Today I have three more items from the Milean magical items series...
Dwarfmake Armor
xp value: varies
gp value: 1,000+
There are several iron dwarven clans that live within the borders of the empire, which is good for imperial soldiers because that increases the chance that they'll be able to purchase some of the finest armor in the world. Generally dwarfmake refers to two things: either (the correct and precise definition) to armor that was made completely by dwarves from ore to finished product or to armor that was made by another race but was forged using superior ore purchased from dwarven furnaces.
The first type is true dwarfmake, and generally encompasses chain armors which are a favored of dwarven smiths. True dwarfmake armor is superior in all ways to mundane armor, being imbued with greater toughness and increased protection of a level commensurate with the skill of the smith. Enchanted dwarf armor may take a year or more to produce and can cost an astronomical amount. No dwarf smith will ever willingly work with a mannish one, so labor costs are increased as well.
The second type is common enough in the empire: false dwarfmake, or dwarf-steel armor is made from ore refined in the hidden furnaces of the dwarves. Since mannish bloomeries cannot refine iron ore to such a pure degree, plate armor is generally only made from dwarf-steel. Whether enchanted or not, plate armor costs a pretty penny. There are also dwarf-steel loricas and scale armors as well, though they are less common.
Imperial Tekhne Manual
xp value: priceless
gp value: priceless
The Tekhne Manuals are ancient tomes that were written by the highest masters of the imperial schola. They encapsulate a long forgotten type of magical writing that even the most powerful of modern sages cannot replicate. Tekhne Manuals can only ever be used once, limiting the number of these esoteric tomes that still exist in the world today.
It is said that by reading a Tekhne manual some part of the manual itself passes into the reader or somehow affects permanent alteration. They have the strange property of being legible in every language. The Tekhne are not standard, and each individual manual may have a different effect (discernable only once the manual is read!) They have been known in the past to perform such wonders as increasing a man's hardiness (con), nimbleness (dex), or even giving unheard of knowledge (increasing in level).
Tekhne manuals are a powerful resource indeed and must be treated with the utmost care and respect.
Jeweled Blade
xp value: 400-3,000
gp value: 1,000+
Mileans are fond of arming swords, particularly those with jewel-inset hilts and pommels. These are also the most commonly select weapons for enchantment. Though some mercenaries prefer their workaday swords to be enchanted (giving them an unseen edge), many nobles and knights of the empire prefer to broadcast their wealth by wearing an ostentatious jeweled sword.
Jeweled blades may have many properties. The most common are spell-laid enchantments of seeking and harming, but they are by no means the entire gamut. Some jeweled blades can blaze in fire or crackle with lightning like the legendary sword Shadowbane. Others are designed to combat specific foes or to cleave through armor as though it were warm cheese. Still other jeweled blades have been blessed by Haeron or Halor and lend their wielder a powerful defense.
No two jeweled blades are the same, just as no two smiths are the same.
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