Serpentine Salvage
Serpentine salvage reforges the enchantments on a piece of looted gear. Every spell on the item is replaced by a different one, and each replacement comes in at the same level as the spell it replaced. It is the third of the salvage crafts, alongside Equipment Mods for armour and Weapon Mods for weapons, and the only one that touches an item's spellbook.
What it does
Apply Serpentine to a piece of gear and its item enchantments are drawn again from scratch. The rule that makes it useful is that level is preserved: a level 8 spell is replaced by a different level 8 spell, a level 7 by a different level 7, and so on down the item's list.
The worked example: a piece of armour carrying Incantation of Armor Self at level 8, Flame Bane at 7 and Invulnerability at 7 comes back with one random level 8 enchantment and two random level 7 enchantments.
Three things follow from that:
- The replacements are drawn from the pool that item could actually have rolled when it was found. You will never get a spell that could not have appeared on that kind of item in the first place, so a caster does not come back wearing an archer's spellbook.
- The arcane lore requirement does not move. Because every spell keeps its level, the item stays exactly as hard to wield as it was.
- Cantrips are never touched. Only item enchantments are in scope; a cantrip on the piece survives the reforge untouched.
You cannot choose the outcome, and the salvage is spent either way.
What it works on
Serpentine applies to melee weapons, missile weapons, casters, armour, clothing and jewelry - the only salvage that crosses the weapon and armour divide.
It only works on looted equipment. An item that was handed to you as a quest reward was never generated as treasure, so there is no pattern for the salvage to draw from, and it will tell you so:
- "The [item] was not found as treasure, so the salvage has no pattern to draw from. Only looted equipment can be reforged."
An item with no item enchantments to begin with is refused the same way, as is one whose magic follows no pattern the salvage recognises.
How to apply it
Put the salvage and the item you want reforged both in your pack, neither of them equipped, then use the salvage on the item. If the target is still worn you will be told to remove it first.
A bag must be full to work. A hammer must have charges left; when the last one is spent it crumbles to dust.
Getting the salvage
Salvage-Broker Bevan Tolliver in the Marketplace stocks both forms:
| Item | Uses | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sealed Bag of Serpentine Salvage | One | 1 Trade Note |
| Sealed Serpentine Hammer | Ten | 10 Trade Notes |
Use the sealed version in your pack to break the seal. Serpentine also drops as ordinary salvage.
See also
- Custom Crafting - every way gear can be reworked, in one place.
- Equipment Mods - rolls ability-linked bonuses onto armour and jewelry.
- Weapon Mods - rolls special modifiers onto weapons.
- Salvage-Broker Bevan Tolliver - the broker who sells it.