At level 5, they still don't have plate? Wow, I thought I was a skinflint DM.I am planning an encounter with hobgoblins and a hobgoblin warlord (Cr6). As of now the fighter and paladin of the group do not have plate mail. (They are level 5) I know that if they succeed in defeating this encounter, they will ask about the warlords plate mail and if they can use it.
Giving the paladin plate mail seems like too much of a reward, but the players come from a 3.5/PF background where they expect to strip the monsters and wear it as their own.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this or advice?
I'd allow them to take it to an armorsmith and have it refitted for, say, 20% of the base cost. That way they still have to hunt up an NPC and lay out some coin before they can use it, and you establish a precedent that monster gear is not necessarily usable by PCs, but they don't feel cheated.
Or you could make it magical armor that requires a quest of some sort before it will let you wear it without burning you.