What would happen if you tried to wear, say, 2 chainmail tunics at once (would be hard but I have heard of people doing it in real life)? I was thinking maybe you would get half the bonus of the second tunic but twice the dex penalty and maybe slows you down more (due to how hard I imagine it would be to actually move wearing that).
By the rules they're both "Armour bonuses" which means they won't stack. There are rules for "piecemeal armour" (which is kinda what you're talking about) but i don't remember them off the top of my head. Also they're optional rules, so ask your gm before using them
There's also armor modifications. Double-plating might be like wearing a couple of suits of armour.
Just by the rules there's someone whose character in my current game wears a mithral chain shirt and a suit of eelskin leather (the magic item, not the special material).
Ruleswise, you wont gain benefits from wearing two armors.
Not in AC over the best of the two but that let him switch to underwater mode instantly. Though I now remember he's switched to celestial armor.
Basically.
There are some very corner case things that could be brought up where wearing two sets of armor could be beneficial, but they're very specific cases.
In general, the advice I would tell people is you will gain no benefit.
Is there any logical reason why? I mean, you would think wearing 2 things that protect you from harm would provide more protection than just 1. Game balance aside, whats the explanation?
Bonus question, Could you wear magic cloth "armor" (i.e regular clothes with +5 enhancement bonus) under your normal armor and get a benefit?
Is there any logical reason why? I mean, you would think wearing 2 things that protect you from harm would provide more protection than just 1. Game balance aside, whats the explanation?
Bonus question, Could you wear magic cloth "armor" (i.e regular clothes with +5 enhancement bonus) under your normal armor and get a benefit?
1) The system mechanics are very clear: like bonuses (armor and armor) do not stack, unless otherwise stated (generally dodge and circumstance, in most cases). Even if one or both of the armors are nonmagical (and therefore sidestep the slot rule).
2) See 1. +0 "armor" with a +5 enhancement grants a +5 armor bonus, which does not stack with the armor bonus granted from the normal armor. An enhancement bonus is not a "floating" bonus; it is modifying a specific item or characteristic (ability score, natural armor, etc.).
Now, you could have a custom suit of "double-layer" chain mail made (similar to how some armors have plates over a layer of chain mail or leather; or hide armor can be made of multiple layers of leather instead of thick hide from a tough beast). However, just like four mirror armor or half-plate don't add the bonuses of a suit of chain mail and a breastplate, the resultant armor bonus is not just adding the bonuses from a chain shirt and chain mail; I'd probably treat it as if it were mountain pattern armor or tatami-do.
wouldn't the +5 underpants provide an enhancement bonus, while they armor you're wearing over it be an equipment bonus? So they would stack?
wouldn't the +5 underpants provide an enhancement bonus, while they armor you're wearing over it be an equipment bonus? So they would stack?See 2 in my post above:
An enhancement bonus is not a "floating" bonus; it is modifying a specific item or characteristic (ability score, natural armor, etc.).
In other words, the +5 enhancement bonus is to the armor bonus provided by the underpants. The underpants provide a +5 total armor bonus (+0 plus the +5 enhancement) as one specific item; the enhancement bonus is to the underpants, not the suit of armor being worn over it.
In history it was quite common to wear armor in layers. Beneath plate armor, for example, would be a layer a chainmail, and beneath that would be a padded gambeson. The chain would give an extra layer of protection, and the gambeson would be a layer of padding and also some protection. If a player did that, I would let them stack the AC bonuses, and the penalties too. Because it makes sense, and has history to back it up.
Wearing two chain shirts one atop the other, however, does not make any sense, in history or in fantasy.
If this were an issue at my table I would say that the armor penalties stack and give the player a +1 to their AC if they put on a silk shirt between the two chain tunics. The Mongols did something similar with their armor, and anyone who has heard of Genghis Khan knows that it worked well enough for them.
Please note that's just how I would rule on the issue in my game and not anything official.
This metal suit comprises multiple pieces of interconnected and overlaying metal plates, incorporating the benefits of numerous types of lesser armor. A complete suit of full plate (or platemail, as it is often called) includes gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a visored helmet, and a thick layer of padding that is worn underneath the armor.
I think it's assumed that someone wearing Full Plate DOES have chainmail underneath.
@ Dragonchess Player: What I'm saying is I think (show me if I'm wrong) the underpants and real armor provide 2 DIFFERENT types of bonuses, which unlike 2 of the same type (in which case the higher bonus applies) the 2 bonuses do stack.
This would only work if the magic underpants were a wondrous magic item that provided an AC bonus of another type, such as natural armor or luck.
Isn't an enhancement bonus (on armor) different from an equipment bonus (what mundane armor gives)?
In history it was quite common to wear armor in layers. Beneath plate armor, for example, would be a layer a chainmail, and beneath that would be a padded gambeson. The chain would give an extra layer of protection, and the gambeson would be a layer of padding and also some protection. If a player did that, I would let them stack the AC bonuses, and the penalties too. Because it makes sense, and has history to back it up.
Wearing two chain shirts one atop the other, however, does not make any sense, in history or in fantasy.
If this were an issue at my table I would say that the armor penalties stack and give the player a +1 to their AC if they put on a silk shirt between the two chain tunics. The Mongols did something similar with their armor, and anyone who has heard of Genghis Khan knows that it worked well enough for them.
Please note that's just how I would rule on the issue in my game and not anything official.
Note that the layering you mention is already taken into account in the description of armor in the game... layering armor for added protection is also integral to the system of Warhammer fantasy RPG, at least the 1st 2 editions.
^ See The Sideromancer's post above.
Also, if the "enhancement bonus" was separate from the item it was enhancing, then magical shields wouldn't work with magical armor either.
A +4 breastplate doesn't provide a +6 armor bonus and a +4 enhancement bonus, it provides a +10 armor bonus. The enhancement bonus is to protection provided by the breastplate, not a separate bonus to AC in and of itself.
@ Dragonchess Player: What I'm saying is I think (show me if I'm wrong) the underpants and real armor provide 2 DIFFERENT types of bonuses, which unlike 2 of the same type (in which case the higher bonus applies) the 2 bonuses do stack.
They have to be different types of bonus. Off the top of my head there's: Armour, Shield, Natural-Armour, Deflection, Insight, Luck, Competence(?), Dodge and Circumstance bonuses to AC. I'm sure there are more but I'm just not thinking of them right now.
If you made underpants that give you a Luck bonus to AC it would stack, but it would (most likely) be a home-brew item, and therefore subject to GM approval. It *should* also cost more than a Ring of Protection or an Amulet of Natural Armour since it's a different type of AC that gives you an advantage the game isn't expecting (probably 50% more expensive or something)... Also "underpants" would most likely be a "slot-less" item, which means that would increase the price too (I think that's 50% more as well, but I'm doing this all off the top of my head right now and can't check).
I just want to chime in my appreciation that this thread has somehow spawned the concept of +1 Lucky Underwear.