Expanded Armor Mechanics

Design Notes: Adapted, and expanded from Legendary Games’ CoreFinder pre-Alpha development.

Table Legend

• Items denoted with (M) are primarily made of metal. Items denoted with ‡ are required to be masterwork, their stat adjustments include the masterwork adjustments.
• Price: The cost of the armor.
• AC: The armor bonus provided by the armor. †See below.
• ADR: Proficient armor wearers may gain resistance to certain kinds of damage resistance (see below).
• Max Dex: The maximum amount of your Dexterity modifier you can apply to your AC. Use the lowest number for your armor and other gear.
• ACP: An armor check penalty applies to all Dex- and Str-based skill checks, as well as Swim checks. A character’s encumbrance may also incur a check penalty, which stacks with any ACP due to armor. The ACP of armor and shield stack if a character is equipped with both. A character who wears armor and/or uses a shield with which he is not proficient also adds their ACP on attack rolls.
• ASF (Arcane Spell Failure): Arcane spellcasters have a percentage chance of their spell failing to work when they cast a spell while wearing armor. If more than one piece of equipment has a spell failure chance, they stack.
• Weight: The item’s weight.
• STR: The Strength bonus required to use the armor most effectively. If you have this bonus or higher, the armor check penalty of any armor or shield you are using is reduced by 1 and any speed penalty from the medium or heavy armor is reduced by 5 feet for medium or larger creatures.
• Hard: The item’s hardness; subtract this from the hit point damage dealt to the item, except by adamantine.
• HP (Hit Points): The item’s hit points. When reduced to half this amount the item is broken; when it the item is reduced to 0 hit points, it is destroyed.
  • Magical armor, weapons, etc, are not destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points, however they are considered no longer usable until fully repaired, at a cost of 1/2 the normal crafting cost.
• Traits: Different types of armor and accessories may have one or more of the following traits.
  • Bash: You are considered armed and can attack with this shield as a weapon.
  • Bouyant: Armor with this trait has no armor check penalty for Swim checks.
  • Bulky: Adds to the overall bulk of the item it is applied to, and increases any attack roll penalties caused by the item by 1. A masterwork item loses this trait.
  • Bulwark: -2 penalty on melee attack rolls, while employing a shield with this trait. You can designate one target as a free action on your turn; you are considered to have total cover against all ranged attacks and spells from that designated target, and likewise you cannot attack that target with ranged attacks. This has no effect if the you and target are engaged in melee combat with each other.
  • Carry: You can carry or use (but not wield) an item using the same hand as this shield.
  • Dual: If you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat and are wielding a shield with this trait in each hand, increase the higher of the two shield bonuses by 1. You lose this benefit for 1 round when you make a shield bash with one or both dwarven war-shields, unless you have the Improved Shield Bash feat or a similar benefit.
  • Fitted: This armor is individually fitted to the owner. Modifying it to fit a new owner of the same size costs 2d4 x 100 sp and takes one week; modifying to fit a new owner one size larger or smaller doubles this price. Magical fitted armor, that with actual enchanted properties, will refit itself to a new wearer of the same size as a prior wearer.
  • Flexible: ACP is reduced by 2 on Acrobatics and Climb checks (minimum 0).
  • Fragile: Fragile armor gains the broken condition if an attacker scores a successful hit against the wearer with a natural 20. If fragile armor is already broken, the roll of a natural 20 destroys* it instead. Masterwork and magical fragile armor lacks this flaw unless otherwise noted in the specific item description or the special material description. If an item gains the broken condition in this way, it is considered to have taken damage equal to half its hit points +1.
  • Layered: The item can be worn over other armor or by itself. When worn over other armor, this item’s armor bonus is added to the armor bonus of the base armor. ADR, armor check penalties, and and arcane spell failure chances stack, and the max Dex bonus becomes the worse of the base armor or the layered piece. layering over other armor increases the weight category of the base armor by the layered item’s weight category (light over light becomes medium; medium over light becomes heavy, and so on). You cannot layer an item over base armor that would increase the weight category beyond heavy, and you cannot layer more than one layered item. Enhancement bonuses and armor properties will not stack, nor will they overlap; you can only gain the bonuses and properties of one item or the other, chosen at the time you don the item.
  • Mixed: The item is primarily made of leather, cloth or wood but also incorporates significant amounts of metal. Characters restricted from metal armor cannot use this item, but the item is not significantly affected by rusting grasp, heat metal, or similar effects.
  • Quick: You can don or remove this item as a move action; there is no “donned hastily” condition for this armor.
  • Rigid: -2 penalty on Escape Artist checks. In addition, if you do not have another person aid you while donning this armor, it always counts as “donned hastily.” (This includes the breastplate, even though its donning time is still less than that of a full suit.)
  • Shoot: You can use your shield hand to shoot and reload a ranged weapon that requires two hands.
  • Soft: You can sleep in this armor without difficulty. A character who sleeps in armor without this trait is fatigued the next day unless he makes a Constitution save against a DC of (10 + base armor bonus + ACP of the armor). He takes a –2 penalty on Str and Dex and can’t charge or run. Sleeping in light armor does not cause fatigue.
  • Visor: You can open or close your visor as a move action. When closed, you take a -2 penalty on Perception checks but gain a +1 circumstance bonus to AC against critical hits. Creatures take a -10 penalty on Perception checks to recognize your face with the visor closed.
  • Warm: +2 bonus on Survival checks and saving throws to resist effects of cold environments.
  • Wield: You can carry or wield an item in the same hand using this shield. You take a -1 penalty on attack rolls with melee weapons using your shield hand (including two-handed weapons).

