Myriapod Greaves 998 – GearAscendancy.com

From: Aiptas Ouroborus 113

Addressing the vulnerability of the creature’s softer underbelly and its numerous legs, this armor is a masterful piece of articulated engineering. It is not a single plate but a thick, heavy curtain of interlocking hexagonal metal scales, forming a kind of metallic chainmail barding. This protective curtain is custom-fitted to the creature’s entire underside, suspended from its main dorsal plates by a series of heavy-duty leather straps. The design provides comprehensive protection from attacks originating from below, such as ground-erupting creatures or sharp, uneven terrain. The key to its design is its flexibility; the thousands of interlocking scales allow the armor to move with the creature’s slow, undulating gait and, most importantly, to compress without issue when the creature curls into its defensive ball.

Lore This armor is not a singular, bespoke artifact but a surviving piece of masterwork military engineering from the height of the Steam-Powered Age. It was standard-issue equipment for the “Siege-Crawlers,” enormous, myriapod creatures bred for war by the legendary Iron Legion. These beasts were used as living siege engines, tasked with burrowing beneath enemy fortifications to collapse them from below. The Greaves were designed with two purposes: to protect the creature’s vulnerable underbelly from underground traps and defenders, and to provide a stable, anchored platform once in position. The interlocking hexagonal design was a triumph of articulated plating, allowing full flexibility for movement while providing the protection of a solid wall.

This particular set of Greaves was salvaged not by an adventurer, but by the slow, inevitable process of nature. It was attached to the fossilized remains of a Siege-Crawler, long dead at the bottom of a collapsed subterranean armory. The creature Kastor, drawn to the faint magical hum of the beast’s decaying saddle and other gear, spent centuries in the armory. Over time, as it crawled over and around the wreckage, the flexible, curtain-like Greaves became entangled with its own legs. Through a slow process of mineral accretion and the calcifying secretions from Kastor’s own symbiotic polyps, the heavy leather straps and metal plates fused permanently to its underside, a perfect, accidental, and incredibly durable fit.

Slot: Barding (Underbelly)

Requirements:

User must possess a myriapod-like (long, segmented, multi-legged) physiology.
A minimum body length of 8 feet is required for the armor to be properly fitted or integrated.
Cannot be equipped or unequipped; must be permanently fused or mounted to the host.

Tier One Stats:

Provides a massive increase to armor on the user’s underside and legs, making them nearly immune to attacks from below (e.g., ground-based traps, burrowing creatures).
Increases the user’s weight significantly, slightly reducing overall movement speed.
Grants immunity to damage from non-magical hazardous terrain, such as sharp rocks or caltrops.

Skills Gained:

Proficiency (Siege Tactics): The user gains an instinctual understanding of structural weak points in fortifications, floors, and walls, a lingering echo of the armor’s original purpose.
Proficiency (Unyielding Stance): The user becomes exceptionally skilled at bracing itself, making it incredibly difficult to be moved by physical force.

Passive Magics:

Grounding Plates: The metallic alloy of the scales is designed to absorb and safely discharge electrical energy into the ground, providing significant resistance to lightning or other electrical attacks.
Vibration Dampening: The combination of heavy plates and thick, underlying leather absorbs and muffles vibrations. This makes the user much harder to detect by creatures that rely on tremorsense and provides protection against localized seismic attacks.
Traction Spikes: The lower edge of each hexagonal scale is sharpened into a slight, downward-facing point. This grants the creature a powerful grip on any surface it crawls upon, making it very difficult to be pushed, pulled, or knocked off its feet.

Activatable Magics:

Plate Lock: With a moment of concentration, the user can cause the thousands of interlocking scales to magically fuse together at their seams. This temporarily transforms the flexible curtain into a single, solid plate of immense durability, but renders the user completely immobile. This ability is used to brace for a massive impact from below or to survive being buried in a cave-in. The lock can be released with another moment of focus.
Seismic Anchor: The user can send a command to the Greaves, causing dozens of small, hook-like anchors of pure magical force to erupt from the scales and drill deep into the ground below (provided the ground is penetrable, like earth or loose rock). This makes the user utterly immovable by any external force, allowing it to serve as a perfect anchor or to resist being dragged away by a larger creature.
Grinding Resonance: By undulating its body in a specific, high-frequency rhythm while this ability is active, the user causes the interlocking plates to grind against each other, generating a powerful, localized earthquake in a small radius. This can be used to shatter a fortified floor from above, destabilize the foundations of a nearby structure, or create difficult terrain for a swarm of surrounding enemies. This ability is physically taxing and cannot be used repeatedly without exhausting the user.

