Armor

Armor comes in three categories and generally adds increasing benefits the heavier it gets, but also becomes more and more restricting.

Armor Categories

The Categories are somewhat misleading. There isn't necessarily anything light about light armor and heavy armor isn't necessarily very heavy - and, well, medium armor isn't necessarily in the middle of this scale either. Armor, generally, does different things in the real world - forcing armor to adhere to a linear progression of "protection" is impossible if one also desires to preserve the true qualities of armor.

Light Armor

All characters count as having partial training with Light Armor - because most Light Armors lack any inbuilt penalties, there are no negative effects to using these without training. Light Armors are commonly used by civilians and many of the listed types are not uncommon to own as a private citizen, but soldiers that are primarily serving in non-combat roles tend to use light armor as well.

Name	AC Bonus	Weight	Material	Traits	Maximum Dexterity Bonus	Armor Check Penalty	Price
Sturdy Clothing	0	2 lbs	Cloth	Fashionable			5 GP
Fur Suit	0	3 lbs	Fur	Warm			10 GP
Leather Armor	1	8 lbs	Leather				10 GP
Brigandine	2	10 lbs	Leather or Cloth, Steel				45 GP
Banded Cuirass	2	20 lbs	Leather or Cloth, Steel	Noisy	+3	-1	20 GP
Scale Cuirass	3	25 lbs	Bronze or Bone, Leather	Flexible	+4	-1	35 GP
Hauberk	3	30 lbs	Steel	Flexible, Noisy	+4	-1	50 GP
Plate Cuirass	4	15 lbs	Bronze or steel	Noisy	+3	-2	400 GP

Medium Armor

Medium Armors are usually military combat-grade armors, used by most infantry and guards as they provide fully adequate protection for most threats, without levying the extreme encumbrance of Heavy Armor. Medium Armor is the heaviest armor that most adventurers can afford to wear, but player characters with no existing dexterity bonus and no training in stealth and athletics are no worse off using Heavy Armor - though that description does not fit very many adventurers.

Name	AC Bonus	Weight	Material	Traits	Speed	Maximum Dexterity Bonus	Armor Check Penalty	Price
Panoply	4	30 lbs lbs	Steel	Noisy	-5	+2	-2	35 GP
Splinted Armor	5	25 lbs	Steel, leather or cloth	flexible	-5	+3	-1	55 GP
Cataphract	5	45 lbs	Bronze or Bone, leather	flexible	-5	+2	-2	50 GP
Chainmail	6	55 lbs	Steel, leather or cloth	flexible, noisy	-5	+1	-3	75 GP
Field Plate	6	40 lbs	Steel or Bronze	noisy	-5	+1	-4	750 GP

Heavy Armor

Heavy Armor is essentially just a Medium Armor (except chainmail) worn over Chainmail or Chainmail worn under another suit of Medium Armor (except chainmail). This makes the armor very heavy and difficult to move in, but also renders the wearer nearly invulnerable against regular attacks, making heavy armor popular among high ranking officers (who are typically too aged and marred by years of cushy office work to engage in skirmishes), noblemen and elite warriors who fight in the vanguard and heavy cavalry, who can expect slim chances of survival if they are dismounted during battle. Heavy Armor is decidedly unpopular among adventurers, as it impedes too much on the actual ability to... You know... Adventure.

Name	AC Bonus	Damage Reduction	Weight	Material	Traits	Speed	Maximum Dexterity Bonus	Armor Check Penalty	Price
Piecemail, Banded	6	5 vs b/p/s	80 lbs lbs	Steel	Noisy, Bulwark	-10	0	Disadvantage	110 GP
Piecemail, Splint	7	5 vs b/p/s	75 lbs	Steel, leather or cloth	Noisy, Bulwark	-10	0	Disadvantage	130 GP
Piecemail, Scale	7	5 vs b/p/s	95 lbs	Bronze or Bone, leather	Noisy, Bulwark	-10	0	Disdadvantage	125 GP
Full Plate	8	5 vs b/p/s	90 lbs	Steel or Bronze	Noisy, Bulwark	-10	+1	Disadvantage	1500 GP

Armor Traits

Various Armors offer certain traits that can be advantageous or disadvantageous.

