Armor Conversion

[Wolf72]

yah! whatever so it's kinda silly. But remember ringmail? that stuff in 1e and 2e that cost more than chainmail but was much crappier?

Well I think I found a use for it. I think of it as an armor designed with arcane casters in mind.

RingMail: Light Armor 50gp
Armor Class +3
Max dex +3
Armor check penalty -3
Arcane Spell failure 10%
Movement: full
weight 20 lbs

okay ...so no biggie right? Other than a 10% ASF it's not much to look at ...

until you get suit that's made out of mithril!

Mithril Ringmail 1,200gp (1,000 mithril +200 MW ring)
Max Dex +5
Armor check penalty 0 (pretty cool)
Arcane Spell failure 0 (that's the really cool part)
weight 10 lbs

add in a mithril buckler for 1,165gp and you have a +4 to AC all the time without casting mage armor ... and this one can't be dispelled ... and can be enchanted with lots of goodies.

posted this a while ago on the old boards ... and got bored so here it is again!

 

[Echoes]

That really looks ideal for a rogue/wizard or sorceror type. All the benefits of mage armor, plus it can be enhanced, plus its got a nice max dex bonus and no armor check penalty. I might try this out on an NPC and see how it works, I'm liking the look of it. I think it's probably balanced pretty well.

I'm getting sudden images of the "armored caster" merit you could take in the skills and powers book. Heh. I don't think it's particularly unbalancing to give wizards and sorcerors a little boost in AC, esp since AC tops out far before attack bonuses do.

Laters,
-John-

 

[Wolf72]

muchas gracias for the feed back!

I like it, it's not really "uber" or "munchkin" ... and it does add a little flavor.

I like to think of it as a good armor for bards too. Makes life a lot easier for a bard when trying to cast spells and fight ... especially with their limited spell selection.

 

[drowdude]

I kinda like it... but, I dunno... how can it really be less encumbering than studded leather?

yah! whatever so it's kinda silly. But remember ringmail? that stuff in 1e and 2e that cost more than chainmail but was much crappier?

But at any rate I *do* like it. But uh, maybe it should *still* cost more than chain mail

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Beyond esthetics reservations over the idea of a wizard in a ring mail, here is my problem with your idea:

Bracers of armor +8 = 64,000 GP
+5 Mithril Ring Mail = 26,200 GP

+5 Mithril Ring mail of (insert +3 worth of additional enchantment)= 65,200

Both provide +8 armor without arcane failure or skill check penalty. The limit on DEX bonus to AC is insignificant to most spell caster.

Also, if you wear a ring mail you can also wear magic bracers providing another enchantment.

 

[Wolf72]

Re: Re: Armor Conversion

I kinda like it... but, I dunno... how can it really be less encumbering than studded leather?

...

But at any rate I *do* like it. But uh, maybe it should *still* cost more than chain mail

reality smeality!

Um dunno, a consortium of gnome and elf experts (armorers/egineers)?

[edit: hey it's not less encumbering ... it has less max dex, and a worse armor check (unless you mean the mithril version, then the answer would be: well because it's mithril!). Only the Arcane Spell failure is better ... and that's because well ... well ...because it was designed to aide arcane users ... and ... and ...

*wolf kicks black-elf-guy in the shin and runs!*


Mal ... well hey, never really looked at it like that.

... eek with no ACP you don't even need to have armor feat: light either

lessee you could afford a suit of this at 8th lvl (if that's all you got) ... or the bracers at 11th lvl.

I think you run into the same problem with Leaf armor (from Dragon 279) as well. not nearly as bad as with this one though becaus the example would be padded armor (25k+) v bracers +6 (36k). (leaf armor has a -5% Arcane spell failure)

[edit2: well then even a mithril buckler would be worth it too! a +5 mithril buckler would be about the same price and give you +6 to AC ... that with the leaf padded armor would be +12 to AC for less than your bracers +8 ... even with out the 'leaf' material you'd only have a -5% ASF with no penalties because padded has no armor check)

um, don't really have a retort or any explanation! ... other than roleplaying limits (not finding a caster who is willing to enchant it for that price ... or thinks your a doody-head for wearing armor and slams the door).

*wolfs best brit accent* um right then, you seem to have made your point. Anything else?

 

[drowdude]

*OW!!* Hey! Why you... I oughta....


Just for comparison, these are the stats I use in my campaign for ring mail.




Armor Type Cost Armor Bonus Max Dex Bonus ACP ASF WT

Light Armor

Ring Mail 200 gp +5 +3 -3 20% 30 pnds.

 

[Wolfspider]

You gave ring mail the same armor bonus as chain mail?!?

 

[Wolf72]

You gave ring mail the same armor bonus as chain mail?!?

nope he's got a house rule that ups the AC bonus for nearly all armors. He does it across the board so I think the real effect is that monsters and PC's get hit less often/are harder to hit (as long as they use armor).

chainmail in his campaign has a +7 AC, Full plate has a +10.

check out this thread for more armor stuff

http://www.enworld.org/messageboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=961

 

[drowdude]

You gave ring mail the same armor bonus as chain mail?!?

Check out my armor thread in the House Rules section... that should make things more clear.

IMC chain mail gives a +7 armor bonus.


edit: Sorry, didnt notice that Wolf had already pointed that out