Armor Damage Reduction

In addition to protecting you by increasing your Armor Class, those trained in the use of some armors can reduce damage from certain kinds of attacks. While wearing armor in which you are proficient, you gain DR/– against the listed damage type(s) as indicated: B = bludgeoning, P = piercing, S = slashing, C = critical (reduction only applies to critical hits of any type). ADR stacks with all other innate or mundane sources of damage reduction; it does not stack with magically effected DR (such as stoneskin).

Overcoming ADR: Weapons of exceptional craftsmanship or materials may ignore Armor Damage Reduction:

• Masterwork weapons ignore ADR provided by non-masterwork weapons or armor.
• Magically enhanced weapons (including those attuned by ABP) ignore ADR provided by non-magically enhanced armor, unless it is made of adamantine.
• Adamantine weapons ignore ADR provided by non-adamantine armor.
• Weapons with the armor-piercing (AP) trait ignore AR as if they were one category stronger (normal > masterwork > magical > adamantine); adamantine AP weapons ignore AR provided even by adamantine armor.

Armor Enhancements

Armor that is masterwork, or attuned by your ABP enhancement bonus, adds to the stats of your armor as indicated in the table. The modifiers for masterwork and enhancement bonuses do not stack. Adjustments to an item’s stats cannot reduce that stat below 0.

Armor Materials

In addition to properties listed below, items made from special materials have a hardness, and increase the base hit points of any armor as specified in the above table. Any armor or shield made from the special materials below has to also be a masterwork item. Each material description states whether or not items made of the material are required to be masterwork, and whether or not the cost of the masterwork process is included in the material cost. Craft skill DC adjustments are added both to the DC of the base armor as well as the masterwork component.

Adamantine: Armor made from adamantine grants its wearer damage reduction of 1/— if it’s light armor, 2/— if it’s medium armor, and 3/— if it’s heavy armor, which stacks with any other ADR against applicable types of damage, and also increases the armor bonus of the armor by +1. Adamantine is so costly that weapons and armor made from it are always of masterwork quality; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given. Additional cost: +5,000 (light), +10,000 gp (medium), +15,000 gp (heavy), +4,000 gp (shield); +5 to Craft DC.

Aranea Silk: This long silk is spun by the aranea. After being treated alchemically, this silk is woven in layers specifically designed to trap piercing weapons, snagging them so they fail to harm the wearer. Any item normally made of cloth can be made with aranea silk, granting the item ADR of 3 against piercing attacks. Any item created from aranea silk is automatically masterwork, with the cost of the masterwork component included in the cost. Additional cost: 1,150 gp; +2 to Craft DC.