Tags: Magical, Armor, Barding, Tier One, Ancient, Protective, Articulated, Heavy, Defensive, Grounding, Military-Grade, Siege-Tool, Myriapod-Fit, Tremor, Immovable, Damage Reduction, Terrain-Advantage, Metallic

The Myriapod Greaves 998 are a peculiar item to trade. They are not a legendary artifact of immense, universal power, but rather a piece of masterwork military hardware for an exceptionally niche user. As such, their value and the venues where they might be sold are highly specialized. The fact that this specific set is permanently fused to a living, 900-pound creature further complicates any potential transaction.

1. The Specialist Arms & Armor Antiquarian

Example Establishment: “The Legionary’s Rest,” a cramped, dusty shop in a city famed for its military history and museums. The proprietor is a retired military historian and a world-renowned expert on the arms and armor of the Iron Legion. The shop is filled with battlefield relics, restored standards, and academic treatises on ancient warfare.
Method of Sale: This is one of the few places where a “clean” set of Greaves might be found, likely salvaged from a sealed and forgotten armory. The sale would be a quiet, scholarly affair to a very specific clientele: a wealthy collector of military antiques, the curator of a national museum, or perhaps an eccentric noble who happens to own a giant, armored centipede. The transaction would involve extensive documentation verifying the item’s provenance. If one were to bring the Kastor-fused Greaves here, the proprietor would be fascinated, but as a historical curiosity, not as functional armor. He would offer to buy the entire deceased creature to preserve and display as a unique example of battlefield symbiosis.
Cost:
- For a pristine, unattached set: The value is high due to rarity and historical significance, but the niche application limits the number of potential buyers. Estimated Cost: 75,000 Gold Imperials.
- To sell the Kastor-fused set: The value is much lower. The proprietor would be buying a museum piece that requires immense effort to transport and preserve. Estimated Payout: 20,000 Gold Imperials for the entire carcass.

2. The Master Armorer’s Forge

Example Establishment: “Grak’s Great-Forge,” a massive, steam-belching forge built into the heart of a mountain city, renowned for its master armorers who work with exotic alloys and non-humanoid designs.
Method of Sale: A master armorer like Grak would not have these Greaves for sale, but would be an enthusiastic buyer. A party that managed to haul the Greaves (or the creature they are attached to) to his forge would be selling them as raw material and intellectual property. Grak would be less interested in the armor’s function and more fascinated by its design—the interlocking hexagonal plates, the unique metal alloy, the masterful articulation. He would offer a fair price to study and deconstruct it, melting down the metal to analyze its properties and incorporating the design principles into his own creations. The transaction would be a straightforward, professional exchange of goods for coin or services.
Cost: The price would be based on the quality and weight of the unique metal, with a significant bonus for the priceless knowledge gained from its design. Estimated Payout: 50,000 Gold Imperials. Alternatively, Grak might offer a better deal in trade, offering to craft a full suit of custom, masterwork armor for the sellers in exchange for the Greaves.

3. The Exotic Beast Market

Example Establishment: “The Pheromone Pits,” a sprawling, chaotic, and muddy bazaar located in a frontier town on the edge of a jungle known for its mega-fauna. This is where beast-tamers, war-beast ranchers, and circus masters come to trade in live, exotic creatures and their specialized equipment.
Method of Sale: This is the most practical market where the Greaves would be valued for their intended purpose. A pristine set would be a prized commodity, sold in a loud, boisterous auction to ranchers who own giant centipedes or other myriapod war-beasts. The Kastor-fused set would be an even more unique opportunity. A potential buyer would see the creature not as a monster, but as a package deal. The transaction would involve inspecting the live (and likely balled-up) creature, haggling fiercely, and possibly a demonstration where the buyer prods Kastor to prove the armor’s durability. The buyer would be confident that their own flesh-shapers could perform the difficult task of transferring the symbiotic armor to their own, more aggressive beasts.
Cost: The value here is purely practical and driven by demand.
- For a pristine set: Highly sought after by a select few. Estimated Cost: 90,000 Gold Imperials, or a direct trade for several lesser beasts like armored beetles or giant scorpions.
- For the live Kastor with fused Greaves: This is a unique “two-for-one” deal. Estimated Cost: 110,000 Gold Imperials. The buyer gets not only the armor but also the creature itself, which could be studied, dissected, or simply put in a pit to fight other monsters.

The Myriapod Greaves 998 are not a weapon in the traditional sense; they do not have a sharp edge or a striking surface. Instead, their role in combat is one of absolute environmental control, turning the wearer from a slow-moving target into an immovable object and an epicenter of localized destruction.

Environment 1: An Unstable, Crystalline Cavern

Here, surrounded by fragile terrain and hunted by creatures who use the earth to their advantage, the Greaves are a tool of denial and area control.

