Soothsayer's Raiment and Polymorph Revelations

[SageofMaple]

I'm an Oracle of Waves mystery (yes I know it's sub-optimal, the character is flavour-based). In my personal quest to unlock my oracle stuff, etc, I was able to discover a Soothsayer's Raiment keyed to the Water Form revelation, which allows me to assume the form of a water elemental as per "Elemental Body"
Here's the thing though: cool as it is, wouldn't using the ability cause me to lose the armor bonus of the EXPLICITLY +1 chainmail raiment? Considering a fair number of oracle mysteries contain polymorphing revelations, this feels like an oversight. Should using the ability from the armor allow me to retain the armor bonus? Note that Water Form in particular explicitly grants a bonus to natural armor that is LOWER than the total armor value of the raiment, meaning activating the armor would actually LOWER my AC, assuming polymorphing rules as normal.

Does the armor which grants the ability meld into my body as well or would I continue to retain the bonus?

[supervillan]

The armour melds into your body, as per normal polymorphing rules. Soothsayer's Raiment contains no rule that provides an exception to the polymorph rules. It matters not which Revelation you gain from the Raiment, it cannot provide an armour bonus when you are polymorphed (not without further custom enchantment anyway).

Your solution is within your Mystery (Waves is pretty good imho - I have seen a very effective Waves Oracle in action though). You can take the Ice Armour revelation.

Ice Armour, Waves Mystery wrote:

"Ice Armor (Su): You can conjure armor of ice that grants you a +4 armor bonus. At 7th level, and every four levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +2. At 13th level, this armor grants you DR 5/piercing. In cold conditions, the armor bonus (and DR bonus) increases by 2; in very hot conditions it decreases by 2. You can use this armor for 1 hour per day per oracle level. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-hour increments."

Some GMs might rule that this "conjured armour" also merges when you polymorph; no problem, just reactivate the armour revelation, and your polymorphed form is newly encased in icy protection. Other GMs (self included) treat the 'armour family' of oracle revelations more like Mage Armour. If your GM says that the Ice Armour merges, you are likely to be able to use Magic Vestment on Ice Armour since the GM is ruling that it is physical armour.

[deuxhero]

And since the bonus of Ice Armor is not an enhancement bonus (indeed, it doesn't even say it's actually any catagory of armor), it can have Magic Vestment added to it. Functionally a free, weightless +3 Mithral Kikko (or +2 mithral breastplate with no ACP) for, at level 8 (which is the minimum I'd use it over real armor at), 8 hours a day. At level 12 this becomes +9 AC with DR5 (nifty for a bit but no scaling)

[Firebug]

Purchase another set of armor to use once you have shifted forms. Elementals can be roughly humanoid shaped and can wear armor. In fact, in the subtype description it talks about armor proficiency. You just have to shift first, like druids wearing barding.