Mailed Might

By means of this spell, a wizard protects himself or herself or another touched creature with temporary, illusory armor. The armor has no weight, nor does it encumber its wearer or in any way affect movement or spellcasting. To the wearer, it is invisible and undetectable, making no metallic sounds when struck or moving, and so on. To others, it appears as translucent, ghostly armor, visible in outline but nonreflective and soundless.

It protects the wearer as if it were chain mail (AC 5). Minor illusory displacement makes enemy melee attacks less effective, reducing the actual damage from each melee attack striking the caster by 3 points. The phantom armor also confers a +1 saving throw bonus against all attacks protected against by magical armor.

Furthermore, the armored creature looks as if it were shadowed by far larger, more powerful armored creatures who stand behind it and move with it. Creatures of 2-7 Intelligence ("Semi-" and "Low") who observe this effect may flee in fear of the strange and powerful armored creature they face. More intelligent creatures are often disconcerted and may respect the potential powers of the protected being more than they otherwise would.

While the armor itself cannot be successfully disbelieved, any ability or magic that counters illusions (such as true seeing) allows its user to ignore the effects of this spell.

The material component of this spell is a small fragment of real armor: plate or metal mail-weave.

Notes: Rare spell in the Forgotten Realms setting; virtually unknown elsewhere. Known to be in a rare tome, Selvar's Ineffable Conjurations, Magic, and Phantasms.