Yet Another Armor Revision, Good Heavens (YAARGH), v2
Armor Types
Armor is broken into Flexible and Rigid.
Flexible armor can typically be worn by anyone, and is roughly equivalent to very heavy clothing (sometimes
very heavy). Mail is the ultimate expression (and heaviest) of pre-modern flexible armor, but is generally too heavy for consideration by most spellcasters, rogues and bards. Flexible armor replaces the Light Armor Proficiency feat (although the armor sometimes crosses into what used to be Medium Armor).
Rigid armor provides maximized protection at the expense of clothing-like flexibility. A lot of agility is given up in return for hard defense and complete coverage, from protected joints to reinforcing structure. Rigid armor replaces the Medium and Heavy Armor Proficiency feats.
Barbarians, bards, rogues and others limited to "light" armor for certain special abilities are now limited to "flexible" armor.
Armor is also broken into sub-classifications of light, medium and heavy. This has no impact on proficiency, however, it is simply a measure of the armor design - light armor is designed for minimum interference with movement (within the limitations of its type, flexible or rigid), at the expense of actual protection; heavy armor is designed for maximum weight an protection within the limitations of its type, and consequently sacrifices some mobility.
Armor Check, Spell Failure, Dex Modifier and Movement
The following is an optional set of rules. The armor check, max Dex and spell failure are precalculated in the basic armors section if you prefer not to mess with this stuff.
Armor Check Penalty: Your base check penalty is +0 for flexible armor and -1 for rigid armor.
If the armor is 5 lbs or less, reduce the check penalty by 1 (so 3 lbs of rigid armor would have a check penalty of +0). If the armor is 6-10 lbs, leave the check penalty as is. For each doubling thereafter, increase the check penalty by 1 (so 40 lbs of rigid armor would have a check penalty of -3).
A positive check penalty is treated as +0.
Arcane Spell Failure: The arcane spell failure percentage is equal to 10% per check penalty. So a check penalty of -3 results in a spell failure 30%.
DEX Modifier: This is a measure of how much the armor impacts the character's ability to dodge. Use the following chart to determine how much the DEX bonus to AC is impacted:
Code:
[color=skyblue][u]General Class Flexible Rigid[/u]
Light no effect no effect
Medium no effect bonus x1/2
Heavy bonus x1/2 bonus x1/4[/color]
Round fractions of a bonus DOWN. Thus for a 16 DEX while wearing Heavy Flexible armor (x1/2), the normal +3 Dex bonus to AC changes to a +1 Dex bonus.
Movement: Armor which provides a DEX Modifier of 1/2 or worse also limits your ability to move quickly. At 1/2 DEX, the character's movement is reduced to 2/3 normal (30 ft becomes 20 ft). At 1/4, the character loses the ability to run (although double moves are still possible).
Strength, Size and Armor Check Penalties: The system doesn't normally account for the impact strength or size has on how limiting armor is. If you would prefer that it did, use the following rules of thumb:
Size
Fine: treat weight as x16 for check penalties
Diminutive: treat weight as x8 for check penalties
Tiny: treat weight as x4 for check penalties
Small: treat weight as x2 for check penalties
Large: treat weight as x1/2 for check penalties
Huge: treat weight as x1/4 for check penalties
Gargantuan: treat weight as x1/8 for check penalties
Collossal: treat weight as x1/16 for check penalties
Strength
1: treat weight as x8 for check penalties
2: treat weight as x4 for check penalties
3-5: treat weight as x2 for check penalties
6-14: x1
15-19: x1/2
20-24: x1/4
25-29: x1/8
per +5: x1/2 more
Example: A gargantuan giant with STR 30 would multiply the armor weight by 1/128 when calculating armor check penalty. So if the armor weighed 2,560 lbs and was flexible, it would count as 20 lbs and have a -1 check.
The above does not have any impact on the general class of the armor (light, medium, heavy).
Basic Armors
Code:
[color=skyblue]
[u]Armor Type AC DR CHK DEX Wiz Wt GP[/u]
Minimal Armor Flex +1 0/- +0 same 0% 10 1
Light Flexible Flex +1 1/- -1 same 10% 20 5
Medium Flexible Flex +2 1/- -1 same 10% 30 15
Light Rigid Rigid +2 2/- -2 same 20% 30 25
Heavy Flexible Flex +3 2/- -2 1/2 20% 40 40
Medium Rigid Rigid +3 3/- -3 1/3 30% 40 60
Heavy Rigid Rigid +4 3/- -4 1/4 40% 50 80
Maximum Armor Rigid +4 4/- -4 1/4 40% 65 200[/color]
Note on pricing: The pricing above assumes a reasonably skilled crafter who works on the armor for the amount of time indicated in the core rulebooks (using the core rulebook prices); and an amount of raw materials as indicated by the armor's weight (rather than the "half sale value" equation). This is the minimum sale price that would still be profitable to the artisan in a sensible economy, rather than the actual price an adventurer might expect to pay. King's Taxes on sales, merchant markup, guild-controlled profit rates (and quality!), import costs for distant armorers, can all add up to higher prices. Maximum Armor, in particular, can be driven to sky high prices by the competitive desires of the nobility, as well as the travel costs to make sure it is appropriately fitted to the noble for whom it is made.
