Genasi Soul Armor interpretation

[Flipguarder]

My DM disagrees with me about the property of the Genasi soul armor found in the adventurer's vault 2.

Property: This armor is attuned to one genasi elemental manifestation (FORGOTTEN REALMS Player's Guide, page 10) chosen at the time this armor is created.

I believe the correct interpretation is that the attunment grants the wearer the bonus(es) presented in the elemental manifestation section of the Genasi racial stat block. For reference:

Elemental Manifestation: Choose one elemental
manifestation: earthsoul, firesoul, stormsoul, watersoul,
or windsoul. That manifestation is part of your
nature. (The Extra Manifestation feat, page 133, lets
you add additional manifestations and change your
manifestation.) Each elemental manifestation offers
particular benefits and provides an associated
encounter power. Your appearance changes based
on the element you are manifesting.

Earthsoul: You gain a +1 racial bonus to your Fortitude
defense, a +1 racial bonus to saving throws, and the
earthshock power

So 2 questions. Strictly by raw, since he has already told me his opinion. I do not intend to argue with him about it, I would just like to know if the general populace agrees with him or I:

1. Does the Genasi soul armor provide the bonus presented in their racial stat block?
2. If it does, would that count as a racial bonus or as an item bonus?

 

[abyssaldeath]

That is a weird item. I would say the property is there just for the use of the daily power.

 

[Flipguarder]

See that was his interpretation. But why even have the property then?

It just seems... unnecessary. And it (imo) makes the item fairly underpowered for a 4+ item

 

[chitzk0i]

You just get the racial power when you use the armor's power. It doesn't give you anything else. It's worded that way to make it clear that you don't get to choose a different racial power each time you use the item power.

 

[Alaric_Argent]

It sounds like you get to have the attributes of a given genasi manifestation by wearing the armor--so the pluses to defenses and saving throws are in place as long as you wear it, and you get the racial power (be it earthshock or whatever) as if you were that type of genasi--as an encounter power. I read the phrase, "one genasi elemental manifestation...chosen at the time this armor is created," to mean that it will only ever give one type (be it earthsoul, windsould, watersoul, firesoul, or stormsoul). Does that sound like a +4 item? It does to me.

Personally, I would consider all the effects to be item bonuses, eventhough they bestow traits that are otherwise inherent in members of a race. The wearer's race doesn't actually change; everything is tied to the armor.

 

[KarinsDad]

I have to agree with the majority here.

The purpose of the Property is to indicate which manifestation works for the Daily.

The only thing the armor grants is the racial encounter power.

You don't think that's sufficient?

 

[Flipguarder]

I suppose it could be. But my whole point is why point that out in a completely separate property of the armor. You could just as easily (and in my opinion they WOULD have) said the whole thing without that confusing long freaking property and just said at the end of the power:

The Genasi racial power used by this armor is chosen when the item is created.

 

[KarinsDad]

I suppose it could be. But my whole point is why point that out in a completely separate property of the armor. You could just as easily (and in my opinion they WOULD have) said the whole thing without that confusing long freaking property and just said at the end of the power:

The Genasi racial power used by this armor is chosen when the item is created.

You are assuming that every item is carefully edited and that sentences that might stand out like a sore thumb in a rules forum with hundreds or thousands of fairly passionate gamers will get caught in development when one person writes the item and possibly another edits it.

I think that your interpretation is more of a stretch because you are claiming benefits that are not explicitly written. They could just as easily have written: "You gain the particular benefits of the elemental manifestation that the armor is attuned to, but do not gain the associated encounter power. For example, you gain the resist cold for the elemental manifestation Windsoul." if they had meant that you get the bonus benefits.

With a loose interpretation like yours, one could gain the bonus benefits and the encounter power via the Property, plus they would also gain the encounter power once per day via the Daily as well. There is no way to segregate the bonus benefits with the bonus encounter power if one were to give everything from the manifestation writeup.

 

[mneme]

I think it very clearly doesn't give you the ability to manifest the manifestation -- the armor is attuned to one Gensai manifestation; you are not.