Armor classification

[Comicguy68]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me? I'm trying to figure out how armor is categorized. What makes light armor light armor and not medium armor? I tried looking at the table in the PHB but that just confused me even more. If armor is categorized by weight then either the Chain Shirt or the Hide armor is in the wrong category, as well as banded mail or chainmail. If armor is categorized by Armor Bonus then (again) Chain Shirt or Hide Armor and Scale Mail is in the wrong category. If armor is categorized by Maximum Dex Bonus, then (once again) Chain Shirt or Hide is in the wrong category. The only column that categorizes correctly seems to be the Armor Check Penalty.

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but I always read alot of the Enworld boards but I don't post much. I could not find anything on this subject (either on forums or in any book, PHB or otherwise). Thanks!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Weight is part of it, as is bulkyness of the armor, but just as much a part of it would also be legacy and balance design issues.

Which is also partly why officially making metallic armors out of Mithril drops their "weight class"- Mithril fullplate would be Medium armor, not Heavy, for instance.

 

[Thanee]

A chain shirt, while quite heavy due to its metallic nature, is not as 'stiff' as a hide armor and thus does not hinder movement as much.

There is no hard factor for the categories. The armor types are simply put into the categories where they belong to, not according to some formula.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Comicguy68]

Hmmm. Thanks Dannyalcatraz. I'm not too worried right now about the materials that the metal armors would be made out of because I know that they change the category that an armor would be in by modifying the armor's weight, Armor Bonus, etc.

Thanks Thanee but I don't know if I like the "There is no hard factor for the categories. The armor types are simply put into the categories where they belong to, not according to some formula." To me, there is always a formula or reason why something belongs to one group and not another (ie. melee vs ranged weapons, arcane vs divine, will vs fort vs reflex). It's just a matter of finding that fact and saying "Aha! That's why this is here instead of there!"

Anyone else?

Has anyone altered what armors belong to what categories? I'm trying to decide if I should group armor into Light, Medium and Armor based on either weight, Armor Bonus or Armor Check Penalty. If I group by weight, I'll have to move several armors around so I can say "Light armor is armor that weighs 0 lbs to 20 (or 25) lbs.", etc. If I group by Armor Bonus, my only conflict would be the chain shirt and the hide armor. If I switch them, I can then say "Light armor is armor that has an Armor bonus of +1 to +3", etc. If I group by Armor Check Penalty, I can just leave everything as is and say that "Light armor is armor that has an Armor Check Penalty of 0 to -2", etc.

Thoughts?

Thanks, I appreciate the help.

 

[irdeggman]

Thanks Thanee but I don't know if I like the "There is no hard factor for the categories. The armor types are simply put into the categories where they belong to, not according to some formula." To me, there is always a formula or reason why something belongs to one group and not another (ie. melee vs ranged weapons, arcane vs divine, will vs fort vs reflex). It's just a matter of finding that fact and saying "Aha! That's why this is here instead of there!"

Nope there is not always a formula.

Putting too much detail into it will ruin the game. D&D combat is by design abstract. Armor categories are mostly legacy from old versions of D&D and mostly go back to at least early 2nd ed, if not OD&D itself.

 

[Thanee]

The only formulaic approach would be due to "common sense" or "realism".

Of course, you could think up some values for traits that are figured into the decision, but have not been written out in the rules (bulkiness, flexibility and all that).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Runestar]

It appears to be a loose combination of armour bonus and max dex (which unsurprisingly, are inversely related), cost and other misc abilities such as being able to be worn by a druid without violating his oath.

Hide armour seems to be an anomaly because it is very cheap, and offers the best AC for a druid (which is the only class that would ever have a reason to use it). It is medium because leather armour is light (if hide armour was light as well, a druid would never hesitate to use hide over leather). It is there to provide a meaningful choice with an opportunity cost for the druid.

But if you look at the armour progression in each category, there is a definite trend.

Compare chainshirt with scale mail. The former is better (higher max dex, does not reduce speed, lower ACP), but is also more expensive. For a starting 1st lv PC, you can still afford scale-mail with some luck (which is the best armour a fighter-type PC can start out with), but a chainshirt would be out of the question. Of course, this becomes irrelevant once you get more gold.

But at higher lvs (really just lv2+), there are really only 3 sets of armour worth using - chainshirt, breastplate and fullplate.

 

[Darklone]

Since medium armors are soooo weak... except for mithral breastplates... I houseruled the whole thing a little bit. DR 2/- to medium and heavy armors. And I removed some armor proficiencies from some classes.