Dwarv & Heavy Armor & Movement

[Horrendos]

Hiho,

i have the following question.

If a Dwarv Barbarian is wearing a Heavy Armor does he still gets the 10ft Movement-Bonus of the Barbarian?

There is the following Class-Feature described in the PHB:


"However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations)"

thx
Horrendos

 

[glass]

IMO no, the barbarians increased speed ability does not work in heavy armour.

The racial ability that a dwarf's speed is not reduced in heavy armour is irrelevent: it applies to the normal reduction that any character would get in heavy armour. It does not allow tha barbarian to use his increased speed in heavy armour any more than it would allow a dwarf ranger to use his combat path in heavy armour.


glass.

 

[Ballard_Alvar]

Hiho,

i have the following question.

If a Dwarv Barbarian is wearing a Heavy Armor does he still gets the 10ft Movement-Bonus of the Barbarian?

There is the following Class-Feature described in the PHB:


"However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations)"

thx
Horrendos

Unfortunately not, The Barbarian entry specifically mensions Lt and Med Armor. However keep in mind the dwarf is almost as good as human(in terms of speed). a human barbarian wearing breastplate moves at 35' and a dwarven barbarian moves at 30' because the base speed is calculated before the reduction - so he's not that far off. if they both have boots of springing/striding then the playing feild favors the dwarf.

 

[Wardo]

Unfortunately not, The Barbarian entry specifically mensions Lt and Med Armor. However keep in mind the dwarf is almost as good as human(in terms of speed). a human barbarian wearing breastplate moves at 35' and a dwarven barbarian moves at 30' because the base speed is calculated before the reduction - so he's not that far off. if they both have boots of springing/striding then the playing feild favors the dwarf.

DMG pg 20 lists the reduced speed for a base speed 40 creature to be 30, so shouldn't both the dwarf and the human be 30, since the dwarf gets no reduction from a breast plate?

 

[Krelios]

DMG pg 20 lists the reduced speed for a base speed 40 creature to be 30, so shouldn't both the dwarf and the human be 30, since the dwarf gets no reduction from a breast plate?

You're right, that's how it should work.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).


Fast Movement (Ex)

A barbarian’s land speed is faster than the norm for his race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the barbarian’s speed because of any load carried or armor worn.[emphasis mine]

DWARVES
Base (racial) = 20
+ Barbarian bonus (+10)
= 30

New Speed (30)
-penalty for breastplate (20 minimum for Dwarves, even in medium or heavy armor or with a medium or heavy load)
=20

HUMANS
Base (racial) = 30
+ Barbarian bonus (+10)
= 40

New Speed (40)
-penalty for breastplate (30 for characters with speed 40)
= 30

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

You calc'ed the human's speed incorrectly. His new speed, before armor calculations, is 40, not 30.

Accordingly, he should be moving faster than 20 feet.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

DMG pg 20 lists the reduced speed for a base speed 40 creature to be 30, so shouldn't both the dwarf and the human be 30, since the dwarf gets no reduction from a breast plate?

Strictly by the RAW, dwarves special ability is not that they get no reduction in speed from wearing medium or heavy armor, but that they can still move their normal (20') movement even if they are in medium or heavy armor.

The sound like they should be interchangeable, but they're not.

Dwarves aren't exempt from penalties to speed due to encumberance; they have a racial maximum to how significant an encumberance penalty they can suffer.

The average dwarf gets speed 20, regardless of encumberance.
A dwarven barbarian (naked) gets speed 30. (20+10)
A dwarven barbarian (in breastplate) gets speed 20. (20+10-10, to a minimum of 20).
A dwarven barbarian (in full plate) gets speed 20. (20+0[heavy armor negates class ability]-10, to a minimum of 20, but no running fast)

 

[Wardo]

Strictly by the RAW, dwarves special ability is not that they get no reduction in speed from wearing medium or heavy armor, but that they can still move their normal (20') movement even if they are in medium or heavy armor.

The sound like they should be interchangeable, but they're not.

Dwarves aren't exempt from penalties to speed due to encumberance; they have a racial maximum to how significant an encumberance penalty they can suffer.

The average dwarf gets speed 20, regardless of encumberance.
A dwarven barbarian (naked) gets speed 30. (20+10)
A dwarven barbarian (in breastplate) gets speed 20. (20+10-10, to a minimum of 20).
A dwarven barbarian (in full plate) gets speed 20. (20+0[heavy armor negates class ability]-10, to a minimum of 20, but no running fast)

Dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).

I agree, what you said above is what follows from the RAW text.

However, I imagine a generous DM could easily interpret "this speed" to mean their base speed, whatever that might be, putting the dwarf back to 30 in a breastplate.

 

[Krelios]

Dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).

This sentence explicitly says that a Dwarf's speed is not reduced due to heavy armor. If it's not reduced, than a Dwarf barbarian in medium armor is moving at 30'. To say that his movement is only 20' is to say that his speed is reduced by the armor he's wearing, which is obviously not the case.