Simplified Tome Armour

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Red_Rob
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Simplified Tome Armour

Post by Red_Rob »

As I mentioned in Josh's Tome armour revision thread, I believe that having a a full set of scaling abilities for every armour type is overdoing things. I'll just quote my original reasoning here:
I wrote:On a separate note, I have some issues with the Tome armours as they currently stand after playing a campaign with them for a while, which has led me to a few conclusions. Firstly, I'm not convinced they need to have a set of abilities that gets more complex as you go up levels.

Okay, okay, I know I'm preaching heresy here but hear me out. Scaling feats work really well, because although they add more complexity to the game, that complexity comes up only during levelling. During levelling players expect to be rifling through books and assessing new abilities, so it fits with the flow of the game and even gives players more things to look forward to (which is the primary reason for having a levelling system when all's said and done). Armour, though, is something that can be changed at any time. That means reading and reevaluating up to 4 abilities against 4 other abilities in the middle of a session, along with the stat changes and ability gains and losses that go with it. This is the same reason I'm against Feat-changing abilities such as Problem Solver, by the way.

Secondly, it seems really weird that some of the Tome armours are available in non-magical versions. I mean, my armour is made from hope or includes a trapped demon and it doesn't radiate magic? What's more it can be further enchanted to provide me with, in total, up to 4 scaling abilities, a scaling stat bonus and another unrelated ability?

Now, the reason that the scaling abilities were introduced in the Tome was because certain armours were first pick every time, but that is because armours don't have enough stats. Weapons have all sorts of sliders that can be tweaked to provide benefits and tradeoffs, from damage to crit multiplier, threat range, reach, handedness and proficiency level. Armour only gets AC, Max Dex (which is just another calculation to get AC) and ACP. So I agree armours need something extra, but not a full set of scaling abilities.

After looking at the armours, most of them have one major ability that you are going to choose them for, and the rest are fairly so-so. You get Adamantine armour (Umlaut armour in your version) for DR, you get Dragonscale for the ER. So why not just pare the armours back to one ability or bonus each? That would differentiate them, and would cut down on the compexity level. The bonus could still scale by level, so DR=BaB would still be possible, or it could just be a flat thing like +3 to Hide checks or an extra swift action.

Now, the nature of the bonuses you choose would most likely make some of the armours explicitly low level items and others explicitly high level, but that's what happens at the moment anyway and besides as long as there's still a range to choose from I don't see thats a bad thing. Low level characters totally should be wearing Chain shirts and Breastplates, whilst high level characters choose between Adamantine armour or Naga hide. High level armour should probably also explictly count as a magic item, with abilities to reflect that.
So, here's my writeup of Tome armours, stripped down to one ability each. Any armour that counts as a Magic item has the level of item listed after the name, and has a Scaling bonus and a Magic Ability listed as per Book of Gears / Kaelik's Tome Errata. In some cases the Magic ability may be another scaling bonus.

