R&C - Armor proficiencies

[Bishmon]

I've seen this briefly mentioned, but figured I'd give a bit of detail. According to Races & Classes, armor proficiencies look something like this:

Clothing - Wizards
Leather - Rogues, Warlocks
Hide - Rangers, Druids, Barbarians
Chain - Clerics, Warlords
Scale -
Plate - Fighters, Paladins

Shields - Fighters, Paladins, Warlords

Those seem to be the new armor categories and the highest category of armor each class can wear (without taking feats). Clerics might get the shield proficiency also since a lot of the cleric art depicts them with shields, but I didn't read any mention of it. Characters that aren't proficient with shields will be able to get enchanted bracers and vambraces that provide similar benefits to shields.

Oh, and to be clear, the barbarian and druid were mentioned in the armor section but there's no indication they will be in the initial PHB.

They seem to be putting a lot of focus into the armors, especially within each category. There's numerous mentions of special materials, signature racial armors, etc.

 

[Mad Mac]

I like what they seem to be doing with armors, although I'm a bit suprised that Scale is better than Chain. The really nice thing about having clothing count as armor is that it allows you to balance Monks and Mages using similar armor assumptions as all the other classes instead of stiffing them with badly overpriced and slot hogging wonderous items like Bracers of Armor.

Plate is going to be a lot better than heavy clothes of course, but magic/upgraded versions will scale smoothly against each-other. Throw in implements for Mages and you've got a system where all the classes are using the same improved armor and weapon curve to keep the underlying math nice and smooth. They just need to come up with a weapon equivelent (Gauntlets?) for Monks when they come out and it's all good.

I'm digging all the special material armors as well.

 

[BarkingDeathSquirrel]

Interesting... I really hate to say this, but I have to, but WoW, if my memory serves me right, divides armor similarly (Cloth, Leather, Chain, Plate and Shields). Of course, so did the Might and Magic games well before WoW was even in beta testing. Same armor categories as WoW too, at least in the later games (haven't played much of the ones before Might and Magic 6).

It is a nice way to ensure that classes that shouldn't be wearing very heavy armor don't, and those that should do. It also makes it easier to balance the different armor types as well, making sure that each has a use rather than the chain shirt/breastplate/full plate (and maybe Padded/Leather if their Dex is high enough) effect that goes on in 3.5 currently.

As long as the division isn't arbitrary and it is possible for a class to invest in higher armor proficiencies, I'm okay with these armor categories.

 

[Stalker0]

My guess is that your 1st level will determine your armor proficiencies permanently, but you can spend feats to gain more proficiencies. So now a ranger could use all his ranger powers in full plate, provided he's willing to cough up the proficiencies

 

[Sir Brennen]

While R&C does mention those armors by name, I didn't get the impression that they were the new categories of armor. It seems that "heavy armor" has been cited as if it were still a category in some of the blogs or preview articles.

 

[frankthedm]

The really nice thing about having clothing count as armor is that it allows you to balance Monks and Mages using similar armor assumptions as all the other classes instead of stiffing them with badly overpriced and slot hogging wonderous items like Bracers of Armor.

The Bracers of armor were no more expensive than if it was legal to enhance clothing with plusses. Hell, since the bracers gave you fields of force for the armor, that was like giving the +3 armor mod of ghost touch for free.

ANd what do you mean slot hogging? Bracers are one slot, armor was also the robe slot. It was an even trade.