Magic Item: Mind Steel Coif

This very rare chain coif is created by the Githyanki* in the Astral Plane. Legend holds that over the epochs they found ways to avoid the terrible mind attacks of those whom enslaved them. The coifs are crafted from Mind Steel. This priceless ore is said to be the crystallized blood of a dead celestial being. How the Githyanki are able to work it into wearable armor is the subject of debate among the arcane.

Designed by Vanessa Walilko, @KaliButterfly

Mind Steel Coif

Requires Attunement

You gain the following benefits while wearing it:

• Resistance to Psychic damage.

• A Mind Flayer must spend one round removing the Mind Steel Coif before using its Extract Brain ability.

• The coif also protects the wearer from the dark whispers of things unimaginable. Once per long rest you may gain advantage on a Wisdom Saving throw against an effect caused by an aberration.

You gain the following hindrances while wearing it:

• The coif does resemble an alien Mind Flayer or a metal octopus from the briny depths. The wearer is viewed with unusual suspicion, which causes disadvantage on all Charisma based checks.

• Finally, Aberrations will take special interest in destroying a Mind Steel Coif. Their servants may actively try to steal it, or worse be sent to dispatch the wearer. 

*For the uninitiated the Githyanki are astral sea dwellers who were once enslaved by a malevolent and cthulhu-esque race known as the Illithid or Mind Flayers. The Githyanki first appeared in the 1979 issue #12 of White Dwarf, in the "Fiend Factory" column. However, they are most famous for being depicted on the cover of the 1981 AD&D book, Fiend Folio. Interestingly, the name Githyanki was first coined by George R. R. Martin in his 1977 sci-fi novel Dying of the Light.