Armor Rules
So, while we're revising the Tome armors we should take a look at the armor rules presented in Races of War. In general I have to say I think they are better than the rules in the PHB, however there are a couple of things that I think should be done away with. So let's take a look at the rules as they stand:
Races of War wrote:Every armor, shield, or clothing has an Armor Check Penalty, though that penalty is sometimes -0. A Masterwork version has the magnitude of its Armor Check Penalty reduced by 1 (to a minimum of zero). If you are wearing armor or using a shield which you are not proficient in, the armor check penalty of that armor or shield is counted as 4 higher. If you are using an outfit with a total armor check penalty that is greater than your Base Attack Bonus, you can only move at 2/3 speed. If your outfit has an armor check penalty that is more than 4 more than your BAB, you can't run. If your outfit provides a total armor check penalty that is 10 or more than your BAB, you can only stagger around.
This all seems fine, the breakpoints of "higher than BaB, 4 more, 10 more" are pretty easy to remember and with all the BaB keyed stuff in Tome it's something you should already be aware of. Plus it lets high level warriors run in Plate armor, which is a bit of a boost for heavy armor wearers. I would quantify that "stagger around" equates to only getting a Move action each turn until the armor is removed.
Races of War wrote:Armor you wear has an Armor Check Penalty, and armor you aren't proficient with has an Armor Check Penalty that is 4 points higher. Your Armor Check Penalty is applied to any Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Sleight of Hand, or Tumble checks you make. Your Swim Checks are penalized by double your Armor Check Penalty. If you cast arcane spells in armor which has an armor check penalty, your spells with somatic components have a 5% chance of failing for every point of armor check penalty.
Again, this all seems fine. ACP equating to spell failure avoids the need for a separate stat, and it can more simply be rendered "Roll a D20, if you get equal to or less than the ACP number your spell fails."
Races of War wrote:Armor you wear also has an Armor Stealth Penalty. This number is reduced by 1 for every two points your BAB exceeds the Armor Check Penalty of the Armor. The Modified Armor Stealth Penalty is applied as a penalty to any Hide and Move Silently checks you make.
Finally, Armor has a maximum Dexterity Bonus that you can take advantage of while wearing that armor. That is, if your armor has a max dex bonus of +4 and you have a +5 dexterity bonus, then you may only apply a +4 bonus towards your armor class while wearing that armor. Just like stealthiness, however, a more experienced warrior has an easier time defending himself in heavier armor. The Max Dex Bonus of an armor is increased by 1 for every two points your BAB exceeds the Armor Check Penalty of the armor.
Here is where the problem lies. ASP just doesn't come up enough to make it worth having another stat, so I have just folded it back into ACP. A particularly stealthy or noisy armor can just be given an ability to represent this if needed. Finally, increasing the Max Dex of armor based on your BaB is a nice idea, but is far too complicated in practice. Having to compare your BaB to the ACP, then increase the Max Dex, just to find out whether the armor you are looking at is better for you than your current armor is about three steps too much math for a leisure activity. Plus it leads to oddities like Dragonscale actually having a higher Max Dex than Sun Armor at level 10, despite it looking the other way round from the stats. What's more, characters AC is increasing regardless due to scaling enhancement bonuses and deflection bonuses. I would recommend just ignoring this rule, as higher grade Tome armors generally have higher Max Dex scores and AC's than the normal armor presented in the PHB anyway.

Note: A number of these armours and abilities were taken from the original Tomes, aswell as Josh's Tome armour revision, so kudos and thanks to Josh, Frank and anyone else who contributed to these for making their work open source.

Magic Armor
Any of the armors below that is not already magical can also be found with an enchantment, or enchanted by those with the appropriate magical abilities. Enchantment comes in three levels, Lesser, Medium and Greater.
Magic Armor takes either 15 minutes or the time to fully equip the armor, whichever is longer, to attune. To unattune the armor takes the same time. Magic Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to armor class and a special ability chosen from the lists below. These effects are in addition to the Tome Armor ability. Any spell effects are cast using your Character level as the Caster level, and all saves for Armor abilities are determined as follows:
Save DC = 10 + ½Charlvl + Con.

A note about starting wealth and magic items:
It's pretty common nowadays for DM's to just tell the players how many magic items they can start with rather than allocating a gold value. If you are using this method I'd recommend that any armor that costs 2,000gp or more should count as a Lesser Item on its own. So if you're starting at 4th level with 4 Lesser items, you could have 3 items and a Lesser magic chain shirt, 3 items and a nonmagical Mithril shirt, or 2 items and Lesser Mithril.

Lesser Armor abilities

Arrow Deflection - The first physical ranged attack against you each round has a 50% miss chance.

Energy Resistance - You gain Energy Resistance to one form of energy (chosen when the armor is enchanted) equal to your character level

Darkvision - Whilst wearing this armor you have Darkvision to 60'

Fey-blessed - You may call on the helpful minor spirits bound to this armor as a standard action at will. They can mimic the effect of a Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound or Prestidigitation spell with a caster level equal to your character level.

Ghost Touch - The Armor bonus of this armor (including any enhancement bonus) applies against Ethereal and Incorporeal opponents.

Glamered - Upon command this armor appears as normal clothing. The ACP and armor bonus do not change, and the illusion is only visual.

