Gauld is an alchemical compound that when applied to clothes (and other worn items, such as leather armour) vastly increases their toughness and resistance to attack as well as durability while still retaining most of their flexibility in the case of clothing. The treatment process is called gaulding. The ability of an enemy or monster to cut or pierce clothing so treated is drastically reduced, though trauma from the force of the attack is still transmitted through the fabric. For example, a well-made jackcoat is apparently able to repel a direct hit by a musket ball, though the force of the shot is still felt by the wearer.
Throughout Taldor, Andoran and Galt, many different types of clothing are proofed, including silk, fur, and feathers. The gaulding process results in a slight increase in weight and decrease in flexibility, but overall the material is little changed, other than becoming much stronger.
Gaulded clothing, or proofing is de rigeur for anyone who chooses to venture beyond the safety of city walls. Soldiers and teratologists are seldom without a set of sturdy proofing, as are most other folk in the ditchlands and fencelands. Gaulded clothes are also worn in parishes, though complete sets of proofing are less common.
The most effective type of proofing consists of gauld-leather or Hide backed by gaulded cloth. This combination is known as troubarding and is worn by elite troubardier infantry. Haubardiers wear partial troubarding about the torso in Andoran and Galt.
Game Effect:
Gaulding adds +2 to the Armor/Shield bonus of any Padded, Leather or Hide armor, while adding no Armor Check penalty and no modifier to the Max Dex Bonus or Arcane Spell Failure Chance. It increases the weight by one pound.
Cost: 200 GP