Chainmail

Chainmail
Slots
Base Value	100 /  100
Special Properties	+1
Possible Bonuses (Item)
Defense	+1  +2  +3
Resistance	+1  +2  +3
Movement Allowance	+1 +2
Possible Item Powers: Item Power Req. Spellbooks Bless 2 Endurance 2 Resist Elements 2 Resist Magic 2 Cloak of Fear 2
Possible Bonuses (Artifact)
Defense	+1  +2  +3  +4  +5  +6
Resistance	+1  +2  +3  +4  +5  +6
Movement Allowance	+1 +2 +3 +4
Possible Item Powers: Item Power Req. Spellbooks Bless 2 Endurance 2 Righteousness 4 Invulnerability 5 Resist Elements 2 Elemental Armor 4 Resist Magic 2 Guardian Wind 3 Magic Immunity 5 Cloak of Fear 2 Wraithform 4

Chainmail (or "Chain Mail") is a type of Magical Item which can be equipped on any Hero possessing an appropriate slot. The bonuses on the Chainmail piece will enhance that Hero's performance, particularly his/her defensive properties and movement speed.

As with any Magical Item, Chainmail can have a total mix of up to 4 different bonuses and/or Item Powers. Chainmail differs from other armor pieces thanks to a default  +1 Defense bonus which is automatically given upon wearing the item. It is thus a cheap but useful armor for Melee Attackers.

As with any other items, Chainmail can receive Item Powers that alter the Hero's properties - particularly giving additional immunities and/or better survivability.

Description

Chainmail armor was one of the most common types of armor throughout the middle ages, though it predates them by quite a bit. It is constructed by painstakingly connecting tiny little rings of metal, finally forming a flexible sheet. Initially, Chainmail was expensive and prized, but improved construction techniques allowed it to become the staple armor for front-line infantry, and was often worn underneath other armor or even clothing.

Containing much less metal than Platemail, Chainmail is significantly lighter and allows better mobility - but is still very hard to get through even with piercing weaponry.

The Basic Item

Chainmail is one of many possible Magical Item types in Master of Magic. Magical Items can be Crafted by a wizard (tailored to the specific needs of a Hero under the wizard's employ), or found as rewards for defeating a suitably-dangerous Encounter (in which case the item already has a set of pre-defined bonuses).

Any Chainmail piece can be equipped on a Hero, if said Hero possesses this slot:

Armor Slot

Most Heroes possess this slot - only specialized mages do not have it (they get an additional "Jewelry" slot instead).

As long as a Chainmail piece - any Chainmail - is equipped on a Hero, that Hero receives a Defense bonus of  +1 by default, regardless of what other bonuses (including extra Defense bonuses) are imbued into it. While it is only a small bonus, it applies against all direct-damage attacks, and may be quite useful against low-tier opponents. It essentially allows the Hero to make an extra  Defense roll, potentially blocking another  1 extra Damage point from the attack.

Crafting Chainmail

It is possible to create a new Chainmail piece (like any other Magical Item) using the Item Crafting process. This is initiated by casting either the Enchant Item spell or the Create Artifact spell, though there are differences in the potential strength of the new Chainmail depending on which spell is chosen.

During Item Crafting it is possible to select a Chainmail as the type of Magical Item being created (the button is labeled "Chain"). This sets the default cost of casting the item-crafting spell to  100.

Once Chainmail is selected, the Item Crafting menu will show all bonuses and Item Powers that can be imbued into it. Click the desired options to add them to the weapon, or click a selected option to remove it. Regardless of which item-crafting spell was selected, Chainmail can only take up to 4 different bonuses and/or Item Powers - just like any other item in the game.

Each additional bonus will increases the value of the item by a set amount. The more powerful the bonus or enchantment, the more it raises the item's value (see list below). An item with higher value costs more  Mana to create, and thus may take more than one turn to complete.

When Crafting, Chainmail has some advantages and some disadvantages over other types of armor - the Shield and Platemail. Chainmail gives a smaller  Defense bonus than Shields, but it applies against all types of attacks, whereas Shields do nothing against Melee Attacks. Chainmail is also weaker than Platemail, but is also significantly cheaper to create.

Thus, Chainmail is a cheap, early-game armor for Melee Attackers, protecting them to some degree during Melee combat. During the later game, when ample  Mana is available, it is often considered redundant and may be replaced with the stronger Platemail. Units that do not expect to see much Melee Combat will likely be better off with a Shield during the early portion of the game.

Enchant Item

The Enchant Item spell limits the strength of the bonuses that can be imbued into Chainmail, and also the types of Item Powers that can be added to it.

