MIC: Ironward Diamond....Overpowered?

[KarinsDad]

Many sources indicate that WotC disagrees with you.

Many?

Could you perhaps list 3? Preferably from WotC themselves?


Where is there a stance by WotC that mithral full plate is medium armor?

 

[hong]

Where is there a stance by WotC that mithral full plate is medium armor?

Where is there a stance by WotC that it isn't?

 

[KarinsDad]

Where is there a stance by WotC that it isn't?

RAW. Core rules state that it is treated as medium under certain circumstances. It does not state under all circumstances.

 

[James McMurray]

I'll ask again, since it seems to have been lost in the back and forth repetitiveness:

Karinsdad, beyond "I'm adding this phrase" which you've already admitted to doing, do you have anything?

 

[Cheiromancer]

Say a greater ironward diamond is applied to a set of mithral full plate. The question is, what DR does the wielder get? The possible answers are

1. DR 5/-. The mithral full plate retains the advantages of being heavy armor, and one of those advantages is getting full DR from the GID.

2. DR 3/-. The mithral full plate has the limitations of medium armor, and one of those limitations is that you get DR 3/- from the GID (it acts like a lesser ironward diamond when attached to medium armor).

Is this a correct summary? If so, what about this third possibility:

3. DR 8/-. The benefit of being heavy armor stacks with the limitation of being medium armor. Both 1 and 2 are simultaneously true. Since the DR of a GID stacks with comparable DRs, both 1 and 2 apply.

 

[Stalker0]

Well even if you can't attach the GIWD, you can always do the next one down, and have mithral full plate with 3/- DR...the best of both materials.

 

[James McMurray]

Well even if you can't attach the GIWD, you can always do the next one down, and have mithral full plate with 3/- DR...the best of both materials.

And the base armor (not including the +3 enhancement bonus) is comparable in price to adamantine armor by itself. No MIC handy to tell the exact price on the middle level crystal, so I don't know how close to equal they are.

 

[MarkB]

Many?

Could you perhaps list 3? Preferably from WotC themselves?


Where is there a stance by WotC that mithral full plate is medium armor?

From the 3.5 FAQ:

Is a character proficient with light armor, such as a
rogue, considered to be proficient with mithral breastplate?
What about a character proficient with medium armor,
such as a barbarian—is he considered proficient with
mithral full plate armor?
The description of mithral on page 284 of the Dungeon
Master’s Guide is less precise than it could be in defining how
it interacts with armor proficiency rules. The simplest answer—
and the one that the Sage expects most players and DMs use—
is that mithral armor is treated as one category lighter for all
purposes, including proficiency. This isn’t exactly what the
Dungeon Master’s Guide says, but it’s a reasonable
interpretation of the intent of the rule (and it’s supported by a
number of precedents, including the descriptions of various
specific mithral armors described on page 220 of the Dungeon
Master’s Guide and a variety of NPC stat blocks).​

I've highlighted the relevant part of the answer.

 

[KarinsDad]

From the 3.5 FAQ:

Is a character proficient with light armor, such as a
rogue, considered to be proficient with mithral breastplate?
What about a character proficient with medium armor,
such as a barbarian—is he considered proficient with
mithral full plate armor?
The description of mithral on page 284 of the Dungeon
Master’s Guide is less precise than it could be in defining how
it interacts with armor proficiency rules. The simplest answer—
and the one that the Sage expects most players and DMs use—
is that mithral armor is treated as one category lighter for all
purposes, including proficiency. This isn’t exactly what the
Dungeon Master’s Guide says, but it’s a reasonable
interpretation of the intent of the rule (and it’s supported by a
number of precedents, including the descriptions of various
specific mithral armors described on page 220 of the Dungeon
Master’s Guide and a variety of NPC stat blocks).​

I've highlighted the relevant part of the answer.

I've highlighted the relevant part of the answer.

The point is that RAW does not directly support this interpretation and WotC has yet to errata it. Your own quote here even admits to that.

And the NPC stat blocks and the specific mithral armors described in the DMG support RAW as much as they support this interpretation (i.e. there is no differences between the two for what is written for these).

 

[James McMurray]

LOL, another "Sure, WotC added it to the official FAQ, as their official response to a frequently asked question, but it's not really official" post.