Illus. by A.
Swekel
magic item set consists of three to six thematically
linked magic items that provide extra bonuses or
effects when worn together. The abilities scale or accu-
mulate with the number of items worn. A character
gains a particularly potent effect when all the items
of a set are worn or used together.
ARMOR OF THE
WATCHING MASTER
Those who wear the armor of the watching master know what it
feels like to be in command and to sense what others miss. They
possess unnatural sight and unusual powers to blind, burn, and
bully their enemies. Individually, each piece of the armor of the
watching master provides a useful ability, but only those with the
full set know its true powers.
The armor of the watching master works best in the hands of a
barbarian or other melee warrior. As medium armor, a breastplate
of terror allows a barbarian to use his fast movement ability, and
its damage reduction stacks with the barbarian’s. The armor of
the watching master also provides other advantages useful to any
melee-oriented character, such as frightening or blinding foes,
ignoring hardness, and overcoming damage reduction. Note that
the Strength bonus provided by the armor of the watching master
can be increased using the rules in Chapter 6.
620_10762_Chp5.indd 191
LORE
Characters who have ranks in Knowledge (arcana) or Knowl-
edge (the planes), or who have the bardic knowledge ability,
can research the armor of the watching master to learn more
about these items. When a character succeeds on a check,
the following lore is revealed, including the information
from lower DCs.
DC 15: The first set of the armor of the watching master
belonged to a powerful elf paladin who returned from
planar travel wearing the items. The paladin founded an
organization devoted to guardianship and order, and sets of
the armor of the watching master became standard issue for
the highest-ranking members of that group. The organiza-
tion, called the Watchful Eyes, collapsed due to internal
strife one hundred years ago, and now sets of this armor
continue to appear from time to time in the hands of vari-
ous individuals.
DC 20: The Watchful Eyes collapsed because many
of its paladin members became blackguards at about
the same time that its founder vanished. Lacking lead-
ership and warring internally, the group eventually
disintegrated.
DC 25: Stories persist that the founder of the orga-
nization was the first to fall from grace, and that she
returned from the planes tainted by evil. The stories don’t
say how she managed to hide this from other members of the
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 Watchful Eyes or why she founded the
group, but supposedly the dark side of the
Watchful Eyes persists as a cultlike order
of barbarians and blackguards who wear
pieces of the armor of the watching master as
a sign of their devotion to the cult.
DC 30: A check result of 30 or higher
reveals the location of another piece of the
set. Use this to drive further adventure
and direct the PCs toward some location or
story you would like them to explore.
CHAPTER 5
MAGIC ITEM

COLLECTION BENEFITS
SETS

Wearing pieces of the armor of the watching

master allows you to command or frighten
foes, blind and burn enemies, or crush
objects that impede your vision. Wearing
the entire set grants you vision that can
pierce invisibility.
When all four pieces of the armor are
worn, the staring eyes marking each item
appear to come to life, becoming blood-
shot, yellow-pupiled orbs that look around
of their own accord.
2 Pieces: You gain a +2 bonus on initia-
tive checks.
4 Pieces: You gain a +5 competence
Illus. by F. Vohwinkel

bonus on Spot checks. Once per day, you

can speak the command word of “Cabiri”
and activate the armor with a standard
action to gain the effect of a see invisibility
spell for 3 minutes.
BREASTPLATE OF
TERROR
Price (Item Level): 13,200 gp (14th)
Body Slot: Body
Caster Level: 5th
Aura: Faint; (DC 17) necromancy
Activation: — and immediate (mental)
Weight: 30 lb.
This adamantine breastplate bears an emblem
of a wide, staring eye surrounded by raised rays
of glittering mithral.
Armor of the watching master
As a +1 adamantine breastplate, this item Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and
grants damage reduction 2/—. A breast- Armor, cause fear, possession of a piece
plate of terror’s damage reduction stacks of the set.
with damage reduction gained as a class Cost to Create: 1,500 gp (plus 10,200 gp
feature (but not from any other source). for adamantine breastplate), 120 XP,
For example, a 10th-level barbarian would 3 days.
have damage reduction 4/—.
In addition, once per day immediately
after you have been damaged by a melee
GAUNTLETS OF
attack, you can activate this armor to DESTRUCTION
render a foe that just wounded you fright- Price (Item Level): 6,610 gp (11th)
ened for 1 round. If the enemy succeeds on Body Slot: Hands
a DC 20 Will save, it is shaken for 1 round Caster Level: 6th
rather than frightened. Aura: Moderate; (DC 18) evocation,
transmutation

Armor of the Watching Master Pieces and Abilities

Body
Piece Slot Price (Level) Ability
Mask of mastery Face 3,500 gp (8th) +5 on Intimidate checks; 1/day command
Helm of wounding sight Head 6,500 gp (10th) Light at will; 3/day blinding fire cone
Gauntlets of destruction Hands 6,610 gp (11th) +2 Strength; 3/day treat attack as adamantine
Breastplate of terror Body 13,200 gp (14th) +1 adamantine breastplate; 1/day frighten foe

Armor of the Watching Master Collection Benefits

Pieces Worn Benefit
2 pieces +2 on initiative checks
4 pieces +5 on Spot checks; 1/day see invisibility for 3 min.