Glowing - This armor radiates light like a Daylight effect. This effect can be suppressed at will as a free action.

Health - You gain a +4 bonus to saves against Poison and Disease.

Light Fortification - You have a 50% chance to reduce any critical hit or sneak attack to a normal attack.

Skill Bonus - The armor provides a +5 Competence bonus to any one skill (except UMD) chosen when the armor is enchanted.

Spell Imbued - A single spell, chosen when the armor is enchanted, is imbued into the armor. This spell must be chosen from the 1st or 2nd level Wizard or Cleric list, and have a material component worth 1gp or less. As a standard action you can release the spell from the armor, which counts as casting it with a caster level equal to your character level. Any Save DC's are based on your Constitution. Once released the armor requires 8 hours to gather enough latent magical energy to recharge the spell.

Spined - This armor counts as having been made with armor spikes at no extra cost. As an attack action you can fire one of the spikes as a ranged weapon with an enhancement bonus equal to that of the armor and the following stats:
WeaponDmg(S)Dmg(M)CritRange IncType
SpineD6D819-20/x250'Piercing

Moderate Armor abilities:

Adaption - You do not need to breathe whilst wearing this armor.

Antimagic - You gain spell resistance equal to 10+character level.

Death Ward - You are under a permanent Death Ward effect as per the spell.

Energy Immunity - You gain Immunity to one form of energy (chosen when the armor is enchanted). This does not give you weakness to any other forms of energy.

Haste - As a swift action you may activate or deactivate a Haste spell upon yourself with a caster level equal to your character level. This effect can be used for up to 10 rounds each day.

Holy/Unholy - You radiate a permanent Magic Circle against Evil/Good (Chosen when the armor is enchanted) with a caster level equal to your character level.

Luck - The wearer may call on the power of the armor as a Non-action to reroll any saving throw or force an opponent to reroll an attack made against you. Once used the armor cannot be used again for 10 rounds.

Medium Fortification - You have a 75% chance to reduce any critical hit or sneak attack to a normal attack.

Mirrored (Metal armors only) - This armor is magically shined to a mirror finish, and never stays dirty. Any Ray spells or effects targeted against you are deflected harmlessly away as if they had missed your AC, and you suffer no miss chance for averting your eyes from an opponent.

Perspective - By harnessing the power of perspective, you can become Enlarged or Reduced (as per the spells) as a swift action at will. These effects can be ended as a swift action.

Spell Imbued - A single spell, chosen when the armor is enchanted, is imbued into the armor. This spell must be chosen from the 3rd or 4th level Wizard or Cleric list, and have a material component worth 1gp or less. As a standard action you can release the spell from the armor, which counts as casting it with a caster level equal to your character level. Any Save DC's are based on your Constitution. Once released the armor requires 8 hours to gather enough latent magical energy to recharge the spell.

Weightless - Light and Medium armors only - The weight of this armor is reduced to 0, and its Max Dex and ACP improve by 2.

Wild - This armor molds to fit the wearer even when he changes shape (for example when Wild shaped or Polymorphed.)

Greater Armor Abilities:

Absorbing - You may activate the power of the armor as an Immediate action. For the next 3 rounds your armor glows bright green and anything that touches it (except you and magic items attuned to you) is affected as if by a Disintegrate spell with a caster level equal to your character level. This includes any weapons or physical projectiles that hit your touch AC, any creatures making natural weapon attacks that hit your touch AC and creatures you are grappling. A weapon or projectile that is Disintegrated by this effect fails to deal you any damage or any other effects triggering on a succesful hit. You may also make a melee Touch attack to affect specific creatures with this effect. Once used this effect cannot be used again for 10 minutes whilst the magic recharges.

Blades - This armor is considered to have been made with Armor spikes at no extra cost. As a Swift action you can command the spikes to protect you. For the next 10 rounds you are surrounded by the effect of a Blade Barrier spell with a caster level equal to your character level which fills all squares adjacent to you and moves when you move. Once used this effect cannot be used again for 10 minutes whilst the magic recharges.

Heavy Fortification - Any critical hit or sneak attack made against you is instead reduced to a normal attack.

