D&D 5E 5E Economics - Armor, Cortine Steel & Elven Chain

[dave2008]

I could ... but it's a regional thing that ties it to the campaign. Would someone want masterwork bourbon, or Kentucky bourbon? It also infers it's not universal. Finding a good Cortine steel longsword in the northern reaches of Brael Mar is a lot harder than finding it in the City-State of Cortine itself ...

It is not universal because there is no Cortine in my game or anyone else's game - that is what I meant.

Regarding Bourbon I will take your word on it, I don't drink alcoholic beverages and know next to nothing about them. I assume the concept is name brand is better than a standardized rating? That may be true for beverages, but in the construction industry (I'm an architect), performance standards are paramount. When I specify custom cabinets i don't say buy a brand, I tell them to build by the AWI premium grade standard. Similarly, steel is purchased based on its ASTM standard and not its brand (typically). Not sure how it would work for armor, but I could see it going both ways. The idea of a master swordsmith has a history in the genre. And the would be more like a "brand."

 

[NotAYakk]

Mithral Chain is the same tier as Mithral Plate, but seriously worse.

Make you proficient in it even if you only have medium armor proficiency. Or permit +2 AC from Dex like medium armor, but keep it heavy armor.

Elven Chain should be Elven Chain Shirt.

Mithral Shirt is near pointless. Give it a point of max dex modifier. Makes it compete with a Breastplate.

Ditto for Mithral Breastplate (+3 max dex).

Mithral half-plate is missing. It is statistically equivalent to Cortine Breastplate by RAW; I'd give it a +3 max dex bonus.

I think this places (a) a gap between each armor price point, and (b) makes all of the armor at a given price point interesting compared to your alternatives.

Mithral:
Elven Shirt: Noprof, 14(+2), Rare
Mithral Shirt: Light, 14(+2) Uncommon
BP: Medium, 14(+3) Uncommon
1/2P: Medium, 15(+3) Rare
Chain: Heavy, 16(+2) Rare
Plate: Heavy, 18(+1), Very Rare

Elven Shirt is a Mithral shirt with extra enchantments on it.

If Plate was +0 Dex it would be strictly better than Mithral Chain (other than rarity). Giving it +1 dex makes it strictly better than mithral chain and maybe worth the rarity bump.

 

[Archade]

Nice analysis!

Mithral Chain is the same tier as Mithral Plate, but seriously worse.

Make you proficient in it even if you only have medium armor proficiency. Or permit +2 AC from Dex like medium armor, but keep it heavy armor.

Elven Chain should be Elven Chain Shirt.

etc

 

[cbwjm]

Nope, Cortine is a city state in my campaign world famed for it's armor and weapons.

Like the Akbitanan steel blades and armour from Conan, that's pretty cool. I like stuff like this for world building.

 

[TheSword]

And of course the real world medieval equivalent of Damascan steel. I like the flavor of naming things by place. In my pathfinder equivalent I use Numerian Steel.

I do think there is a lot of resource out there for home brewing items that straddle the border between magic and mundane. There is a lot of inspiration in 3e.

this list is a good start.

 

[Warren Ellis]

Similarly, steel is purchased based on its ASTM standard and not its brand (typically). Not sure how it would work for armor, but I could see it going both ways. The idea of a master swordsmith has a history in the genre. And the would be more like a "brand."

True. But people often place emphasis on a brand for quality and standard.

Cortine steel probably has earned a good reputation over the years for quality, workmanship, & beauty (I assume Cortine steel has a kind of pattern akin to the pattern attributed to Damascan steel in our history) and thus people consider it of higher quality than say a longsword made by the village blacksmith you could say.

Essentially it was able to get good "branding."

I could ... but it's a regional thing that ties it to the campaign. Would someone want masterwork bourbon, or Kentucky bourbon? It also infers it's not universal. Finding a good Cortine steel longsword in the northern reaches of Brael Mar is a lot harder than finding it in the City-State of Cortine itself ...

Since your setting is after an empire fell, are most of the main polities or nations in your setting more akin to city-states?

 

[dave2008]

True. But people often place emphasis on a brand for quality and standard.

Cortine steel probably has earned a good reputation over the years for quality, workmanship, & beauty (I assume Cortine steel has a kind of pattern akin to the pattern attributed to Damascan steel in our history) and thus people consider it of higher quality than say a longsword made by the village blacksmith you could say.

Essentially it was able to get good "branding."Since your setting is after an empire fell, are most of the main polities or nations in your setting more akin to city-states?

I don't disagree with what your saying, but I was suggesting the a more universally applicable mechanic would be more interesting and get more response from posters. I don't care about Cortine steel because Cortine is not relevant to my game. But the idea of masterwork or similar armor or weapons is something that could have a broader appeal.

 

[Archade]

Since your setting is after an empire fell, are most of the main polities or nations in your setting more akin to city-states?

Or fractured kingdoms …. In my campaign the Verdraaken Empire fell 1600 years ago, so some of the former provinces have formed their own principalities (Tellmarch, Aldermarch, Wymarch), there are some independent but small kingdoms (Gnelland, Arcavia, Nordell), and inbetween them all city-states or loose alliances of city-states (the Jewel Cities, the Magelands, etc).

Glad you like the peek into my campaign world!

 

[Archade]

Mithral Chain is the same tier as Mithral Plate, but seriously worse.

Make you proficient in it even if you only have medium armor proficiency. Or permit +2 AC from Dex like medium armor, but keep it heavy armor.

Mithral Shirt is near pointless. Give it a point of max dex modifier. Makes it compete with a Breastplate.

Ditto for Mithral Breastplate (+3 max dex).

Gave it some thought, you are absolutely right … made the following changes, since Mithral armor counts as one armor weight class less:

Mithral Shirt is now 13 AC plus Dex (no max since it's light armor)
Mithral Breastplate is now 14 AC plus Dex (no max since it's light armor)
Mithral Chain is now 16 AC plus Dex (max +2), min Str 11
Mithral Plat is now 18 AC plus Dex (max +2), min Str 13

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