Dye

Dyes are used to change the colors of items. They might be created with alchemy, purchased at a cobbling shop, or purchased from the dyer's tent (see that page for a comprehensive list of both tent, alchemy, and cobbling shop colors). Dyes may not be used to change the color of any scripted item, or any item with a long description. Dyes should also not be used in the process of forging. See forged weapon dyeing for a detailed explanation.

All non-alchemy dyes may be converted at a dyer's tent clerk using ORDER BOTTLE to work like an alchemy dye, and thus work with the dye additives to make them glowing, sparkling, etc. However, converted cobbling dyes cannot be permified at the PERM-ifier.

Dyes are often sold at merchant events as cobbling dyes that may include colors not regularly available. See EGShop:Come To Heel for examples.

Dyeing items is not a perfect science, and many items will need to be taken to a merchant and altered to get exactly what one wants. For example, a treasure system found dark grey leather gown cannot be changed to a fiery red leather gown with fiery red dye if the INSPECT of the item does not include that the gown is made of leather.

You tap a dark grey leather gown 

>insp my gow
You carefully inspect your leather gown.

You determine that you could wear the gown around your chest.

>pour my dye on my gow
You pour a few test drops of your red vial of dye on your leather gown.  The results are good, and you can tell the dye will transform it into a fiery red gown if you poured some more on it.

Sometimes the INSPECT material does not match the description and the dye result makes the item undesirable.

You carefully inspect your pale sage silk shawl.

You determine that you could wear the shawl, hanging it from your shoulders.

It looks like this item has been mainly crafted out of cloth.

You pour a few test drops of your red vial of dye on your pale sage silk shawl.  The results are good, and you can tell the dye will transform it into a fiery red cloth shawl if you poured some more on it.

Plain weapons are good items for dyes as the material is more likely to show up in the INSPECT and be maintained with dyeing.

After a careful inspection you determine that a bone-handled mithril mace requires skill in blunt weapons to use effectively.

It looks like this item has been mainly crafted out of mithril.

You pour a few test drops of your plum vial of dye on your mithril mace.  The results are good, and you can tell the dye will transform it into a plum mithril mace if you poured some more on it.

You pour a few test drops of your red vial of dye on your mithril mace.  The results are good, and you can tell the dye will transform it into a fiery red mithril mace if you poured some more on it.

Failure:

>pour my dye on my dice
You pour a few test drops of your plum vial of dye on your blue crystal dice, but they roll right off the surface without leaving a mark!  Apparently the dice can't be dyed.