Invulnerability - As a standard action you may become Invulnerable. For the next 3 rounds any attacks against your AC or spells which allow spell resistance cast against you automatically fail to affect you and you become immune to all physical and energy damage. Once used this effect cannot be used again for 10 minutes whilst the magic recharges.

Etherealness - As a Standard action you may become Ethereal as per the spell Ethereal Jaunt. This effect lasts until you choose to end it, however once deactivated this ability cannot be used again for 10 minutes whilst the magic recharges.

Freedom - You are under a continual Freedom of Movement effect.

Planar Travel - You may open a travel Gate as per the spell with a caster level equal to your character level as a Standard action. Once used this effect cannot be used again for 10 minutes whilst the magic recharges. You are always under the effect of an Attune Form spell keyed to your current plane, and any attempt to magically move you to another plane or location (e.g. teleportation) fails unless you allow it affect you.

Spell Imbued - A single spell, chosen when the armor is enchanted, is imbued into the armor. This spell must be chosen from the 5th or 6th level Wizard or Cleric list, and have a material component worth 1gp or less. As a standard action you can release the spell from the armor, which counts as casting it with a caster level equal to your character level. Any Save DC's are based on your Constitution. Once released the armor requires 8 hours to gather enough latent magical energy to recharge the spell.

Spell Reflection - You gain spell resistance equal to 10+character level. As an Immediate action you may cause a spell targeted at you which has failed to overcome your spell resistance to be reflected at the caster as if affected by a Spell Turning spell.
Last edited by Zherog on Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:10 am, edited 14 times in total.
Reason: Fixed formatting tags
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

Try our fantasy card game Clash of Nations! Available via Print on Demand.

“Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” - Voltaire
Red_Rob
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Post by Red_Rob »

Not Armors

Anything you wear is a form of armor, but anything sufficiently light as to not count even as Light Armor can be worn by characters who lack armor proficiency without suffering penalties.
NonarmorsArmor BonusMax DexACPPriceWeight[/b]
Camouflaged Clothing0-01gp5lb
Functional Clothing0-01gp5lb
Thieves Clothing0-01gp5lb
Travellers Cloak0-01gp5lb
Fancy Clothing0+6-130gp5lb
Magic Nonarmors__ __
Magic Clothes(L)+2-08,000gp5lb
Kenpo Gi(M)0-016,000gp5lb
Robe of Many Colours(M)0+6016,000gp10lb
Robe of Eyes(G)0+6030,000gp10lb
Robe of the Archmagi(G)+5+6050,000gp10lb

Camouflaged Clothing:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Camouflaged Clothing+0-01gp

Clothes specifically made to blend into the surroundings, whether by making your outline blotchy and incomprehensible, or simply matching the drapes.
Camouflaged clothing provides a +3 circumstance bonus to Hide checks


Fancy Clothing:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Fancy Clothing+0+6-130gp

It's expensive and it looks it.
Fancy Clothing provides a +3 circumstance bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy checks in civilized settings.


Functional Clothing:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Functional Clothing+0-01gp

Your outfit is covered in pockets and has many supporting straps designed to distribute weight.
Retrieving or storing items is a free action for you. Items small enough to fit in your pocket only count half their weight towards your weight allowance.


Kenpo Gi [Moderate Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Kenpo Gi+0-016,000gp

A loose fitting robe worn by many old masters, it has absorbed some of their fighting skills.
You gain a natural Slam attack as a first level monk. If you already have a Slam attack you may instead use it as a ranged attack on targets up to Short Range.
Scaling bonus: Kenpo Gi has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic Ability: Whilst you have a Fighting Style active or a Jutsu point assigned you gain Evasion.


Magic Clothing [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Magic Clothes+2-08,000gp

Your pants, your shirt, and your socks exude magic. Truth be told, it's mostly your pants.
Magic Clothing provides a +2 circumstance bonus to Charisma based checks
Scaling bonus: Magic Clothing has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic Ability: Magic Clothing provides a +1/3 levels deflection bonus to AC


Robe of the Archmagi [Greater Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Robe of the Archmagi+5+6050,000gp

Power radiates from these magical robes, enhancing and reinforcing the owner’s magical potential.
A Robe of the Archmagi provides Spell Resistance equal to 10 plus your Character level.
Scaling bonus: A Robe of the Archmagi provides a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to all saving throws.
Magic Ability: A Robe of the Archmagi provides a +1/3 levels bonus to caster level for the purpose of dispelling, overcoming dispels and piercing Spell Resistance.


