In general, magic armor protects the wearer to a greater extent than nonmagical armor. Magic armor bonuses are enhancement bonuses, never rise above +5, and stack with regular armor bonuses (and with
shield and magic
shield enhancement bonuses). All magic armor is also
masterwork armor, reducing armor check penalties by 1.
In addition to an enhancement bonus, armor may have
special abilities.
Special abilities usually count as additional bonuses for determining the market value of an item, but do not improve AC. A suit of armor cannot have an effective bonus (enhancement plus
special ability bonus equivalents) higher than +10. A suit of armor with a
special ability must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.
A suit of armor or a
shield may be made of an unusual material. Roll d%: 01-95 indicates that the item is of a standard sort, and 96-100 indicates that it is made of a
special material.
Armor is always created so that even if the type of armor comes with boots or gauntlets, these pieces can be switched for other magic boots or gauntlets.
|
Table: Armor and Shields
|
|
Minor
|
Medium
|
Major
|
Item
|
Base Price
|
|
01-60
|
01-05
|
-
|
+1 shield
|
1,000 gp |
|
61-80
|
06-10
|
-
|
+1 armor
|
1,000 gp |
|
81-85
|
11-20
|
-
|
+2 shield
|
4,000 gp |
|
86-87
|
21-30
|
-
|
+2 armor
|
4,000 gp |
|
-
|
31-40
|
01-08
|
+3 shield
|
9,000 gp |
|
-
|
41-50
|
09-16
|
+3 armor
|
9,000 gp |
|
-
|
51-55
|
17-27
|
+4 shield
|
16,000 gp |
|
-
|
56-57
|
28-38
|
+4 armor
|
16,000 gp |
|
-
|
-
|
39-49
|
+5 shield
|
25,000 gp |
|
-
|
-
|
50-57
|
+5 armor
|
25,000 gp |
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
+6 armor/shield
1
|
36,000 gp |
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
+7 armor/shield
1
|
49,000 gp |
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
+8 armor/shield
1
|
64,000 gp |
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
+9 armor/shield
1
|
81,000 gp |
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
+10 armor/shield
1
|
100,000 gp |
|
88-89
|
58-60
|
58-60
|
Specific armor
2
|
- |
|
90-91
|
61-63
|
61-63
|
Specific shield
3
|
- |
|
92-100
|
64-100
|
64-100
|
Special ability and roll again4 |
- |
| 1 Armor and shields can't actually have bonuses this high. Use these lines to determine price when special abilities are added in. |
| 2 Roll on Table: Specific Armors. |
| 3 Roll on Table: Specific Shields. |
| 4 Roll on Table: Armor Special Abilities or Table: Shield Special Abilities. |
|
Table: Random Armor Type
|
|
d%
|
Armor
|
Armor Cost1
|
|
01
|
Padded |
+155 gp |
|
02
|
Leather |
+160 gp |
|
03-17
|
Studded leather |
+175 gp |
|
18-32
|
Chain shirt |
+250 gp |
|
33-42
|
Hide
|
+165 gp |
|
43
|
Scale mail |
+200 gp |
|
44
|
Chainmail |
+300 gp |
|
45-57
|
Breastplate |
+350 gp |
|
58
|
Splint mail |
+350 gp |
|
59
|
Banded mail |
+400 gp |
|
60
|
Half-plate |
+750 gp |
|
61-100
|
Full plate |
+1,650 gp |
| 1 Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Armor and Shields to determine total market price. |
| All magic armor is masterwork armor (with an armor check penalty 1 less than normal). |
|
Table: Random Shield Type
|
|
d%
|
Shield
|
Shield Cost1
|
|
01-10
|
Buckler |
+165 gp |
|
11-15
|
Shield, light, wooden |
+153 gp |
|
16-20
|
Shield, light, steel |
+159 gp |
|
21-30
|
Shield, heavy, wooden |
+157 gp |
|
31-95
|
Shield, heavy, steel |
+170 gp |
|
96-100
|
Shield, tower |
+180 gp |
| 1 Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Armor and Shields to determine total market price. |
| All magic shields are masterwork shields (with an armor check penalty 1 less than normal). |
Caster Level for Armor and Shields: The
caster level of a magic
shield or magic armor with a
special ability is given in the item description. For an item with only an enhancement bonus, the
caster level is three times the enhancement bonus. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a
special ability, the higher of the two
caster level requirements must be met.
Shields: Shield enhancement bonuses stack with armor enhancement bonuses.
Shield enhancement bonuses do not act as attack or
damage bonuses when the
shield is used in a bash. The bashing
special ability, however, does grant a +1 bonus on attack and
damage rolls (see the
special ability description).
A
shield could be built that also acted as a
magic weapon, but the cost of the enhancement bonus on
attack rolls would need to be added into the cost of the
shield and its enhancement bonus to AC.
Shield Hardness and Hit Points: Each +1 of enhancement bonus adds 2 to a
shield's hardness and +10 to its
hit points.
Activation: Usually a character benefits from magic armor and
shields in exactly the way a character benefits from nonmagical armor and
shields-by wearing them. If armor or a
shield has a
special ability that the user needs to activate then the user usually needs to utter the
command word (a
standard action).
Armor for Unusual Creatures: The cost of armor for nonhumanoid creatures, as well as for creatures who are neither Small nor Medium, varies
. The cost of the masterwork quality and any magical enhancement remains the same.
| Find topic in: Basics, Epic, Equipment, Monsters, Rules of the Game |
|
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