Instant armor is made of force. According to the spell description, "Instant armor acts in all ways as armor typical of its type (armor bonus, maximum Dexterity bonus, arcane spell failure chance, and so on)".
IMO, maximum dexterity bonus and arcane spell failure chance do not really imply weight, just the constraint due to the force presence/existence.
I would go for no weight but the "and so on" clause bothers me...
'In all ways' definitely states, to me, that it includes weight. The fact that the spell is only on the lists of classes that regularly use armor reinforces that.
Your point is pretty logic.
Thank you, Zhayne
I don't think it does. It is a magical energy affect, and not an object.
How do you interpret "in all ways"?
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While it exists, this armor replaces any garments or other sort of armor worn, magical as well as mundane.
So following the same logic, "it replaces" mean that its weight will replace the weight of the worn garments/armor?
And "any garment" include cloaks, shirts, gloves etc., i.e the items in the Armor, Body, Chest, Hands and Shoulders slots?I will go for the reductive interpretation, no added weight (but the weight of the items it replace still count) and only stuff in the armor slot get replaced.
So, "in all ways" means "not really in very many ways at all", then.
It really is clear cut, in ALL ways, If you were standing there wearing the regular suit of armor, This is the exact same state you find yourself in after casting the spell.
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So, "in all ways" means "not really in very many ways at all", then.
Simply pointing out that in the spell description there a are a bit too many generalizations.
You exchange the force armor for all your garments, included magical ones.
That would remove cloaks, gloves, vests and so on, making the "armor" an item that use 5 magic items slots.
Then, as it replace the stuff you will have to recalculate the weight of all equipment you are carrying. Not a big problem generally, as garments weight little generally, but still a possible problem, but if you are wearing an armor it can make a perceptible difference.
The effect of the spell change noticeably if you are following the rules about weight encumbrance or if you are only ballparking your total encumbrance and saying "I am wearing medium armor so I am suffering from medium encumbrance".
As SKR (and probably other Devs too) do the latter it is highly probable that they haven't even considered the question of the weight of the force armor.
BTW, I hope you aren't using that spell while in a very cold location. Exchanging your cold-weather outfit and all your garments for a force armor that work in all ways a metal one could be very painful.
Edit:
"At your option, the armor can be decorated with your religion's holy symbol in a prominent place, such as upon the breastplate or helm."
6 magic item slots. It has a helm, so it replace items in your head slots too.
Compare the text of Instant Armor vs. Mage Armor.
Typically, one reads the universal statement ("in all ways"), then interprets the contradicting statements as exceptions--specific trumps general. Otherwise, there would always be some contradiction, and the entire rule in question would be impossible to adjudicate without just making everything up.
There's no statement about instant armor's weight that either clarifies the intent or contradicts the universal statement, so we fall back to the universal statement--"in all ways".
The statement about working against incorporeal creatures does contradict the universal statement. Specific trumps general, so the effectiveness against incorporeal creatures can be taken at face value as an exception.