DragonHide Armor, what the *&$%!!?

[RedSwan78]

So I'm flipping through the MM because I'm trying to learn more because I just started DM'ing, and I come across Dragons. A very interesting topic to read about. So I get to the part about DragonHide Armor, and it looks like the *only* bonus a player gets to having armor made from DragonHide is that it is MasterWork armor, but only costs normal price. Hmm.. that's pretty lame to begin with (oooh, 150gold savings.. it's frickin DRAGON hide man!)

So then it goes on to say that a smith can make Full Plate for a creature 4 sizes smaller then the dragon that was slain. So, for a Medium-Sized creature, you would have to slay a COLASSAL sized Dragon to get ONE suit of Full Plate. (look on page 131 in the PHB, that's the size chart)

Does that not just seem.. uhm.. rediculous?!?

Ok, so THAT'S why I'm posting, am I reading it wrong? I mean, there's technically 8 sizes larger then medium:

Large (tall)
Large (long)
Huge (tall)
Huge (long)
Gargantuan (tall)
Gargantuan (long)
Colossal (tall)
Colossal (long)

BUT, I don't think that it makes a difference in this case..

So it's looking like to get a suit of Full Plate Dragon-hide armor, a Medium creature would need to slay a Colossal Dragon, and then only *one* suit of Full Plate could be created (plus a shield).

Has there been any update/errata to this? Any other rules presented elsewhere that say anything different? I sure fricken hope so!

(I really hope there's some rule I'm not understanding, or something presented elsewhere, because if not I'm going to house-rule that to just 2 sizes. I mean seriously, look at a Colossal size compared to medium size, you could make more then *one* set of Full Plate for that. Yes I know you don't *have* to go for full plate and can make lesser armours, but it still just doesn't seem right. And still, 2 sizes would mean Huge, which is a CR from 11 to 15 depending on the Dragon's color. Anyways, discussions about this should go to House Rules, just posting here to see if there's rules I'm missing and/or whatnot.)

 

[Ranger REG]

So I'm flipping through the MM because I'm trying to learn more because I just started DM'ing, and I come across Dragons. A very interesting topic to read about. So I get to the part about DragonHide Armor, and it looks like the *only* bonus a player gets to having armor made from DragonHide is that it is MasterWork armor, but only costs normal price. Hmm.. that's pretty lame to begin with (oooh, 150gold savings.. it's frickin DRAGON hide man!)

To pay a smith to craft a masterwork dragon hide armor at normal cost? Why you should pay more?

So then it goes on to say that a smith can make Full Plate for a creature 4 sizes smaller then the dragon that was slain. So, for a Medium-Sized creature, you would have to slay a COLASSAL sized Dragon to get ONE suit of Full Plate. (look on page 131 in the PHB, that's the size chart)

Does that not just seem.. uhm.. rediculous?!?

Ok, so THAT'S why I'm posting, am I reading it wrong? I mean, there's technically 8 sizes larger then medium:

Large (tall)
Large (long)
Huge (tall)
Huge (long)
Gargantuan (tall)
Gargantuan (long)
Colossal (tall)
Colossal (long)

Ignore the parenthetical words. Large is Large, whether they stand upright on two feet or stand lengthwise like a horse.

So it's looking like to get a suit of Full Plate Dragon-hide armor, a Medium creature would need to slay a Colossal Dragon, and then only *one* suit of Full Plate could be created (plus a shield).

Yep. Gnomes and Halflings get all the fun. Oh well, at least it is ready for magical enchantment.

 

[dcollins]

Has there been any update/errata to this? Any other rules presented elsewhere that say anything different? I sure fricken hope so!

No update. No errata. No other alterations. That's the rule.

Whenever people pop their lid over this (it's a regular occurence), I recommend they invoke "Variant: Power Components" on DMG p. 96 and allow the dragonhide to be enchanted appropriately (e.g., elemental resistance) for no XP cost.

 

[RedSwan78]

Re: Re: DragonHide Armor, what the *&$%!!?

