So, I was *finally* getting a chance to look at the old Oriental Adventures book (the 3.0 one) and I saw a listing for two items that added their armor bonus on top of whatever existing armor you were wearing ( think i limited it to like 2 or 3 types of light armor, but that's not a big deal). And, in the Pathfinder Campain setting, there is an armored kilt that adds it's bonus to the existing armor you're wearing as well.
Are there any other items out there that have a similar effect, armor wise? Because I'm pretty sure our Warforged fighter would love to hear about it (he decided to stick with the regular composite plating and is kinda regretting the lack of armor bonus from it), plus I could see it helpful if he could lend out parts of his armor as the need arose.
Thanks in advance!
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On p. 211 of the Pathfinder Campaign setting, there's the Armored Kilt, meant to be added to some types of armor and also granting a +1 armor bonus. It's pretty harsh, 'though, and ups the weight class of the armor by 1 (light to med, med to heavy, can't be stacked with heavy armor).
The Dastana was, IMO, too good. The Armored Kilt, on the other hand, might be too bad...
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On p. 211 of the Pathfinder Campaign setting, there's the Armored Kilt, meant to be added to some types of armor and also granting a +1 armor bonus. It's pretty harsh, 'though, and ups the weight class of the armor by 1 (light to med, med to heavy, can't be stacked with heavy armor).
So a chain shirt + armored kilt is +5 AC, +4 max Dex, -2 armor check, and has a speed cap of 20'? That's not bad. Slightly better than a Breastplate (by 1 max Dex and 1 armor check). Unless the kilt affected armor check too?
and the fact that it is so much cheaper to enchant the armored kilt (or the dastana) then it is most mediuem armor, and that if you find better medium armor you can just switch over. And, at high levels, the enhancemnt won't stack on magic armor but the special abilities will *is very excited*
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On p. 211 of the Pathfinder Campaign setting, there's the Armored Kilt, meant to be added to some types of armor and also granting a +1 armor bonus. It's pretty harsh, 'though, and ups the weight class of the armor by 1 (light to med, med to heavy, can't be stacked with heavy armor).So a chain shirt + armored kilt is +5 AC, +4 max Dex, -2 armor check, and has a speed cap of 20'? That's not bad. Slightly better than a Breastplate (by 1 max Dex and 1 armor check). Unless the kilt affected armor check too?
Lowers Max Dex by one, but doesn't add anything to the Armor Check Penalty. Also weighs 15 lbs, which might be a concern to some.
I'd consider a house rule to make the Armored Kilt stack with the armor types specifically said to be breastplate / shirt only, so the Chain Shirt and Breastplate (and other non-core stuff).
Then again, I've got a houserule that Chain Shirts only give +3 armor bonus and Hide gives a +4. The Chain Shirt also feels 'too good' for my tastes and Hide armor feels 'too weak.' As a player, I'm all 'Woot! Mithral chain shirts for everyone!' But as a DM, my eye twitches when everyone and their Riding Dog Animal Companion is wearing a Chain Shirt (or Chain Shirt barding), because they love having being able to move 30' and have an armor bonus equal to or better than half of the Medium armors...
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Then again, I've got a houserule that Chain Shirts only give +3 armor bonus and Hide gives a +4. The Chain Shirt also feels 'too good' for my tastes and Hide armor feels 'too weak.' As a player, I'm all 'Woot! Mithral chain shirts for everyone!' But as a DM, my eye twitches when everyone and their Riding Dog Animal Companion is wearing a Chain Shirt (or Chain Shirt barding), because they love having being able to move 30' and have an armor bonus equal to or better than half of the Medium armors...
I'm thinking of solving the chain-shirt-free-for-all by reintroducing weapon types vs. armor rules from 2nd Edition. Chain shirt wearers get a penalty to AC against piercing weapons, and a bigger one against bludgeoning.
So I'm playing this in a little demo adventure right now (and breaking the rule about not dividing my attention between the game and the interwebs, but I think the Sorceror lost his spell sheet again, so I've got time)...
