Essay - Dyeing, Fashion, You

Dereth's seasons are beautiful, whether it be deep winter, when the snows blanket the countryside, or in plush spring, when the trees are blossoming and the grass is a deep verdant green. - Gillian the Hunter

Dereth is full of wonders, so it's no surprise that several species of brightly colored plants should suddenly appear on Dereth's landscape after Isparians have already been there for several years. And as the seasons change, so too do the colors of the plants growing on the surface of our new home.

Intrepid and inventive Alchemists and Cooks have brewed up a way to use the colorful plants that first sprung up during the Twilight's Gleaming event, much to the joy of fashion conscious adventurers everywhere. The three colors first available for outfitting stylish warriors, mages, and archers were obtained from the Berimphur, Hennacin, and Verdalim plants (Yellow-Green, Deep Red, and Dark Green, respectively).

Three months (and a change of the season) later found the first three varieties of plant going dormant, unable to cope with the colder temperatures. However, the Argenory, Lapyan, and Minalim plants thrive in the Winter season, and blossomed during the Child of Daralet event.

The winter plants proved quite hardy, lasting through the Spring, only to eventually succumb to the Summer heat. Luckily the Relanim and Colban plants grew to replace them during the Lost in the New Horizon event. Furthermore, a very brave member of some sundry group of Derethian adventurers found Green Seeds from the colored plants in the droppings of many type of Shreth. Therese the Herbalist, near Yanshi, apparently has quite the green thumb and will often be able to grow the seeds into full size plants (In-season plants AND dormant ones!) in record time. However, adventurers will occasionally bring her stones instead of seeds, and Therese has quite the temper.

So, you've got a pile of plants, and you want some snazzy and stylish new armor, eh? Well, read on to find out just how you can go from potted plant to clothes horse.

Dyeing armor and clothing is a very difficult skill, and can only be properly mastered by expert Alchemists and Cooks. It's recommended that you buff to 300+ skill in both Alchemy and Cooking before even thinking about attempting to dye items that have an AL greater than 0. With that disclaimer out of the way, it's time to get into the details. You'll need the following supplies in order to be able to produce a pot of dye:

Dyeing Supplies
One or more Dye Plants
Mortar and Pestle
One or more Neutral Balms
One or more Cooking Pots

Got it all together? Great! Now let's go ahead and go through the steps.

Creating and Applying Dye

Requires:

Alchemy (1501)

Alchemy (2002)

Cooking (2003)

Cooking (2304)

Berimphur*

Hennacin*

Relanim

Lapyan*

Colban

Minalim*

Verdalim*

Thananim†

Argenory*

* In season (as of April 2002) † Only available from Therese in exchange for Green Seeds from a Rampager Tusker.

What exactly happens if you fail the skill check while applying the dye to a piece of armor or clothing? One of three things can happen to your clothing/armor, as explained in the table below.

Failing a Dye Job
			Failure		Color applies correctly, -20* AL Points
			High Failure		Color applies correctly, -50* AL Points
			Critical Failure		Pink or Orange, -50* AL Points
* AL is reduced PERMANENTLY. Items will not be lowered below 0 AL.

At 230 cooking skill, the chance to fail in applying a dye pot is approximately 50%. The chance of High Failure is in the range of 15-20%, and the chance of Critical Failure is less than 10%. A 300+ skill in Alchemy and 330+ skill in cooking is recommended for extremely high (95%+) chances of success.

So if a critical failure can produce either Pink or Orange, is there a way to know which color you'll get? Of course! Cloth and leather items will turn pink on Critical Failure, and metal will turn orange. So what about Amuli coats, then, with their leather arms and metal breastplates? Orange! Amuli Coats are considered to be metal for the dyeing process, and Amuli Leggings are considered to be leather. (Thanks to Synnah of WE for this information)

Critical Failure Colors

Now, on to the fine print:

Only store-bought/loot-o-matic clothing and armor can be dyed. No quest items (with the singular exception of the Red Boobie Dress) can be dyed. This means things like Matty Robes/Coats, Lesser/Medium/Greater Shadowhunter Armor, and Sclavus Hide Armor. Weapons, shields, and spellcasting implements (wands, staves, orbs) cannot be dyed, either.

But wait, there's even more trickery involved in dying armor! For example, studded leather boots have metal rivets that change color according to what pants you're wearing. When you dye those boots, the leather takes on the dye color, and the rivets continue to take the color of whatever pants you're wearing. The same goes for Yoroi breastplates cuirasses, sleeves, and pauldrons. In all cases, the base color will change, while the accent/changing color keeps its original attributes.

Certain armors, such as Celdon, Amuli, and Kouija, have multiple colors. Below is a chart that shows how certain armors change when dyed.

Dyeing Multicolored Armor
Amuli	Celdon	Koujia	Studded Leather

Note that in Amuli, the breastplate and leather portions of the coat and legs take the color, and the shoulders and collar do not. In Kouija, the accent (changes according to clothing) and panel colors do not take the dye. In Celdon, the veins keep their color.

For now, fellow alchemists and cooks of Ispar, your lesson is complete. So go out there and make Dereth fashionable!

(Many thanks for Fehzemist of The Cult of Feh! on Wintersebb, Qu'Nho of Wintersebb, Archui of Harvestgain, and to the CoD Artificer's Shop message board for helping with the making of this essay)