8. Equipment

The Arms and Equipment Guide is a good source of basic stuff. Everything can have better or worse levels of quality and any of its stats or parameters can be altered through magical or mundane means. Overall, items will not break for random or stupid reasons if used as intended. Your sword won't break if used to attack; your armor won't break when worn in battle, etc. However, sometimes, either through purposeful misuse or the actions of others, items will suffer damage or breakage.

Magic and Mundane enhancements to stats:

Equipment usually will have an impact on one or more stats. Proper tools will give a bonus or negate penalties to NWP rolls for example. Armor will lower AC. Magic takes these sorts of effects further and beyond the bounds of mundane norms.

Armor and Shields:

These are any items that physically protect you from harm using their physical presence, interposed between your body and harm. The way this protection comes about is varied and myriad.
Armor and Shields will improve your AC. Most items of this type will have a generic base AC value. This value can be improved, but at exponential cost and rarity (or be less beneficial in the case of bad items). Magical enchantments can then add 'pluses' to that base AC. Worn items that normally would not be considered protective can have such 'pluses' as well. Where your AC comes from may be of importance in some situations. Some attacks may be stopped by physical substance but not magic. In other circumstances the reverse could be true.

Weapons:

Weapons can count up to +3 purely based on fine craftsmanship and materials and processes used in their creation. There is effectively no difference between a magic bonus and a quality bonus in game, unless magic is suppressed specifically. The quality factor could even go higher, but this enters the realm of legendary materials, superhuman craftsmen (perhaps gods) and unknown or long forgotten technology. The cost of such quality is much greater than that of an equivalent amount of magical enhancement. Items of legendary quality can be the basis for artifacts.

Stuff:

Various pieces of equipment can have any variety of levels of quality, styles and function. There is no set list of equipment. Various books have those. It is up to the player and/or the DM as to the exact nature and function of items. With magic in the picture, truly fantastic items can be had.

Inflation:

Thanks to the economic boom brought by the rise of the Thorandul Empire, the continent of Meridan and the area around it have seen significant inflation. By default, most prices and wages in the vicinity are 10x the values given in the 2e Player's Handbook. Magic weapons are considerably cheaper. As Meridan is the standard home base and adventuring zone for player characters, equipment described here in WorldAnvil should have the adjusted prices.