D&D 5E Plate Mail and hobgoblins

[Dausuul]

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?

At level 5, they still don't have plate? Wow, I thought I was a skinflint DM.

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.

 

[Sacrosanct]

At level 5, they still don't have plate? Wow, I thought I was a skinflint DM.
.

No one at my games has plate mail by level 5 either. It's expensive. No one has come close to getting at least 1,500gp per share by level 5. I don't think that's all that unusual in 5e. Heck, look at the 5e adventures so far. This isn't older D&D, especially Basic where you could buy plate mail as a 1st level PC

 

[Staffan]

No one at my games has plate mail by level 5 either. It's expensive. No one has come close to getting at least 1,500gp per share by level 5. I don't think that's all that unusual in 5e. Heck, look at the 5e adventures so far. This isn't older D&D, especially Basic where you could buy plate mail as a 1st level PC

"Plate mail" in Basic/AD&D is more akin to Half Plate in 3e and 5e than "Full plate"/"Plate.".

 

[iserith]

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?

What I would do is put that hobgoblin warlord's plate mail "front and center" in that encounter. The lore about hobgoblins say "Organized and disciplined, they take exceptional care of their weapons, armor, and personal possessions." The image of the warlord on page 187 shows the hobgoblin in some badass samurai-esque get-up.

When the fighter and paladin lay eyes upon this warrior, I'd describe the armor in a tantalizing fashion - its superior craftsmanship, its fearsome look, a work of art as much as protection for one's body. Once they're salivating over it and fighting over who gets to claim it when the battle is over, I lay the challenge down:

Because of the way this hobgoblin relies upon his armor to keep himself alive while he fights fearlessly (even recklessly at times), each time he takes 10 or more damage from an attack, the armor requires 150 gp of repair to be able to fit either of the characters.

Then kick off the fight and see what the players do to win the day while minimizing damage to the armor. This will probably lead to some clever actions on the part of the players to balance out victory and cost and those are the sorts of meaningful decisions I like to have in my games.

 

[Kobold Stew]

As I see it, you have a choice:

a. Let them them wear the armour, or
b. Change the armour that the hobgoblin is wearing.

If you can't abide a., then go with b.

 

[Coredump]

According to the PHB, monster armor is not usable or good enough to sell. I guess this is to limit the gold influx, and to thwart the less-than-heroic stripping of the dead. But whatever the reason, its in da rulez.

You are, of course, welcome to change this. I would simply treat this armor as a 'special case' of it being in good repair. I would still charge them to have it modified for proper fit, and otherwise just reduce the treasure by a bit...basically making the armor part of the treasure.

 

[Jester David]

I'd count it as one of the party's treasure hoards.

But plate armour does have to be specially made for someone. The proportions of the hobgoblin might be off.

 

[fjw70]

You could have the plate mail enchanted by some dark magic so that non-evil being suffer penalties when wearng it.

 

[Cernor]

I'd count it as one of the party's treasure hoards.

But plate armour does have to be specially made for someone. The proportions of the hobgoblin might be off.

You could have the plate mail enchanted by some dark magic so that non-evil being suffer penalties when wearng it.

I definitely prefer the first suggestion to the second. The first makes sense in that they can take the plate, but (repairs and) refitting could come to a significant portion of the base price if you don't want your PCs to use it right away. The second is also perfectly valid, but a little heavy-handed unless there have been indications that the hobgobs have allied with dark forces that would care enough to enchant the plate.

 

[Paraxis]

Well there is this on page 144 of the PHB.

Variant: Equipment Sizes
In most campaigns, you can use or wear any equipment that you find on your adventures, within the bounds of common sense. For example, a burly half-orc won't fit in a halfling's leather armor, and a gnome would be swallowed up in a cloud giant's elegant robe.
The DM can impose more realism. For example, a suit of plate armor mad for one human might not fit another one without significant alterations, and a guard's uniform might be visibly ill-fitting when an adventurer tries to wear it as a disguise.
Using this variant, when adventurers find armor, clothing, and similar items that are made to be worn, they might need to visit an armorsmith, tailor, leatherworker, or similar expert to make the item wearable.
The cost for such work varies from 10 to 40 percent of the market price of the item. The DM can either roll 1d4x10 or determine the increase in cost based on the extent of the alterations required.