Robe of Many Colours [Moderate Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Robe of Many Colours+0+6016,000gp

These majestic multicoloured robes cause the wearers outline to shift and change, blurring into a rainbow haze.
A Robe of Many Colours provides a 20% miss chance against any attack targeting your AC.
Scaling Bonus: A Robe of many Colours provides a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to your Charisma.
Magic Ability: Once per day as a standard action you may release the colours of the robe. This creates an effect identical to a Rainbow Pattern spell, with a caster level equal to your caster level.


Robe of Eyes [Greater Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Robe of Eyes+0+6030,000gp

These robes are covered with magical eyes through which you can see. Whilst this takes some time to get used to, it provides unparalleled all-round vision.
Whilst wearing a Robe of Eyes you cannot be flanked.
Scaling bonus: A Robe of Eyes provides a +5 enhancement bonus to Spot and Search checks.
Magic Ability: Whilst wearing a Robe of Eyes you gain the benefits of a True Seeing spell, with a caster level equal to your caster level.


Thieves Clothing
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Thieves Clothing+0-01gp

A voluminous cloak to hide your movements over dark clothing with many hidden pockets.
Thieves Clothing provides a +3 circumstance bonus to Sleight of Hand checks


Travellers Cloak
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Travellers Cloak+0-01gp

A weatherbeaten cloak keeps out the wind, whilst a wide brimmed hat protects against beating sun and driving rain alike.
A Travellers Cloak provides a +3 bonus to Fortitude checks due to environmental effects.
Last edited by Zherog on Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:10 am, edited 7 times in total.
Reason: Fixed formatting tags
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

Try our fantasy card game Clash of Nations! Available via Print on Demand.

“Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” - Voltaire
Red_Rob
Prince
Posts: 2594
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 10:07 pm

Post by Red_Rob »

Light Armors
Light ArmorsArmor BonusMax DexACPPriceWeight[/b]
Cord Armor+2-020gp10lb
Winter Clothes+2+4-430gp25lb
Leather Armor+2+7045gp10lb
Still Suit+2+5-350gp25lb
Wicker Armor+3+7-155gp10lb
Studded Leather+3+6-165gp15lb
Chain Shirt+4+5-2100gp25lb
Brigandine+4+6-2110gp25lb
Gray Armor+4-01,000gp15lb
Ironskin Leather(*)+5+5-23,300gp15lb
Mithril Shirt(*)+5+6-14,000gp15lb
Magic Light Armors____
Spiderweb Clothing(*)(L)+5+6-13,300gp5lb
Darkleaf Armor(*)(L)+4+6-14,600gp15lb
Mysterious Membrane(*)(M)+4+7-116,000gp10lb
Naga Hide(*)(M)+4+6-216,000gp10lb
Thought Armor(*)(G)+5+6-240,000gp10lb
Unreal Armor(*)(G)+5+6-250,000gp15lb

(*) - This armor is already masterwork and cannot be further improved

Brigandine:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Brigandine+4+6-2110gp

A sleeveless leather shirt with small steel plates riveted to the fabric. Like a medieval flak jacket, these plates protect your organs from stabbing weapons.
Brigandine prevents an amount of Piercing damage per attack equal to your BAB.


Chain Shirt:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Chain Shirt+4+5-2100gp

Interwoven links of the finest steel cover your torso.
A Chain shirt prevents an amount of Slashing damage per attack equal to your BAB


Cord Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Cord Armor+2-020gp

A series of knots wrapped about your person protect you from incoming attacks.
As an Immediate Action, you can replace the AC for one attack made against you with the result of a tumble check. You may use this ability after an attack has hit you, but not after damage has been rolled.


