Armor of Mammon (3.5e Equipment)

Armor of Mammon


There was said to have been a king of ages passed whose greed was legendary. Some claim it was a dreugar, frugal and miserly. Others say the owner was a dragon or a draconic kin whose love of treasure exceeded all bounds and sanity. Whoever the original owner Mammon was, he fueled his lust for riches with the spoils of war. Wearing elaborate golden armor he stormed city after city, looting and pillaging, until he finally met his match when beggers managed to break the dam, flooding the town and drowning Mammon encased in his heavy coffin of golden armor. It is said when they recovered the armor, they opened it to retrieve the body and yet found nothing but a pile of gold coins.

The armor was placed in treasure hoards of many rich owners afterwards, but each owner who obtained the armor eventually were driven to acts of fantastic greed which always spelled their downfall. The armor was thought cursed, but attempts to damage the armor have proven fruitless. Last known it was stolen away by a greedy dragon, and is hiding within a treasure hoarde somewhere, if not being actively worn.

The Armor of Mammon is a set of bulky golden Full Plate +4, thicker and larger than normal full plate. It adjusts to the size and build of the wearer, though is always significently larger than full plate should be, to the point where it may look like small-scale power armor. The surface is designed with ornate patterns which seem to be different for each owner it has, exalting them as something grandiose. The back possesses a pair of mechanical arms which appear as wings or a halo when folded and not in use. The entire outfit is impossibly heavy and, apparently, solid gold even though such armor would be too soft to be useful normally. Armor of Mammon weighs twice as heavy as standard full plate.

When not being worn, creatures within 30 ft who observe the unworn armor must make a DC 28 Will save, or be compelled to put the armor on. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. If someone dons the armor, it will adjust to their build and fuse tight. The suit is surprisingly articulate, and the owner quickly adjusts to their enlarged body, but the suit at this point will not come off without the effect of miracle, wish, or a break enchantment of at least caster level 40th.

The Armor of Mammon is sentient, with ability scores of Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 24 and NE alignment. It has 120 ft darkvision, blindsense, and hearing, but only empathic communication ability. It grants +30 on Appraise checks, damage reduction 5/-, and the identify spell at will. It allows any alignment to wear it but inevitably converts its user into some degree of evil, accepting both lawful, neutral, and chaotic hosts equally. Good aligned characters take 2 negative levels for as long as they are wearing the armor. It's Ego score is 28.

Those wearing the armor may not be able to remove it but they will find they have no need to. While wearing the armor they can sleep in heavy armor without discomfort, and have no need to eat or drink. They must still breath and sleep.

The armor can employ its two mechanical arms in battle, striking with two primary slam attacks with the host's BAB and strength. They operate on their own, but typically follow the desires of its host. If money is dropped in battle, the armor will imploy the host to draw close and use its actions to pick up the money and stash it away, even in the heat of combat.

The largest benefit of the armor by far is that it is protective of its host. If the host is killed, the armor will revive them 1 round later at full health, though with -2 Wisdom drain each time making it easier to manipulate them. However, 25,000 gold worth of wealth is subtracted from their supplies, even if their funds are far away. It may revive its host for as long as the money holds out. Only currency is taken, expensive items such as swords and magical items do not count towards their total, so it is in the host's best interest to maintain a treasure hoard. Once the host runs out of money, they are not revived and their body is transmuted into a pile of gold coins inside of the suit. However analysis quickly reveals the coins to be fake and utterly worthless. The body is considered completely destroyed, and the coins do not count as part of the body for the purpose of resurrections. The host is aware of this ability when it is donned, but not the consequences of failure to supply the nessicary gold or the wisdom drain associated with reviving. The armor tends to abandon users immune to ability drain, unless things are already working in its favor.

While wearing the armor, the host is compelled to pursue treasure. If a party loot is being divided, the user must find a way to have a larger than normal share. If they find a treasure chest, the host must open it. If an ally or party member is richer than they, they must find a way to become the richest in the group. Whenever encountering a monitary situation, the host must make a DC 28 Will save or give into their greed. They are not suicidal or stupid in this quest for money, but they will use everything in their power to obtain it.

The armor encourages its host to obtain its gold in increasingly darker means, throbbing with positive energies whenever a more ruthless action is taken. Evil actions are awarded with the armor assisting in battle, good actions and repeated attempts to subvert it may cause it to enter an Ego battle with its host, a host who cannot remove the armor, so each day subjects them to another attempt at the inevitable takeover.