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 (AL) determines your characters ability to avoid taking damage.
Different Armor Levels
There are a few kind of AL values that are used in different circumstances.
Base AL
Base Armor Level is the inherit armor of a creature and is mostly the same for all species.
- Base AL = 10
Dex AL
Dexterity Armor Level, Dex AL, is the creatures reflexive defense.
- Dex AL = (Base AL) + (your Dexterity modifier)
Armor however may reduce your Dexterity score when putting on the heavier kind, reducing your Dex AL.
Armored AL
Armored Armor Level, or just AL, is the general term for all combined Armor Levels.
- AL = (Base AL) + (your Dexterity modifier) + (your AL bonus from your armor)
Other ALs
There are ALs for each specific physical damage type, however, these are mostly used in specific circumstances.
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: |