Armor of the Armant Empire

"So the Legion of the Rock stood strong, behind the wall of their shields, before the deathless tides unleashed from the Tomb City of Naleshesh.  They stood through four sleepless nights; the battle demanded the blood of six thousand men come the setting of the first sun, and each new day brought a more wretched toll.  Armored in iron shells and by their faith, they would not waver.  On the fifth day, their strength was rewarded by an Edict from the Corporeal Throne, which spoke in the voice of our Empress, declaring the words 'Holy Ground.'"

- Myngot Damen
A History in Iron
1117 After

The arms and armor of Armant have a distinctly Eastern flair, drawing inspiration from countries all across Asia, both the Near and Far East, and ranging over thousands of years of history.  Though these different items represent a broad tableau of the cultures, circumstances, and resources available to their native lands, here they are brought together in an attempt to establish the 'feel' of the setting and give it a distinctiveness that can help players to fit the world of Armant into a mental framework upon which they can begin to build.

 

As opposed to the more cosmetic changes with weapons, the armors are a mixture of cosmetic changes and entirely new types of armor (and the removal of some traditional armor types).  These changes are representative of the culture and technology available in the Armant Empire, and the availability of other types of armor—where they exist at all—are limited in the extreme.

 

Light Armor Cost

Armor
Bonus

Maximum
Dex Bonus 

Armor Check
Penalty 

Arcane Spell
Failure Chance
Speed Weight
20 ft 30 ft
Padded Armor 5 gp +1 +8 +0 5% 20 ft 30 ft 10 lbs
Leather Armor 10 gp +2 +6 +0 10% 20 ft 30 ft 15 lbs
Hide Shirt 15 gp +3 +4 -1 15% 20 ft 30 ft 18 lbs
Lamellar Leather 25 gp +3 +5 -1 15% 20 ft 30 ft 20 lbs
Jazerant 100 gp +4 +4 -2 20% 20 ft 30 ft 25 lbs
 
Medium Armor Cost

Armor
Bonus

Maximum
Dex Bonus 

Armor Check
Penalty 

Arcane Spell
Failure Chance
Speed Weight
20 ft 30 ft
Brigandine 50 gp +4 +4 -2 20% 15 ft 20 ft 20 lbs
Hide Armor 15 gp +4 +3 -3 25% 15 ft 20 ft 25 lbs
Scale Mail 50 gp +5 +3 -4 25% 15 ft 20 ft 30 lbs
Chainmail 150 gp +6 +2 -5 30% 15 ft 20 ft 40 lbs
Mirror Armor 400 gp +6 +3 -4 25% 15 ft 20 ft 35 lbs
 
Heavy Armor Cost

Armor
Bonus

Maximum
Dex Bonus 

Armor Check
Penalty 

Arcane Spell
Failure Chance
Speed¹ Weight
20 ft 30 ft
Laminar Armor 200 gp +7 +0 -7 40% 15 ft 20 ft 45 lbs
Lamellar Armor 250 gp +7 +1 -6 35% 15 ft 20 ft 35 lbs
Half-Plate 600 gp +8 +0 -7 40% 15 ft 20 ft 45 lbs
Mountain Pattern Armor 2,000 gp +8 +1 -5 35% 15 ft 20 ft 50 lbs
Heavy Lamellar Armor² 1,800 gp +9 +0 -8 50% 10 ft 15 ft 75 lbs
¹ - When running in heavy armor, you move only triple your speed, not quadruple.
² - Characters wearing heavy lamellar armor have their speed reduced, even if they normally would not, such as with a fighter's Armor Training class ability or a dwarf's Slow and Steady racial trait.

 
Shield Cost Shield
Bonus
Maximum
Dex Bonus
Armor Check
Penalty³
Arcane Spell
Failure Chance³
Weight
Buckler 5 gp +1 -1 5% 5 lbs
Shield, Light Wooden 3 gp +1 -1 5% 5 lbs
Shield, Light Steel 9 gp +1 -1 5% 6 lbs
Shield, Heavy Wooden 7 gp +2 -2 15% 10 lbs
Shield, Heavy Steel 20 gp +2 -2 15% 15 lbs
Shield, Tower 30 gp +4⁴ +2 -10 50% 45 lbs
³ - If a character is wearing armor and using a shield at the same time, these penalties stack.
⁴ - A tower shield can instead grant you cover. See the description.
 

