D&D 5E Barding for War Dogs; 6000gp for Plate Barding???

[seebs]

The rules state that "barding is four times that of similar armor for humanoids". Period. But what about for a dog? While I agree that it would take considerable time to craft such armor, the materials needed would be considerably less than that for a medium humanoid. Yes, it might be difficult to find someone willing to do such an armor in small or medium towns, but any large city or castle would probably have an armorer who makes such for the dogs of the Lord or City. Regardless, the 4x multiplier for all barding seems to be a simplistic rule, specifically for horses. Otherwise, Barding for an elephant would be the same as for a horse. Thoughts?

My thought: It probably costs much more to get dog armor, not because it's harder to make or because it uses a lot of materials, but because anything marketed to pet owners is just automatically going to be Super Nice And Fancy because pet owners are suckers.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I think +1 splint mail barding might be cheaper at 5,800 (assuming you're paying the max price for a rare item)

 

[Weiley31]

Hmmm.

 

[Weiley31]

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

Is that last dog wearing a sheath for a dagger? That's a bit metal.

It would be more metal if it were a sheath for a flail.

 

[Weiley31]

Is that last dog wearing a sheath for a dagger? That's a bit metal

Yes.

 

[Bill Zebub]

It’s not the materials cost, it’s the time spent trying to get the dog to stand still for the fitting.

 

[Rabulias]

It would be more metal if it were a sheath for a flail.

It would be maximum metal if the dog then pulled it out and started wailing on opponents with it.

 

[J.Quondam]

Turns out the "tail visor" needed to enable tactical battlefield butt-sniffery is a pretty complex - and therefore expensive - piece of engineering.

 

[dave2008]

an English mastiff can go 200 - 230lbs which would allow a weight of 50 - 60lbs - the average Halfling is 40 lb (plus 20lb armour)

The largest dog I have ever seen/touched was a 210 lbs mastif in good, not great, shape. The owner told me that is father as 220-230lbs, but it had to get down to 185lbs to breed. So just because we have dogs that 200-300lbs doesn't mean that they should or that it is a healthy weight.

 

[Tonguez]

The largest dog I have ever seen/touched was a 210 lbs mastif in good, not great, shape. The owner told me that is father as 220-230lbs, but it had to get down to 185lbs to bread. So just because we have dogs that 200-300lbs doesn't mean that they should or that it is a healthy weight.

Yeah which is why I ended with noting that in worlds where dogs are commonly ridden they would likely be bred for larger size and strength - crossbreeding with dire wolves might help too.

But even a 180kg dog might cope with a halfling (though maybe not armour)

 

[Burker95]

For ruling I don’t know,
I can just imagine a dwarf blacksmith receiving the inquiry and negotiating the price with the party. A must for a funny session!

Dwarves, Elves and Humans are great having the smithing skill. Great for down time to make funds, gear and weapons or armor for the party. I've had this in campaigns since 1st edition back in 1981!! Trading labor and scrap metal and working with the town smithy is fun. We just ended a side campaign and the mages roasted goblins and orc's. Their gear was melted but I salvaged 400 lbs. of iron and steel. Turned it into workable ingots, then barding for a wolf, Breast Plate and a few weapons. Helped the smith train his assistant's and made quite a few items for the smith to sell as well!!