Iksar get Cabilis Scale armor (imbued also) - all the ingredients except for Iksar blood is very readily available, and doesn't take massive skill to make. It can be worn by Iksar Shaman, Warriors and Shadowknights. It has good stats and isn't particularly expensive.
THIS, on the other hand, requires a Tailoring skill of over 170, Platinum thread, a vial of purified mana (takes 4 RUBIES and 1000 mana from a level 49 Enchanter), and several extremely rare Terrorantula silks, per attempt.
Compare this with the Imbued Cabilis Scale sleeves:
https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=2260
They have the same AC, but only 2 STR and WIS, and actually weigh 2.6 (0.1 less than these TAILORED sleeves). The Erudites get a decent strength boost and a slight agility boost simply because they are so weak and clumsy compared to the other Shadowknight races (weaker even than Dark Elves, I think).
Seems like a reasonable trade-off to me...