D&D 5E Magic armor and special materials

[TheLoneRanger1979]

Hey ya, it's been a long absence (so was from my game), but you know how it's like when RL kicks in. Anyways, to make to long story short. Any of the lore masters around here know how 5E handles magic items and special materials? I mean just regular +n enchantment bonus on a special material crafted item? Say a mithral or adamantine armor, but with a +1 enchantment? Is it legal? Are there rules for it?

Thanks in advance and good hunting!

 

[TallIan]

Mithral armour negate the disadvantage to stealth normally caused by heavy armour, adamantine armour protects you from critical hits. If you wanted to add +n on top of that the DMG has rules for making your own magical items on page 284.

 

[Oofta]

As TallIan stated, there are Mithral and Adamantine uncommon armor. There is no +n Mithral armor, and all magical armor (with pluses) is rare, while magical shields are uncommon.

So if you allow enchanted armor with special qualities it should probably be at least very rare.

Having said that, in my experience, allowing +n armor is not necessarily a good idea depending on your campaign and goals. A fighter in +1 full plate with a +1 shield and protection fighting style is going to be hard to hit, even worse if they have a ring of protection or similar.

There's nothing wrong with that of course, just be aware that PCs can get ACs that are quite a bit higher than just about any opponents they face even before you start throwing in magical pluses.

When I create magical armor I give it different capabilities than +n to AC and instead focus on other cool and slightly useful effects. There are some general guidelines in the DMG, personally I just take a look through the list of items (or older edition items) for inspiration.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Mephista]

In my game, magical materials are how you create any magical item in the first place. None of this "wizard casts Fireball into the sword to make a flametongue" nonsense. Go dive into the Underdark to get magical minerals, go kill that dragon to get the heart's blood to temper your new weapon in, go march into the heart of a volcano to forge the blade in.

 

[jaelis]

Any of the lore masters around here know how 5E handles magic items and special materials? I mean just regular +n enchantment bonus on a special material crafted item? Say a mithral or adamantine armor, but with a +1 enchantment? Is it legal? Are there rules for it?

This is all at the DM's discretion, so do whatever you like. It is not like 3e where special materials tended to have their own codified rules.

 

[Blue]

By the book (which you can easily go beyond), special materials for armor are their own magic items. There's already a bit of push that +X items aren't as needed, and many DMs like being able to give out a special ability instead of a math bonus that gets worked in once then forgotten about.

That said, if you want magic armors of special materials, go for it. I'd suggest that they are one level rarer then a non-special material. Though you may want to go two - not only is it an uncommon item in it's own sake, but now you're "overloading" both a special ability an an AC bonus in the same equipment slot which is very efficient.

 

[TheLoneRanger1979]

...if you allow enchanted armor with special qualities it should probably be at least very rare.

Having said that, in my experience, allowing +n armor is not necessarily a good idea depending on your campaign and goals. A fighter in +1 full plate with a +1 shield and protection fighting style is going to be hard to hit, even worse if they have a ring of protection or similar.

By the book (which you can easily go beyond), special materials for armor are their own magic items. There's already a bit of push that +X items aren't as needed, and many DMs like being able to give out a special ability instead of a math bonus that gets worked in once then forgotten about.

That said, if you want magic armors of special materials, go for it. I'd suggest that they are one level rarer then a non-special material. Though you may want to go two - not only is it an uncommon item in it's own sake, but now you're "overloading" both a special ability an an AC bonus in the same equipment slot which is very efficient.

I would definitely go for at least a very rare item. And i would not like it to be something uber powerful, like a +1 adamantine full plate. I was thinking more in line of something utilitarian with a bit of a back ground lore fluff. Something like a mithral chainmail +1. Mithral and chainmal so it can be worn under garments and +1 so the wearer isn't condemned to a 16AC. In universe, it is supposed to me the armor of a group of special forces type of soldiers, that are still mostly melee, but do favor covert tactics and stealth. So a 17AC, plus maybe coupled with another item of protection and maybe a defensive style (for higher level fighters) could top it up at 19. Strong yes, but i don't think it's over the top for a 10-14 level character?

In my game, magical materials are how you create any magical item in the first place. None of this "wizard casts Fireball into the sword to make a flametongue" nonsense. Go dive into the Underdark to get magical minerals, go kill that dragon to get the heart's blood to temper your new weapon in, go march into the heart of a volcano to forge the blade in.

Oh yes, this is what i would go for as well. I just don't run this particular game, however the DM is fairly cooperative and encourages us to work with him on world building. Otherwise i am all of special questing instead of generic loot mechanics when rewarding special items!

 

[Gadget]

Just a quick cautionary note to add to the others: magical AC enhancing armors are probably going to play havoc with Bounded Accuracy in this edition, depending on your game style and the work the DM is willing to put in. Hit Points and Damage are the scaling markers of combat prowess in 5e, with attack bonus somewhat less so. And AC even less than that. This is what makes hordes of lesser opponents somewhat of a threat: They can still hit, but their lesser damage and the greater hit points of the PCs allow them to absorb to a large degree unless gained up on. Shooting AC too high returns to previous Edition's flavor of ignoring the 'lesser trash' as if they are gnats. Unless, of course, that is what you want. I mean it is still an issue in 5e if the level difference is to great, but is at least somewhat mitigated.

 

[Kalshane]

I was going to say elven chain is an example of magical armor made out of a special material, but then re-read the description and realized it doesn't actually say it's made of mithral.

But I do agree that magical armor that increases AC is the thing most-likely to break Bounded Accuracy. I had a couple of characters in my 1st 5E campaign that had ACs of 23 by the end and they were practically unhittable by anything that wasn't super powerful.

I'm being more careful in my current campaign. The PCs just hit level 7 and the only defensive items they have found are a suit of elven chain and a tunic that grants poison resistance and boosts the barbarian's unarmored AC by 1. Everything else they've found is either a weapon or a support item. Even without magic the sword-and-board paladin is still managing to rock an AC of 21 due to Defensive Style and gets hit extremely rarely.

 

[Oofta]

I was going to say elven chain is an example of magical armor made out of a special material, but then re-read the description and realized it doesn't actually say it's made of mithral.

But I do agree that magical armor that increases AC is the thing most-likely to break Bounded Accuracy. I had a couple of characters in my 1st 5E campaign that had ACs of 23 by the end and they were practically unhittable by anything that wasn't super powerful.

I'm being more careful in my current campaign. The PCs just hit level 7 and the only defensive items they have found are a suit of elven chain and a tunic that grants poison resistance and boosts the barbarian's unarmored AC by 1. Everything else they've found is either a weapon or a support item. Even without magic the sword-and-board paladin is still managing to rock an AC of 21 due to Defensive Style and gets hit extremely rarely.

Only an 23? In my wife's (soon to end, sadly) campaign I'm low man on the totem pole because my character can "only" get to a 24 AC when I use my Shield spell. But yes, high ACs can get a little silly.

Personally for my campaign, I've decided that flavor is more fun than pluses anyway. A shield that was crafted from sun touched metal that glows on command and once per day casts the DayLight spell may not be any more powerful than a driftglobe, but for the paladin that worships a god of the sun it has more flavor than just a "+1 shield".

In addition I may add other features as the characters get to a higher level, and the character begins to understand how to use the full power of the item. So later on it may gain the ability to shine so bright that it blinds opponents when the daylight is first activated.