Darkleaf Armor [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Darkleaf Armor+4+6-14,600gp

This armor, grown rather than made, consists of hundreds of leaves that are as hard as iron.
Darkleaf armor provides Concealment when in natural woodland or forested areas.
Scaling bonus: Darkleaf Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: You gain the Woodland Stride and Trackless Step abilities as if you were a Druid. If you already have these class features, you may instead Spontaneously cast any spells from the Plant domain you know while this armour is worn.


Gray Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Gray Armor+4-+01,000gp

Made from slaadskin, gray armor shifts to anticipate attacks with the power of Limbo.
You always act in the surprise round of any combat.


Ironskin Leather:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Ironskin Leather+5+5-23,300gp

The skin of creatures resistant to nonmagical weapons must be cut using enchanted tools, however the resulting armor is both light and hard as steel.
You gain DR equal to your BaB/Magic and Piercing


Leather Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Leather Armor+2+7045gp

Made from cured cowhide, it's cheap, but does its job.
You gain fire resistance 5. This fire resistance does not protect against environmental effects


Mithril Shirt:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Mithril Shirt+5+6-14,000gp

The links that make up this chain shirt are woven much tighter and made of mithril.
You gain DR equal to your BaB/Bludgeoning


Mysterious Membrane [Moderate Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Mysterious Membrane+4+7-116,000gp

This suit of armor is created by skinning and tanning the hide of a naturally invisible creature.
You may become Invisible at will as a standard action.
Scaling bonus: A Mysterious Membrane has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Whilst Invisible you can see invisible creatures as per the spell See Invisibility.


Naga Hide [Moderate Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Naga Hide+4+6-216,000gp

Often mistaken for snakeskin, this soft supple hide suit imparts some of its previous owner’s powers of persuasion.
You gain +4 to saves against mind affecting effects.
Scaling bonus: Naga Hide has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Naga Hide provides a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to Charisma


Spiderweb Clothing [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Spiderweb clothing+5+6-13,300gp

Made of magical spiderwebs by Drow weavers, this magical clothing is said to bursts into flames when struck with direct sunlight.
You gain a +3 circumstance bonus to Climb checks
Scaling bonus: Spiderweb clothing has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: You are immune to all poisons and the effect of Web spells and effects


Still Suit:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Still Suit+2+5-350gp

A watertight suit envelops your whole body, recycling all of your excretions and protecting you from the heat.
Whilst wearing a Still Suit you do not have to make Fortitude checks for hot environments and use half the daily allowance of water.


Studded Leather Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Studded Leather+3+6-165gp

Leather armor that has been adorned with metal studs to help protect your vitals.
You may ignore the first 10 points of damage from each critical hit or sneak attack damage.


Thought Armor [Greater Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Thought Armor+5+6-240,000gp

A fine lattice of crystals surrounded by a protective field of pure thought energy, this delicate armor sharpens mental acuity and protects against mental intrusion.
You may choose to use your Int for initiative rolls rather than your Dex.
Scaling bonus: Thought Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: You are immune to mind affecting effects.


Unreal Armor [Greater Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Unreal Armor+5+6-250,000gp

Formed on the Ethereal plane, this light translucent armor appears slightly detached from reality. When you wear it, so do you.
As a Move action you may teleport to any point you can see that is within your normal walking speed.
Scaling bonus: Unreal Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: You may activate and deactivate the effects of a Blink spell with a swift action.


Wicker Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Wicker Armor+3+7-155gp

This armor is made of woven willow branches, and makes you look a bit like furniture with wings.
Whilst wearing Wicker Armor you are immune to falling damage and gain a +3 circumstance bonus to Jump checks.

Winter Clothing:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Winter Clothing+2+4-430gp

Thick clothing that keeps you warm.
You do not have to make Fortitude checks for cold environments whilst wearing Winter Clothing and you gain Cold resistance 5.
Last edited by Zherog on Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:11 am, edited 12 times in total.
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

Try our fantasy card game Clash of Nations! Available via Print on Demand.

“Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” - Voltaire
Red_Rob
Prince
Posts: 2594
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 10:07 pm

Post by Red_Rob »

Medium Armors
Medium ArmorsArmor BonusMax DexACPPriceWeight[/b]
Hide+3+4-415gp25lb
Scale Mail+4+3-550gp35lb
Ringmail+4+6-275gp30lb
Chainmail+5+3-3150gp40lb
Lamellar+5+4-4190gp40lb
Elaborate Gown+1+3-5300gp15lb
Lobster Mail+5+2-5350gp40lb
Breastplate+6+2-4450gp40lb
Chitin Carapace+6+4-3500gp30lb
Gith Armor+5+4-2900gp25lb
Animal Spirit Armor+4+3-31,000gp30lb
Dragonscale Shirt(*)+7+5-43,400gp30lb
Mithril Suit(*)+7+5-25,000gp25lb
Adamantine Breastplate(*)+8+3-65,000gp60lb
Magic Medium Armors____
Bone Armor(*)(L)+4+4-35,450gp30lb
Dryad Bark Suit(*)(L)+6+5-35,500gp25lb
Trollhide(*)(M)+6+4-416,000gp25lb
Living Breastplate(*)(M)+7+5-316,000gp35lb
Rime Hauberk(*)(M)+7+3-516,000gp40lb
Juggernaut Armor(*)(G)+8+4-440,000gp50lb
Tempest Armor(*)(G)+7+5-345,000gp40lb

(*)- This armor is already masterwork and cannot be further improved

Adamantine Breastplate:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Adamantine Breastplate+8+3-65,000gp

Made of one of the hardest and most durable known metals, this breastplate provides excellent protection.
You gain DR equal to your BaB/Adamantine


Animal Spirit Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Animal Spirit Armor+4+3-31,000gp

Fashioned of the skin of an angry beast, this armor still carries its spirit and will lend you its strength.
Whilst Charging all your attacks deal +1d6 damage. If you have additional attacks from a high BaB this damage increases by +1d6 per extra attack you have gained.


Bone Armor [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Bone Armor+4+4-35,450gp

Made from the bones of magical beasts, this armor makes you look the part of a necromancer.
You may choose to change Positive or Negative Energy into the opposite type when it affects you. This may change whether it heals or harms you.
Scaling bonus: Bone Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Your caster level is increased by one for the purposes of casting Animate Dead & Create Undead (including Greater) and when counting how many HD of Undead you can control


Breastplate:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Breastplate+6+2-4450gp

A solid steel armor underlayed with chainmail, it protects all of your vital bits.
Whenever you suffer lethal physical damage you can convert an amount of that damage equal to your BAB into nonlethal damage.


Chainmail:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Chainmail+5+3-3150gp

Interwoven links of the finest steel cover your entire body.
Chainmail prevents an amount of Slashing damage per attack equal to your BAB


Chitin Carapace:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Chitin Carapace+6+4-3500gp

Made out of an Ankheg or something, it's amazingly light and makes you look like a crazy mantis man when you wear it
You gain a climb speed equal to your land speed.


Dragonscale shirt:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Dragonscale Shirt+7+5-43,400gp

Forged from the hide of a dragon, this armor provides a warding effect against its still living brethren
You gain Energy Resistance to one Energy type [chosen when the armor is made] equal to the Armor Bonus the shirt provides.


Dryad Bark Suit [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Dryad Bark Suit+6+5-35,500gp

Protected against iron and steel by powerful fey enchantments, bark from a Dryad's tree is highly prized. Obtaining it without the Dryads permission, however, is a dangerous enterprise indeed.
Dryad Bark provides DR equal to your BaB/Wood
Scaling bonus: Dryad bark includes a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to Armor
Magic ability: You can speak with plants as per the spell.


Elaborate Gown:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Elaborate Gown+1+3-5300gp

It's a big frilly dress, or a bulky robe, or something else that's expensive and hard to move in.
You gain a +2 bonus to Intimidate and Perform checks. You can hide weapons of a size up to your own inside your outfit with a normal Sleight of hand check.


Gith Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Gith Armor+5+4-2900gp

The Gith have mastered the techniques of manipulating Astral Driftmetal and the chaotic stuff of Limbo to make a reasonably lightweight, yet oddly protective garment.
You do not suffer any Arcane Spell Failure in this armor if you are proficient with it.


