I'm looking at Light, Medium, and Heavy armors and am unable to distinguish why the Breastplate appears so often in different builds.
Any ideas?
Because with the trait "Armor expert", which reduces ACP by 1, a mithral breastplate gives you 0 ACP (and thus no penalty for non-proficiency, or any other skill check involving dex/str). It's pretty significant in a lot of cases, especially sneaky rangers.
Also far more classes get medium armor than get heavy armor and breast plate is the best medium armor you can get.
and classes like barbarian for instance can use class abilities like fast movement with medium armor but not heavy.
and if you are a dex based build it allows you to make the best use of your dex for AC. (special armors not included)
Mithral breast plate is where its at. You get all the benefits of having light armor(full speed!), and possibly no ACP. You also happen to have the 2nd best armor you can have and its not extremely expensive like a full plate is. What's to complain a bout, eh?
As others have said, its the best Medium armor. That means all classes that get medium armor usually want to use it. In addition as mentioned, mithral breastplate has lots of benefits, including counting as light armor and have low or no armor check penalties.
Although if you have the opportunity, Agile Mithral Breast Plate is better than Mithral Breast Plate. Without armor training, it's ACP is 0 for climb, and even with it, it's 5 lbs lighter (saving you another 2.5 lbs). Some high dex/low str builds scrimp for every pound. And for a 200 gp difference, it's worth saving 2.5 pounds to pay the extra 200 gp.
Only 4 classes could not find much use for a mithraled breastplate: sorcerer, wizard, witch, and flurry based monks. Since it counts as light armor for everything other than proficiency, it can be effectively worn even by the other arcane spell casters without a problem.
A mithral breastplate is also easy to keep on since it counts as light and thus you can sleep in it without a problem. Convenient if you GM likes to do night raids.
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Never understood it, I'm more of a buttplate man myself.
Thank you, I can't believe nobody had mentioned boobplate yet. Canned goodness!
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I agree the breastpate IS wonderful, but I'd like to point out that the Named item "Eleven Chain" is ALSO wonderful. The latter IS light armor for ALL purposes, including proficiency. Its the armour of choice for bards and any others with no spell failure chance while in light armour.
Except if you have Armor Expert, then the mithral breastplate is better as there's no longer any nonproficiency penalty.
Sure, but that's a trait spent. And there is still arcane spell failure chance.
For arcane spell casters who don't actually wear armor yeah... Those guys weren't exactly pouncing on a chain shirt of full plate either.
Only 4 classes could not find much use for a mithraled breastplate: sorcerer, wizard, witch, and flurry based monks. Since it counts as light armor for everything other than proficiency, it can be effectively worn even by the other arcane spell casters without a problem.
A mithral breastplate is also easy to keep on since it counts as light and thus you can sleep in it without a problem. Convenient if you GM likes to do night raids.
Five sir. Druids aren't much interested in the metal armors. Now a nice Darkwood Breastplate.
Sure, but that's a trait spent. And there is still arcane spell failure chance.For arcane spell casters who don't actually wear armor yeah... Those guys weren't exactly pouncing on a chain shirt of full plate either.
Yeah, those guys stick to haramakis and mithral bucklers! Maybe a gauntlet too.
Five sir. Druids aren't much interested in the metal armors.
Never mind how ridiculous that is. Metal is in the ground, it's every bit as natural as wood and leather.
Five sir. Druids aren't much interested in the metal armors.Never mind how ridiculous that is. Metal is in the ground, it's every bit as natural as wood and leather.
But how will the druid cast if he's not covered in mistletoe and leaves and tree bard? You aren't telling me someone can revere nature and not look like a wild man are you?
Yes... its a silly restriction imo. They spend a lot of time without armor anyway though.
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Five sir. Druids aren't much interested in the metal armors.Never mind how ridiculous that is. Metal is in the ground, it's every bit as natural as wood and leather.But how will the druid cast if he's not covered in mistletoe and leaves and tree bard? You aren't telling me someone can revere nature and not look like a wild man are you?
Yes... its a silly restriction imo. They spend a lot of time without armor anyway though.
