Armor

From cloth to steel, a creature's armor is a creature's second skin. The one who wears the finest is usually the one who walks away. The one who don't, either need to be quicker than their opponent's blade or perish by it.

Armor has a variety of types and designs, most frequently used layered on top of each other. These categories, light, medium and heavy armor, are layered in successive order upon each other, and make up the bulk of the armor a creature uses, except shields.

The following section describes the concepts that make up armor and how proficiency with it works. If a character wants an armor custom made, they follow each step, otherwise they can find a list in the end of the section with a list of examples for armors.

Armor Proficiency

Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm, but only those proficient in the armor's use know how to wear and use it effectively. For each armor category that you lack proficiency with, the following effects apply:

• Your Dexterity score is reduced by 1.
• Your spells that require the somatic component, also requires a DL 5 + (5 for each armor piece without proficiency) Spellcasting Ability (Sleight of Hand) check.
• The weight of the armor piece is increased by 1.5x when it's equipped.

Armor Level

→ Armor Level

Determines your characters ability to avoid taking damage.

Armor Level = 10 + your AL bonus from your armor + your Dexterity modifier

Armor however may reduce your Dexterity score when putting on the heavier kind.

Armor Category

The armor categories light armor, medium armor and heavy armor, are the defining factor for the general defensive capabilities of an armor piece. These are layered from light to heavy, and increase in weight and coverage as you layer them. Additionally, a shield can be used in combination with the armor piece, ranging from a light to heavy framework.

Armor categories define the following statistics for an armor piece:

Cost (gp)	The cost of the armor.
Weight (lbs)	The weight of the armor.
Armor AL (Armor Level)	The added AL to your Armor Level from your armor.
Dexterity Reduction	The reduction of Dexterity score from wearing the armor.
Don/Doff Times	The time it takes to put on or take off the armor. Any time below 6 seconds requires only a free item interaction.
Skill Impediment	The stacking skill disadvantage from wielding more armor. For each level of skill impediment, you gain disadvantage with the following skills, starting with and in order from: Sleight of Hand Acrobatics Stealth Athletics Perception

Light armor is the armor directly in contact with the body. It is often the most important piece of armor one can have in combat, reducing the damage one takes from most physical attacks. The armor is usually made of thick layers of clothing, but might for different reason be made of other materials too, either exclusive silks or hardened leather. It is also often easier to conceal under civilian clothing and used under external armor.

Medium armor is a layer of protection on top of light armor, made to further increase the defensive capabilities of the wearer, mainly by filling in the weaknesses of light armor, like further protection against slashing weapons. It is often made with steel in the form of chain mail. However, replacements like brigandine exists, but they also limit the possiblity of heavy armor use.

Heavy Armor, the last layer of protection a wearer might choose to wear. It maximizes defenses and minimizes risks, however it may impose some difficulties in certain environments, most often social ones. The apparency of war is often hard to conceal. Heavy armor ranges from cuirasses to full suits of plate armour.

Category Table

	Cost (gp)	Weight (lbs)	Armor AL	Dexterity Reduction	Don / Doff Time	Skill Impediment	Other Effects
Light	5	4	+1	+0	12 / 6 seconds	No	-
Medium	50	10	+1	+0	30 / 15 seconds	Yes	Disadvantage on contests against exhaustion effects due to extreme heat.
Heavy	150	18	+1	-1	6 / 2 minutes	Yes	Disadvantage on contests against exhaustion effects due to extreme heat.

Frameworks

While the three types of armor categories tries to pin down three main categories, the armor framework further specifies these categories. The armor framework can either be defensive or agile, or neither. It can also allow for unique, special or exotic frameworks to be used in the armor's construction.