I'm using a 4th Fighter with MW Studded Leather, a +1 Armored Kilt, and MW Dastanas.
So if I'm correct, my Armor bonus is 6, no armor check, and my max dex is 5 and I'm treated as wearing medium armor. Add this to my +1 buckler and factor in my 15 dex and my AC=21. Not too shabby.
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So I'm playing this in a little demo adventure right now (and breaking the rule about not dividing my attention between the game and the interwebs, but I think the Sorceror lost his spell sheet again, so I've got time)...
I'm using a 4th Fighter with MW Studded Leather, a +1 Armored Kilt, and MW Dastanas.
So if I'm correct, my Armor bonus is 6, no armor check, and my max dex is 5 and I'm treated as wearing medium armor. Add this to my +1 buckler and factor in my 15 dex and my AC=21. Not too shabby.
That looks correct. Which is what Set and I are complaining about - a heavy-armor wearing fighter would need full plate and a heavy shield to match that AC (and have much lower Dex, a huge ACP, extra weight, and about the same cost). Plus, any character with medium armor can use your combo (or a character with light armor and 1 feat).
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That looks correct. Which is what Set and I are complaining about - a heavy-armor wearing fighter would need full plate and a heavy shield to match that AC (and have much lower Dex, a huge ACP, extra weight, and about the same cost). Plus, any character with medium armor can use your combo (or a character with light armor and 1 feat).I'm using a 4th Fighter with MW Studded Leather, a +1 Armored Kilt, and MW Dastanas.
So if I'm correct, my Armor bonus is 6, no armor check, and my max dex is 5 and I'm treated as wearing medium armor. Add this to my +1 buckler and factor in my 15 dex and my AC=21. Not too shabby.
It would be even more optimized if he was wearing a Chain Shirt (preferably a mithral one, might as well allow for eventual Dex-boosting items).
Due to the stacking rules for the armor / shield bonus to AC in 3.5, he'd only be able to benefit from an enhancement bonus to AC on his buckler and *one* of those three armor pieces, 'though. (I'd go with the Dastana or the Mithral Shirt. Easier to wear to bed.) If the rules allowed it, the uber-munchkin would have a +1 on each for low-low cost and a total +3 AC. :)
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I seem to remember some type of armor in the 3.5 Planar Handbook which could be broken down to smaller armor types requiring fewer armor proficicencies but providing less protection. I'll have to take a look when I get home. Anyway, whatever book its in, I'll post its information(if I can find it). You could then use that as the basis for altering almost all armor types to work as modular armor. Well, within logic and reason, that is; some armor types could be delt with like this, some probably couldn't.
For instance, the Chain Shirt could be seen as part of the Chainmail Suit. And if in a hurry, one could merely put on the shirt and run out to battle
The description of the Breastplate in the PHB mentions that "A light suit or skirt of studded leather beneath the breastplate protects your limbs without restricting movement much.", so one could argue that the breastplate(with accompanying helmet and greaves) are a second layer over Studded Leather armor. Furthermore, the description of Half-Plate PHB states all that it includes, and seems to sound like it would be the "next step up" from the Breastplate. That is, if you had armor work in this fashion.
You could argue that Plate Mail Armour is a piecemeal armor anyway - if you just wear the breastplate, it corresponds to that type of D&D Armor. By adding, say, a neckpiece and some leg and arm guards (forgive me, but I´m not fluent in the english vocabulary for these), you might arrive at D&D Plate Mail. To have a Full Plate, you need to encase pretty much all of the body in steel, from head to toe. This could be achieved by adding the corresponding parts.
(As an aside, from LARPing I know that someone wearing plate mail is not necessarily slower than someone else - I witnessed a Plate Mail wearing fighter running after some unarmored goblins and catching them, when they had about 20-30 metres head start in a forest. It is more tiring to wear armor, however.)
Stefan