If the druid is covered with mistletoe, leaves, and a bard, then they should really get a hotel room, and I don't want to know what spells from the Tome of Blue Magic he or she's casting.
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If the druid is covered with mistletoe, leaves, and a bard, then they should really get a hotel room, and I don't want to know what spells from the Tome of Blue Magic he or she's casting.Five sir. Druids aren't much interested in the metal armors.Never mind how ridiculous that is. Metal is in the ground, it's every bit as natural as wood and leather.But how will the druid cast if he's not covered in mistletoe and leaves and tree bard? You aren't telling me someone can revere nature and not look like a wild man are you?
Yes... its a silly restriction imo. They spend a lot of time without armor anyway though.
He's actually getting prepared for Christmas. He's the Christmas tree this year.
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Never mind how ridiculous that is. Metal is in the ground, it's every bit as natural as wood and leather.
Five sir. Druids aren't much interested in the metal armors.
Well, the amount of shift from natural animal to leather is somewhat as dramatic as the shift of ore to steel. Similar magnitudes it seems.
Tanning is hardly as natural as druids would lead you to believe. It is a long and complicated process with a lot of chemistry involved (done in the the good old medieval fashion of curing with dung and urine...yeah...). Just read up of old fashioned practices (the wikipedia article on tanning is definitely in enough loving, disgusting detail), and you can start to see that "all natural" doesn't mean much.
I think the idea is that druids are more connected with "natural life" than other classes, so that all of their stuff has to come from "once-living" things (plants and animals - or fungus or bacteria in a far-flung futuristic settings with advanced science).
However, in many ways, that's even creepier. Because in a druid's view, then, they're constantly wearing corpses. No, I'm sorry, taxidermied pieces of corpses. All. The. Time. :/
It's worth noting that - the hermit crab aside (which uses a non-living mineral shell, more akin to stone - and thus metal - than wood in some ways), I can't really think of another creature that takes living creatures' stuff and wraps it around itself.
Except for that zombie fungus that control ants and other parasites. But that's another thing altogether.
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Never mind how ridiculous that is. Metal is in the ground, it's every bit as natural as wood and leather.
Five sir. Druids aren't much interested in the metal armors.Well, the amount of shift from natural animal to leather is somewhat as dramatic as the shift of ore to steel. Similar magnitudes it seems.
Tanning is hardly as natural as druids would lead you to believe. It is a long and complicated process with a lot of chemistry involved (done in the the good old medieval fashion of curing with dung and urine...yeah...). Just read up of old fashioned practices (the wikipedia article on tanning is definitely in enough loving, disgusting detail), and you can start to see that "all natural" doesn't mean much.
What's not natural about pee and poop?
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Except for that zombie fungus that control ants and other parasites. But that's another thing altogether.
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Totally unrelated to breastplates, but fun fact about pathfinder, there is a fungoid template for pathfinder, and it turns its user chaotic evil... And into a plant.
Totally unrelated to breastplates, but fun fact about pathfinder, there is a fungoid template for pathfinder, and it turns its user chaotic evil... And into a plant.
Cool. Now we can adapt Resident Evil 4 to Pathfinder. And Resident Evil 5. And Resident... Uh... Let's stop at number 5.
What's not natural about pee and poop?
What is not natural about melting rocks? It happens all the time underground. You can really stretch the definition of metal and steel like that.
But I was leaning more towards how some foods have the term "all natural" when that really means that they replaced a certain percentage of your bread with wood. It is natural, but you are hardly getting anything pleasant. It is the little nasty details you forget in your society where people get large fines if the clothes you sell smell like a latrine.
What's not natural about pee and poop?What is not natural about melting rocks? It happens all the time underground. You can really stretch the definition of metal and steel like that.
But I was leaning more towards how some foods have the term "all natural" when that really means that they replaced a certain percentage of your bread with wood. It is natural, but you are hardly getting anything pleasant. It is the little nasty details you forget in your society where people get large fines if the clothes you sell smell like a latrine.
I never said metal was unnatural. I simply disagreed that your example of medieval tanning was unnatural.
