Microbeings that work for you!

[Obsidian]

Another idea off the type of my head.

I was thinking about armor (non-magical) and all it's disadvantages. For one, its heavy. It will eventually have to be replaced. It can also be a pain carrying it all over who knows where.


 The point of armor is to protect the wearer from harm. Unfortunately, the general rule is that the heavier, the sturdier, the more effective.

My idea was to create a living armor made of billions upon billions of microscopic organisms that could be telepathicallly linked to it's wearer and respond to their eevery wish. They would cover the wearrer in a second skin.

[MoonHunter]

So we are talking about magical nano-bots? tiny micro-golems, a flock of tiny familiar (as in the magical assistant type) beings?

okay.

Basically an okay idea. Just keep one idea in line, mass is important. Several people on the real world jousting circuit and two that I know of in the SCA have made armor out of titanium. (Did you know until recently it was the state sport of Maryland?) While the armor is unbreachable by points (jousters) and totally unbendable by ratan weapons (SCA), people don't wear it for very long, or if they do, they wear it under other armor.

You see, the armor is so light that the wearer gets knocked about. Kinetic energy is transfered. So why you are not bruised by the attack (directly), you are knocked away around by said attacks (though you do get bruised at strap points).

So if the micro things can magically shunt energy, then this is no longer a problem. But if this is psuedo science, then the lack of mass means you will get knocked about rather than bruised and broken.

[Obsidian]

thanks for the advice.  I had not thought of that

[KendraHeart]

So what else do the micro thingies do?

[Kinslayer]

The microbeings would still have weight, still need to be replaced, etc. These are the same problems you noted for other armours. If they are actual living organisms, then they may be self-repairing or reproducing, but you would then need to feed them.  Also, being alive they are subject to some of the same hazzards as the wearer.  For example, a magical fireball would harm them (possibly lethally) as well as damaging the wearer.

[Obsidian]

thas a good point. That will be their weakness, magically induced fire.

What i don't think you understand is that this armor is not meant to be some impenetrable shell that can just soak up damage. Its purpose is to make mockery  of normal weapons by nullifying their damage while I dance around looking for an opening.

I can do that because the armor weighs next to nothing. Its like a second skin.
I am going to make a full post on these microbeings which will explain everything.

[Cheka Man]

If they are alive, they need to be fed/watered or they might attack their wearer.

[Cardillotang]

Correct me if I'm wrong Obsidian.

(Obsidian sorta-kinda explained this to me)

The microbeings are fed/watered by the wearer when he/she drinks and eats. There are two parts to the microbeings, one a worm that wraps itself around nervous system and into digestive track.Then two, the tiny microscopic beings that float around the body awaiting orders from the "master", which is a joint position with the wearer and the worm.

However, this means that the wearer needs to eat and drink more than they normally would, since the nutrition is being dispersed among millions of tiny microscopic beings. Thus, the wearer ends up spending a fortune feeding him/her self.

[Dragon Lord]

So - these micro-beings are actually parasitic but they are tolerated because they do something useful

As long as they do no actual harm to the host (i.e. you), the whole thing becomes an economic question - basically: is the cost of maintaining them (in terms of extra food requirement) worth the benefit they impart?

KendraHeart asked an interesting question - "What else can they do?"

I would suggest different types of micro-beings for different jobs - almost anything simple might e possible (heat generators might be popular in cold climates for example) - I don't think they should be capable of complex functions that require control of forethought (so no extra limbs)

[EchoMirage]

I use living armor in one of my campaigns - thought that is a blend of mollusc, human, and demon, so quite unlike yours.

Good side effects of the micro-beings are disposal of waste and body odor.

They might, as they are telepathically linked to the wearer, work as a sixth sense: percieving waves (vibrations, air pressure generated by movign objects, etc.), or even notify him if something moves behind him.

They could produce perfume, or a myriad of other useful things - skin lotion, healing potion around wounds (or just help stop bleeding), or stimulate musles with electric impulses while you sleep or just rest, so that they get constant exercise.

You could use them to mark a person or object, to find it later. Some armors might work as a weapon, producing poison that is harmless to you, or they migth infect a foe and cause him harm.

[Pieh]

As I write this I swig from a bottle of Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Grape Juice.

   So, let me get this right. Really small parasites that cover your body in an armored second skin at the cost of having to feed them and smelling bad? These would be magically bred creatures right? You would probly have to know a rather twisted wizard to obtain this armor. Another factor I think would be important would be the reaction of others. Some might be envious some might be suspicious. Someone might try to kill you, or just take a sample to create their own living armor. I can see great potential in this.

1. Be a test subject for a new type of armor! (Might have some seriously adverse effects, such as: cannot be healed by magic, wounds do not heal properly, might suffer penalties due to parasites in uncomfortable areas.)

2. The test is a succes. Now someone has stolen the idea! Oh no! Since you are the one who lost a sample (or sold) of these parasites it is up to you to track down the thief and 'deal' with them.

3. You 'deal' with the theif... and (after an amazing journey through a strange wizard's home) the wizard's friends are out to get you. Fun. More enemies.

  You could get into a whole big side quest involving the theft of magical ideas and battles over who gets the credit. Am I the only one who finds this interesting as a side quest? Who knows, I might use it. Feel free to add on.  

  PARASITES

[Cardillotang]

I hate to be the one to respond to all of Obsidians questions......

But just so you know....Obsidian is planning on finishing the rest of his post that he has already started.

But for Pieh...I don't think that the "Zoa" (micrscopic beings) are magically bred. Apparently they live inside some mountain and theirs this whole process of taking on the microbeings...going unconcious for a couple of days and what not.

Just sit tight for Obsidian to explain everything fully....not sure how long that will take due to his busy schedule.....but yeah.

[Anteaus]

Bump!

Insects.  Ants and bees work in colonies, controlled by a queen.  Cockroaches are impossible to kill.  What is the living armor was really a colony of insects that bonded with the wearer?  Telepathic, or maybe it can even understand common?  It would have to eat so many pounds of food of some kind to feed the colony each day (like several whiffles) and would regrow during the night, perhaps even wonder off to find its own food, and return when the wearer awakes.  Each time it gets hit in combat it would take damage, and some of the bugs would die and fall off, leaving a trail of dead bugs and slime.

So this guy walks up and is covered with a crawling skin all over everything except his head and hands and there is a lump on his shoulder that on closer inspection turns out to be a queen bug that he talks to.

[MoonHunter]

Anteaus, we really are not working on things down here. If you like the concepts presented, mine the thread for some good ideas, and create a submission.