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Paizo / Messageboards / Paizo Publishing / Pathfinder® / Pathfinder RPG / Rules Questions / Archives / Elven Chain and other questions     Recent Posts
Elven Chain and other questions
Osirion Endier1,

30 Sczarni-thug avatar

Elven chain
Someone can explain me why that specific armor costs 5150 gp and not 4150 gp?

Is really +1000 gp for use the light armor proficiency or that's an errata?

And another question. Can you add a new ability or upgrade the enhancement of a specific weapon or armor? Can you make a Celestial armor +4 or a Holy Flame Tongue?

Thanks!!!!

Dennis da Ogre,

57-Psionics-Maenad avatar

Endier1 wrote:
Elven chain
Someone can explain me why that specific armor costs 5150 gp and not 4150 gp?

Is really +1000 gp for use the light armor proficiency or that's an errata?


Elven chain is treated as light armor in all ways. To use normal mithril chain you need medium armor proficiency or you suffer armor check penalties. The 1000gp is because the elven chain allows characters such as bards, barbarians, and rogues to use light armor without non-proficiency penalties.

PRD wrote:
Nonproficient with Armor Worn: A character who wears armor and/or uses a shield with which he is not proficient takes the armor's (and/or shield's) armor check penalty on attack rolls as well as on all Dex- and Strength-based ability and skill checks. The penalty for nonproficiency with armor stacks with the penalty for shields.

Andoran The Grandfather,

Market Ambush Hlf Pg High 2 avatar

Endier1 wrote:
Elven chain
Someone can explain me why that specific armor costs 5150 gp and not 4150 gp?

Is really +1000 gp for use the light armor proficiency or that's an errata?

And another question. Can you add a new ability or upgrade the enhancement of a specific weapon or armor? Can you make a Celestial armor +4 or a Holy Flame Tongue?

Thanks!!!!


I honestly think the Elven Chain entry is a mistake. The Price corresponds to a +1 mithril chainmail. Otherwise it should be 1000gp cheaper.

You can definitely increase the abilities of special magic items.
+4 celestial armor should cost 29400gp
Holy flame tongue should cost 36715gp

Dennis da Ogre,

57-Psionics-Maenad avatar

Elven chain gives an armor bonus of +6 so it compares to a mirthril shirt +2 not +1. Coincidentally a mithril shirt +2 costs 5100gp, seems like pretty decent pricing to me.

When you start enchanting the elven chain the elven chain really starts to shine. If you add a +1 enchantment to a elven chain would be 6,150gp versus a +3 chain shirt which would cost 10,100... the gap only gets bigger as you up the enchantment.

The obvious downside to elven chain is the max dex (+4), armor check penalties, and spell failure, otherwise it's a steal. Good stuff for a barbarian or a ranger though (though rangers are cool with medium armor now also).

Andoran The Grandfather,

Market Ambush Hlf Pg High 2 avatar

Dennis da Ogre wrote:
Elven chain gives an armor bonus of +6 so it compares to a mirthril shirt +2 not +1. Coincidentally a mithril shirt +2 costs 5100gp, seems like pretty decent pricing to me.

When you start enchanting the elven chain the elven chain really starts to shine. If you add a +1 enchantment to a elven chain would be 6,150gp versus a +3 chain shirt which would cost 10,100... the gap only gets bigger as you up the enchantment.

The obvious downside to elven chain is the max dex (+4), armor check penalties, and spell failure, otherwise it's a steal. Good stuff for a barbarian or a ranger though (though rangers are cool with medium armor now also).


Elven chain is in all senses a mithril chainmail.
Medium mithril armor is price +4000gp and the price should therefore only be 4150gp by the rules for special materials.
Whet is fair and how a GM adjudicates that is another matter.
In the end it also depends on the character wearing the armor. Can they explait their dex mod. better. Do they need a low armor pen. etc...

Osirion James Risner (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Chronicles, Pathfinder Companion Subscriber),

TSR 95053-38 avatar

The Grandfather wrote:
I honestly think the Elven Chain entry is a mistake. Otherwise it should be 1000gp cheaper.

It is not a mistake, the extra 1000 gp is for the "can be used as Light instead of Medium" proficiency feature.

Dennis da Ogre,

57-Psionics-Maenad avatar

The Grandfather wrote:
Elven chain is in all senses a mithril chainmail.
Medium mithril armor is price +4000gp and the price should therefore only be 4150gp by the rules for special materials.
Whet is fair and how a GM adjudicates that is another matter.
In the end it also depends on the character wearing the armor. Can they explait their dex mod. better. Do they need a low armor pen. etc...

No, it is not in "all senses" mithril chainmail. If you are not proficient in medium armor you take non-proficiency penalties for wearing mithril chainmail but not when wearing elven chain. You can certainly make mithril chainmail and charge 4150gp for it. Elven chainmail is a specific exception to the armor proficiency rule for mithril and priced as such.

Note: my example above was actually not very good because rangers and barbarians are better off with the cheaper mithril chainmail since they are proficient with medium armor. The big beneficiaries of elven chain are rogues and bards or anyone who is limited to light armor proficiency.

Andoran The Grandfather,

Market Ambush Hlf Pg High 2 avatar

James Risner wrote:
The Grandfather wrote:
I honestly think the Elven Chain entry is a mistake. Otherwise it should be 1000gp cheaper.

It is not a mistake, the extra 1000 gp is for the "can be used as Light instead of Medium" proficiency feature.

Thats absolutely right. I stand corrected.
That is a change compared to 3.5, is it not? As I remeber 3.5 mithril it would also reduce the level of proficiency the armor required.

Osirion Endier1,

30 Sczarni-thug avatar

Thanks for your help!

I can see now than the elven chain isn't simply a chain of mithril as it was at 3.5. That I don't know is if someone will make a normal chain mail of mithril when they can do this armor for only 1000 gp more.

It's making a rule (mithril doesn't reduce the proficiency) and breaking it immediately.

Thanks again!

Andoran Callarek,

292 avatar

Endier1 wrote:
Thanks for your help!

I can see now than the elven chain isn't simply a chain of mithril as it was at 3.5. That I don't know is if someone will make a normal chain mail of mithril when they can do this armor for only 1000 gp more.

It's making a rule (mithril doesn't reduce the proficiency) and breaking it immediately.

Thanks again!


Probably not. If you can handle mithril chainmail, you would probably go for mithril breastplate instead. That is my Fighter's plan, after all. Then again, he is an archer-type, so has a high Dex...

Andoran The Grandfather,

Market Ambush Hlf Pg High 2 avatar

Endier1 wrote:
Thanks for your help!

I can see now than the elven chain isn't simply a chain of mithril as it was at 3.5. That I don't know is if someone will make a normal chain mail of mithril when they can do this armor for only 1000 gp more.

It's making a rule (mithril doesn't reduce the proficiency) and breaking it immediately.

Thanks again!


Actually elven chain has never realy been worth considering as both mithril chain shirts and mithril breast plates are far supperior. With this new feature, some characters might actually find elven chain useful. Though normal mithril chain mails will probably not be very common.

Osirion James Risner (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Chronicles, Pathfinder Companion Subscriber),

TSR 95053-38 avatar

The Grandfather wrote:
That is a change compared to 3.5, is it not? As I remeber 3.5 mithril it would also reduce the level of proficiency the armor required.

Yes, and No. In the 3.5 FAQ they said the rules say you still need proficiency, but what they recommend (and what is simplest) is to forget about the proficiency requirement.

So Yes, in 3.5 "most" people used it ignoring proficiency.
But No, by RAW proficiency was not officially considered a "limitation."

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