PHB Armors in 3.x

[Mark CMG]

What PHB armors have you used for PCs in 3.x games (and why)?


(You can choose as many as apply!)

 

[Drowbane]

Leather
Studded Leather
Chainshirt
Breastplate
Fullplate


Why? (opinions might follow )

Padded: too lame to contemplate (Leather is barely better).
Hide: too lame to contemplate
Scalemail: good for poor PCs.
Chainmail: breastplate is just better.
Splintmail: OA did it better ("great armor" +7 / +2)
Halfplate: real plate is just better.

 

[pawsplay]

The only one I haven't used is scale, which was historically rare. It normally shows up on hobgoblins and that's it.

OOPS. I just remembered, I gave scale mail to an island culture, too.

Unless you're holding a trident, or a scimitar, or are a hobgoblin, you have no business wearing scale.

Lots of bad guy monsters wear hide, and magical hide and leather is a good way of equipping monsters without throwing around too much armor that absolutely everyone in the party will want. Magical studded leather inevitibly results in some tense negotiations.

 

[Drowbane]

nevermind

 

[Kralin Thornberry]

Leather
Studded Leather
Chainshirt
Chain armor
halfplate

Mainly I use lighter armor since my characters tend to be rogues.

I have used half plate w/ my dwarven fighter/cleric/runecaster though

 

[diaglo]

all of the light and medium ones.

i haven't had a PC wear halfplate, splint, or banded. but i have recovered them off my dead foes. and then sold them.

it really depends on my PC concept.

 

[KB9JMQ]

Well just about any non-heavy.
I tend to avoid heavy armor like the plague. Just never fits my concepts.

 

[lukelightning]

I think if they renamed/redefined padded armor as "light leather" or something, people might actually use it.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Monte Cook lamented the utter failure of armor types once, and its true. Past level 2-3, theres like 4 armor types (padded, mithril chain shirt, breastplate, full plate). The others are NPC fluff. Who the hell wears banded mail? Better yet, what moron ENCHANTS crap like banded mail, scale mail, etc? Its like owning a corvette without a CD player. If you can afford magic armor, you can afford a base armor type that doesnt suck. Half Plate +1 is more expensive and worse than regular full plate.

I dont understand the PC concept of a guy who runs around in scale mail. Sort of like the SWAT team guy who shows up without his vest because he's "cool" or the fireman who decides the helmet messes up his hair.

 

[hong]

Monte Cook lamented the utter failure of armor types once, and its true. Past level 2-3, theres like 4 armor types (padded, mithril chain shirt, breastplate, full plate). The others are NPC fluff. Who the hell wears banded mail? Better yet, what moron ENCHANTS crap like banded mail, scale mail, etc? Its like owning a corvette without a CD player. If you can afford magic armor, you can afford a base armor type that doesnt suck. Half Plate +1 is more expensive and worse than regular full plate.

I dont understand the PC concept of a guy who runs around in scale mail. Sort of like the SWAT team guy who shows up without his vest because he's "cool" or the fireman who decides the helmet messes up his hair.

Lighten up, Francis.