Bone: Bone can be used in place of wood and steel in weapons and armor. Other animal-based materials like horn, shell, and ivory also use the rules for bone weapon and armor. The cost of a bone weapon or bone armor is half the price of a normal weapon or armor of its type. Armor with the Mixed trait using bone instead of metal can be worn by characters otherwise restricted from wearing metal armor. Studded leather, scale mail, breastplates, armored coats, and wooden shields can all be constructed using bone. In the case of wooden shields, large pieces of bone or shell replace the wood. The armor/shield bonus of bone armor is reduced by 1. Bone armor has a hardness of 5 and has the fragile armor quality; masterwork or magical bone loses the fragile quality.

Celestial Mithral: Celestial mithral is a special form of mithral, forged in a crafting process that requires the intervention of a celestial being — typically an attendant of one of the deities of the Artifice or Metal domains or their subdomains, as well as requires the appropriate magical crafting process. Any armor that is primarily crafted of metal can be crafted by this process. Celestial Mithral adds +5 to max DEX bonus, reduces ACP by 3 and ASF by 15%, and any ADR granted by the armor increases by 1. The enchantment of the armor grants the wearer the ability to fly (as the spell) once per day for a number of minutes equal to the armor bonus of the base armor. Armor crafted of celestial mithral weighs 50% of the base armor’s weight, and chainmail armor made with celestial mithral is suitable to sleep in without penalty, as if it had the Soft trait. Mithral armor counts as one weight category lower than the base armor it is made into (minimum light armor). Celestial mithral armor takes as long to don or remove as the base armor it is made into. Additional cost: +9,250 gp; +5 to Craft DC.

Darkleaf: Darkleaf cloth is a special form of flexible material made by weaving together leaves and thin strips of bark from darkwood trees, then treating the resulting fabric with special alchemical processes. The resulting material is tough as cured hide but much lighter, making it an excellent material from which to create armor. Only armors that are primarily made of leather, hides or other cloth can be fashioned out of darkleaf cloth. Darkleaf cloth armor reduces the spell failure chance by 10% (to a minimum of 5%), increases the maximum Dexterity bonus by 2, reduces armor check penalties by 3 (to a minimum of 0), and reduces the weight to half that of the base item. Darkleaf cloth is so costly that items made from it are always of masterwork quality; the masterwork cost is included in the prices given. Additional cost: +500 (clothing), +750 gp (light), +1,500 gp (medium); +3 to Craft DC.

Darkwood: This rare magic wood is as hard as normal wood but very light. The armor check penalty of a darkwood shield is lessened by 2, its maximum Dex bonus increased by 1, its ADR (if any) increases by 1, and the weight is halved. Tower shields made of darkwood also have the attack penalty reduced by 1. Additional cost: +10 gp per pound of the base item, in addition to the masterwork cost of the item.

Dragonhide: A classic status symbol for adventurers, dragonhide armor is coveted for its toughness. Armorsmiths can work with the hides and scales of dragons to produce armor or shields of masterwork quality. Because dragonhide armor isn’t made of metal, those prohibited from wearing metal can wear it without penalty. Armors made from cloth and chain armor cannot be made with dragonhide. Armors with the Mixed trait can replace the metal with bits of scale to make them wearable by those prohibited from wearing metal. One dragon produces enough hide for a single suit of masterwork light or hide armor for a creature one size category smaller than the dragon. By selecting only choice scales and bits of hide, an armorsmith can produce one suit of masterwork medium armor for a creature two sizes smaller, one suit of masterwork heavy armor for a creature three sizes smaller, or one masterwork suit of full plate for a creature four sizes smaller. In each case, enough hide is available from a dragon that’s large or larger, to produce a light or heavy masterwork shield in addition to the armor. Items made of dragonhide cost double the cost of the base item, but do not increase the crafting time, and increases the DC of the masterwork component by +5.

Armor and shields crafted from dragonhide gain immunity to the energy types that the dragon itself was immune to. A talented craftsman with the Dragoncrafting feat can bestow additional qualities on the dragonhide armor, conveying some measure of the dragon’s elemental immunity to the wearer. This doubles again the cost of the base armor type, and increases the Craft DC to 10 + twice the armor bonus of the base item, in addition to the +5 to the Craft check for the masterwork component:

• Shield: provides the wearer a bonus to Reflex saves against directed or area effects of the relevant element equal to their shield bonus to AC before magical enhancement is applied – thus a Heavy Shield worn by a character with the Shield Focus feat could provide a +3 bonus to saves against the relevant element.
• Light Armor provides Resistance 3 to the relevant element.
• Medium Dragonhide armor provides Resistance 5.
• Heavy Dragonhide armor provides Resistance 10.

