D&D 5E Battlerager Barbarian Question

[The Crimson Binome]

Now, to muddle things up a bit... Adamantine Spiked Armor, it's under the magical table... therefore it is magical armor. So the spiked armor would therefore be considered magical.

I'm not sure that adamantine armor counts as magical in the first place. It doesn't have any magical properties or anything.

You could definitely use it to hurt a golem, though, since it's adamantine.

 

[Burticusb]

I'm not sure that adamantine armor counts as magical in the first place. It doesn't have any magical properties or anything.

You could definitely use it to hurt a golem, though, since it's adamantine.

It is counted as a magical item as far as the DMG is concerned, my guess is they consider the material itself to be magical in nature. I hear your argument and respect your view, in a realist sense I would also argue against it, but as it stands, the armor is listed under the magical item section of the DMG. So that denotes that it is magical in nature...

To further cunfuddle things, this character build is for an Adventurer League character, and a certain Dwarf King in OotA offers to make you a suit of Adamantine (or Mithral, your choice) Armor.

My character would obviously chose Adamantine, the armor is also imbued with properties such poison resistance and the wearer also always know how deep they are when underground. (Being already a dwarf, these don't help me much, but it stands to point that there was magic used and imbued into the armor in its creation)

So, the question is, is this armor considered magical... I'd again lean towards yes since it is in itself listed under the magical section in the DMG.

 

[Lejaun]

Now, to muddle things up a bit... Adamantine Spiked Armor, it's under the magical table... therefore it is magical armor. So the spiked armor would therefore be considered magical.

No plus of course, but it would bypass resistance that requires magical weapons to pierce it.

Am I correct in this theory? I feel like I should be... but I'm open to listen to thoughts.

If I were DMing, I would consider it magical in terms of being affected by creatures with resistance against piercing, but give it no bonus to attack or damage rolls.

This would also probably be an item that is only acquirable through a helpful DM or a custom request from a player to a very skilled blacksmith (and probably at a great cost as well). *Edit* Or through that certain dwarf king *Edit*

 

[Lejaun]

As a battlerager I am obviously biased towards the class, but this is one area where DM's need to adlib a bit for their players. Players aren't going to find spiked armor in the majority of written adventures, if any. They usually say something like +1 studded leather armor or +2 chain shirt or whatever. DM's need to realize this when they distribute loot and understand how restricted the class really is. That armor is essentially what and who a battlerager is.

Other barbarians have the use of different types of armor or to use unarmored defense. Battleragers have AC 14 armor with a maximum of +2 dexterity bonus, giving them AC 16 at best. You can add 2 AC with a shield, but so can the other barbarians so its a wash. As players level up, their AC is going to slowly creep up. A battlerager is still most likely going to be stuck with that same armor. Other classes have the ability to cast magical armor (Mage armor) or upgrade with non-magical armor (plate).

DMs, throw your battleragers a bone. Make an occasional piece of armor drop that is spiked armor or at least create a situation where battleragers can keep up with other characters as they level up. Trust me, while the bonus spike attack is very nice, especially early on, rolling an extra 1d4 on damage isn't going to overpower your BBEGs very often.

On a side note, I wish they made spiked armor and grappling more interesting. I'm sure many of us have read about Pwent and how he would grab ahold of an enemy and shred them to pieces. Its hard to reflect that with the 3 damage from a successful grapple.

 

[Burticusb]

As a battlerager I am obviously biased towards the class, but this is one area where DM's need to adlib a bit for their players. Players aren't going to find spiked armor in the majority of written adventures, if any. They usually say something like +1 studded leather armor or +2 chain shirt or whatever. DM's need to realize this when they distribute loot and understand how restricted the class really is. That armor is essentially what and who a battlerager is.

Other barbarians have the use of different types of armor or to use unarmored defense. Battleragers have AC 14 armor with a maximum of +2 dexterity bonus, giving them AC 16 at best. You can add 2 AC with a shield, but so can the other barbarians so its a wash. As players level up, their AC is going to slowly creep up. A battlerager is still most likely going to be stuck with that same armor. Other classes have the ability to cast magical armor (Mage armor) or upgrade with non-magical armor (plate).

DMs, throw your battleragers a bone. Make an occasional piece of armor drop that is spiked armor or at least create a situation where battleragers can keep up with other characters as they level up. Trust me, while the bonus spike attack is very nice, especially early on, rolling an extra 1d4 on damage isn't going to overpower your BBEGs very often.

On a side note, I wish they made spiked armor and grappling more interesting. I'm sure many of us have read about Pwent and how he would grab ahold of an enemy and shred them to pieces. Its hard to reflect that with the 3 damage from a successful grapple.

I can't upvote this enough, just wish Adventurer's League would recognize this as well.