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?
D&D 5E Barding for War Dogs; 6000gp for Plate Barding???
J.Quondam
CR 1/8
The armor rules for 3e were a bit more involved that 5e, but might offer a starting point for you.
Here's the 3e table for "Armor for unusual creatures":
Note that the values for armor "Large" "non-humanoid" creatures are x4/x2, just like barding for large animals like horses in 5e. So you could use this table to guide you in assigning 5e costs/weights, depending upon the size of the creature you need barding for.
Here's the 3e table for "Armor for unusual creatures":
Note that the values for armor "Large" "non-humanoid" creatures are x4/x2, just like barding for large animals like horses in 5e. So you could use this table to guide you in assigning 5e costs/weights, depending upon the size of the creature you need barding for.
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
Problem 1: There is nothing to ever spend money on in 5e. Money is useless!
Problem 2: They really need to make things cheaper.
I kid, kind of. I think you already have your answer-
Elephants only. War elephants. Might be a bit of a tight fit in some dungeons, but so ... much ... fun.
Second option, if you're in a lot of small dungeons?
Problem 2: They really need to make things cheaper.
I kid, kind of. I think you already have your answer-
Elephants only. War elephants. Might be a bit of a tight fit in some dungeons, but so ... much ... fun.
Second option, if you're in a lot of small dungeons?
RoughCoronet0
Dragon Lover
Mastiffs are 25 gp according to the phb
DND_Reborn
The High Aldwin
IMO the x4 for "horses" and other steeds would be for large creatures, which are twice the size of medium (roughly) or 4 x the surface area.
Consequently, I would go with something like this:
You can round to 5's if you want easy numbers x5, x10, x15 instead of x4, x9, x16.
But, to answer your question, it would then depend on the size of the dog. Most dogs would be considered small creatures IMO, although larger breeds could be medium certainly, such as the mastiff.
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
I'm reminded of the time I let the barbarian buy an elephant. In a campaign set in a fantasy equivalent of Renaissance Venice. They were still at low levels, so that elephant (named Stompy) would oftentimes do more damage then any one PC in the party. After a while I started telling him that some canals were just too narrow for Stompy to fit through.
In hindsight, I probably should've just used that DM tool known as "no."
As for plate mail barding for a dog, considering how much I've spent on vet bills for my pets over the years, 6,000 gp sounds about right...
In all seriousness, that does seem a bit high, though I might also point out that despite requiring fewer materials, dog-barding is also well outside the realm of what an armorer normally makes. It's likely going to require an entirely custom piece of armor.
In hindsight, I probably should've just used that DM tool known as "no."
Problem 1: There is nothing to ever spend money on in 5e. Money is useless!
Problem 2: They really need to make things cheaper.
I kid, kind of. I think you already have your answer-
Elephants only. War elephants. Might be a bit of a tight fit in some dungeons, but so ... much ... fun.
Second option, if you're in a lot of small dungeons?
As for plate mail barding for a dog, considering how much I've spent on vet bills for my pets over the years, 6,000 gp sounds about right...
In all seriousness, that does seem a bit high, though I might also point out that despite requiring fewer materials, dog-barding is also well outside the realm of what an armorer normally makes. It's likely going to require an entirely custom piece of armor.
I remember when I worked in the pet industry hearing that adult, active dogs can carry no more than 25% of their weight without risking injury. In my mind, it's pushing things to even consider having a fully armored Halfling on a dog for any period of time, and then to add plate armor as well? That seems... unlikely.
But hey, I'm no expert and more importantly, it's a fantasy game, have fun!
But hey, I'm no expert and more importantly, it's a fantasy game, have fun!
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