These effects are extraordinary rather than supernatural, and stack with magical or supernatural resistances upon the wearer. They do not stack with racial resistances; only the best modifier applies in this case.

Dragonhide armor grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Intimidate checks against dragons, but a -2 penalty to Diplomacy checks. Any dragon encountered by the wearer of dragonhide armor made from the hide of a dragon of the same alignment as the encountered dragon will have an initial reaction of unfriendly or worse; if the dragon is of the exact same type as the dragonhide, its initial reaction is hostile.

Glassteel: (3.5 Forgotten Realms version) Made by the avariel in an alchemical process requiring extensive knowledge of both metallurgy and glassblowing, glassteel combines strength beyond iron with the transparency of glass. Glassteel is stronger and lighter than iron and completely transparent, lacking the greenish tint of common glass, and it is remarkably light and agile, which allows the avariel to arm themselves while not hampering their flight. Items made of glassteel weigh only half what they otherwise would. Items not primarily made of metal cannot be made from glassteel. Glassteel armor counts as one weight category lighter than the base armor it is made into (minimum light armor). Glassteel reduces ASF by 10%, ACP by 3 (minimum 0), and increases max Dex bonus by 2. Additional cost: +2,000 gp (light), +6,000 gp (medium), +12,000 gp (heavy), +2,000 gp (shield); +3 to Craft DC

Mithral: Mithral armors are one category lighter than normal (minimum light armor). Spell failure chances for armors and shields made from mithral are decreased by 10%, max Dex bonuses are increased by 2, ACP is decreased by 3 (to a minimum of 0), and any ADR of the base armor increases by 1. Mithral armor counts as one weight category lower than the base armor it is made into (minimum light armor). Further, chainmail armor made with mithral is suitable to sleep in without penalty, as if it had the Soft trait. Mithral armor takes as long to don or remove as the base armor it is made into. Additional cost: +1,000 gp (light), +4,000 gp (medium), +9,000 gp (heavy), +1,000 gp (shield); +3 to Craft DC.

Stoneplate: This armor is crafted by dwarven stonesmiths from alchemically strengthened plates of basalt, rendering it as strong as steel. It is primarily used by dwarven druids who cannot wear metal armor. Any type of plate armor, including a breastplate, can be made using stoneplate. Stoneplate is heavy and unwieldy, increasing the ACP by 1, its STR requirement by +1, and decreasing the speed limitation of the base armor by an additional 5 feet (which is inconsequential when worn by a dwarf). Additional cost: 200 gp (medium), 300 gp (heavy).

Additional Armor Qualites

The following qualities can be imparted upon masterwork armor only, with any further limitations as specified in the description, along with any increase in the price and/or crafting DC (source: Dragon #358, DCs adjusted to be reasonable):