Bulwark

The Armor offers all of its damage reduction against Area of Effect damage, even though it isn't light armor.

Fashionable

The armor is optionally fashionable, offering advantage on certain social rolls in certain company, but this costs an extra 50 GP. Alternatively, such armor can be fairly discrete at no additional cost (must be decided upon buying the armor though) or be used as a disguise (conditional).

Flexible

The Armor's Armor Check Penalty does not apply to Acrobatics or Athletics Checks.

Noisy

The Armor has Disadvantage on Stealth. If it already has disadvantage, you suffer an additional -5 penalty.

Warm

The Armor offers protection against cold exposure. Your character is unaffected by survivable cold while wearing this.

Armors

There is more to a type of armor than just the numbers. Certain armors confer a specific social status or may be particularly rare or difficult to make.

Sturdy Clothing

Study Clothing, in the form of "padding" is worn under virtually any suit of armor. A lot of the protection it offers is against scrapes, bruises and chafing. Padding doesn't have to be specially made to serve its purpose, except when worn under armor. A set of layered clothing will offer the same protection as a proper made under-armor.

Fur Suit

Fur Suits are primarily worn in cold weather by those who can afford them - and by those who have to afford them. Many barbarians use this as everyday clothing, as they travel in the mountains where the air is frigid. It isn't traditionally considered armor at all.

Leather Armor

Leather Armor is used, primarily, by hunters, dog trainers, barbarians and people undergoing martial training. It offers reasonable protection against small weapons and the bite of some animals. It isn't considered real armor by most people, but mostly just considered protective accessories or training equipment.

Brigantine

Common armor for scouts and archers who can afford this type of armor. Primarily compared to Banded Armor, it is no wonder that this armor is lauded by soldiers - it is much better than banded armor in many ways - less noisy, less likely to fall apart and more wieldy. That said, it is also more expensive to make, but the further south you get, the more common it gets and in large parts of the world, this is the most common armor worn by soldiers. Light brigandine is one of few armors not to be worn with any kind of padding, as the padding is inbuilt.

Banded Cuirass

Banded Armor cuirasses are worn by most support-soldiers and recruits in poorer armies that cannot afford to manufacture light brigandine - though by now, those are few. Banded Armor remains very popular with soldiers in the Northern Sword Coast, but is rarely seen further south or inland, where this type of armor is considered antiqated and most commonly seen in the possession of undead who have risen from ancient battlefields.

Scale Cuirass

Scale Armor is difficult to get to cover the whole body, so commonly, only the cuirass is made of scale and intended to be combined with other types of armor for the rest of the body - such as plate, splint or other types, but it often ends up worn with pieces of inferior armor, such as leather, and Scale Cuirasses are fairly common among wealthier soldiers serving in roles such as scouts or in support roles, where a full suit of armor isn't generally needed. Scale Armor is generally the most expensive armor commonly found among barbarians, being the cultural equivalent of chainmail or platemail (depending on the technological level we are comparing to), but primitive cultures tend to make the armor out of bone, whereas most others make it from bronze. Scale Armor is also sometimes made as Lamellar Armor, which is slightly different but offers similar levels of protection.

Hauberk

Civilians who can afford it often wear fitted hauberks hidden under, or sewn into, their doublets to protect themselves from assassins, but it wasn't long ago that a hauberks were considered princely gifts and this is still true in more remote regions, where a hauberk might be combined with some other scraps of armor to fashion something akin to a full suit of chain mail and be the local equivalent of a Knightly Armor. Hauberks are often worn by paiges and squires who are being conditioned to the weight of full armor. In many remote regions, hauberks are certainly considered prestigious and are associated with Knight-Class soldiers and nobility.

