Feathered Cloak

For narrative speculation on this item, see Historia Aetherium: Feathered Horrors.

Item

Image Feather-Cloak25.jpg
Description Fashion shows will display cloaks or shawls like this sometimes, with layers of manufactured feathers. Few of them bother to restrict themselves to the soft tones of actual feathers, though.

Actually, on closer inspection, they might be actual feathers and the whole thing is definitely hand made. It's hard to say how many of the species represented are extinct, but the smart bet is on "most of them."

The whole thing seems fragile, like feathers might just fall out for no reason. So unless some corporate nutjob has been playing around in a cloning lab, this cloak has been very well taken care of.
Type Shirt (Usable when equipped)
Hidden Flags Bird Suit Part
Use (see below)
Effects +2 Etheric Power
+2 Evasion Power
Slightly Increases Chance of Choice Encounters

Sources

Zack's House of Coins, originally released on March 29, 2010 (2 unearthly coins)

Uses

Adventuring with this item equipped causes you to have special feathered cloak encounters. These will either give you a genuine feather of some kind (see Feather Drops, below), give you an effect (see Chains and Crystal Feathers, below), or lead to other special outcomes (see Chains, below). This item is also required to obtain the Tamer of Secrets avatar.

General Mechanics

Adventuring with this item equipped triggers special events at certain intervals. There seems to be a minimum amount of Energy that you must spend between cloak-related events. It is unclear whether only Energy spent in choice encounters counts, or if other activities also count (and, if not all of them do, which ones do and don't). Similarly, there is an maximum interval between chain-related cloak encounters, but the precise duration of this interval is unknown.

None of the special cloak-related encounters cost Energy.

Adventuring with this item equipped increments hidden counters, one for each feather type (owl, raven, and hawk.) Options you pick from choice encounters increment the counters.

Counter Incremented By
Owl Energy spent walking away from choice encounters (1 energy/5 walk-aways)
Raven Choosing options in choice encounters that do not lead to a combat or walk-away
Hawk Choosing options in choice encounters that lead to a combat

Each counter seems to have a maximum value (20?). Having a counter max out triggers a crystal feather effect if you have a crystal feather of the appropriate type equipped. Otherwise, you will receive a feather drop. If only one counter is maxed out, you will get a genuine feather of the corresponding type. If more than one counter is maxed out, Owl takes precedence over Raven, and both take precedence over Hawk. When a counter triggers, it resets to zero.

Counter (Owl > Raven > Hawk) Encounter Result
Owl Drifting Owl Feather Item: genuine owl feather
Raven Drifting Raven Feather Item: genuine raven feather
Hawk Drifting Hawk Feather Item: genuine hawk feather

Chains

Adventuring with both the cloak and a genuine feather equipped allows you to initiate chains. (Crystal feathers cannot be substituted for genuine feathers in chains.) Unequipping the cloak at any time, or not having a genuine feather equipped to continue the chain, will immediately terminate your chain. After spending enough energy (see above) with the cloak and a genuine feather equipped, you will receive a special encounter (determined by your chain state—see below). In all cases, you will lose your equipped feather upon receiving this encounter.

Counters do not seem to have any effect on chains. Adventuring with the appropriate type of feather should lead to the same special encounter no matter what options you pick in choice encounters. (This probably means that completing a chain is a good way to max out your counters to receive quick feather drops when you are done.)

Using the cloak while it is equipped will give you a message about your current chain state. The first sentence of the message is always:

You run your fingers through the cloak, straightening stray feathers.

If you do not currently have a chain in progress, the next sentence will be:

It's so soft you can easily imagine the real elites wearing them.

Other messages that can follow the first sentence are listed below.

Note that in chains with three or more steps, the first two feathers may be used in either order. In other words, hawk > raven and raven > hawk may yield different special encounters, but they are equivalent for purposes of determining your ultimate chain result. This is indicated below by putting the first two feathers in a long chain in curved brackets.

NOTE: Beginning a chain with two of the same feathers acts the same as beginning with one, except the third feather will terminate the chain. (E.g. if you go "Owl, Owl", the third feather will act as though it were preceded by a single Owl, but the fourth feather will start a new chain.) There is no benefit to doing this.

ALSO: If you perform a 2-feather chain with feathers of different types, the third feather will trigger the same result and end the chain. (E.g. "Hawk Raven Raven" will trigger the technique-learning encounter a second time.)

