Dragonhide Armor


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there is a dragon magazine with both Darkwood and leaf special materials for armor.

leaf can only be used for natural type armors (padded, leater, hide) and Darkwood can only be substituted for metal armors (makes the 'natural' armors)

their bonuses aren't as much as mithril.
 

Spatzimaus said:
kreynolds gave the book answers, but this is one of those things that screams HOUSE RULE!!!! to many people. If the only benefit of dragonhide is that druids can wear it, why bother?

In my campaign I invoke the "Power Components" variant rule from the DMG -- and thus enchanting dragonhide with the appropriate elemental resistance costs no XP.
 

Spatzimaus said:
kreynolds gave the book answers, but this is one of those things that screams HOUSE RULE!!!! to many people. If the only benefit of dragonhide is that druids can wear it, why bother?

Style. No, quit laughing, I mean it. Players in my groups tend to have a trophy fetish and integrate any unusual critter parts into their usual accoutrements. Dire animal hides, wyvern wings, and unusual horns/teeth/claws have all become standard fare. Some of that is my influence; in EarthDawn my character had a tent he'd constructed out of critter wings that worked like a cross between an umbrella and a teepee.

The other bit is impact. Nothing says "I'm dangerous and/or incredibly wealthy" like exotic animal parts. Like fur coats today, animal furs can readily be worth a fortune in 3E. Dragonhide, being from one of the most dangerous of creatures, is distinctly notable. Dragonhide leather armor can provide an excellent set of "court" armor. Most people's armor tends to get quite dinged up, what with occassionally being swallowed or masticated, so having a lightweight set of public appearance armor is a good idea.

Which has more impact: a shiny mithril shirt and silk tabard or a full suit of leather dragonhide armor studded with dinosaur teeth, an anaconda belt, snakeskin boots, all topped with a dire tiger cloak (with black panther fur liner) that sets off your eyes?
 

Here's my house rules for specially treated dragonhide... Remember, these are nonmagical, and will function where magic will not. I came up with the prices by comparing them to materials in Magic of Faerun.

Dragonhide, Black: Black dragonhide is thick and dull, with hard black scales covering it. Armor made from treated black dragonhide grants acid resistance 2.
Specially treated black dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Blue: Blue dragonhide has a glossy, indigo finish with small scales covering it. Armor made from treated blue dragonhide grants electricity resistance 2.
Specially treated blue dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Brass: Brass dragonhide has a warm, burnished look to it. Armor made from treated brass dragonhide grants fire resistance 2.
Specially treated brass dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Bronze: Bronze dragonhide is a rich bronze tone with hints of green throughout. Armor made from treated bronze dragonhide grants electricity resistance 2.
Specially treated bronze dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Copper: Copper dragonhide is a glossy, ruddy brown with hints of green. Armor made from treated copper dragonhide grants acid resistance 2.
Specially treated copper dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Gold: Gold dragonhide is a rich golden tone that seems to glow in light. Armor made from treated gold dragonhide grants fire resistance 2.
Specially treated gold dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Green: Green dragonhide is a deep forest green, with small ridges on the scales. Armor made from treated green dragonhide grants acid resistance 2.
Specially treated green dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Red: Red dragonhide is a deep scarlet tone with a dull, smooth finish. Armor made from treated red dragonhide grants fire resistance 2.
Specially treated red dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
Dragonhide, Silver: Silver dragonhide is mirror-like with a cold reflective glow. Armor made from treated silver dragonhide grants acid and cold resistance 2.
Specially treated silver dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +4,000 gp.
Dragonhide, White: White dragonhide is bright, almost mirror-like white, with touches of pale blue and light gray swirling throughout. Armor made from treated white dragonhide grants cold resistance 2.
Specially treated white dragonhide weighs the same as steel, has hardness 20, and has 40 hit points per inch of thickness.
Market Price Modifier: +2,000 gp.
 

"Originally Posted by Spatzimaus
kreynolds gave the book answers, but this is one of those things that screams HOUSE RULE!!!! to many people. If the only benefit of dragonhide is that druids can wear it, why bother?"

I wouldn't quite rate that as why bother. If your a druid, that's a huge benefit. In 3.0 you needed to pay 150,000 gold for that benefit.

As for darkwood isn't there a rule that says it only works on primarily wooden items? Or was that only in 3.0? Certainly it would make sense.
 

niteshade6 said:
As for darkwood isn't there a rule that says it only works on primarily wooden items? Or was that only in 3.0? Certainly it would make sense.

yup, the item has to be primarily made out of wood ... so bow's and crossbows might work, definitely a staff or club. And yup, that was in the 3.0 DMG (don't have 3.5).

making a mithril spear wouldn't make sense since it's only the spear point that gets changed (no weight change), making the shaft out of darkwood would lessen the weight though. (but iirc that would be the only bonus ... besides more weapon hp ... and sounding cool, a mithril headed darkwood spear anyone?)
 

okay, here's the stats for Leaf and DarkWood Armor from Dragon 279:

Leaf Armor: presented in Dragon 279
 Only non-metallic armors are affected (padded, leather, leather scale, hide, dhenuka)
 -5% Arcane Spell Failure
 +1 Max Dex
 -2 Armor Check Penalty
 +750gp Market Price

DarkWood Armor: presented in Dragon 279
 only metal armors affected
 ½ weight
 -5% ASF
 +1 Max Dex
 -2 ACP
 light +750gp; medium +2,250; heavy +6,000gp
 counts as Natural Armor
 

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