Armor

Introduction

Tired of always wearing the boring old scale mail? Want to spice up the options for armoring yourself up? That's what this rule set has set out to do. This article will explain the rules of armor crafting along with showing how each type of armor is made. The goal of this rule set is to make armor more interactive with the player by increasing player choice on armor and diversifying the benefits and drawbacks associated with each kind.

Armor Rules

Armor Weight

Instead of having specific armor sets, such as leather or plate, we will be using more general armor archetypes based on its weight. Armor Weight is a calculated value between 3 and 9 which is determined by the materials that it is crafted from. This value determines if an armor is light, medium, or heavy. See the chart at the bottom of the article for information on material weight.

Weight Class

The traditional weight class system from base 5e is still intact. An armors class is determined by its weight class with light armor consisting of armors of weight 4 or less, medium armor consisting of weights 5 through 7, and heavy armor consisting of weights 8 or greater. Each combination of weight class has a different bonus and drawback associated with it as seen in the armor chart below.

AC Modifiers

AC modifiers remain mostly unchanged with the exception of heavy armors receiving an AC bonus based on the wearer’s strength instead of dexterity.

Shields

There are three kinds of shields included in this system: large, medium, and small. Each shield is crafted using the armor weight system with small shields equivalent to light armor, medium to medium, and large to heavy. Additionally, shield proficiencies are tied in with armor proficiencies. Meaning that if a player has light armor proficiency, then you have proficiency with small shields. See shield table for shield types.

Armor Crafting

General Crafting Rule

Each armor takes three materials to craft. The materials can be of any combination of quality and type. Multiple of the same materials can be used but is not recommended. See Material Gathering for more information on materials.

Who Can Craft

Any player that has at least three materials may craft armor during short or long rests, or during any extensive downtime. An armorer can also craft armor for a price.

Armor Quality

Armors can vary in quality from -1 to +1 depending on several factors. First is material quality. If an armor is made of materials with an average quality of -1 or less the armor quality is -1. If the armor is made up of materials with an average quality of 2 or more the armor quality is +1. Secondly, a player without a craftsman’s tools proficiency cannot make +1 quality armor and a player without craftsman’s tools can only craft -1 quality armor. An armorer can craft any quality armor.

Material Effects

Each armor may benefit from up to two material effects unless stated otherwise. These materials cannot be of the same type if they are the same quality. For example, an armor made with misími bronze and attilum cannot benefit from both material effects, but an armor made from gold and silver can. See Material Gathering for more information on material types and qualities.

Unarmored Defense

Players who have the Unarmored Defense class or race feature may still benefit from armor material effects by infusing materials into their clothes, a trinket, totem, or any other mundane object that they wear or keep on their person. This allows them to gain the effects of up to two materials without the need to wear armor.