Roleplay for Defense: When hunted by a pack of subterranean lizards that sense vibrations through the ground, Kastor’s defense begins passively. “The heavy, articulated plates of the Greaves muffle the sound of its many legs on the cavern floor. The Vibration Dampening quality makes the 900-pound creature a ghost to the lizards’ tremorsense. As it crosses a field of razor-sharp crystals, the thick metal plates protect its underbelly, allowing it to traverse the hazardous terrain without injury. When the lizards finally locate and swarm it, one unleashes a bio-electric attack. The crackling energy flows over Kastor’s shell but is instantly drawn down into the Greaves. The Grounding Plates channel the full force of the attack harmlessly into the stone floor, leaving Kastor completely unscathed.”
Roleplay for Offense: With the lizard pack swarming it, trying to get at its less-armored head, Kastor’s offense is to turn the environment itself into a weapon. “With a deep, internal groan, Kastor activates Grinding Resonance. It undulates its long body, and the thousands of hexagonal plates on its underside grind together, producing a sickening, high-frequency vibration. The fragile crystal floor around it erupts in a shower of razor-sharp shrapnel. The localized earthquake throws the agile lizards off their feet, their limbs shredded by the exploding ground. To complete the maneuver, Kastor activates Seismic Anchor, driving magical hooks deep into the fractured earth. Now rooted in place, it continues the Grinding Resonance, transforming the entire area into a deadly, churning meat-grinder of crystalline shards, forcing the surviving lizards to retreat or be torn apart.”

Environment 2: The Flooded Foundations of a Ruin

When ambushed by an aquatic foe from below, the Greaves provide the ultimate defense against being moved or repositioned.

Roleplay for Defense: As Kastor gnaws on a magically rich conduit, the massive tentacles of a sewer kraken erupt from a nearby cistern, wrapping around its body to drag it into the water. “The initial pull is immense, but the sharp, downward-facing edges of the Greaves’ Traction Spikes dig into the stone, resisting the pull. The kraken’s strength is superior, however, and Kastor begins to slide. In response, it activates Seismic Anchor. Forceful hooks of magic shoot from the Greaves into the foundation, locking Kastor in place. It is now utterly immovable. The kraken’s tentacles strain, the muscles bulging, but they cannot dislodge the anchored creature.”
Roleplay for Offense: The offense here is a battle of leverage. “Now anchored and immune to being dragged into the water where the kraken holds the advantage, Kastor begins to crawl forward, away from the cistern. The Greaves provide the traction and its body provides the immense weight. The kraken, unable to pull its prey in, is now the one being dragged. Kastor pulls the kraken’s massive tentacles out of the water and onto the dry stone walkway. The slick, powerful limbs, now out of their element, thrash uselessly on the ground. Kastor has not dealt a single point of damage, but it has won the fight by controlling the battlefield and turning the enemy’s strength against it.”

Environment 3: The Vertical Face of a Subterranean Chasm

While anchored to a cliff face with its Piton Launcher, the Greaves become the key to surviving attacks from flying foes.

Roleplay for Defense: A swarm of giant, rock-throwing bats attacks Kastor while it feeds on a vein of minerals. They cannot get through its dorsal armor, so they try to batter it off the cliff face. “Though anchored by its piton, the sheer force of the thrown boulders threatens to rip the anchor free. In response, Kastor activates Plate Lock. The thousands of interlocking scales on its underside fuse into a single, rigid, concave slab. This locks its body into the curvature of the cliff face, distributing the force of the impacts across the entire surface. The creature is no longer just hanging from the cliff; it has become a part of it.”
Roleplay for Offense: Unable to knock it loose, the bats swarm closer, looking for gaps in its armor. “With the swarm just feet from its body, Kastor unleashes its Grinding Resonance. The intense, localized earthquake doesn’t travel through the air, but directly into the cliff face itself. The ancient, brittle rock around Kastor fractures and explodes outwards in a massive shotgun-blast of stony debris. The shrapnel rips through the swarm, shredding leathery wings and sending the bats tumbling into the chasm below. Kastor, locked and anchored, remains completely unmoved by the environmental chaos it has created.”

Perception of Activation:

(The following perceptions focus on the Greaves’ most dramatic ability: Grinding Resonance)

User’s Perspective (Kastor)

