Mithril!

[Valarian]

I know. But no sensible Hobbit would trade anything for a pretty metal shirt.

[Beran]

After some thought I would say that if I were to include a shirt of Mithril rings as a prize in my game I would list it as a shirt of mail armour with a protection of 5d and an enc. of around 8. From what I know of the source material, other then its great worth, the only thing special about Mithril armour was that it was light as a feather, and hard as dragon scales. I probably wouldn't allow any upgrades .

[Glorelendil]

If we're sticking with the source, it's far stronger than normal metal, and weighs essentially nothing. Like clothing. Based on that I'd give it +1D protection, and 25% of the encumbrance.

So:
Mail Shirt: 4d, E=3 <-- what Bilbo had
Coat of Mail: 5d, E=4
Mail Hauberk: 6d, E=5

The reason it's not just "impervious" is that you can still get hit where it doesn't protect you, and it doesn't eliminate bludgeoning wounds. You could even reason that the protection doesn't increase; the only advantage is the encumbrance. (And its convertibility to great wealth.)

Way more powerful than any other Reward, but the rules don't really accommodate some rewards being significantly better than others.

[Rocmistro]

I'd rule it that Mithril is just a type of metal that allows for mail armors and helmets to have all 5 qualities placed upon it. HOWEVER, the "path" is pre-determined and always as follows (although the hero can "stop" the advancement at any point, it doesn't really do him any good to have it be "mithril" unless he goes to 4 or 5 advancements with it).

Q1-Cunning Make (-2 encumbrance)
Q2-Close Fitting (+1 protection)
Q3-Cunning Make (-2 encumbrance)
Q4-Close Fitting (+1 protection)
Q5-Cunning Make (-2 encumbrance)

[Rocmistro]

Hrm, I just had a different idea instead.

What if Cunning Make gave a -3 encumbrance bonus and Close Fitting gave a +2 Protection Bonus when applied to Mithril armors.

The liabilities of Mithril are as such:
-It requires 1/2/3 Treasure Points upkeep at every Year's end (special oils and metalkeeping reagents) for Mail Shirt, Mail Coat/Mail Hauberk respectively.
-It provokes Dragon-sickness in anyone who has that shadow-calling.
-If worn by non-Dwarves, it invites prejudices (reduced tolerance) when dealing with Dwarves in social situations.

[Glorelendil]

Not sure about the upkeep, but the other two liabilities sound nifty.

And I like your second suggestion better than the first, mechanically. I'm not sure I'd actually take the mithril shirt if it meant I had to forego all other rewards in order to take advantage of it.

Also, in general I'm not a fan of the fluff of the reward system being that you "upgrade" your current item. In some rare circumstances it can work, e.g. you don't unleash the power of the weapon until you can read the runes on it. But for the most part the "I had something mundane before, and now it's special" doesn't work for me.

Especially not for the 2nd upgrade.

Somebody on the forums once suggested that players give LMs a heads up on how they want to spend their XP, and LMs can work that into the story. E.g., you mention that you want a Grievious spear, and the LM conveniently places a spear-head, a bit dirty and rusty, but engraved with interesting runes, in your path. During Fellowship phase you learn more about it, and decide to have it cleaned up and mounted on a new ash shaft. Presto: Grievous spear.

Can't wait to see what Rivendell has to say about magic items.

[Beran]

Some good ideas there. However, I think you may be over thinking the situation.

[Stormcrow]

Grumble, grumble.

Ahem.

"And everything in it."

Thank you.

[Rocmistro]

Some good ideas there. However, I think you may be over thinking the situation.

Well, basically I agree Beran.

In my game, I'd probably just say, "you can declare something as mithril when it has 3 qualities assigned to it" and leave it at that.

This is for anybody who wants Mithril to be something different and special. But if you want it to be special and cool and different, you have to make sure it's balanced, otherwise it's "overpowered" and will disrupt the enjoyment.

[Looping]

This may not be canon because characters get to have powerful toys without spending the points, but I do award special objects depending on the needs of my scenario and campaign. For instance, towards the end of my campaign the company will own a couple of very neat **cough cough** magic objects. Also, one of their recurrent adversary is a crazed Easterling chieftain with a custom glaive (his reward). If they manage to defeat him, they may well take the weapon. The difference between those objects and regular rewards, in my opinion, is that objects you did not spend XP on do not have "plot immunity." My players may lose or break the glaive; or they may lose the real powerful, central magic object.


To me, there are a couple ways a character could acquire a mithril armor:

Spending XP on valor to upgrade their initial armor: After a certain number of upgrades, the character simply exchanges his/her armor for a mithril armor. The mithril armor would have plot immunity like any other reward. Applying Cunning Make and Close Fitting 7 times each to the same armor won't change the material from which it is made.

Getting one as a gift, or finding it as part of a treasure, in which case the armor does not have plot immunity. This is the path I would tend to favor. After all, Bilbo and Frodo did not have 6 points in valor when they each acquired the mithril armor. Plus, the armor can be lost or stolen (see Rocmistro's comments on the armor inciting dragon-sickness).