This normal-appearing garment can be white (45%—Good alignment), gray (30%—Neutral, but neither Good nor Evil, alignment), or black (25%—Evil alignment). Its wearer gains the following powers:

1. It serves as armor equal to AC 5;

2. The robe confers a 5% [60%] magic resistance;

3. It adds +1 to saving throw scores; and

4. The robe reduces magic resistance and/or saving throws by 20%/-4 when the wearer casts any of the following spells: charm monster, charm person, friends, hold monster, hold person, polymorph other, suggestion.

Color of a robe of the archmagi is not determinable until donned by a magic-user. 

If a white robe is donned by an Evil wizard, he or she will take 18-51 (11d4 + 7) hit points of damage and lose 18,000-51,000 experience points, and the reverse is true with respect to a black robe donned by a Good aligned magic-user. An Evil or Good magic-user putting on a gray robe, or a Neutral magic-user donning either a white or black robe, incurs 6-24 hit points damage, 6,000-24,000 experience points loss, and the wearer will be moved towards the alignment of the robe by its enchantments, ie. he or she should be vocally urged to change alignment to that of the robe, and the magic-user will have to take steps to keep his or her old alignment pure.