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So, looks like AMH is up on the SRD. Good news! Let's check it out!
Okay, well, there are three decent armor training buffs... the rest... why am I giving up armor for skills? Ugh. Okay. Let's look at the feats.
Armor Focus (Combat)
Your familiarity with a specific type of armor increases the amount of protection you receive from it.
Prerequisite(s): Base attack bonus +1, proficiency with selected armor.
Benefit(s): Select one type of armor, such as chain shirt or splint mail. The AC bonus granted by the selected armor increases by 1.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new type of armor. The Armor Focus feat counts as the armor training class feature for the purpose of armor mastery feat prerequisites and determines what types of armor you can use with armor mastery feats.
Okay, so someone might look between Weapon Focus and this and say, "WOW, that's perfect!"
But, to me this looks absolutely terrible.
See, I have seen this feat before. In fact, I was a huge fan of it. I love me some heavily armored characters. I love me my mandalorians and spice marines. So, let's look at this old 3e feat from the Star Wars RPG.
Armor Familiarity
You are accustomed to wearing a particular suit or type of armor and are less hindered by it due to experience.
Prerequisite: Proficient in the selected armor.
Benefit: When wearing a single type of armor, such as padded battle armor, all armor check penalties are reduced by 1 and your maximum Dexterity bonus to Defense increases by 1.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, its effects applies to a different type of armor.
Okay, so the first thing that stands out is a much less uniform and more interesting name.
The second thing is that the benefit here is almost strictly better. We get Armor Training. Just, straight up Armor Training as a feat. No problems.
Is this broken?
No, it only applies to a singular set of armor. And as we all know, a feat should be roughly two traits. Let's look at some traits now.
Defender of the Society (Fighter, Society)
Your time spent fighting and studying the greatest warriors of the society has taught you new defensive skills while wearing armor.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus to Armor Class when wearing medium or heavy armor.
Armor Expert
You have worn armor as long as you can remember, either as part of your training to become a knight's squire or simply because you were seeking to emulate a hero. Your childhood armor wasn't the real thing as far as protection, but it did encumber you as much as real armor would have, and you've grown used to moving in such suits with relative grace.
Benefit: When you wear armor of any sort, reduce that suit's armor check penalty by 1, to a minimum check penalty of 0.
Okay, so yes. Defender of the Society is by far on the upper end of traits and these can't both be taken. Still, it establishes a power baseline. And there is that drawback included of only one set of armor.
Remember, Armor Familiarity comes from a game where the power curve was much lower. This is an age where Dodge was against 1 guy. And it served a perfectly fine and balanced part in that game.
Now, we step into a modern age and... Offense > Defense. I'm sorry, but that's how the game works. Weapon Focus for Armor is TERRIBLE as a standalone feat. Basically, you are paying half a feat now for AAT later. And I don't think being able to take Advanced Armor Training should be worth half of my feat. It really shouldn't. There are only two Armor Training class features on par with this. One of which, Master Armorer, fails to note that you can use it without armor on so have fun crafting your OP armor while always wearing your armor suit kids!
Sigh.
I suppose I would be happy with it if it gave effective Fighter levels for the improvements of AAT. But, I can't see how written it would. If there was a line saying your effective Fighter level for the purposes of feats count as your Fighter levels... Yea, then Martials could have nice things.
EDIT: Sorry, I had a moment of wishful thinking there. Of course it would be even worse than letting you get Advanced Armor Training. I really wanted to pretend this feat had a point.
Basically/TL;DR: Why does Improved Armor Focus exist as a separate feat at all? The second effect of Improved Armor Focus doesn't even do anything as written. Why??? I don't get it.
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So a feat (Armor Focus) is worth about 1/8 of a trait (Defender of the Society).
Who said martials can have nice things?
It would seem to depend on how good the armor mastery feats are. Hopefully those actually are a thing.
It would seem to depend on how good the armor mastery feats are. Hopefully those actually are a thing.
...ya know, now that you mention that I realize I am an idiot and this does not qualify you for Advanced Armor Training.
...I wanted this to have SOME redeeming factors.
It would seem to depend on how good the armor mastery feats are. Hopefully those actually are a thing.
Honestly, the only one I can see that is good is Secured Armor, which gives you a 25% chance to ignore crits and SA that stacks with light and moderate fortification.
Maybe. At the least its pretty clear neither of those feats is actually intended for a fighter.
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Who said martials can have nice things?
I said martials can't have nice things.
Move along, citizen.
Maybe. At the least its pretty clear neither of those feats is actually intended for a fighter.
Exactly. They're feat taxes for non-fighters to take armor mastery feats.
It would seem to depend on how good the armor mastery feats are. Hopefully those actually are a thing.Honestly, the only one I can see that is good is Secured Armor, which gives you a 25% chance to ignore crits and SA that stacks with light and moderate fortification.
Can anyone link or at least list the names of all of them so we can consider?
Can anyone link or at least list the names of all of them so we can consider?It would seem to depend on how good the armor mastery feats are. Hopefully those actually are a thing.Honestly, the only one I can see that is good is Secured Armor, which gives you a 25% chance to ignore crits and SA that stacks with light and moderate fortification.
Ya, this would be nice. I'll admit, I made this point off first impressions and am having trouble finding them. (Though I find it hard to see how any of them can save this... Half of weapon specialization I can understand, but this is so... much less than that.)
Armor Expert + Mithral + Improved Armor Focus gives you 1 ACP full plate with up to 13 AC before magic. That's.. something? Maybe?
I can't even find Secured Armor on the site. Maybe they aren't finished processing the AMH.
Armor Expert + Mithral + Improved Armor Focus gives you 1 ACP full plate with up to 13 AC before magic. That's.. something? Maybe?
Why not take Sargavan Guard too and have 0 ACP full plate?
The advance armor training is kind of garbage. You get a decent boost in skill points and no longer need dex. Fighter can kind of ROFL over slayer now.
...Why not just buy Mithral Celestial Plate?
Or in a game with a stricter DM, simply avoid wasting a trait and two Feats on basically nothing.
Armor Expert + Mithral + Improved Armor Focus gives you 1 ACP full plate with up to 13 AC before magic. That's.. something? Maybe?Why not take Sargavan Guard too and have 0 ACP full plate?
Because I didn't know that trait existed. Cool.
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So a feat (Armor Focus) is worth about 1/8 of a trait (Defender of the Society).
Who said martials can have nice things?
1. most characters only wear a single type of armor; having to choose is not really a limitation.
2. Armor Training does not increase AC. Armor Focus allows for a higher AC, if the character invests in dexterity.
2. Armor Training does not increase AC. Armor Focus allows for a higher AC, if the character invests in dexterity.
I'm not sure you got your names right there. Armor Focus and Defender of the Society both allow for a higher AC.
Defender of the society can only be taken by fighters and this feat is very much not meant for fighters.
Armor focus aside, there's some great stuff in that book. Our polearm-wielding dwarven fighter had over 40 AC at level 13 as well as DR6/- and he hit like a truck.