Mithril Armor and proficiency.

[PaulGreystoke]

I'd count a Mithril Breastplate as Medium Armor in regards to required proficiencies, Don/Doff time, & sleeping in it. It only counts as light armor for the purposes of base speed and feats/class abilities that require light armor (such as Ranger abilities).

Exactly how we run it too. A Mithril Breastplate may be as easy to manuever in as a regular Chain Shirt, but a character who only has Light Armor Proficiency stll doesn't know how to wear it effectively & thus takes the non-proficiency penalties.

Since this the Rules Forum, let's quote the rules.

SRD/Special Materials/Mithral:

"Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations."

(1) "Mithral" - I'm been misspelling this???

(2) Some people want to argue that "other limitations" includes proficiency/non-proficiency. But not having Medium Armor Proficiency is a limitation of the character, not of the armor itself. *shrug* Obviously not everyone agrees on this interpretation.

 

[Nifelhein]

I am sure there is a rule in the books about this, it is still a medium armor, the light armor thing is for purposes of weight and abilities only, which is already good enough, in my opinion...

I don't have the books with me, so I cannot point the actual rule, mayeb it was in the faq, who knows...

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I am sure there is a rule in the books about this, it is still a medium armor, the light armor thing is for purposes of weight and abilities only, which is already good enough, in my opinion...

I don't have the books with me, so I cannot point the actual rule, mayeb it was in the faq, who knows...

I checked the faq last night before I posted the original message, and there was nothing about it. Nor is it in the SRD that I could find... Sage' Advice maybe? Or perhaps I just missed it...

 

[Nifelhein]

I doubt that it is sage advice, I rarely do read any, as I don't have acess to dragon magazines here in Brazil, the portuguese one is a crap, maybe you have overlooked it or it is just in a not so obvious place, like it happens to some other rules, I will check it when I get home, promised.

 

[PaulGreystoke]

I checked the faq last night before I posted the original message, and there was nothing about it. Nor is it in the SRD that I could find... Sage' Advice maybe? Or perhaps I just missed it...

Nothing that I can recall either. But there is usually a thread about this subject every month or so, usually when a player of a Bard character scrapes up just enough GP for a Mithral Breastplate (or a Barbarian character for Mithral Fullplate) & is hoping not to have to spend a feat to use it effectively. So how is your Bard BTW?

But seriously, this is one of the grey areas in the rules where it is a DM judgement call. I know how I would rule it, but your DM may see it differently. Good luck.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I'm in the Light Armor camp, personally.

(1) "Mithral" - I'm been misspelling this???

Tolkien's metal was "mithril". D&D's is "mithral".

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Medium.

Why not just flat out say that Medium armor becomes Light and Heavy armor becomes Medium if they meant anything else? What is that special case the designer was thinking about that remains to be addressed?

To my mind it is completely clear that the intended meaning is to give the benefits of the lighter class of armor for things involving mobility (e.g. movement rate, Spring Attack restrictions, Ranger bonus feats, etc.).

 

[Jhulae]

Medium.

Why not just flat out say that Medium armor becomes Light and Heavy armor becomes Medium if they meant anything else? What is that special case the designer was thinking about that remains to be addressed?

To my mind it is completely clear that the intended meaning is to give the benefits of the lighter class of armor for things involving mobility (e.g. movement rate, Spring Attack restrictions, Ranger bonus feats, etc.).

Exactly.

 

[0-hr]

Tolkien's metal was "mithril". D&D's is "mithral".

And in the Scarred Lands, it's back to "Mithril"

From the SRD:

Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light.

I don't think that profficiency can be construed as a "limitation".

 

[Scharlata]

"Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations."

"... but light armors are still treated as light." DMG, p. 284

If it weren't that way, we would see classes without any armor proficiency, i.e. wizards, frolicking around in mithral chain shirts and shield spells without restrictions. So, I assume that special materials don't actually change armor proficiency prerequisites. The respective armor is just "treated as..." for "purposes of...", unless it says specifically otherwise.

Kind regards