Does magic armor rust?

[Ogrork the Mighty]

It takes a pretty long time for rust to form. One adventure underwater isn't going to be long enough, provided they clean their armour afterwards.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

I generally take the Monty Python approach "ow do we know e's te king?" "Cause e's not covered in @@@@!"

Non-magical armor and weapons suffer from the mundane stuff, rust, etc. Magical stuff on the other hand needs to be hit by a magical effect (you know like a rust monster) to rust. That's the first sign it's probably magic. Well assuming it isn't strange looking and glows with unnatural light, but when I use those they tend to actually be worthless junk enchanted with Nystul's magic aura to attract thieves and distract from the valuable stuff which generally looks plain and unadorned but too perfect.

 

[Zzyzx]

In my gmaes non-rusting, non-tarnishing, indestructible by normal weapons has always been a good sign the item is magical. Just as good as Detect Magic and almost as good as an identify spell.

Same here. Big armory, everything is rusted and useless, except one shiny sword on a rack.

That's the magic one, clearly.

 

[Three_Haligonians]

Plate has the more favourable armour Check Penalty, but in the case of a fighter it's quite likely that your Check Penalty is going to come from the weight of your gear instead, and this is where the Coral Armour's advantage lies; it's 20lbs lighter in water than plate - that's 4 off your penalty, making coral more favourable in terms of Swim checks if you're carrying at least 46lbs + the armour.

I remember the old 5lbs = -1 to Swim checks from 3.0 but I can't find any reference to it in 3.5 Do you have a source for it.. I'd love to have it again - I felt it made a lot of sense.

J from Three Haligonians

 

[Conaill]

"Only if it wants to".

By default, I'd say that your plain vanilla magic sword probably shouldn't be ruined by a little salt water.

Then again, I also like differently flavored magic items... Nothing wrong with a sword made from an unknown reddish metal, which reacts to rainwater as if it were acid. Or a rusty old sword which turns out to be an ancient artefact wgich was wielded by a long-forgotten demigod.

 

[gardengoth]

I remember the old 5lbs = -1 to Swim checks from 3.0 but I can't find any reference to it in 3.5 Do you have a source for it.. I'd love to have it again - I felt it made a lot of sense.

J from Three Haligonians

Huh? It isn't in there? *furiously tears through PHB* Nope...nor can I see it in the DMG or the SRD. That's a shame. My reference for Coral Armour, btw, is the Arms & Equipment guide, which was designed for 3.0 so that's my excuse.

 

[Marshall]

Dont worry about rust on metal armor....Ever get leather soaked?

Having the ROGs Studded Leather disintegrate and random plates start falling off the the CLRs full plate is going to be a much more immediate concern.