Iryan Armor
“Iryan leather armor is a good choice for the jungle. It protects you from the arrows of the Forest Folk, and it is not particularly heavy. Perhaps most important of all, it doesn’t give you heatstroke.”
— Dario Dellamonte, young Meridian questador, 1035 FB
Iryan leather armor is crafted from the hides of alligators and other southern Aventurian lizard creatures in a complicated process. Its two greatest qualities are its comfort and its extreme resistance to fire. Iryan leather is susceptible only to lava and perhaps the fires of a forge or the hottest dragon breath. For this reason, it is the preferred choice of dragon hunters and soldiers who expect to face flame-based attacks.
Its major disadvantage is its cost. Most soldiers cannot afford Iryan leather armor, even in southern Aventuria where it is made. Some consider the armor’s typically bold color — dark red or black — to be disadvantageous because it stands out on the battlefield. Wearers are sometimes likened to reptiles on the hunt. This effect is magnified with the addition of the alligator-head Iryan helmet, which some feel lends the wearer the guise of a demon. A battle line of Meridian warriors dressed in full Iryan armor is an intimidating sight.
Protection- and mobility-wise, Iryan armor is comparable to other types of leather armor.
“This armor is no help against lucky blowpipe darts, but it sure helps when fighting dragons.”
— Brother Hilbert of Auen, Blessed One of Peraine
“I know guild mages from the Academy of Al’Anfa who dress in Iryan leather. They wear gloves and boots in the city, but dress head-to-toe in this armor when accompanying expeditions into the jungle or serving as mages aboard ships.”
— Mirhiban al’Orhima, Tulamydian fire mage
“I may be a bit fuzzy on this, but isn’t it illegal for mages to wear armor?”
— Geron Bladebreaker, mercenary
“A growing number of young mages ignore the Codex Albyricus, but most mages still obey the law (though admittedly they sometimes don’t do it very well). Then there is the Brotherhood of the Knowing, the members of which include some of my colleagues from Al’Anfa. They only wear clothes that match their particular fashion sense.”
— Mirhiban al’Orhima, Tulamydian fire mage
“Fireproof armor is a good thing. But no Angroshim would wear something like that. We do not like things made from lizard skin.”
— Arbosh son of Angrax, forge dwarf master smith