ELVEN CHAIN MAIL

Elven chain mail is the only form of armor made of a legendary elven 
alloy, a light-weight silvery steel of great strength. Even without 
enchantment, elven chain mail is typically half the weight of its 
human-forged counterpart.

The elves guard the secret of making elven chain mail with more ferocity
than they protect even their own children. In the entire multimillennia-
long history of the elven race, the number of elven armorers who learn 
the secrets of forging elven steel can be counted on but one hand. 
Needless to say, these masters of the art tend to be ancient in the 
extreme, and the choice of an apprentice comes but once every thousand 
years. This is the highest honor accorded to any single elf, save being
chosen by his peers to lead the elven race.

Apprenticeship is not a gift bestowed by the wealthy or powerful, but 
chosen by magical testing in a secret ceremony. Some outsiders would 
argue that the training makes the armorer, but tradition holds great 
sway in elven circles.

Human and dwarven armorers have been able to divine at least some of 
the secrets of the elven armorers, but not the most important ones. They
know, for example, that mithril silver, that part of mithril which gives
this purest of metals its glimmer in the moonlight, is somehow alloyed 
with other materials. The process of alloying has never been duplicated 
outside of an elven master forge, so most armorers believe some form of 
magical manipulation is involved in the process somewhere. Furthermore, 
anyone hoping to forge elven armor must be able to see the magical 
emanations radiating from it. While this may be done artificially 
through magic, this task is geared more toward the elves' natural 
eyesight. Drow armorers work under similar conditions.

Naturally, when one has a thousand years to perfect the skills for one's
job, just about anything is within grasp. The dwarves call this an 
unfair advantage, while the humans don't even bother trying anymore. 
Life is too short, they feel, to waste time on creating something that 
would be easier stolen or discovered in a dragon's horde.

Elven chain mail is used by elven troops, both cavalry and infantry. It 
is common among the grey (faerie) elves and advanced elven cultures, but
less common among the high elves. It is extremely rare among the wood 
elves.

Since the material is so strong and valuable, in those rare instances 
when a suit of elven chain mail is damaged to the point of needing 
repair, the suit is never discarded, but returned to the armorer for 
repair or replacement.

By the numbers of suits estimated to exist by human military planners 
and master armorers, best estimates are that it might take upwards of 
ten years to make just one suit of elven chain. Otherwise, they reason,
there would be a lot more of the armor in use by the elves, and many 
more suits would be found in the lairs and treasure hordes of monsters 
across the realms.

Magical elven chain is so precious a gift that only a handful of suits 
have been rumored to exist anywhere but in royal elven hands.

In addition to the normal weight and flexibility advantages of elven 
chain, magical elven chain mail is so weightless that it can be worn 
under one's normal clothes. It is so comfortable and unrestrictive that
it can be worn constantly, even while sleeping. Magical elven chain is 
so soft to the touch that it can be worn without any padding beneath 
it. This makes magical elven chain the ideal armor for travelers, 
excluding only the greatest of knights, who by tradition prefer plated
armors over all others.

For rogues especially, a set of magical elven chain mail is a more 
prized possession than even a magical full plate armor. Adventurers 
have lost their lives over mere rumors of magical elven chain.

Slot(s):                                torso, legs, arms, hands
Size:                                   medium

Protection against:
 cut                                    very good
 stab                                   very good
 bash                                   very good
 other                                  very good