ARMOR & SHIELDS

For most, armor is the simplest way to protect oneself in a world of rampant threats and dangers. Many characters can wear only the simplest of armors, and only some can use shields. To wear heavier armor effectively, a character can select the Armor Proficiency feats, but most classes are automatically proficient with the armors that work best for them.

Here is the format for armor entries:

 

Cost
The cost in gold pieces of the armor for Small or Medium humanoid creatures. See Table: Armor for Unusual Creatures for armor prices for other creatures.

 

Armor/Shield Bonus
Each type of armor grants an armor bonus to Armor Class, while shields grant a shield bonus to Armor Class. The armor bonus from a suit of armor doesn't stack with other effects or items that grant an armor bonus. Similarly, the shield bonus from a shield doesn't stack with other effects that grant a shield bonus.

 

Maximum Dex Bonus
This number is the maximum Dexterity bonus to Armor Class that this type of armor allows. Dexterity bonuses in excess of this number are reduced to this number for the purposes of determining the wearer's Armor Class. Heavier armors limit mobility, reducing the wearer's ability to dodge blows. This restriction doesn't affect any other Dexterity-related abilities.

Even if a character's Dex bonus to Armor Class drops to 0 because of armor, this situation does not count as losing his Dex bonus to Armor Class.

A character's encumbrance (the amount of gear carried, including armor) may also restrict the maximum Dex bonus that can be applied to his Armor Class.

Shields: Shields do not affect a character's maximum Dex bonus, except for tower shields, in which case you use the lower of the two maximum Dex bonuses from the character's armor or tower shield.

 

Armor Check Penalty
Any armor heavier than leather, as well as any shield, hurts a character's ability to use Dexterity- and Strength-based skills. An armor check penalty applies to all Dex- and Str-based skill checks. A character's encumbrance may also incur an armor check penalty.

Shields: If a character is wearing armor and using a shield, both armor check penalties apply.

Nonproficient with Armor Worn: A character who wears armor and/or uses a shield with which he is not proficient takes the armor's (and/or shield's) armor check penalty on attack rolls as well as on all Dex- and Str-based ability and skill checks. The penalty for non-proficiency with armor stacks with the penalty for shields.

Sleeping in Armor: A character who sleeps in medium or heavy armor is automatically Fatigued the next day. He takes a –2 penalty on Str and Dex and can't charge or run. Sleeping in light armor does not cause fatigue.

 

Arcane Spell Failure Chance
Armor interferes with the gestures that a spellcaster must make to cast an arcane spell that has a somatic component. Arcane spellcasters face the possibility of arcane spell failure if they're wearing armor. Bards can wear light armor and use shields without incurring any arcane spell failure chance for their bard spells.

Casting an Arcane Spell in Armor: A character who casts an arcane spell while wearing armor must usually make an arcane spell failure check. The number in the Arcane Spell Failure Chance column is the percentage chance that the spell fails and is ruined. If the spell lacks a somatic component, however, it can be cast with no chance of arcane spell failure.

Shields: If a character is wearing armor and using a shield, add the two numbers together to get a single arcane spell failure chance.

 

Speed
Medium or heavy armor slows the wearer down. Medium-sized humanoids generally have an unencumbered speed of 30 feet, while dwarves and small-sized humanoids have an unencumbered speed of 20 feet.  Remember, however, that a dwarf’s land speed remains 20 feet even in medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.

Shields: Shields do not affect a character’s speed.

 

Weight
This column gives the weight of the armor sized for a Medium wearer. Armor fitted for Small characters weighs half as much, and armor for Large characters weighs twice as much.

 

DAMAGING ARMOR

The following information is copied and slightly reworded from the Broken condition. See the Broken condition for the full, original text.

Armor or shields that have taken damage in excess of half their total hit points gain the Broken condition, meaning they are less effective at their designated task. The broken condition has the following effects, depending upon the item.