Available Bonuses

Bonus Type	Options	Extra Cost	Description
Defense	+1	+50	Increases the maximum amount of  Damage this Hero can block from direct-damage attacks. Average blocked damage increases accordingly, subjected to the Hero's To Block score.
	+2	+100
	+3	+200
Movement Allowance	+1	+100	Increases the number of Movement Points available to the Hero at the start of each overland and combat turn. Heroes with higher Movement Allowance can cross larger distances and/or maneuver better on the battlefield. This bonus does not change the Hero's Movement Type.
	+2	+200
Resistance	+1	+50	Increases the Hero's chance to avert the ill effects resulting from most Curses, most Special Attacks and several offensive spells. A successful Resistance roll will avert part or all harm to the Hero.
	+2	+100
	+3	+200

Available Item Powers

Name	Required Spellbooks	Extra Cost	Effects
Bless	2	+200	Permanent Bless: Hero receives  +3 and  +3, but only against Curses, spells and Fantastic Units belonging to the Chaos and Death realms.
Endurance	2	+200	Permanent Endurance: Hero receives +1 to his/her Movement Allowance, both during combat and on the overland map.
Resist Elements	2	+100	Permanent Resist Elements: Hero receives  +3 Resistance against Nature and Chaos effects, and  +3 Defense against  Magical Ranged Attacks.
Resist Magic	2	+200	Permanent Resist Magic: Hero receives  +5 Resistance against all ill-effects.
Cloak of Fear	2	+200	Permanent Cloak of Fear: When this Hero makes a Melee Attack, each figure in the target unit must Resist or fail to deliver any retaliatory Melee Damage and Touch Attacks. Buggy! Likely to backfire on Hero.

Create Artifact

The Create Artifact spell allows Chainmail to be imbued with much more powerful bonuses and/or Item Powers. Certain limitations still apply, based mainly on the type and number of Spellbooks you possess, and the amount of  Mana you wish to spend on creating the item.

Note: The Create Artifact spell is not inherently more expensive than Enchant Item, it only allows purchasing more expensive bonuses and Item Powers. It is possible to create the same (low-value) Chainmail with both spells at no extra cost. Thus, if Create Artifact is available, there is no reason to use Enchant Item at all.

Available Bonuses

Bonus Type	Options	Extra Cost	Description
Defense	+1	+50	Increases the maximum amount of  Damage this Hero can block from direct-damage attacks. Average blocked damage increases accordingly, subjected to the Hero's To Block score.
	+2	+100
	+3	+200
	+4	+350
	+5	+550
	+6	+800
Movement Allowance	+1	+100	Increases the number of Movement Points available to the Hero at the start of each overland and combat turn. Heroes with higher Movement Allowance can cross larger distances and/or maneuver better on the battlefield. This bonus does not change the Hero's Movement Type.
	+2	+200
	+3	+400
	+4	+800
Resistance	+1	+50	Increases the Hero's chance to avert the ill effects resulting from most Curses, most Special Attacks and several offensive spells. A successful Resistance roll will avert part or all harm to the Hero.
	+2	+100
	+3	+200
	+4	+350
	+5	+550
	+6	+800

Available Item Powers

Name	Required Spellbooks	Extra Cost	Effects
Bless	2	+200	Permanent Bless: Hero receives  +3 and  +3, but only against Curses, spells and Fantastic Units belonging to the Chaos and Death realms.
Endurance	2	+200	Permanent Endurance: Hero receives +1 to his/her Movement Allowance, both during combat and on the overland map.
Righteousness	4	+500	Permanent Righteousness: Hero it totally immune to virtually all spells from the Death and Chaos realms, and to all Special Attacks associated with either realm.
Invulnerability	5	1,200	Permanent Invulnerability: Whenever Hero is struck by any direct damage, that damage is automatically reduced by  2 Damage points. Furthermore, the Hero receives Weapon Immunity.
Resist Elements	2	+100	Permanent Resist Elements: Hero receives  +3 Resistance against Nature and Chaos effects, and  +3 Defense against  Magical Ranged Attacks.
Elemental Armor	4	+500	Permanent Elemental Armor: Hero receives  +10 Resistance and  +10 Defense against various types of Nature and Chaos attacks and ill effects.
Resist Magic	2	+200	Permanent Resist Magic: Hero receives  +5 Resistance against all ill-effects.
Guardian Wind	3	+400	Permanent Guardian Wind: Hero receives the Missile Immunity ability, which raises his/her Defense score to  50 whenever struck by a  Ranged Missile Attack.
Magic Immunity	5	+700	Permanent Magic Immunity: Hero cannot be harmed by most harmful spells and Special Attacks, and receives  50 Defense against all  Magical Ranged Attacks.
Cloak of Fear	2	+200	Permanent Cloak of Fear: When this Hero makes a Melee Attack, each figure in the target unit must Resist or fail to deliver any retaliatory Melee Damage and Touch Attacks. Buggy! Likely to backfire on Hero.
Wraithform	4	1,200	Permanent Wraith Form: Hero receives the Non-Corporeal ability, which allows him/her to ignore all Terrain while moving on the overland map, and to move freely through City Walls. It also protects the Hero from several kinds of spells.

