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
Determines your characters ability to avoid taking damage.
- Armor Level =
10 + your AL bonus from your armor + your Dexterity modifier
- Armor Level =
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: |
Light Armor
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
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
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.
Stats 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. |
Armor Quality
The difference between simple and martial armor is their effectiveness. Simply put, simple armors are generally made by peasants, amateurs or with subpar materials, while martial armor is made with fine materials, by an artisan, specifically for warfare and combat. A masterwork, is martial armor that is beyond any normal production. These are often found worn by nobles, elite armies and guards or experienced adventurers who have the gold to spend.
| Quality | Cost (gp) | AL | Don / Doff Time |
| Simple | 1x | +0 | 1x |
| Martial | 5x | +1 | 2x |
| Masterwork | 25x | +2 | 2x |
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.