose of resisting the potencies of psionic abilities.

Swift: You gain a +1 bonus to speed.

Tempest I: As a maneuver, you infuse this armor with the essence of a storm. The first time an adjacent creature deals damage to you before the end of your next turn, they take lightning damage equal to your highest characteristic score and you can push them 1 square.

1st-Level Armor Enhancements Table

Enhancement Item Prerequisite Project Source Language
Awe A lock of hair from a fey, taken in amicable bargain for Charming or in violence for Threatening Khelt
Damage Immunity I Elemental sand left behind when an elemental enters Orden from Quintessence Zaliac
Disguise The blood of a lycanthrope Khelt
Iridescent Fur from a lightbender Hyrallic
Magic Resistance I A scale from a dragon The First Language
Nettlebloom A rose from the magical hedge of a hag Khelt
Phasing I Ichor from a destroyed wraith Szetch
Psionic Resistance I Rare crystals that resonate with psionic energy, often found at sites of psionic experimentation Voll
Swift The feather of a falcon slain as it was diving Yllyric
Tempest I A strip of starmetal struck by lightning Ullorvic

5th-Level Armor Enhancement

Item Prerequisite: Armor with a 1st-level enhancement; varies

Project Source: Texts or lore in a language determined by the enhancement

Project Roll Characteristic: Might, Reason, or Intuition

Project Goal: 150

Absorption: Whenever you are targeted by a magic or psionic ability that targets only one creature, you can use a free triggered action to cause this armor to absorb the ability after the ability's effects resolve. While the armor has an ability absorbed, you can't absorb another.

You can use an absorbed ability as if you knew it, making power rolls for the ability using your choice of Reason, Intuition, or Presence. You don't need to spend any Heroic Resource to activate the ability. Once you use the ability, the armor loses it, and you can absorb another.

Damage Immunity II: The damage immunity conveyed by the armor increases to 10.

Dragon Soul: When another creature causes you to be winded or dying, you can use a free triggered action to cause the soul of a dragon to emerge from this armor and hurtle toward the creature. Make the following power roll against the creature.

Power Roll + Your Highest Characteristic Score:

  • ≤11: 8 damage; push 3
  • 12-16: 12 damage; push 4
  • 17+: 15 damage; push 5

Levitating: On your turn, you can treat up to 5 consecutive squares of movement as flying movement. If you are still in midair at the end of your turn, you fall prone.

Magic Resistance II: Your characteristic scores are treated as 2 higher (to a maximum of 3) for the purpose of resisting the potencies of magic abilities. This benefit replaces Magic Resistance I.

Phasing II: When you use the armor's Phasing I enhancement, you can move through 3 squares of solid matter per turn.

Psionic Resistance II: Your characteristic scores are treated as 2 higher (to a maximum of 3) for the purpose of resisting the potencies of psionic abilities. This benefit replaces Psionic Resistance I.

Reactive: Whenever you take damage, you have damage immunity 2 until the end of your next turn after the triggering damage is resolved.

Second Wind: Whenever you become winded, you can use a free triggered action to spend a Recovery.

Shattering: Whenever an enemy scores a critical hit against you, they take 10 sonic damage.

Tempest II: When you use the armor's Tempest I enhancement, the affected creature takes 8 lightning damage and you push them up to 3 squares.

5th-Level Armor Enhancements Table

Enhancement Item Prerequisite Project Source Language
Absorption A mirror blessed by a priest of a god of magic The First Language
Damage Immunity II The essence of an elemental who is still alive Zaliac
Dragon Soul A scale from a dead dragon Vastariax
Levitating A palm-sized crystal grown in the subterranean lair of an overmind Zaliac
Magic Resistance II A scale from a mature dragon The First Language
Phasing II The remnants of a slain ooze Szetch
Psionic Resistance II A fresh crystalline scale from a gemstone dragon Voll
Reactive A complex, hand-engineered set of brass gears inscribed with runes in silver dust Zaliac
Second Wind The sweat of a troll Kalliak
Shattering A pound of volcanic obsidian, formed naturally as a single piece Zaliac
Tempest II The armor must be laid out under a clear sky as a comet passes over Ullorvic

9th-Level Armor Enhancement

Item Prerequisite: Armor with a 5th-level enhancement; varies

Project Source: Texts or lore in a language determined by the enhancement

Project Roll Characteristic: Might, Reason, or Intuition

Project Goal: 150

Devil's Bargain: You can fly. Additionally, if an effect would make you prone while flying, you can choose to not make you prone by losing Stamina equal to the distance you would have fallen from make you prone.

Dragon Soul II: While you are winded, your head transforms into a dragon's head and you have the following ability.

Dragon's Fire

l
Main Action

Dragon's Fire

You open your maw and unleash hell.

AreaMagic
Distance
5 x 1 line within 1
Targets
Each enemy in the area
Power Roll +Your Highest Characteristic Score
!5 fire damage
@8 fire damage
#11 fire damage
Invulnerable

When an ability roll made against you obtains a tier 1 outcome, you can ignore its damage and effects.

Leyline Walker

Once per turn as a move action, you can spend any amount of your movement to instead teleport that distance.

Life

Whenever you would die, you can spend a Recovery to regain Stamina instead. If you have no Recoveries to spend, you die.

Magic Resistance III

The benefit of the armor's Magic Resistance II enhancement extends to each ally within 3 squares of you.

Phasing III

Your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks, and you can move through the space of any enemy as if they were an ally. You can't end your turn in an enemy's space.

Psionic Resistance III

The benefit of the armor's Psionic Resistance II enhancement extends to each ally within 3 squares of you.

Temporal Flux

Whenever you move out of a square, you can choose to leave an imprint behind that lasts until the end of the encounter, until your imprint takes 20 or more damage, or until you create a new imprint. The square is occupied by your imprint, and you can share that space with it.

On your turn, you can teleport to the imprint's space as a free maneuver. When you are targeted by an ability, you can use a free triggered action to teleport to your imprint, and the power roll for the ability is an automatic tier 1 result.

Unbending

You can't be subjected to forced movement unless you choose to be. Effects that ignore Stability also ignore this enhancement.

9th-Level Armor Enhancements Table

Enhancement Item Prerequisite Project Source Language
Devil's Bargain The wing of an archdevil Anjali
Dragon Soul II An offering of gems, coins, and art stolen from a dragon's hoard, sacrificed in ritual fire Vastariax
Invulnerable Repurposed metal plates from a servok war engine Rallarian
Leyline Walker A cutting from an ethereal tree that manifests in the mundane world only once a year Yllyric
Life The tear of a saint High Kuric
Magic Resistance III A scale from an ancient dragon The First Language
Phasing III Perfectly clear glass from a house that disappeared into the Ethereal Plane Szetch
Psionic Resistance III The skull of a voiceless talker at least a century old Voll
Temporal Flux An experimental temporal capacitor invented by the kuran'zoi Voll
Unbending A spearhead or other weapon broken off in the body of a stone giant, and ossified for a year or more High Kuric
Source: Draw Steel: Heroes · printing 1.01b