Sight: As an eyeless creature, the activation is a purely non-visual event. The world remains a landscape of sound and feeling.
Sound: For the user, the sound is an all-encompassing internal and external event. It is not a single noise but a deep, resonant groan that originates from its own body. It hears the sound of a thousand grinding stones, of a mountain being crushed into dust, but this sound is felt through every armor plate and every leg simultaneously. It is the sound of its own armor becoming a geological event, a comforting and deeply powerful roar that drowns out all other trivial noises.
Smell: The scent is sharp and primal. The friction of the grinding plates releases the smell of superheated metal and the pungent, earthy odor of pulverized rock and crystal. A faint scent of ozone is also present as the raw kinetic force briefly ionizes the air in the gaps between the plates.
Touch: This is the most intense sensation. The activation feels like every muscle in its long body contracting at once to create a high-frequency shudder. It feels the thousands of interlocking plates on its underside vibrating and grinding against one another, generating immense heat and force. The ground beneath it ceases to be a solid surface and becomes a churning, fracturing extension of its own power. It is a feeling of ultimate stability and absolute control over its immediate terrain.
Taste: The air becomes thick with aerosolized stone dust, creating a gritty, mineral taste in its mouth that it associates with a successful exertion of power.
Extra-Sensory (Seismic Sense): This is the user’s primary perception of the ability’s effect. It feels the shockwave of its own grinding plates travel through the earth. It can perfectly perceive the web of fractures forming in the rock below, sense the shuddering of nearby pillars, and feel the exact moment the ground will give way. The earth becomes a part of its body.
Extra-Sensory (Magical Sense): The user feels a massive outflow of physical stamina being converted directly into raw, untamed kinetic and geomantic energy. Unlike siphoning ambient magic, this feels like a great, intentional exhalation of its own internal power, a brute-force manifestation of will into physical reality.

Observer’s Perspective

Sight: The visual is both terrifying and awesome. The heavy plates on the creature’s underside begin to visibly blur with high-frequency motion. A deep, fiery orange-red light starts to glow from the seams between the hexagonal scales as the magical friction builds. Sparks and motes of superheated metal are thrown off, and the very ground around the creature cracks, heaves, and shatters as if in the throes of a violent, localized earthquake.
Sound: The sound is deafening and physically painful. It is a low-frequency, industrial grinding noise that shakes the very bones of anyone nearby. It sounds like a thousand giant gears crushing rock, an avalanche occurring inside a metal foundry. It is a sound that feels like immense weight and unstoppable force.
Smell: The area is instantly filled with the acrid smell of hot, scorched iron and the choking, dusty scent of freshly shattered stone.
Touch: The ground trembles violently, making it nearly impossible to stand within 20 feet of the creature. The air itself seems to vibrate, creating a strange pressure against the skin and in the chest. The ambient temperature near the creature spikes noticeably from the immense friction.
Taste: The air becomes thick and gritty, tasting of dust and hot metal.
Extra-Sensory (Magical Sense): A magically-attuned observer would perceive a raw and primal magical event. This is not the elegant weaving of a spell, but the brute-force conversion of physical energy into magical force. They would sense the laws of geomancy being violently twisted, with waves of chaotic kinetic energy radiating from the creature and into the earth.
Extra-Sensory (Kinetic Sense): Every creature nearby feels the powerful, chaotic vibrations not just in the ground, but resonating through their own bodies, rattling their bones, teeth, and armor. It is a deeply unsettling and physically imposing sensation.

Positives

It is an incredibly powerful tool for area denial and environmental control, capable of turning stable ground into treacherous, damaging terrain.
It can be used offensively to shatter enemy formations, damage multiple ground-based foes at once, and create barriers or choke points.
It serves as a powerful tool for demolition, allowing the user to breach fortified floors, collapse tunnels, or undermine enemy siege equipment.
The sheer sensory violence of the activation is a potent psychological weapon, likely to cause fear and panic in most opponents.

Negatives

The ability is completely indiscriminate, shattering the terrain for friend and foe alike and making it very dangerous to use near allies.
It is physically exhausting for the user and can only be maintained for a very short time.
The deafening noise and violent, localized earthquake will alert everything for miles to the user’s exact location, sacrificing all stealth.
Repeated, high-intensity use can cause stress fractures and wear on the Greaves themselves, requiring significant maintenance.
It can cause unpredictable and catastrophic environmental damage, such as triggering a much larger cavern collapse or destroying an ancient artifact the user was unaware of.

Siege-Smith’s Blueprint: The Articulated Earth-Shaker Barding

This document outlines the original Iron Legion specifications for the mass-production of their standard-issue Myriapod Greaves. This is not a task for a lone artisan, but an industrial undertaking requiring a fully equipped steam-forge, a team of skilled laborers, and a master smith of immense talent. The process prioritizes durability and function over magical elegance, relying on masterful engineering and brute-force enchanting.

Materials Needed

Primary Plating (500 lbs): Half a ton of high-carbon steel, to be alloyed with 100 lbs of finely pulverized basalt rock. The basalt provides weight and vibration-dampening properties.
Backing & Straps (1 full hide): The complete, cured hide of a mature land-shark or Bulette. The hide must be at least three inches thick and free of battle scars or blemishes that could compromise its integrity.
Magical Core (x1): The resonant, crystalline heart of a greater earth elemental. This provides the power for the armor’s seismic abilities.
Anchoring Spikes (x24): The fully-grown talons of a Roc, Griffon, or similar large predatory bird. These are valued for their natural strength and sharpness.
Lubricant & Sealant (5 gallons): Refined seep-oil, a thick, viscous lubricant harvested from underground reservoirs, prized for its resistance to heat and pressure.