To pay a smith to craft a masterwork dragon hide armor at normal cost? Why you should pay more?


Yep. Gnomes and Halflings get all the fun. Oh well, at least it is ready for magical enchantment.

Well, that's pretty much what I'm talking about, yay, big whoop that I save 150gp on MW costs, this is DRAGON hide we're talking about here (but again, my solution to this really involves making a house-rule. That being, for those curious, I was thinking of giving whoever wears the armor some sort of low DR against the type of attack that the Dragon was immune to, say DR 5 at tops)

As for the Gnomes and Halflings, they have to slay a *Gargantuan* Dragon to get a set of Full Plate made, with the CR's for Gargantuan Dragon's ranging from 18 to 22 depending on the Dragon's color. (Again, look at the size charts, it just doesn't seem right that someone of that size could only get *one* set of Full Plate from a Dragon *that* big )

EDIT- Dcollins looks like we posted at the same time, but I like that idea that you gave, and is something that I had not yet thought of (although I was basically thinking along the same lines)

 

[The Little Raven]

Here's something I wrote up for my games.

Dragonhide, Black: Black dragonhide is thick and dull, with hard black scales covering it. Armor made from treated black dragonhide grants acid resistance 2.
Specially treated black dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Blue: Blue dragonhide has a glossy, indigo finish with small scales covering it. Armor made from treated blue dragonhide grants electricity resistance 2.
Specially treated blue dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Brass: Brass dragonhide has a warm, burnished look to it. Armor made from treated brass dragonhide grants fire resistance 2.
Specially treated brass dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Bronze: Bronze dragonhide is a rich bronze tone with hints of green throughout. Armor made from treated bronze dragonhide grants electricity resistance 2.
Specially treated bronze dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Copper: Copper dragonhide is a glossy, ruddy brown with hints of green. Armor made from treated copper dragonhide grants acid resistance 2.
Specially treated copper dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Gold: Gold dragonhide is a rich golden tone that seems to glow in light. Armor made from treated gold dragonhide grants fire resistance 2.
Specially treated gold dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Green: Green dragonhide is a deep forest green, with small ridges on the scales. Armor made from treated green dragonhide grants acid resistance 2.
Specially treated green dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Red: Red dragonhide is a deep scarlet tone with a dull, smooth finish. Armor made from treated red dragonhide grants fire resistance 2.
Specially treated red dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Silver: Silver dragonhide is mirror-like with a cold reflective glow. Armor made from treated silver dragonhide grants acid and cold resistance 2.
Specially treated silver dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +4,000 gp.
Dragonhide, White: White dragonhide is bright, almost mirror-like white, with touches of pale blue and light gray swirling throughout. Armor made from treated white dragonhide grants cold resistance 2.
Specially treated white dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.

I looked at the resistances in the MM and based the gains on those. Then I compared it to materials in MoF, and priced accordingly.

 

[fba827]

yeah, we usually house rule (aka rule 0-ed) it for a little minor elemental protection of the appropriate type plus it usually added a minor (+1) _on occasion_ circumstance bonus to intimidation checks, etc as it no doubt adds to an imposing figure of authority ... seemed too bland as written in the corebooks for our tastes.

 

[Darklone]

Yeah, and don't forget the intimidate modifier against dragons

 

[Robbert Raets]

Yeah, and don't forget the intimidate modifier against dragons

Does that mean a Dragon wearing humanskin gloves get an intimidate bonus against humans?

 

[Darklone]

Does that mean a Dragon wearing humanskin gloves get an intimidate bonus against humans?

Uhm.... probably more than a human with dragonscale... But then, I think a human wearing dragonscale armour would only raise the appetite of a dragon... someone call the BADD!!!

 

[Bauglir]

The benefits from dragon hide are a bit pathetic, compared to the effort (and level) required to achieve it, IMO.

I'd be inclined to put something like (Age category * 2) elemental resistance on the stuff, or something equivalent in power.