• Agile: Can only be applied to armors with the Rigid trait, to craft large plates in segments to grant added maneuverability; it reduces the armor check penalty by half (rounded down) for Climb and Jump checks. Any reduction for special materials is calculated first before applying the reduction for this quality. This does not remove the Rigid trait, nor its drawbacks, nor reduce the time needed to don or remove the armor. Additional cost: +50% to the base cost; +2 crafting DC of the masterwork component.
• Acid Washed: Acid washing two or more laminated metals creates elaborate and beautiful patterns on the surface of the armor. Items created with the acid washed quality gain a +4 bonus on saving throws made against acid, rust, or disintegration. This quality may only be added to non-mithral metal armor. Additional cost: +100 gp (light), +200 gp (medium and heavy); +2 to Craft DC of masterwork component.
• Caster Armor: Most common in magic-rich societies, some armorsmiths specialize in creating suits of armor specifically designed to the needs of spellcasters, creating more flexible armor that allows for the complicated movements of somatic components. A suit of armor with this quality reduces the chance of arcane spell failure by 5% (minimum 5%), making it easier for a caster to wear without interrupting spellcasting. Additional cost: +400 gp (light), +800 gp (medium), +1,000 gp (heavy); +5 to Craft DC of masterwork component.
• Fortress: A dwarven forging design that can only be applied to armors with the Rigid trait, that creates the armor with series of overlapping plates designed to ward off firearm attacks. Whenever the wearer of this armor is subject to a ranged normal attack that would ignore armor bonuses to AC, the attack instead only ignores half of the bonus it would normally ignore (rounded down). If a wearer has the dwarf’s weapon familiarity racial trait, the amount the attack ignores is further reduced by 1. Fortress constructed armor increases the ACP of the armor by 1, ASF by 5%, and reduces the max Dex bonus by 1, and further reduces the wearer’s move speed by 5. This move speed reduction applies even to a wearer that would ordinarily ignore the speed reduction from wearing armor. Additional Cost: +500 gp; +2 to Craft DC of masterwork component
• Lightweight: One of the most valuable techniques an armorsmith can learn is how to reduce the overall weight of the armor without sacrificing any of the protection it provides. Lightweight armors are extremely valuable and are sought after by adventurers and soldiers. The overall weight of a suit of armor with this item quality is reduced by 20%, or 1 pound, whichever is greater. Additional cost: +200 gp (light and medium), +500 gp (heavy); +2 to Craft DC of masterwork component.
• Ornate: Although most soldiers in the field care little for the decorative aspect of a weapon or suit of armor, many craftsmen come to pride themselves on the ability to make an item both utilitarian and beautiful. An ornate suit of armor brings with it a certain amount of prestige, especially since quality decoration is often a sign of great honor or station. Ornate weapons and armor grant the wearer a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy or Intimidate checks when dealing with intelligent creatures. Additional cost: +400 gp (light), +600 gp (medium and heavy); +2 to Craft DC of masterwork component.
• Quickdraw: This quality can only be applied to a light wooden or metal shield, or a dwarven war-shield. If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you may don or put away a quickdraw shield as a swift action combined with a regular move. If you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you can draw a light or one-handed weapon with one hand and a quickdraw shield with the other, or two dwarven war-shields, in the time it would normally take you to draw one weapon. If you have the Quick Draw feat, you may don or put away a quickdraw shield as a free action. Adding this quality increases the armor check penalty by 1. Additional Cost: +50gp.
• Resilient: Adventurers, more than people in any other profession, see the value in durable weapons and armor. Those craftsmen who learn to create items that can stand up to damage as well as normal wear and tear find their skills in high demand, as constant usage can dull and break valuable items. For this reason, many craftsmen take the extra time to create weapons and armor that can stand up to even the most extreme conditions and gain a reputation for producing excellent wares. Armor with this item quality has 5 more hit points (regardless of the original material they were made from) than standard armor of the same type. Additional cost: +200 gp; +2 to Craft DC of masterwork component.
• Reinforced: One of the most challenging qualities to apply to a suit of armor, reinforcement is also one of the most highly sought after. Few craftsmen can ever perfect the technique. Reinforcing a suit of armor effectively changes the armor’s value, often making what some would consider lesser armor into something significantly more useful. By lining the armor with toughened leather, small plates, or other hardened material, the armorsmith provides a little extra defense without compromising flexibility. Armor with this item quality increases its armor bonus by +1, but it weighs 10% more (minimum +2 pounds). Additional cost: +800 (light), +1,000 gp (medium), +1,200 gp (heavy); increase Craft DC of masterwork component by the base AC bonus of the armor.
• Vital Coverage: One of the greatest flaws facing armor are large numbers of vulnerable points. Although no suit of armor can completely protect a wearer, some craftsmen make sure to reinforce the armor near vital organs, providing extra panels that block attacks against exposed flesh, and generally seal up most vulnerabilities that could lead to a devastating attack though adding such somewhat restricts movement. Any suit of armor with this item quality grants an additional +2 armor bonus against attacks made to confirm critical hits, but the ACP for Dex-based skill checks cannot be reduced further than -2. Additional cost: +200 gp (light), +400 gp (medium), +1,000 gp (heavy); +4 to Craft DC of masterwork component.