Tools Required

A Steam-Powered Trip Hammer and Rolling Press: Necessary for the mass-fabrication of the thousands of uniform hexagonal plates.
A Hydraulic Stamping Machine: For precisely shaping the interlocking edges of each plate.
An Industrial Tannery: A full-sized tannery with stretching frames and fleshing beams large enough to process the massive Bulette hide.
A Resonance Forge: A specialized forge capable of safely melting down elemental essences and infusing them into mundane metals.
Pneumatic Rivet Guns and Heavy-Duty Leatherworking Tools: For the final, arduous assembly process.

Skill Requirements

Grandmastery of Blacksmithing (Armor Smithing): The lead smith must have experience in creating articulated, heavy barding and managing a full forge team.
Mastery of Tanning & Leatherworking: Required to properly cure and cut the massive hide, which is a project in itself.
Expertise in Elemental Enchanting: Needed to safely handle the earth elemental’s heart and infuse its power into the final product without causing a catastrophic earth-shattering event.
Proficiency in Mechanical Engineering: A deep understanding of stress distribution, load-bearing design, and articulated mechanics is essential.

Crafting Steps

Plate Fabrication: This is the most labor-intensive step. The basalt is crushed into a fine powder and mixed with molten steel in the crucible. The resulting alloy is poured into ingots, which are then reheated and hammered into flat sheets by the Steam-Hammer. These sheets are fed into the Hydraulic Press, which stamps out thousands of identical, interlocking hexagonal plates. Each plate is then quenched and tempered for maximum durability.
Hide Preparation: Simultaneously, the massive Bulette hide is de-fleshed, soaked in tanning solutions for weeks, and then stretched on enormous frames to cure. Once fully cured, the Master Leatherworker must carefully cut the hide into the large, curtain-like sections that will serve as the backing for the plates. This requires immense strength and precision.
Anchor Forging: The heart of the earth elemental and the Roc talons are placed within the Resonance Forge. The intense magical heat melts them down into a single, molten slurry of “geode-steel.” This living metal is then poured into molds to create the internal mechanisms for the Seismic Anchor ability.
Assembly: This is a grueling, week-long process requiring a full team. The leather backing is laid out, and the hexagonal plates are laid on top in their precise, overlapping pattern. Using the pneumatic rivet guns, workers secure each of the thousands of plates to the leather. The forged geode-steel anchor mechanisms are carefully integrated into the central plates during this process.
Finishing and Enchanting: The fully assembled barding is hoisted and liberally coated in refined seep-oil, which seals the leather and lubricates the millions of contact points between the scales. Finally, the Master Enchanter performs the activation ritual. This involves striking specific, pre-determined plates with a rune-etched hammer in a rhythmic sequence, chanting words of power to awaken the elemental spirit bound within the armor. This ritual channels the user’s future intent, granting the armor its Plate Lock and Grinding Resonance abilities. The Greaves are then ready for fitting onto a Siege-Crawler.

Lay of Legion’s Crawling Fortress

(This telling is taken from the fragmented “Iron Codex,” whose script is a crude dialect of a language lost to the Steam-Powered Age. The original source is unknown.)

And there was a King. His heart, it is said, was a forge. And his law was as straight and hard as the iron he loved. He looked upon the crooked hills and the tangled woods, and he was angry. He said, “I will make the whole world a single, flat road of dark iron, so my marching men will never stumble.” And his army was called the Iron Legion.

So the King marched. And he came to a great city of his enemies. The People of the Tall Stone, they were called. Their walls were high. The King’s rams, they broke upon the walls. His sky-stones, they broke upon the walls. The People of the Tall Stone, they laughed from their high places. And the King’s heart burned hotter.

And the King said, “A wall is a tall thing. I will not go over it. I will go under it, like a wise root.”

So he sent his hunters into the deep woods. And they brought him the First Crawler. It was a beast of many legs, as long as a village road, and as wide as a river. Its back was a hard shell, but its belly, its belly was soft like new leather. The King knew the sharp rocks of the deep earth would give it a great pain.

The King called his Chief Hammer-Man. And the King said, “You are a maker of hard shirts for my men. Now you will make a hard shirt for the belly of this worm.”

And the Hammer-Man was wise. He took one thousand small shields from the fallen enemies of the King. And he put them in the great fire. He made them soft. With a great steam-hammer, he made each shield into a small plate, with six sides. He made thousands. And he took the hide of a Bulette, a land-shark, and made a great leather coat. And with rivets of steel, he put the plates on the coat, one overlapping the other, like the scales of a great fish. It was a skin of iron that could bend.