Acquiring Pre-Defined Chainmail

The game data files contain 250 items that were designed by Simtex - each with its own pre-set name, bonuses and/or Item Powers. 21 of these items are Chainmail pieces.

There are three different ways by which you can acquire one of these pre-defined Chainmails:

• By winning a difficult Encounter.
• By purchasing it from a traveling Item Merchant.
• As result of a random Event called "The Gift".

It is often better to acquire items in this way, as it means you do not need to spend any time or  Mana to create them. However, since the offered item is chosen at random, and since all 250 items have pre-defined bonuses and enchantments, you may or may not receive an item that's really suitable to your needs.

Furthermore, many of the pre-defined items possess Item Powers that cannot legally be added to them via Item Crafting.

Chainmail as Treasure

Whenever an Encounter zone of sufficient difficulty level is cleared of its initial defenders, the winning army may receive a Chainmail piece (or any other Magical Item) as a reward.

The game may select (at random) any item whose total value does not exceed the remaining treasure points given by the Encounter. Thus, the more difficult the Encounter, the more potential there is to receive a high-value item.

If the selected item's value is significantly lower than the remaining treasure points, the game will try to select additional rewards (possibly more items).

Chainmail from Item Merchants

Item Merchants have a certain chance to appear at the start of any overland turn. This chance is primarily influenced by the wizard's current Fame score. When the roll dictates that a Merchant should appear, the game selects an item at random from the entire list of all 250 pre-set items.

Item Merchants will only offer the selected item if the wizard has 3 times as much  Gold as the value of the item itself. Charismatic wizards need only 1.5 times as much  Gold as the item's value, since they pay half-price for any item. If you lack sufficient Gold at the start of the turn, the Item Merchant will simply not appear this turn.

Chainmail as Gifts

Finally, an Event called "The Gift" may occur at random at the start of any overland turn, bestowing a Chainmail piece (or any other Magical Item) to your wizard, for no cost whatsoever. This event can choose any of the 250 pre-defined items, including any of the 21 available Chainmail pieces.

List of Pre-Defined Chainmail

Below is a list of each Chainmail armor present in the default game-data files.

Note: The ItemMake program which is supplied with the game allows users to alter the list of pre-set items at will: you can change any of these items (within the same constraints as those of a Create Artifact spell), add new ones, or remove existing ones from the list. Therefore the list below may or may not match your game-files.

Image	Name	Total Value	Bonuses and Item Powers
	Chain Mail of Defense	250	+1 Defense,
			+1 Movement.
	Chain of Magical Health	300	+1 Defense,
			+1 Resistance,
			+1 Movement.
	Mail of Arcanus	300	+1 Defense,
			+1 Resistance,
			+1 Movement.
	Elvish Scalemail	300	+1 Defense,
			+1 Resistance,
			+1 Movement.
	Chain Mail of Resistance	400	+2 Defense,
			+3 Resistance.
	Morthog's Chainmail	500	+2 Defense,
			+2 Resistance,
			+2 Movement.
	Light Mail Shirt	500	+3 Defense,
			+3 Resistance.
	Chain Mail of Movement	600	+2 Defense,
			+3 Movement.
	Chain of Tyrolia	650	+4 Defense,
			+2 Resistance,
			+1 Movement.
	Chain Mail of Balance	850	+4 Defense,
			+2 Resistance,
			+3 Movement.
	Mithril Chainmail	900	+3 Defense,
			+3 Resistance,
			+3 Movement.
	Blessed Mail of Resistance	1,050	Bless,
			Resist Magic,
			+4 Defense,
			+2 Movement.
	Chain Mail of Endurance	1,300	Endurance,
			+3 Defense,
			+4 Movement.
	Mail of Pobox	1,400	Elemental Armor,
			+3 Defense,
			+3 Resistance,
			+3 Movement.
	Chain Mail of Immunity	1,650	Magic Immunity,
			+5 Defense,
			+3 Resistance,
			+1 Movement.
	Chainmail of Speed	1,800	Endurance,
			+3 Defense,
			+3 Resistance,
			+3 Movement.
	Wraithe Shirt	1,850	Resist Magic,
			Wraithform,
			+4 Defense.
	Chain Mail of Absorption	1,950	Invulnerability,
			+5 Defense,
			+2 Resistance.
	Chainmail of the Elements	1,950	Resist Elements,
			+5 Defense,
			+6 Resistance,
			+3 Movement.
	Chain of Super Resistance	2,000	Resist Elements,
			Resist Magic,
			+6 Defense,
			+6 Resistance.
	Chain Mail of Talos	3,100	Bless,
			Invulnerability,
			+6 Defense,
			+6 Resistance.