The AC bonus armor or a shield grants is halved, rounded down, and its armor check penalty to skill checks is doubled.

 

MASTERWORK ARMOR

Just as with weapons, you can purchase or craft masterwork versions of armor or shields. Such a well-made item functions like the normal version, except that its armor check penalty is lessened by 1.

The masterwork transformation spell transforms a non-masterwork weapon into a masterwork weapon. Without using magic, you can't add the masterwork quality to armor or a shield after it is created; it must be crafted as a masterwork item (see the Craft skill).

A masterwork suit of armor or shield costs an extra 150 gp over and above the normal cost for that type of armor or shield.

The masterwork quality of a suit of armor or shield never provides a bonus on attack or damage rolls, even if the armor or shield is used as a weapon.

All magic armors and shields are automatically considered to be of masterwork quality.

You can't add the masterwork quality to armor or a shield after it is created; it must be crafted as a masterwork item.

Even though some types of armor and shields can be used as weapons, you can't create a masterwork version of such an item that confers an enhancement bonus on attack rolls. However, you can create masterwork armor spikes and shield spikes, which do confer their enhancement bonus on attack rolls to attacks made with the spikes.

 

Armor Type Don Don Hastily Remove
Brigandine armor, shield (any) 1 move action N/A 1 move action
Padded armor, leather armor, hide shirt, lameller leather, jazerant 1 minute 5 rounds 1 minute¹
Hide armor, scale mail, chainmail, mirror armor, laminar armor, lamellar armor 4 minutes¹ 1 minute 1 minute¹
Half-plate, mountain pattern armor 4 minutes² 4 minutes¹ 1d4+1 minutes¹
Heavy lamellar armor 10 minutes² 5 minutes¹ 1d6+4 minutes¹

¹ - If the character has some help, cut this time in half. A single character doing nothing else can help one or two adjacent characters. Two characters can’t help each other don armor at the same time.
² - The wearer must have help to don this armor. Without help, it can be donned only hastily.

GETTING INTO AND OUT OF ARMOR

Putting on or taking off armor is a sometimes complicated procedure. The time required to don armor depends on its type.

Don: This column tells how long it takes a character to put the armor on. (One minute is 10 rounds.) Readying (strapping on) a shield is only a move action.

Don Hastily: This column tells how long it takes to put the armor on in a hurry. The armor check penalty and armor bonus for hastily donned armor are each 1 point worse than normal.

Remove: This column tells how long it takes to get the armor off. Removing a shield from the arm and dropping it is only a move action.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Armor Type 40 ft 50 ft 60 ft
Medium 30 ft 35 ft 40 ft
Heavy 30 ft¹ 35 ft¹ 40 ft¹

¹ - A mount wearing heavy armor moves at only triple its normal speed when running instead of quadruple.

BARDING

Barding is a type of armor that covers the head, neck, chest, body, and possibly legs of a horse or other mount. Barding made of medium or heavy armor provides better protection than light barding, but at the expense of speed. Barding can be made of any armor type.

Armor for a horse (a Large non-humanoid creature) costs four times as much as human armor (a Medium humanoid creature) and also weighs twice as much. If the barding is for a pony or other Medium mount, the cost is only double, and the weight is the same as for Medium armor worn by a humanoid. Medium or heavy barding slows a mount that wears it, as shown on the table below.

Flying mounts can't fly in medium or heavy barding.

Removing and fitting barding takes five times as long as normal. A barded animal cannot be used to carry any load other than a rider and normal saddlebags.

 

 

Size Humanoid Nonhumanoid
Cost Weight Cost Weight
Tiny or smaller¹ x1/10 x1 x1/10
Small x1 x2
Medium x1 x1 x2 x1
Large x2 x2 x4 x2
Huge x4 x5 x8 x5
Gargantuan x8 x8 x16 x8
Colossal x16 x12 x32 x12

¹ - Divide armor bonus by 2.

ARMOR FOR UNUSUAL CREATURES

Armor and shields for unusually big creatures, unusually little creatures, and non-humanoid creatures (such as horses) have different costs and weights from those given above. Refer to the appropriate line on the table and apply the multipliers to cost and weight for the armor type in question.