And they put this iron skin on the belly of the First Crawler. And the Crawler was happy, for the ground no longer bit at its soft parts. It was now a Crawling Fortress. A living mountain of iron.

And the King said, “Go now. Go under.”

And the Crawling Fortress dug into the earth. It dug a great tunnel under the city of the People of the Tall Stone. And the People of the Tall Stone were clever. They had put sharp spears in the earth, waiting. But the spears broke against the iron skin. They had put fire-seeds in the earth. But the iron skin did not burn. The Crawling Fortress was safe in its hard shirt.

And when it was under the center of the city, the Crawling Fortress did a new thing. It began to shake. It began to grind its thousand iron scales together. And the ground sang a terrible song. A song of breaking. And the foundations of the tall walls cracked. And the great towers fell. And the People of the Tall Stone were silent. And the King walked his iron road over their dust.

But all things end. Iron roads rust. The hearts of kings grow cold. The great Legion marched until it could march no more. And the Crawling Fortresses, they were lost. Some fell in great battles. Some were buried in the very tunnels they had made. And their iron skins, they waited in the dark earth for a new belly to keep safe.

Moral of the Story: To go under a wall is sometimes stronger than to break it.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons

Barding of the Earth-Shaker Armor (barding), very rare (requires attunement by a creature of Huge or larger size with a myriapod-like body, subject to DM approval)

This immense barding consists of a thick, flexible curtain of interlocking hexagonal plates of dark metal, suspended from heavy leather straps. It is designed to protect the vulnerable underbelly of a massive, crawling creature.

The creature wearing this barding has its base Armor Class increased to 18 (if its original AC was lower). The barding also grants resistance to bludgeoning damage taken from environmental sources, such as a cave-in or hazardous terrain.
Unyielding Stance. As long as it is on solid ground, the creature cannot be forcibly moved or knocked prone against its will.
Grinding Resonance (1/Day). As an action, the creature can activate the barding’s seismic abilities. For 1 minute, the creature gains a burrow speed of 30 feet through nonmagical, unworked earth and stone. During this time, the creature doesn’t disturb the material it moves through.
Seismic Stomp (Recharge 6). As an action, the creature can slam its body into the ground, causing the barding to release a shockwave. Each creature on the ground within a 20-foot radius of the user must succeed on a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone and take 3d8 bludgeoning damage.

Call of Cthulhu

Carapace of the Iron Legion A gargantuan suit of articulated barding made from an unknown steel alloy. It is clearly of human design, but for a creature of inhuman proportions. It is a relic of a forgotten war, a testament to a brutalist form of magical engineering.

System Mechanics:

Protection: Provides 15 points of Armor to the locations it covers on a large creature. The wearer is immune to mundane ground hazards like caltrops or sharp rocks.
Immovable Stance: The wearer is immune to being knocked down (the “Prone” condition) by any physical force short of a vehicle collision.
Plate Lock: As a full-round action, the user can lock the thousands of plates together. The user becomes immobile, but the Armor value of the barding increases to 25 until it is unlocked. This makes the wearer functionally immune to small arms fire and most melee attacks.
Seismic Stomp: The wearer can focus its will and bring its weight to bear, causing the plates to grind together and shake the earth. This requires the expenditure of 10 Magic Points and a Hard POW roll. If successful, all other characters within 10 meters must make a DEX roll or be knocked from their feet. Witnessing this brute-force defiance of physics requires a Sanity roll (0/1d2 loss).

Blades in the Dark

The Crawler’s Plating A massive curtain of interlocking hexagonal plates, salvaged from an Imperial siege beast from the Unity War. It’s far too heavy for a person to wear and is typically mounted on a vehicle or a specially trained large cohort, like a demon or a hull.

Special Abilities:

Plated: When equipped on a vehicle or a tough cohort (like a Hull), that asset gains the feature: Plated (+1 Armor).
Unyielding: When worn by a suitable host, the host cannot be knocked down or moved by physical force unless they allow it. They have Potency when resisting such effects.
Brace for Impact: You can push your cohort or spend a gambit on your vehicle to lock the plates and brace for impact. When you do, you can ignore the physical effects of one instance of massive force (e.g., a wrecking ball, a collapsing wall, a cannonball).
Shake the Foundations: Your cohort can spend 2 Stress (or you can push yourself if you are a Hull wearing the plating) to activate the Grinding Resonance. You create a zone of dangerous, churning terrain all around you. You can use this to inflict level 2 harm (“Battered”) on anyone caught in the area, or you can use it to Create an Advantage, such as the aspect Shattered Foundations with 2 free invocations.

