Gliding Cloak

This rather optimistically named article of clothing does not allow its wearer to glide so much as it allows him to fall more slowly.

Ultimate Equipment Guide II

Author Greg Lynch, J. C. Alvarez
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2005

At first glance, it appears to be a rather ordinary, though large, cloak. However, the gliding cloak contains several modifications that differentiate it from the normal cloak. The hems of the cloak are reinforced with thick straps of tough leather sewn into the hem itself. Four leather loops are attached to these straps, two at the bottom corners of the cloak and two at the height of the wearer’s outstretched arms. Sewn into the lining of the cloak are four wide pockets, often used to store possessions but intended to catch air while the cloak is being used to glide, slowing the wearer’s descent.

When the wearer of the gliding cloak wishes to use the garment for its intended purpose, he slips his feet into the bottom two leather loops and seizes the top two with his hands. Holding himself in a spread-eagle position, he then leaps off into the air and begins to fall. The cloak slows his fall, however, allowing him to take only half damage from the first 40 feet of the fall.

After the 40-foot point, he has picked up too much speed for the gliding cloak to offer any benefit. The cloak’s wearer will fall in a nearly straight line, moving only ten feet horizontally for every 40 feet he falls. The maximum weight the cloak is able to affect is 150 pounds. Any more mass than that simply overwhelms the gliding cloak’s feeble abilities.

To gain any benefit from the gliding cloak, the character must spend a move action readying the cloak for the plunge. Therefore, a character who suddenly and unexpectedly falls (for example, if the character inadvertently triggers a pit trap) will gain no benefit from wearing the gliding cloak.

Cloak, Gliding: 100 gp; 5 lb.