PFS: what's the deal with "eastern" weapons and armor?

[Krunchyfrogg]

Do you need any special qualifications to choose this stuff in your starting equipment?

I'm specifically looking at four-mirror armor. Not knowing what it is, I looked it up on Bing (Bing Rewards FTW!), and the description says it was historically worn in both Asia and Europe. Weird.

[Arachnofiend]

No. The eastern weapon/armor stats were created pretty specifically for Jade Regent and other than flavor works identically to the western equipment. For four-mirror armor you need medium armor proficiency, nothing more.

[Matt2VK]

PFS -
The eastern weapons and armor is 'somewhat' better then the core versions. They do have minor trade offs to get there 'better' status but those trade offs usually have little to no in-game effect.

Some of the negative trade offs -
item has a heavier weight
slightly higher cost
armor allows a lower DEX modifier

are examples of what the minor 'trade-offs' can be. As stated above, very little in-game negative effects for the bonuses you can get.

[Starglim]

You have to bring your copy of Ultimate Combat, or the applicable pages, to each PFS game. Some boons and traits make a distinction. Otherwise an "eastern" martial weapon or medium armour can be used equally well by an Inner Sea character with the appropriate proficiency and is equally available to buy in large cities.

[Elder Basilisk]

Advantages of eastern armors:
Light armors: haramaki or silken ceremonial armor offers a +1 armor bonus with no armor check or arcane spell failure.
Who cares? Wizards, Kensai magus
Otherwise: core armors (chain shirt, padded, leather, studded leather) are as good or better

Medium armors:
Kikko. Can be made mithral for 10% arcane spell failure, no armor check penalty with +5 armor bonus.
Who cares? Characters who are not proficient in medium armor find it a step up from a mithral chain shirt.
Four mirror armor: cheap starter armor-1 point better than scale.
Who cares? Characters with medium or heavy armor proficiency-for one or two levels. Then they can buy what they really want.
Otherwise: agile breastplate is the best medium armor and regular breastplate is as good as anything on the eastern list (and a but cheaper).

Heavy armors:
Tatami do and o yori offer the same AC as fullplate if you have a +3 or +2 dex bonus. This is a slight advantage because the increased max Dec applies to touch AC too.
Who cares? Really, no one. If you wear heavy armor in PFS, you probably have a +1 dex bonus and even if you have more, mithral diplomate is better than mithral eastern armors unless you have a +4 or +5 Dec bonus. You almost certainly don't have that. And if you do and are a fighter, armor training gives increased max Dec so fullplate is still better

[Akerlof]

Elder Basilisk wrote:

Heavy armors:
Tatami do and o yori offer the same AC as fullplate if you have a +3 or +2 dex bonus. This is a slight advantage because the increased max Dec applies to touch AC too.
Who cares? Really, no one. If you wear heavy armor in PFS, you probably have a +1 dex bonus and even if you have more, mithral diplomate is better than mithral eastern armors unless you have a +4 or +5 Dec bonus. You almost certainly don't have that. And if you do and are a fighter, armor training gives increased max Dec so fullplate is still better

Fighter Archers care: They should be at +6 or +7 Dex by the time they can afford a Mithral heavy armor, and even with Armor Training they outscale the Dex bonus of Full Plate. Also, PFS generally cuts off by 12, so you don't generally get into the really expensive stuff like Celestial Armor.

But yes, that's a corner case. Usually I see Lamellar, Kikko or Four Mirror armor for new characters that can't afford Chain Shirts or Breastplates, and occasionally Mithral Kikko for characters with only light armor proficiency. Not much outside of that. Oh, and Wild Stone Plate for Druids, but I don't think that's technically an eastern armor.