D&D 5E O Plate Mail, Where art Thou?

[Remathilis]

You could play as a Barbarian or a Monk and have it by level 8 (or possibly even 4), if you wanted to.
Having plate unavailable at or after that level would be unnecessarily punitive to the classes that could use it, unless you compensate in some other fashion.

Sure, you could devote your two highest scores* (15, 14) to Dex and Con/Wis, pick a race that grants boosts to them (hill dwarf, human, half-elf, etc) and then devote both your stat bumps to it, then sure, you can have two 18s and have an 18 AC. However, that's a huge amount of resources, as well as the cost of not raising your other scores (such as Str for the bbn) or picking any feats until 12th level.

To be honest, slapping 1500 gp down sounds a lot easier to get an 18 than that!

Doable =/= easy. There are lots of Doable ways to get an 18+ AC. None of them are easy. They require high scores, feats, class features, or lots of GP (or magic). And almost all of them cost you in the offensive category in some way. Seems a fair trade.

I just despise this idea that having plate as rare is "nerfing fighters" I got sick of equipment as players right two editions ago...

* Standard Array. Customized scores could get you a little closer, and rolled scores are "all bets off"

 

[I'm A Banana]

Yeah, I gotta say, gp is a more plentiful game resource than ability score points -- it's easier to get 1500 of the former than it is to get 18 of the latter. And, in a party-focused game, giving, say, the Fighter or the Paladin full-plate is going to be a party benefit (that is, giving the dude who attracts attention a high AC rewards everyone who DOESN'T attract attention). For a fighter who wants to make good use of it, it's something you can sell the whole group on stockpiling for before 11th level.

I imagine it doesn't always "look" that way because 1500 gp is something you get by playing the game, but an 18 Dex is something you can get without rolling a single die.

 

[LabyrinthLord718]

My 2 cp on the matter is: if the character can afford it and find someone to make it, why not allow it??

Given its expense and (by extension) relative rarity, I would be very concerned as a player with plate from a story perspective.

A small village with an evil faction, cult, or contingent would be eyeing the plate for what it is: a mobile treasure horde. What would stop them from poisoning the character's food or drink in order to steal it? As the charcter moves around, his reputation may not be known by his deeds, but by his fancy duds. I can hardly see this character getting the drop on the BBEG without his knowing about the movable tuna can and preparing spells and traps specifically designed to deshell the player.

 

[juggerulez]

The main issue here is that plated armours are something crafted on demand, like a suit from a tailor, thus being it custom made to fit perfectly the body of the owner, its cost rises accordingly. Cheaper suits of armour can be manufactured to fit several body types (like in the old times, when blacksmith had to craft pieces "en masse" to fit an army) thus it's really common to come by.

Imho, if it costs more than 100gp, chances are that you won't be able to don a found suit of armor. you will have to visit a blacksmith (or do the work by yourself during your own downtime) to retrofit it.
100gp is the limit threshold of uncommon items

 

[dmnqwk]

Magical Items in general in 5th edition are not handled very well, with Table D offering 7th level scrolls before Table F giving us the first sight of a +1 Shield. Plate Mail at 1500gp is an extension of this issue wherein 5th edition has not paid enough attention to power levels of magical items, which leads to discussions like this one where there is no possible answer even a majority are likely to agree on.

A Level 5 Treasure Hoard is worth around 4000gp, most likely designed for a party of 4, so it's safe to assume once your character has defeated a level 5-8 Dragon they can begin trying to purchase Full Plate, since expensive spell components don't quite begin yet and it's a useful party investment for the meatshield to have. (Provided they're not being foolish and using a 2handed weapon with it, because then it's just a waste giving them an AC of 18 with a D12 weapon over an AC of 19 with a shield and a D8 weapon)

 

[juggerulez]

well, the books were often flawed in regard of inventory itemization... do you remember when a 10ft pole would sell for the same amount you needed to buy a 10ft ladder, which consists of 2 10ft poles and some rungs? :v

 

[Staffan]

That's some nifty thread necromancy here!

Magical Items in general in 5th edition are not handled very well, with Table D offering 7th level scrolls before Table F giving us the first sight of a +1 Shield.

Magic armor is intentionally kept rare, with armor generally being one level higher in rarity than an equivalent-bonus weapon (though shields are on par with weapons - a nifty side benefit of not using two-handed weapons). This is vital to the idea of bounded accuracy - if you want to keep orcs in large numbers a relevant threat at higher levels, you need to keep PC AC manageable. In 3.5e, an orc has a +4 attack bonus, and you can generally score AC 24 (meaning the orc needs a 20 to hit you) by level 3 or 4. In 5e you're probably going to stay at AC 19 (20 with Defensive style) until at least level 7-8, and the orc has +5 to hit - so about one in three orc attacks will hit. That makes orcs a credible threat, which is Working As Intended.

 

[Aenorgreen]

At level 7 your wizard buddy can whip you up a suit of Plate in 10 minutes (if he has the tool proficiency) using Fabricate.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

(Sorry, didn't notice this thread was necro'ed.)

 

[juggerulez]

Yes, I did the necroing
A player of mine found this thread while we were discussing the same issue at our table and it felt right to contribute by sharing our point of view since you guys provided yours