Pilferer's Paws

Pilferer's Paws

“Upon a cursory analysis, the gloves seemed quite useful, and while they would make much of my work easier, I simply couldn't bring myself to wear such comical gear. Upon getting them formally appraised, I realized this decision saved me much more dignity than I first thought.”

-Elric Hartson, monster researcher

These gloves, resembling plush, oversized tawny paws, were both created and designed by the eccentric gang of thieves known as the Gold Cats. Several sets were created, and much like the Gold Cats themselves, most are unaccounted for.

The paws are designed as a multi-tool for thieves. The retractable claws are enchanted to slice through glass and leather with ease, and while they lack conventional dexterity, the paw pads can magically adhere and detach to nearly anything, allowing the wearer to pick up objects, and climb almost any surface. Finally, the paws contain a hidden dimensional pocket, and any hand-held object can be teleported from the pads to this pocket, and vice-versa. The gloves have no power unless worn as a pair.

Not wanting their signature tools being used by just anybody, their eccentric leader had each set of gloves trapped with a peculiar curse. To disable the curse, the wearer must utter the password “mew” (“meow” seems to work as well) within three seconds of donning each individual glove. If this is not done, the curse will trigger if the gloves are worn for five minutes. The gloves will teleport out of the wearer's possession, returning to one of the attics or warehouses used as Gold Cat hideouts. At the same time, the former wearer will find that their hands themselves have become oversized paws, with an 80% chance of the paws being covered in fur. These paws only possess proper claws if the wearer did before, otherwise the claws are fairly dull. These paws possess no magical power, and almost no dexterity, though they are very soft and sensitive. The paws can be returned to hands via mid-power curse removal methods, but otherwise this effect is permanent.

The Cats use other pieces of iconic equipment, such as paw boots to improve stealth and cat-ear headbands that improve hearing, but only the gloves seem to bear an actual curse.