Knave

Siege-Crawler’s Belly-Plates Slots: 4 (Extremely heavy and bulky) A massive, flexible barding of interlocking metal plates designed to armor the underside of a giant, centipede-like creature.

Qualities: Heavy, Bulky, Noisy
Mechanics:
- The creature wearing this has an Armor Defense of 19 against attacks originating from below its torso.
- The creature is immune to damage from non-magical difficult terrain (e.g., spikes, sharp rocks).
- The creature cannot be knocked prone by any means.
- Once per day, the creature can spend its entire turn grinding the plates together. All other creatures on the ground within a 30-foot radius must make a Dexterity save or fall prone. The grinding automatically shatters any non-magical, fragile objects in the area and can break through a typical wooden or flagstone floor.

Pathfinder

Greaves of the Siege-Serpent – Item 16 RARE, MAGICAL, BARDING, ABJURATION Usage Worn barding; Bulk 10 (or 5 when worn by a Huge creature)

This is a massive suit of articulated underbelly barding, crafted from thousands of interlocking hexagonal plates of dark metal. It can only be fitted to a creature of at least Huge size with a long, flexible, myriapod-like body. The Greaves are a marvel of ancient engineering, designed to turn a giant beast into a living siege platform.

This barding grants a +3 item bonus to AC, a Dexterity Cap of +0, and imposes a –10-foot penalty to Speed. Its Strength requirement to avoid the penalty is 22. The wearer gains a +4 circumstance bonus to their Fortitude DC against any attempts to Shove or Trip them.

Activate [one-action] concentrate

Effect You anchor yourself to the ground. You gain the immobilized condition, but you cannot be forcibly moved by any means short of the ground beneath you being destroyed. You can end this effect by using this action again.

Activate [two-actions] concentrate, evocation

Frequency once per 10 minutes
Effect You grind the barding’s plates together, creating a powerful tremor in a 15-foot emanation. The ground in the area becomes difficult terrain. Each other creature on the ground in the area must attempt a DC 36 Reflex save.
- Success The creature is unaffected.
- Failure The creature is knocked prone.
- Critical Failure The creature is knocked prone and takes 4d6 bludgeoning damage.

Numenera & Cypher System

Articulated Siege Barding Level: 7 Form: A massive, heavy curtain of interlocking hexagonal metal plates, designed to be fitted to the underside of a very large creature. Effect: This piece of numenera is a sophisticated defensive system designed for ancient war-beasts. It requires a creature of at least size 3 (large) to wear.

Passive: Provides the wearer with +3 to their Armor. The wearer cannot be knocked prone or moved by force against its will while on solid ground.
Activation (Action): The user can vibrate the plates, creating a localized tremor. This is a level 6 area attack affecting everything on the ground within immediate range. On a failed Might defense roll, targets take 4 points of damage and are knocked prone.
Activation (10 minutes): The user can enter a “siege lock” configuration, anchoring the plates to each other and the ground. While anchored, the creature is completely immobile, but its Armor value from the device increases from +3 to +6. Depletion: 1 in 1d20.

Fate

The Unyielding Earth-Dragon’s Belly This is a powerful Extra, most suitable for a large companion, a vehicle, or a character who is a massive creature themselves. It costs 2 Refresh. It represents a permanent fusion of ancient, articulated plating to the character’s underside.

ASPECTS: Immovable Siege-Platform, Grinds Stone to Dust, Legacy of the Iron Legion

STUNTS:

Unyielding Foundation: Because you are incredibly stable, you gain a +2 bonus when you Defend against any attempt to physically move you, knock you prone, or otherwise destabilize you.
Plate Lock: Because you can fuse your armor into a solid mass, you can spend a Fate Point to activate Plate Lock. Create the temporary situation aspect Fortress of One with two free invocations on it. While this aspect is active, you are immobile, but you can use the free invocations to defend against physical attacks.
Grinding Resonance: Because you can shake the very earth, once per scene you can spend your entire action grinding your armored plates together. When you do, you automatically Create an Advantage for the entire zone you are in, placing the aspect Treacherous, Churning Ground with two free invocations on it for anyone (including allies) to use.

Savage Worlds

Iron Legion Crawler Barding This is an immense suit of Heavy Barding from a bygone age, made of an unknown metal alloy. It can only be fitted to very large, multi-legged creatures.

Requirements: Must be fitted to a creature of at least Size +6 with a myriapod-like body (GM’s call). Mechanics:

Armor: +5. This is Heavy Armor.
Unyielding: The wearer cannot be made Prone or pushed back by non-narrative forces. They add +4 to any Trait roll to resist being moved against their will.
All-Terrain: The wearer ignores the effects of difficult ground terrain.
Tremor (Action): The user can spend a Bennie to activate the barding’s resonance. This creates a tremor affecting everyone on the ground within a Large Burst Template centered on the user. All targets in the template must make an Agility roll at -2. Those who fail are knocked Prone.