(Personal opinion, what they probably meant was organic more than natural)
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I hate the 'modern' perversion of the term... organic food is redundant repetition.
If it weren't for people perverting languages English would have never come to exist in the first place.
Look at it's structure and origin. English is a complete bastard of a language.
Nothing on this planet is inorganic, by one definition.
What definition would that be?
How is Technetium organic?
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I hate the 'modern' perversion of the term... organic food is redundant repetition.If it weren't for people perverting languages English would have never come to exist in the first place.
Look at it's structure and origin. English is a complete bastard of a language.
Hey! I'm standing right here! : )
Seriously, the sheer number of influences on the English language gives it an extremely rich vocabulary, because if a 'foreign' word gets adopted into English, and that thing also has its own English word already, then one or both words will alter to mean something different.
For example, before the Norman Conquest the native word for (non-berry) fruit was 'apple'. When the new fangled French word 'fruit' appeared, the old word changed its meaning to apply only to the most common fruit around at the time, the apple.
Another beneficial side effect of mixing languages was that, like most languages, objects had a gender. French has female televisions! But different languages had different genders assigned to the same objects. This very soon led to the abandonment of gender for objects that don't actually have a gender, which was a good thing. Now, all that remains is the female gender applied to vehicles (especially ships) and, poetically, nations.
On topic, the breastplate is the most popular medium armour because its armour bonus of +6 combined with its max Dex of +3 combines to a category best of +9. Only full plate has a higher combined bonus, and few classes can use full plate without penalty.
The existence of mithral means that it also becomes the best light armour, and its -1 ACP can either be reduced easily or ignored as insignificant.
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Nothing on this planet is inorganic, by one definition.
By the traditional definition, nothing we eat is inorganic.
I hate the 'modern' perversion of the term... organic food is redundant repetition.
The chemistry definition of organic and inorganic disagree with you. Technically, water is an inorganic compound. The rule of thumb is, if it contains carbon in a molecular form, it is organic, otherwise it is inorganic.
I agree however that the "organic" food marketing label is using the word inappropriately. Pesticides and fertilisers that "organic" bans are, themselves, organic compounds!
All Natural - many poisons are completely natural.
Low Sodium - by FDA fiat means only 25% less sodium chloride than the standard version of something. It can still have way more sodium chloride than any person should ever consume.
Low Calorie - same misleading 25% less than the standard version.
Organic - my table is organic, the oil in my lawn mower is organic, my sock, and a rubber band are all organic. Doesn't mean they are healthy for me to eat.
Etc...
Unfortunately, using these terms in advertising works.
sigh...
a rubber band are all organic
Actually, that makes chewing gum rather organic. Yeah, synthetic rubber is in gum. Originally wasn't, but it has been for the past 50 yeahs. Well... hardly "organic", but it is organic according to definition 1 and 7 I suppose
Also, may I say that I love the oddball direction this thread is taking?
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I agree the breastpate IS wonderful, but I'd like to point out that the Named item "Eleven Chain" is ALSO wonderful. The latter IS light armor for ALL purposes, including proficiency. Its the armour of choice for bards and any others with no spell failure chance while in light armour.
The problem with elven chain is that dextrous fighters can't use the PFS trait Defender of the Society with it for a free point of AC while wearing medium or heavy armor. (Elven is a specific named item, and light. MB, otoh, is still medium armor.)
Natural is a worse offender than organic. I have a very difficult time imagining putting in additives that are NOT natural. Would it mean supernatural additives? Paranormal flour?
Did I ever tellyou guys about the time I saw an ad for acerbic-acid-free vitamin C?
The problem with elven chain is that dextrous fighters can't use the PFS trait Defender of the Society with it for a free point of AC while wearing medium or heavy armor. (Elven is a specific named item, and light. MB, otoh, is still medium armor.)
Noooope. MB is light armor that requires medium armor proficiency. That's it.
As for Elven Chain...Mithral Agile Breastplate is 750 gp cheaper, has Max Dex +5 (rather than +4), ACP -1 (rather than -2), and weighs 12.5 pounds (rather than 20), significant benefits all in all. But sure, there's a place for Elven Chain.