Plate Cuirass

Plate Cuirass is commonly used by Settlement Guards and as ceremonial armor by House Hold Guards. It is extremely expensive to replace, and can't be repaired in the field (repairing this armor requires access to a forge), making it a subpar choice for ordinary soldiers - it is, however, popular with officers, elite heavy infantry and elite cavalry scouts. Plate Cuirass is commonly made of bronze in the northern Sword Coast, but steel is fairly commonly used to manufacture this type of armor in the South and further inland. No matter where you go, a plate cuirass is a clear symbol of holding a high- or prestigious military office.

Panoply

A full suit of banded armor is commonly called a "panoply", and is used by most infantry soldiers in the Northern Sword Coast, but rarely sees any kind of use South or Inland. The only merit of this type of armor is that it is cheap to manufacture and can be repaired in the field with ease and these benefits has made it a sound choice and kept it in use in some few regions for centuries.

Splinted Armor

Splinted Armor is essentially full-body brigdantine and comes close to banded armor in principle, but where the metal bands are attached along the limbs instead of wrapped around them. This offers less protection, but is more flexible, more durable, lighter and less restrictive, but the cuirass itself is more protective, as it is basically a form of heavy brigandine. Splinted Armor is typically used by archers, arbalesters and poor infantry in the south and inland as well as mercenaries in the North.

Cataphract

Cataphract is basically banded armor or splint armor, but combined with a scale cuirass. This type of armor is considered very good and is used by soldiers far-and-wide. It is unfashionable in the Southern Sword-Coast specifically, but not for any reason other than that they simply seem to dislike it. Cataphract is among the best types of armor a common soldier, or mercenary, could ever hope to obtain in most of the known world, as it is easy to field-repair, very durable, offers great protection and isn't nearly as restrictive as other armors.

Chainmail

Chainmail is used by Knight-Class soldiers, sometimes standalone, but more often as a supplement to be worn under another suit of armor. By itself chainmail is already formidable, but the magnificent protection it offers comes at a hefty price, both financially and physically, as the armor is hopelessly noisy and due to the high level of flexibility, it moves around which has a tendency to hurl the wearer's weight along, causing them to require more effort to remain mobile etc, but that is hardly a great concern on a common battlefield where most would gladly pay any price for the extra protection. Chainmail is easy to repair in the field, for those who know how, but it takes a long time to craft, which is the primary reason for the cost.

Field Plate

Field Plate is mainly used by Jousters and Duelists who commonly hail from the highest eschelons of the aristoratic warrior caste, but despite the name, it rarely sees the field of battle as it is far too costly for a warrior to risk taking along for a campaign. That said, older Knights, serving as high ranking officers, will commonly wear this type of armor as they cannot bear the weight of Chain Mail anymore, but also because of the respect it commands, as it directly calls to mind the most noble of Knights.

Piecemail

Piece Mail, as indicated by the name, is "Mail" (chainmail) combined with another type of Medium Armor, except for Field Plate. Piece Mail is incredibly heavy and cumbersome, and not all types of Piece Mail are equally good, but all offer incredibly high levels of protection that could make a functional warrior out of anyone strong enough to wear it - but it does come at a heavy price as this type of armor tends to come with a full-face helmet that restricts vision and generally is very hard to move in. Piece Mail is used by elite warriors of the Knight-Class and successful mercenaries.

Platemail

As indicated by the name, Platemail is "mail" (chainmail) worn under a suit of Field Plate and is basically the ultimate armor - worn only by royalty and the wealthiest of nobility and a few rare mercenary leaders, this type of armor is as rare as it is effective - the armor practically renders a man invulnerable in battle, able to walk away from anything from a wizard's fireball to a small army of brigands hopelessly clashing against the sheets of steel - ironically, most people probably wouldn't even be able to put this on without multiple assistants, and many would find themsleves fatigued from the strian of wearing it before they even had it fully donned.

Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild