Quatrebras Harness

Full Item Description
This is a very unwieldly looking collection of leather straps, buckles, and four carved wood and brass prosthetic arms. The Harness takes as long to get into as a full suit of plate armor, and has the same encumberance factor and limitation of mobility. It weighs a hefty 54 pounds, though this weight is well distributed across the entire body by usage of the large number of belts and straps.so long as there are armholes for the four extra limbs, most any none-plate armor can be worn over the harness, though chainmail often works the best.

History
Necessity is the mother of invention, or so the expression goes. Harlech was a mountaineer, a former wizards apprentice, and a bit of a daredevil. Thus it came as no surprise when he was severely injured on one of his adventures into the mountains. Having lost an arm in a rockfall, he was devastated by the thought of giving up his climbing passion. Falling back on his wizardly studies he embarked on a new path.

Over the course of the next six years he worked on creating a prosthetic limb to replace the lost one. The new limb went through a number of changes, but was eventually sound enough to engage in climbing again. Elated, Harlech once again took off into the cold and bleak mountains that he loved. There, hanging from the side of a rock face he made his second innovation. If having one artificial limb was good, what if he had more?

Returning to his home, he once again took up the tools of his trade and began working on what he called a rack climbing, or spider suit. He worked with the local leather and horse harness maker and concocted the harness as a way to safely anchor the four new limbs to the side of his torso. With a mix of innovation, down to earth leather working, and a good bit of animating and controlling magic, the Quatrebras Harness was made.

Harlech would later donate the schematics and plans for the harness to both a chapter of mountain climbing enthusiasts, as well as to the Library of Magic and Sorcery for its preservation. In all, Harlech Quatrebras made half a dozen of these harnesses, though the plans show it to be a relatively easy magic item to create.

Magic/Cursed Properties
The main magic used in the creation of the harness is a variation of the Animate Object spell. This gives the suit a moderate aura of magic, though it can be readily used by anyone who can figure out the buckles and straps. The downside is that the harness is not intuitive, and learning to wear and use it effectively requires the character to learn an appropriate feat or skill for its usage.

The extra arms can be used to effectively double a character's dice/ability for climbing. They can also be used to carry things, though the character himself still has the bear the weight of the harness and whatever he decides to carry. Should combat become an option, the extra hands can make pummeling attacks at roughly half of the character's strength dealing non-lethal damage. this is compensated by the fact that the character, if skilled enough could make as many as six pummeling attacks while wearing the harness.

Using weapons is more difficult, requiring a signifigant deal of both skill and dexterity. Primitive weapons like knives and spiked gauntlets are relatively easy, but wielding two two-handed swords is possibly but legendarily difficult.