However, this may all be more complicated than one might prefer. As an alternative, here are prices which are game-balanced in accordance with the core rulebooks, rather than economically derived:
Minimal Armor: 5 gp
Light Flexible: 10 gp
Medium Flexible: 15 gp
Light Rigid: 40 gp
Heavy Flexible: 50 gp
Medium Rigid: 150 gp
Heavy Rigid: 250 gp
Maximum Armor: 600 gp
Mundane Modifications
Partial Rigid: Flexible armors can be enhanced with small plates, studs, interlaced bands of metal (or wood) and so on. In general, this does not improve its ability to absorb impact significantly enough for a system effect, but it does improve the ability of the armor to cause a glancing blow to miss. This adds +1 AC, adds +5 lbs of weight, and costs +5 gp. The armor is still considered flexible.
Spiked: Spikes can be added to any armor. They deal 1d6 points of piercing damage (X2 crit) with a successful grapple attack. The spikes count as a martial weapon. If a character is not proficient with them, the character suffers a -4 penalty on grapple checks when trying to use them. A regular melee attack (or off-hand attack) can be made with the spikes, and they count as a light weapon in this case. Spikes
reduce AC by -1, add +10 lbs, and cost +20 gp.
Fitted: Armor can be fitted to a character, to better suit his movements. Fitted armor only counts as fitted for the person it was fitted for, but this can be changed by a competent armorer with one day per base armor check penalty. Fitted armor costs 1 gp per day required to "fit" it, and reduces the final armor check penalty by 1 point. It has no effect on the DEX modifier, but it does impact arcane spell failure.
Masterwork: Masterwork armor is maximized in efficiency and grace of design; the maker has crafted it with utmost attention to each detail of armor design. Treat as fitted (for anyone that can wear the armor), reduce the DEX modifier by one step (so x1/4 becomes x1/2, and x1/2 becomes "no effect"), and
triple the final cost.
Size: Each size smaller than Medium quarters weight and cost. Each size larger than Medium quadruples weight and cost. Note that a Large Masterwork armor is a total of x12 cost (the multipliers are applied separately).
Torso Only: Armor which only covers the torso reduces AC by -1, and halves weight and cost. This reduces the armor check penalty by 1, and reduces the DEX modifier by one step (so x1/4 becomes x1/2, and x1/2 becomes "no effect").
Plated: Metal armors can be plated in another metal, usually tin, silver or gold, to make them more attractive and flashy. Tin costs 25 gp; silver costs 100 gp; gold costs 1,000 gp. This cost is affected normally by size, torso only and no helmet modifiers, but is not affected by any other modifications.
Materials
Generic Exceptional Materials: This is a "universal" modifier; individual campaigns may have specific exceptional materials which vary from this formula. By default, however, exceptional materials halve the weight of the armor (and thus reduces the armor check penalty) and multiplies the final price by x5. A Large Masterwork armor made of exceptional materials will cost x60 (the multipliers are applied separately). For example, mithral, masterwork maximum armor would have these stats: (Rigid, AC +4, DR 4/-, 35 lbs, 3,000 GP) (CHK -2, Arcane 20%, DEX x1/2). This can be applied to any armor (silk for cloth armor, basilisk skin for 'studded' soft leather, and so on).
Non-generic Example: Fire Silk: Fire silk is made from the coccoons of a silkwyrm (a Large burrowing insect vaguely resembling a caterpillar with a triceratops skull) found only in the Burning Desert. The silk is difficult to aquire, but highly valued. Aside from being used in the dresses of court, it can also be used as part of the padded cloth worn under virtually all armor types. It can be added, aftermarket, to any armor - it costs 2,000 GP, reduces the armor's weight by 5 lbs, and provides Fire Resistance 10.
Poor Materials: Often due to a lack of better raw materials, lower technology, religious issues, etc., an area might use sub-optimal armor materials, such as iron, bronze, wood, horse leather, etc. This can be represented by reducing DR (for fragile or easily pierced materials), reducing AC (for rough or poorly hewn materials), or increasing weight/armor check penalties (for soft metals and similar).
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