>AFAIK two characters have (legitimately) gotten archmage gear.
>Both were played by you. Stupidity on the part of the pbase,
>or incorrect info?

Incorrect... people have even sent me logs of killing the archmages before. Although I didn't double-check in all cases, presumably they kept gear afterwards. :P

(I've also given out some of those items in quests or for tower-related quest rewards, but that doesn't really count.)

>Is the elixir gettable?

Sure. Violence solves any number of problems. :)