Skywind

Skywind, the Sleeping Iron

"Iron you can no longer feel, the enemy cannot feel either."

What it is

Born in the workshop of a human master goldsmith, the ring is charged with energy drawn from the Plane of Air. Its gem is a skystone, a fragment of wind that the great storms of that plane sometimes freeze solid, and someone had to go there to fetch it. The stone holds the breath, the gold holds the stone, and the signs engraved on the band bind that breath to whoever wears the ring.

What it does

At a command word, all of its wearer's gear becomes intangible, without changing its appearance in the least. Full plate and a two-handed weapon then weigh no more than air: you can march for days without tiring and sleep in armor as soundly as in a bed. A second word returns the gear to matter, ready for battle. Intangible gear can also touch what is intangible: the armor stops a specter's claw, and the blade wounds it.

What it costs

While intangible, the gear stops no arrow, blade or fang, and a well-laid ambush strikes a man in armor as it would strike a naked one. The return of the weight comes at a price as well. Going from nothing to full plate knocks the wind out of you and numbs the limbs, and it takes a few seconds to regain your mobility. The heavier the gear, the longer those seconds last, and in a fight, every one of them counts.