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Crafting Motif 61: Psijic Style
A guide to crafting armor and weapons in the Psijic style
The Psijic Order eschews combat, regarding all violence as a failure of negotiation and diplomacy, which are the highest of the non-magical arts. Our garb, therefore, lacks the martial look and feel of most "armor"—but that doesn't mean it's any less protective than clanking suits of metal, for powerful protective runes are woven into the very substance of our robes.
AXES
- Psijic weapons are esthetically [sic] pleasing, as most of the time their function is merely decorative, but all of our arms are fully functional when necessary. Our axes, for example, though filigreed with gold and ornamented with turquoise, are nonetheless superbly balanced and razor-sharp.
BELTS
- Psijic cinctures are usually simple leather girdles embossed with defensive runes and sporting buckles studded with turquoise or lapis lazuli. They may support broad tassets displaying runes for Deflection and Absorption.
BOOTS
- In the order, we wear boots of leather with reinforced toes, the whole enhanced by protective runes embossed and sewn in on top, front, sides, and back. For durability and softness, the hide of Psijic Domino Pigs is preferred.
BOWS
- Just above and below the handgrip, Psijic bows are adorned with Mundial Globes that represent our order's equal commitment to the defense of all mortals that walk the surface of Nirn. The three turquoise discs arranged vertically on the quiver represent the Three Kinetic Forces embodied in archery.
CHESTS
- Though a Psijic cuirass is light and flexible, its defensive enchantments are such that it will turn a blow or a blade as well as a much heavier chest piece of metal or chitin. The Psijic may choose to wear a lapis Scrying Eye medallion over the sternum.
DAGGERS
- The appearance of Psijic daggers echoes that of the Athames, or ritual knives, that we use in certain spells, for example when cutting off the intrusive scrying of outsiders. Their crossguards are wrapped in runes of defense.
GLOVES
- As hands are often extended when spellcasting, our Psijic gauntlets feature strong protection over backhands and forearms. However, the ends of the fingers are exposed so as not to interfere with the intricate gestures some magic requires.
HELMETS
- Our headwear is a hood, because what else would the members of a monastic order wear? However, woven into the warp and weft of its gleaming material are runes of protection and mystic phrases of focus and concentration.
LEG GREAVES
- Psijic greaves, crafted from the finest domino hog's-hide, are slender and flexible, yet enchanted so as to provide a measure of protection equal to that of far heavier materials.
MACES
- By design, a Psijic mace is also a sceptre, depicting a Mundial Globe enwrapped in the order's protective spells of Balance, Envelopment, and Contemplation—the three Middle Forces of the Eleven. It's also a blunt object heavy enough to knock a welwa to its knees.
SHIELDS
- Psijic shields are light metal plate, heavily reinforced by defensive runes, and adorned by three horizontal turquoises that represent the Three Middle Forces: Balance, Envelopment, and Contemplation.
SHOULDERS
- Our shoulder cops are relatively unobtrusive, and may be constructed of leather or even light metal. What doesn't vary is the embossed Deflection rune that appears prominently on each pauldron.
STAVES
- One might think that since a Psijic's temporal power is mainly expressed through wizardry, our spell staves would therefore be elaborate rune-encrusted objects, but not so: their relatively simple design reflects the truth that a staff is merely a focus of power, not a source of power itself.
SWORDS
- Each Psijic sword is elegant, beautifully embellished, and when forged, it's blessed with an orison praying it need never be drawn in anger. For at need, the straight, double-edged Psijic sword can cut a terrible swath, though its use may always be regretted.