Selibra, the King's Robe

Rune Item

A set of pauldrons designed to fit over traditional plate armor. The pauldrons are made of black metal and covered with blood red runes. When worn, a semi-transparent cloak of shadow and darkness extends down from the pauldrons. While the cloak of shadows is materialized, those who see Selibra donned by a wearer must make a save vs. Horror Factor, 12 or higher.

Type: Rune Pauldrons; Greater Rune Item.

Damage: Special (see powers for details). Even though Selibra is capable of hurting an opponent, he is not designed as a weapon. As a piece of armor, he is not capable of inflicting damage directly to opponents.

Alignment: Diabolic.

Powers: All the common rune powers plus the following:

1) Cloak of Darkness: See the Shadow Magic spell of the same name (Palladium Fantasy Book 12: Library of Bletherad; page 80-81). This cloak extends from the pauldrons and remains semi-transparent. The cloak is extended upon the will of the wearer, but the cloak remains under the control of Selibra. That means if the cloak is extended, Selibra may wrap up any victim he chooses, even if the wearer is protective of the victim or trying to avoid attention. Those consumed by the cloak report that they can hear the screams and moans of all the souls consumed by Selibra.

2) Soul Drinker!: For a traditional soul drinker, the victim's blood must first be drawn. This is not the case with Selibra. Any victim consumed by the Cloak of Darkness and fails their save vs. magic (see the Cloak of Darkness spell) risks having their soul drunk by the diabolic rune item. Once a victim fails their save, Selibra can attempt to devour their souls (a second save vs. magic, this one 14 or higher). If the soul is consumed, the body is also consumed and becomes lost within the darkness of the cloak. Selibra doesn't need to drink souls, but often enjoys doing so. However he doesn't like devouring weak souls, so if he thinks someone is unworthy he won't bother to "taint" himself with the victim.

3) Corrupt Rune Item: With most rune weapons soul drinking is the height of their power, but not with Selibra. One of the most fearsome abilities of Selibra is for his cloak to swallow other rune weapons! Once consumed, Selibra can attempt to corrupt the item. The rune weapon must make a save vs. magic (14 or higher, only the items bonus to save vs. magic applies). A successful save means the rune item is spit back out after one full melee round (15 seconds), and immune from being consumed again. A failed save means that Selibra is capable of corrupting the weapon, changing their alignment to Diabolic and making the weapon willing to serve his will. Any corrupted rune weapon will take the same color scheme as Selibra. This corruption lasts for as long as the rune weapon remains in close proximity to Selibra. Once separated, the rune weapon is freed from control and returns to its previous alignment and personality. Rune weapons who failed their save are not immune, and are -1 to save the next time Selibra consumes it.

Curse: Powerless in sunlight and under the area affect of a Globe of Daylight. In these conditions none of his powers may be used. Selibra also hates the experience and will drain energy from the wearer to make feel better. While exposed to such conditions, wearer's feel weak and are -2 to strike, parry, and dodge, and -10% to all skills.

Personality: Selibra is very confident, and believes he's the "king" of all rune items. With his ability to corrupt other rune items, this claim may not be too far off. Not only does he believe highly of himself, he has little respect for mortals, thinking them beneath him. His ideal wearer would be a supernatural being, followed by a creature of magic. He'll only accept a mortal wearer as a last resort, and usually torment the mortal wearer and exert his dominance. While he has little respect for mortals, he does view strong mortals (such as skilled men of arms or powerful practitioners) as nourishment. Common mortals, such as farmers and merchants, he has no interest in at all, and would sooner lie on a cold dark cave floor than even be worn by such a lowly creature.

History: His origins aren't quite clear. The two main theories remain that he was actually created as a part of a king's armor, and that a master of the arcane created him in an attempt to harness the power of the greatest rune weapons all at one time in a seize the throne. Last recorded history of Selibra involves a mortal wearer who became fed up with rune item's torment and belittling. This mortal decided to throw Selibra into the deepest pit he could find, and that was the last anyone ever saw of him. What no one except for Selibra knows is that before the mortal could carry out his task, Selibra swallowed him and consumed his soul. With no wearer, Selibra fell helpless to the floor where he remains to this day. This is the third wearer Selibra has rid himself of in this way.