Shadowrun

EVO “Sub-Forteresse” Barding A piece of bleeding-edge restricted military hardware from EVO, designed for their enormous, genetically-engineered “Terra-Worm” corporate terraforming and security paracritters. It is a massive, articulated plating system made from a proprietary, vibration-dampening ceramic-metal composite. It is not designed for any metahuman use and is only seen employed by corporate assets.

Type: Vehicle/Drone Armor (Barding)
Rating: 15
Availability: 20R
Cost: 250,000 Nuyen
Mechanics:
- Passive Protection: Grants the vehicle or creature an Armor rating of 15. The wearer is immune to being knocked down or moved by conventional kinetic force (e.g., ramming, explosions) and ignores all penalties from difficult terrain.
- Seismic Anchor (Complex Action): The wearer can deploy carbide-tipped anchors deep into the ground. While anchored, its speed is 0, but its Body attribute is considered 25 for the purpose of resisting any attempt to move it.
- Resonant Grinder (Complex Action): Once per combat encounter, the wearer can activate the grinder function. This creates an area of Difficult Terrain in a 10-meter radius. Any character starting their turn in this area must pass a Gymnastics + Agility (2) test or suffer 8P physical damage as the ground churns and heaves under their feet.

Starfinder

Juggernaut Crawler Plating – Level 16 SLOT Armor Upgrade (custom installation); PRICE 155,000 credits; BULK 5

This is a set of heavy, articulated plates of ultra-dense alloy that must be integrated into the chassis of a land vehicle or the natural armor of a creature of at least Huge size. The process requires an expert mechanic and a specialized workshop.

Mechanics:
- This armor upgrade provides DR 10/— and a +2 enhancement bonus to AC.
- The wearer or vehicle is immune to being knocked prone and gains a +8 circumstance bonus to its AC to resist bull rush and reposition combat maneuvers.
- Anchor Down (Standard Action): The wearer can anchor itself to the ground. Its speed becomes 0, but its Damage Reduction from this item increases to DR 20/— until it takes a move action to un-anchor itself.
- Seismic Pulse (1/day, Standard Action): The wearer can slam its body into the ground, causing the plating to release a powerful shockwave. All other creatures on the ground in a 20-foot-radius spread must succeed on a DC 22 Reflex save or be knocked prone and take 6d10 bludgeoning damage.

Traveller

Imperial Siege Barding (TL-12) A suit of articulated, armored barding from the height of the Second Imperium, designed for colossal beasts of war (typically 8+ tons). It is composed of bonded superdense alloy plates on a flexible, reinforced polymer backing. Such technology is exceptionally rare and difficult to maintain.

Tech Level: 12
Weight: 800 kg
Cost: MCr 2.5
Mechanics:
- Protection: Provides Protection 24 to the creature’s underside and legs against all physical attacks.
- Gravitic Anchors: As a significant action, the wearer can activate low-power gravitic anchors. Its speed becomes 0, but it cannot be moved by any force generating less than 20 tons of thrust. This requires a ship-level power source or a dedicated power pack.
- Vibrational Grinder: The plates can be set to grind against each other. This creates a Difficult (10+) hazardous area in a 10-meter radius. Anyone moving through the area must make an Average (8+) Dexterity check or suffer 2D6 damage from the churning ground. Sustained use of this feature for more than 3 consecutive rounds has a 2-in-6 chance of causing the internal power source to burn out.

Warhammer

Iron-Worm Barding of Karak Azgul This legendary suit of barding is believed to be one of only three ever forged by the Engineers of the lost hold of Karak Azgul, made to outfit the great tunnelling beasts they used to expand their realm in the deep earth. It is a masterpiece of interlocking gromril and steel plates, with runes of grounding and stability etched into every single scale.

Qualities: Fine, Impenetrable, Runic, Unbreakable
Encumbrance: 150 (This barding is far too large and heavy for any humanoid to wear and can only be fitted to a monstrous creature of immense size, subject to the GM’s discretion).
Mechanics:
- The barding provides 8 Armour Points to all locations of the creature it is fitted for. This Armour is immune to the effects of abilities or qualities that would reduce APs, such as Ablating.
- The wearer gains the Unyielding and Implacable Creature Traits. It cannot be knocked down or forced to move from its position by non-magical means.
- Grind Plates (Action): The creature’s rider can command it to spend its Action to grind the barding plates together. This is a terrifying spectacle of noise and power. All other creatures engaged in melee with the mount must pass a Challenging (+0) Agility Test or gain 1 Prone Condition and suffer a Hit with a Damage of +8 that has the Pummel quality.