Gauntlets of Defense
[ Gauntlets of Defense 
| |
|---|---|
| Base item | gauntlets of dexterity |
| Affiliation |
|
| When carried | (none) |
| When worn | |
| When invoked |
|
| Base price | 5000 zm |
| Weight | 10 |
In SLASH'EM, the Gauntlets of Defense is a neutral-aligned artifact whose base type is a pair of gauntlets of dexterity. In addition to the regular effect of gauntlets of dexterity, it provides half physical damage if worn and can be invoked to toggle invisibility for the wearer. Note that the latter feature is available only to players who don't have the invisibility property already.
It is the guaranteed first sacrifice gift for monks.
Due to its powerful features, it is a common item for ascension kits. Since this is something that will be worn almost all the time and rarely removed, and is not an intelligent artifact, it may be valuable even to characters that are not neutral-aligned, and is a good first wish for any neutral-aligned character - although they do not grant magic resistance or reflection like dragon scale mails, the half physical damage reduction and invisibility can be a life-saver for an early character, especially for Wizards, as they start the game with magic resistance (from the guaranteed Cloak of magic resistance in a Wizard's starting inventory), but have no armor and few hitpoints. Note that in SLASH'EM high dexterity will further improve your AC.
However, it should be noted that in the later game, this item is little better than a regular pair of gauntlets of dexterity. The invisibility is easily superseded, and the Hand of Vecna provides half physical damage as well as hungerless regeneration. Since half physical damage does not stack, there is no additional benefit for having two half physical damage artifacts. Thus, while it is an excellent early game wish or sacrifice gift, the Gauntlets of Defense are not worth wishing or sacrificing for after obtaining the Hand of Vecna.