Accessories and Helmets

Armor Spikes deal extra piercing damage on a successful grapple attack. The spikes count as a martial weapon. If you are not proficient with them, you take a –4 penalty on grapple checks when you try to use them. You can also make a regular melee attack (or off-hand attack) with the spikes, and they count as a light weapon in this case, but you can’t also make an attack with armor spikes if you have already made an attack with another off-hand weapon, and vice versa. Enhancement bonuses to armor do not enhance the attacks of armor spikes, but the spikes can be attuned or enchanted as a weapon.

Gauntlets: Heavy armor is already assumed to have gauntlets. While wearing gauntlets, you can deal lethal damage with an unarmed strike and are considered armed, dealing your base unarmed damage for your size. Gauntlets cannot be disarmed. You do not threaten opponents with your gauntlets unless you have a hand free. The weight listed for gauntlets only applies if you are not wearing heavy armor.

• Gauntlet, Locked: Price listed is for a single gauntlet. You can attach or remove a one-handed weapon to the gauntlet as a full-round action that draws opportunity, granting a +10 bonus to your CMD against disarm maneuvers. You can’t use a hand in a locked gauntlet to perform somatic components.
• Gauntlet, Spiked: You can deal piercing in addition to bludgeoning damage when attacking with your gauntlets.

Helmets: Heavy armor is already assumed to have a helm in the cost of the complete suit of armor; you may choose between the open or great helm with these armors, and the complete suit price is the same. Medium metal armor is already assumed to have a cap in the cost of a complete suit. Helmets can also be purchased separately to be worn by lighter armored characters. Wearing a helmet occupies the your head slot, and helmets can be enchanted with properties as if they were a hat. The AC value listed for helmets is added to your AC against rolls to confirm critical hits, however, not wearing a helmet of any sort reduces your AC against rolls to confirm critical hits by 1. Creatures who have innate natural armor, or who gain armor or natural armor bonuses from magical effects, such as barkskin, mage armor or Bracers of Armor, ignore this penalty for not wearing a helmet.

• Cap: Covers the top of the head with open sides and front, such as the kettle helm, nasal helm, spangenhelm or skull cap.
• Helm, Open: A full helmet that covers the top and sides of the head, but with an open front; examples include the barbute, celata, or papenheimer.
• Helm, Great: Covers the full head and face, and may or may not have a visor to raise and lower the cover over the face. When your face is covered with the great helm, you suffer a -2 penalty to perception checks, but you gain a +2 bonus to your CMD against dirty trick maneuvers.

Shield Boss: A shield boss is a sturdy steel device added to the front of a shield, providing metal support struts that radiate outward from the center of the shield, reinforcing its structure and adding to the total hit points of the shield. A shield boss can be added to any shield, with tower shield bosses costing more as indicated. Additional properties can be added to a shield boss, as detailed here.

Shield Spikes: Adding spikes to a shield makes it a martial piercing weapon and increases the damage dice of a shield bash as if the shield were one size larger than you. You can’t put spikes on a buckler or a tower shield. Otherwise, attacking with a spiked shield is like making a shield bash attack.

Movement in Armor

You can move at your normal speed when wearing light or no armor and unencumbered. When wearing medium armor, your speed is reduced by 10 feet (or 5 feet if you are small size or smaller). When wearing heavy armor, in addition to your speed being reduced by the same amount as medium armor, you can only run 3x your speed rather than 4x. Racial or class abilities may alter this universal rule.

Donning Armor

Armor takes time to put on, attaching all pieces, straps, buckles, etc. to offer full protection, or to remove. A creature not putting on armor can spend the listed actions along with the wearer to assist one or two adjacent creatures into their armor, reducing the time listed by half. Armor with the Rigid trait has to be put on with assistance, or else it is always considered donned hastily at best; the assistance does not reduce the amount of time needed for rigid armor. Armor with the Quick trait can be donned or removed as a move action, and cannot be donned hastily or partially. Armor materials that reduce the weight class of the armor do not reduce the donning time required for the armor.

Table Legend

• Normal: The armor provides its normal benefits.
• Hasty: The armor is not fully attached. Its AC, AR, Max Dex, and Load Penalty are all 1 point worse.
• Partial: Only a few pieces of the armor are attached, granting the wearer only half its usual AC bonus (rounding down) but no other benefits. The armor has its full normal Max Dex and Load Penalty.