Lacrimosa (Patreon)

Armor (breastplate or half-plate), legendary (requires attunement)

A tarnished silver breastplate in the shape of a weeping mermaid’s face. Salty streams of water flow unending from her eyes, evaporating as they fall to the wearer’s feet. You have a +2 bonus to AC while wearing this armor.

Aqueous Embrace. When you take damage while wearing this armor, you can use your reaction to call upon the mermaid spirit within to aid you. If you do, the mermaid on the face of this armor cries a protective barrier of water that shields you for 10 minutes. The water has the following effects:

You gain an additional +1 bonus to your AC.

You are resistant to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

At the start of your turn if you have at least 1 hit point you gain 5 temporary hit points.

Once you use this property, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Sodden Sorrow. The first time after each long rest that you are reduced to 0 hit points by an attack, spell, or ability, the mermaid spirit within this armor manifests. The spirit uses the Banshee stat block, except it speaks Aquan instead of Elvish and appears as a ghostly mermaid formed from seawater. The spirit is added to the initiative order after you and spends its turns attacking the creature that reduced you to 0 hit points. If that creature is killed, the spirit spends its turns attacking the closest hostile creature to you within range. If you are healed above 0 hit points the spirit is pulled back into the armor and vanishes. If the spirit is reduced to 0 hit points, this armor loses all magical abilities until it is soaked in salt water for 24 hours.

Twas' once a maiden of land and a maiden of sea, bound together in matrimony. A life as joyous as any they lived, till the maiden of land did depart for battle. With a kiss she promised her darling that she would return.

Alas, death came to claim the maiden of land, looming over her upon the battlefield. But the maiden of the sea would not sit idly by as her love was struck down. So great was her love that her soul itself flew to protect her beloved, finding purchase within the silver of her lover’s armor.

With the blessing of her love shielding her, the maiden of land emerged victorious. Yet her heart rang hollow as her armor now bore the visage of her love, as beautiful in death as she was in life. After years of yearning for her lover’s embrace, the maiden of land stepped into the sea to reunite them.