D&D 5E At what level do your heavy armored characters get their plate mail?

[Jefe Bergenstein]

In my previous game, the paladin got plate at 5th level. In my current game they pooled and got it at 3rd as part of a quest set-up.

 

[Clint_L]

Typically around 5th to 7th level if they save their money or can get some as loot.

 

[TwoSix]

The 200+ gp armors are essentially magic items in terms of tier 1 availability (they have to be earned), just with a mundane narrative attached for easier in-game purchasing.

Armor that gives a 17 AC (assuming moderate Dex investment or Str investment to keep full movement) I treat roughly as a Common item. AC 18 armor (Full Plate, a Breastplate +1, or Studded Leather +1) is an Uncommon item, although Heavy Armor is cheaper generally cheaper for the same AC. AC 19 Armor is Rare, and AC 20 Armor is Very Rare.

 

[Vaalingrade]

1st.

If the character concept is 'heavily armored', then they should start out heavily armored. And damn whatever dumb tradition or 'verisimilitude' demands full plate be unnecessarily expensive.

 

[greymist]

I voted third level because my players tend to pay for it as a group. They like the front-liner to be able to take more hits so they don’t get targeted!

 

[James Gasik]

One of my hopes for the next edition is that gold stays useful for longer for everyone. So that you don't have the party carting around multiple dragon's hoards with them.

It is something the DM has to account for. You need to have some or all of the following:

*Downtime to allow for crafting, research, and other tasks that use gold.

*Training to acquire new abilities.

*The occasional ability to acquire a magic item- this need not be "Ye Olde Magick Shop" but could involve gaining clout with the church to "borrow" their holy sword, attend an auction for a retiring wizard, or pay a fixer a finder's fee for putting you in touch with someone who has an item they are willing to trade.

*Campaign goals that require gold: "Hey, I got the deed to the Kryptwood Keep from my dead uncle! Now the Lords of Waterdeep expect me to fix it up and hire people to patrol the forest!".

*NPC's who can provide services or favors- not necessarily physical rewards but things like information, new missions, transport and passage, or even dodging the thousand cuts of bureaucracy- fees, fines, taxes, and paperwork.

*NPC Hirelings who can provide specialized abilities but must be paid. Going into Grimtooth's Dungeon? Hiring an "Expert Treasure Hunter" might be to one's advantage. Assaulting an old military fort that has been taken over by orcs? Maybe you can find use for a siege engineer or sapper. Or hire an assassin to try and take out the BBEG who has immunity from prosecution because he's a high ranking noble!

It takes work, and the DMG really should make this all apparent, but if you can pull it off, it could make things way more interesting than trying to keep your players happy with fighting over dented copper coins and keeping even "mundane" purchases like better armor something they can only dream about, lol.

 

[Shiroiken]

The first time that happened in a game I was running, I'll admit that I was surprised. I did not expect everyone to empty their pockets so that one PC could have a suit of platemail.

IME it's pretty rare. If using proper material components, casters are often too busy with their own stuff to help out. Most barbarians tend to buy higher grade medium armor, so they'll be saving too. Not to mention the general purchase of healing potions taking up a chunk of cash. The only ones who don't seem to struggle with early money are rogues and monks.

 

[rgard]

As soon as they kill somebody wearing plate mail.

 

[GMMichael]

At what level do I want the heavy fighter to suffer tinny hearing, near-zero vision, and an impossible chance to sneak?

As soon as possible, please!

 

[DeviousQuail]

Out of curiosity I went back to the treasure hoard tables and found that the average Challenge 5-10 treasure hoard has a value of 4,544.5 gp not including magical items. For Challenge 0-4 the average is 398.2 gp. If you follow the guidelines given in the DMG a party will have amassed 84,588.4 gp on average by level 11. 2,787.4 gp (3.3%) of that comes before level 5.

I knew all of this at some point back when 5e came out. Those tables filled out many a dungeon once upon a time. Seeing them now brings a sense of nostalgia. Not enough to use then again, though.