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 Activation: — and swift (command)
Weight: 2 lb.
Each of these spiked steel gauntlets has an
embossed image of an eye on its back. Each eye
has an emerald for a pupil.
Gauntlets of destruction grant you a +2
enhancement bonus to Strength.
In addition, you can activate the gaunt-
lets to enable the next melee attack made
during your turn to overcome damage
When a helm of wounding sight is activated,
the embossed pupil sheds light with the ARRAY OF THE
brightness of a light spell until it is com-
manded to cease or the helm is removed.
MANTICORE
This striking set of magic items grants you
In addition, three times per day, a helm
the freedom of the skies and the power to
of wounding sight can be activated to emit
wreak havoc from above. Crafted in honor
an instantaneous 60-foot-long cone of
of their namesake creature, the array of the
bright, burning light. This cone deals
manticore is tailored for the individual who
2d6 points of fire damage and blinds all
fights in the air or fights airborne foes,
creatures in the area for 1 round. Creatures
bestowing the ferocity of a manticore and
that succeed on DC 20 Reflex saves take
its fearsome sting.
half damage and are dazzled for 1 round.

CHAPTER 5
Characters focused on making ranged

MAGIC ITEM
reduction and ignore hardness as if the Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item,
weapon attacks get the most benefit from
attack were made with an adamantine light, burning hands, possession of a piece

weapon. This ability functions three
times per day.
Gauntlets of destruction are masterwork
spiked gauntlets and can be used as a
weapon. You can enhance a gauntlet
beyond its base abilities by using the rules
for crafting a magic weapon, but each
gauntlet must be enhanced separately.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and
Armor, bull’s strength, shatter, possession
of a piece of the set.
Cost to Create: 3,000 gp (plus 610 gp
for two masterwork spiked gauntlets),
240 XP, 6 days.
HELM OF
WOUNDING SIGHT
Price (Item Level): 6,500 gp (10th)
Body Slot: Head
Caster Level: 5th
Aura: Faint; (DC 17) evocation
Activation: Standard (command)
Weight: 1 lb.
This steel helmet covers all of the wearer’s head
but the face. A single huge eye with a crystal
pupil is embossed on the helm’s forehead.
SETS
the array of the manticore. Scouts and rang-
of the set.
ers see the most benefit, since an airborne
Cost to Create: 3,250 gp, 260 XP, 6 days.
scout can skirmish more easily and a
ranger’s combat styles prove useful.
MASK OF MASTERY
Price (Item Level): 3,500 gp (8th)
Body Slot: Face
LORE
Characters who have ranks in Knowledge
Caster Level: 5th
(arcana), or who have the bardic knowl-
Aura: Faint; (DC 17) enchantment
edge ability, can research the array of the
Activation: — and standard (command)
manticore to learn more about these items.
Weight: 1 lb.
When a character succeeds on a check, the
following lore is revealed, including the
This steel half-mask covers only the lower
information from lower DCs.
face. Over the wearer’s mouth, an emblem
DC 15: A hobgoblin sorcerer crafted the
depicting a large eye with a crystal for its pupil
first array of the manticore for his favorite
stares forth.
bugbear bodyguard. This bugbear rode a
tamed manticore into battle, and it seemed
Wearing a mask of mastery causes the
fitting to the hobgoblin to reward his
wearer’s voice to sound more commanding
servant’s skill and bravery with a tribute
and authoritative, adding a +5 competence
to his ferocity.
bonus on Intimidate checks.
DC 20: A group of humans and halfings
When activated, this mask allows you to
attacked the goblinoid stronghold. The
utter a command (as the spell; Will DC 20
goblins were eventually defeated, but only
negates). Unlike the command spell, this
after many of the invaders died from the
effect is not language-dependent—the
javelins and spikes cast down upon them
target needs only to be able to hear you.
from the air. The few survivors divided
This ability functions once per day.
up the array of the manticore among them-
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, com-
selves, not understanding the power the
mand, possession of a piece of the set.
items held when worn together. When
Cost to Create: 1,750 gp, 140 XP, 4 days.
one of the halflings inherited a second

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BEHIND THE CURTAIN:
MAGIC ITEM SETS
The concept of thematically linked sets of magic items that
provide more power when used together has a great pedigree
in fantasy fiction, but D&D has largely ignored this concept.
Magic Item Compendium presents item sets to remedy that.
The collection benefits of each set are carefully designed to
provide appealing bonus abilities that aren’t unbalancing. The
character never pays gold for these extra powers: Their value is
not added to the costs of the items in the set. We don’t want a
player whose item set components have not yet yielded any ad-
ditional abilities to feel like he has paid too much for his items.
If a character must somehow pay for the ability, collecting the
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set feels more like working off a debt than seeking something
fun. Instead, the balancing factor of the sets comes from the PC
using his item slots for the items of the set instead of items that
might be more advantageous.
The value of a collection benefit stays within certain boundar-
ies. The collection benefit for two pieces should equal roughly
10% of the combined cost of the two cheapest items in the set.
Thereafter, collection benefits are valued at roughly 25% of the
cost of the cheapest item or combination of items you need to
reach the threshold of gaining the ability. The capstone ability
of the set might be as much as 30% of the value of the most
expensive item in the set.

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