Those who complete Roving Elves will be given the choice of a 2/10 crystal bow or shield. Further, if you have completed The Eyes of Glouphrie you will be rewarded with a crystal saw, which can be used while decorating your house. This guide covers how the bow, shield and saw work, how to recharge and the background behind the crystal seeds that power them.

What is a crystal seed? The crystal seed comes from the home of Seren, the elven god, the only known being who has been able to converse with the crystal seeds, which are alive to some degree. The crystal seed is used to form a bow or shield, and once used will stay with that user until it reverts to seed once more.

The above map shows the location of Ilfeen, Eluned and Islwyn. As the map outlines, the elves like to move around the forests of Isafdar, so if they are not in one location, try the next. A path to get from one to the other is shown above, but watch for traps and routes through the forest on the way!

You will need to locate Islwyn in the forest if you wish to buy a brand new bow/shield. You can have as many bows/shields as you wish at one time. Similarly to Eluned and Islwyn, Ilfeen likes to move throughout the forest, so, again, if you can’t find her in one location, try the other. Again, the route connecting her locations is marked on the above map, but make sure you watch for traps along the way! You will need to locate Ilfeen if you have a crystal seed you want enchanting into a bow or shield.

There are currently only 2 crystal items that the elves have mastered the enchantment of, the bow and shield. While Ilfeen continues to fine-tune her skills, she has yet to master the enchantment of seeds into crystal halberds.

Costs

Islwyn will happily sell you a new bow for 900,000gp, and a new shield for 750,000gp. A new bow or shield has 2500 uses, which means you can either fire 2500 arrows from a crystal bow, or take 2500 hitpoints damage to the shield before it reverts to seed.

When it reverts to seed, it is wise to visit Ilfeen. Rather than paying out full price on a new bow, you can pay Ilfeen to enchant your seed into a new bow/shield. The idea behind chanting is quite simple: different pitches can change the shape and size of any facet of the seed.

This allows a practiced Chanter to make any number of shapes. It is also possible for particularly gifted individuals to imbue powers into these objects. The only problem with this process is that it is very costly and time consuming. The process can, however, be made more economical: the better the Chanter knows the person for whom they are creating items, the easier it is to make, hence the more Ilfeen enchants your seed(s), the cheaper it will get. After 5 enchantments, the price you pay will remain constant.

The Crystal bow

Requiring the nimbleness of an elf and the accuracy of a sharpshooter, the crystal bow demands you have at least 70 Ranged and 50 Agility to harness its power. It is worth noting that as this bow has the powers of Seren, it does not require ammo in your quiver and does not fire any arrows that are human-made.

As it is powered from the crystal seed, you will find that it degrades over time, until it reverts to a seed. The crystal bow has 2500 shots, so every 250 shots, you will notice it degrades slightly. (For example, it will go from a ‘New crystal bow’ to a ‘Crystal bow 9/10′ after the first 250 shots).

As the bow degrades it will lose some of its ranged attack bonuses. Overall, the bow has extremely high accuracy, which remains ‘high-end’ until it degrades, but be warned that you will have a slight drop in accuracy.

Power of bow

Ranged attack bonus

The Crystal shield

Requiring the nimbleness of an elf and the defence of a true warrior, the crystal shield demands you have at least 70 Defence and 50 Agility to make use of its defence.

As it is powered from the crystal seed, you will find that it degrades over time, until it reverts to a seed. The crystal shield can take 2500 hitpoints worth of damage, so every 250 points of damage you have taken, you will notice it degrades slightly. (For example, it will go from a ‘New crystal shield’ to a ‘Crystal shield 9/10′ after the first 250 damage has been taken - if you are hit ‘0′ no points are taken from the shield).

As the shield degrades it will lose some of its defence bonuses. Overall, the shield has increased defence over that of a Dragon square! As it degrades, however, you will see these defence values lower.

The Crystal shield always has -10 to Magic and Ranged attack bonuses

Power of shield

Defence Bonuses

Crystal Saw

This odd piece of equipment is a combination of elven mystic arts and gnomish ingenuity, given to those adventurers who successfully aid the gnomes in the Eyes of Glouphrie.

By having the crystal saw in your inventory you will be able to construct furnishings in your house with a Construction level up to 3 levels below that which you would normally require. If you have level 57 Construction, for example, you will be able to construct level 60 furnishings such as gilded four-poster beds - provided you have necessary materials, of course.

Please note that the crystal saw will only have an affect on furnishings that require a saw; hence, it will not work when building rooms or planting flowers/trees/hedges.

As the power of the crystal is drained slightly in doing this, you will only be able to construct 28 items in this way before the saw reverts to an uncharged crystal seed and it will need to be recharged.

To recharge the seed of your crystal saw, you will need to return to Brimstail’s cave and use the seed on the crystal bowl. Alternatively, you can seek out Ilfeen in the forests of Isafdar and ask her to recharge it for you.