Chain Encounter Cloak Use Text Results
Owl Owl Feather (Floats Away) The owl feathers at your shoulders are arranged in strange patterns, but you get them back in order. 50 Energy of Soft Wind
Owl
Owl
Owl Feather (Floats Away) The owl feathers around your shoulders point in a dozen strange directions, refusing to point where you want. 50 Energy of Soft Wind
Raven Raven Feather (Crumbles) The raven feathers down towards the bottom feel a bit damp, but you wipe the moisture away. 50 Energy of Dark Wind
Raven
Raven
Raven Feather (Crumbles) The raven feathers at the trim of the cloak feel slick, almost slimy, and won't wipe clean. 50 Energy of Dark Wind
Hawk Hawk Feather (Muscle Spasm) The hawk feathers in the middle of your back seem drawn together by static, but you manage to sort them out. 50 Energy of Guiding Wind
Hawk
Hawk
Hawk Feather (Muscle Spasm) You run your fingers through the cloak, straightening stray feathers. The hawk feathers in the middle of your back cling to each other with an annoying static electricity, refusing to get in line. 50 Energy of Guiding Wind
Owl
Raven
Raven Feather (Black Stain Sinks Into Skin) The owl and raven feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. [None]
Or, if Etheric: learn Cloak of Feathers
Owl
Hawk
Hawk Feather (Marathon) The hawk and owl feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. 3 XP* in Strength
Raven
Owl
Owl Feather (Long-Asked Question) The owl and raven feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. 3 XP* in Will
Raven
Hawk
Hawk Feather (Another Master) The hawk and raven feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. 3 XP* in Reflexes
Hawk
Owl
Owl Feather (In Focus) The hawk and owl feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. 3 XP* in Perception
Hawk
Raven
Raven Feather (Greasy Black Mist) The hawk and raven feathers seem strangely energized, refusing to fall back into place. [None]
Or, if Etheric with raven's eyes equipped: learn Raven's Eyes technique
Or, if Etheric with a jagged hawk talon equipped: learn Hawk's Talon technique
Or, if Etheric with an owl's mask equipped: learn Owl's Mask technique
{Owl,
Raven}
Hawk
Hawk Feather (Fireworks) The whole thing is crackling with energy, like the crackle of electricity the moment before you're struck by lightning. You can almost feel the hawk's eyes glaring down at you. Unlock avian boss fights
{Raven,
Hawk}
Owl
Owl Feather (Lonely) The feathers are whorled in fascinating patterns. You almost feel bad straightening them out. Unlocks 8 XP gain encounters.
{Hawk,
Owl}
Raven
Raven Feather (Diamond Dust) The feathers feel oily, almost slimy.

Maybe it's just succumbing to the smells of Metroplex, but it's a bit more… earthen than that.
Unlocks Feather Freezes for your next feather
{Raven,
Hawk}
Owl
Owl
Owl Feather (Terror) [Terminates chain] 4 XP* each in Perception and Will
{Raven,
Hawk}
Owl
Raven
Raven Feather (Emptiness) [Terminates chain] 4 XP* each in Perception and Reflexes
{Raven,
Hawk}
Owl
Hawk
Hawk Feather (Rage) [Terminates chain] 4 XP* each in Perception and Strength
{Owl,
Raven}
Hawk
Owl
Owl Feather (Fight) [Terminates chain] Fight a Masked Owl

Drops owl's mask if you have a Myers Sampling Kit equipped
{Owl,
Raven}
Hawk
Raven
Raven Feather (Fight) [Terminates chain] Fight a Twisted Raven

Drops raven's eyes if you have a Myers Sampling Kit equipped
{Owl,
Raven}
Hawk
Hawk
Hawk Feather (Fight) [Terminates chain] Fight a Storm Hawk

Drops jagged hawk talon if you have a Myers Sampling Kit equipped
{Hawk,
Owl}
Raven
Owl
Feather Freezes [Terminates chain] crystal owl feather
{Hawk,
Owl}
Raven
Raven
Feather Freezes [Terminates chain] crystal raven feather
{Hawk,
Owl}
Raven
Hawk
Feather Freezes [Terminates chain] crystal hawk feather

* Each piece of the Ornithological Outfit (owl's mask, jagged hawk talon, raven's eyes) that you have equipped when receiving this encounter adds +1 to each type of XP gained

Crystal Feathers

Adventuring with a crystal feather equipped will result in a normal feather drop (see above) if the triggered counter does not match the equipped feather. If it doesn't match and you are in the middle of one of the chains above, it does not ruin the chain, and you can continue on from where you left off. If it does match, you will receive the following special encounter/effect:

Feather Encounter Result Effect
crystal hawk feather Hawk Feather Sparks Guiding Wind (30) +20% Ranged Power
Slightly Increases Chance of Choice Encounters
crystal raven feather Raven Feather Darkens Dark Wind (30) +20% Etheric Power
Slightly Increases Chance of Choice Encounters
crystal owl feather Owl Feather Chimes Soft Wind (30) +20% Stealth Power
Slightly Increases Chance of Choice Encounters

Avatar

If you are entering or active in Gang Warfare, and have equipped:

Then you can get the Tamer of Secrets avatar by using the Raven's Eyes technique four times in any order:

  • following 2 etheric techniques
  • following 2 ranged techniques
  • following 2 fire techniques
  • following 2 stealth techniques

These do not have to be against a gang warfare opponent, or in the same combat. They probably do have to all be in your current gang warfare clone deck, meaning you must perform them within a certain number of combat rounds.

HrafnagudM.jpg HrafnagudF.jpg

(The image name for the avatar is "Hrafnagud', which means "Raven God" and was one of the names of the Norse god Odin.)

Techniques

Chain Technique Type Attribute Base Dam/Def Notes
Hawk-Talon50.jpg Hawk's Talon Melee Perception 4 enhanced vs. Electric opponents; unfound goodness
cloakattack.jpg Cloak of Feathers Evasion (M, F) Reflexes 4 enhanced when Etheric or with the cloak equipped
Owl-Mask50.jpg Owl's Mask Etheric Will 10 enhanced and defends vs. Etheric techniques when your Will > opponent's
Crow-Eyes.jpg Raven's Eyes Etheric Will 7 enhanced and can change type following other techniques

Other Uses

Hammer25.jpg This item is not a component for any kind of crafting.
toolbox.jpg This item cannot be salvaged.
GoldCoins.jpg This item cannot be added to a gang stash.

Notes

If you have one sort of wind effect active and gain a different one, the remaining energy from the original effect will be turned into energy of the new effect. For instance, using a genuine hawk feather from inventory with 12 turns of Dark Wind active will remove all energy of Dark Wind but give you 32 energy of Guiding Wind, instead of 20.

Remaining Mysteries

From Podcast 27:

I'm guessing there's probably something interesting that you're missing [with the Hawk's Talon technique]. [evil laugh] Yeah, there's some cool stuff there.

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