Item from The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Magical plate armor that enhances strength and blocks Shardblade cuts — ancient suits cracked and reassembled over millennia, with living Plate made of lesser spren.
Shardplate turns a soldier into a one-person army. The armor enhances strength enough to leap chasms, absorbs impacts that would kill unarmored fighters, and is the only conventional defense against Shardblades. Dead Plate cracks under sustained assault and must be infused with Stormlight to repair; losing too many pieces means losing the suit. Living Plate, worn by fourth-Ideal Radiants, is made of lesser spren attracted to the Radiant's bond — windspren for Windrunners, creationspren for Lightweavers. It is vastly superior: self-repairing, responsive to thought, and part of the Radiant's identity rather than a tool. Only a handful of modern Radiants have spoken enough Ideals to manifest living Plate.
Full plate armor that glows faintly from within, each suit unique in design. The plates are impossibly light despite their size, and cracks heal when infused with Stormlight. Dead Plate is dull grey-white. Living Plate shimmers with the color of its component spren — Windrunner Plate trails windspren, Edgedancer Plate glows with lifespren.
Also known as: Shardplate, Plate