Hide Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Hide Armor+3+4-415gp


You wear some other creature as a hat.
Animals will not attack you unless you attack or otherwise threaten them first, and you cannot be detected by Scent


Juggernaut Armor [Greater Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Juggernaut Armor+8+4-440,000gp

Made from sections of magical armor worn by those who died in battle, this piecemeal Gladiator-style suit focusses the wearers anger to transform them into a living engine of destruction.
While you are affected by a Rage or Frenzy ability, spell or effect anyone entering your threatened area provokes an attack of opportunity from you.
Scaling bonus: Juggernaut Armor includes a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to Armor
Magic ability: When in any situation where you would normally be unable to take 10 due to threats or distractions, you can spend a standard action to transform yourself into a magical Juggernaut for the next 3 rounds. Treat this as if you were under the effect of an Iron Body spell and an Enlarge Person spell with caster levels equal to your character level, and you gain a natural Slam attack which does D10 damage for a medium creature. The action to transform can be combined with a Charge action, in which case the whole takes only a Full Round action. In this case the transformation occurs at the termination of your movement, before you make your attack.


Lamellar Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Lamellar Armor+5+4-4190gp

Small metal or leather plates that are linked together to protect you, it provides a smooth surface that causes attacks to slide away rather than pierce the wearer.
Prevents an amount of Piercing damage per attack equal to your BaB.


Living Breastplate [Medium Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Living Breastplate+7+5-316,000gp

A specially bred and molded species related to the Mimic, this breastplate both protects and defends you.
Once per round when you make any melee attack this breastplate will extend a pseudopod and attack an enemy within your natural reach with a BaB equal to yours and Strength 18. The attack deals 2D6+4 Bludgeoning damage and has a 20/x2 critical profile.
Scaling bonus A Living Breastplate has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability Anyone attacking you with a manufactured weapon must make a DC16 reflex to avoid their weapon becoming stuck to your armor. A weapon which is stuck to your armor can only be freed by using a standard action to make a DC16 Strength check.


Lobster Mail:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Lobster Mail+5+2-5350gp

A carapace of a deep aquatic design. The engineering style is reminiscent of that of Kwalish, but much sleeker and individualized.
Whilst underwater this armor allows you to breathe water, and its ACP is reduced to 0 if you are proficient with it.


Mithril Suit:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Mithril Suit+7+5-25,000gp

A full body covering of light metal. Very shiny, and nearly skin tight, the mithril suit is surprisingly protective.
You gain DR equal to your BaB/Bludgeoning


Rime Hauberk [Medium Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Rime Hauberk+7+3-516,000gp

Crystalized water covers most of your body.
You are Immune to cold damage
Scaling bonus: A Rime Hauberk has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: As a Swift action you may cause everyone within your natural reach to suffer 1d6 cold damage per BaB point you have.


Ringmail:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Ringmail+4+6-275gp


Steel rings are woven onto a leather armor backing to provide extra reinforcement.
Ringmail prevents the first 10 points of damage from a critical hit or sneak attack damage.


Scale Mail:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Scale Mail+4+3-550gp

Many small armor scales attached to each other in overlapping rows over a backing of leather, its rigid surface provides better protection from blunt attacks than mail.
Prevents an amount of Bludgeoning damage per attack equal to your BAB.


Tempest Armour [Greater Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Tempest Armor+7+5-345,000gp

This copper breastplate is infused with Elemental Air. It crackles with lightning and gives off the sharp smell of rain and ozone.
Whilst wearing Tempest Armour you gain a Fly speed of 60’ with Good maneuverability.
Scaling bonus: Tempest Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: As a standard action you can hurl a bolt of lightning up to Medium range. These are a touch attack which deals d6 Electricity dam/level. Anyone hit must make a Fort save (DC 10+½lvl + Con.) or be Stunned for 1 round.


Troll Hide [Medium Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Troll Hide+6+4-416,000gp

It is said that those who wear the skin of a troll gain some of its regenerative properties, in addition to other less savory traits…
You gain Fast Healing 5 whilst wearing Troll Hide.
Scaling bonus: Troll Hide has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: You are immune to poison and disease and may gain sustenance from eating any nomagical matter.
Last edited by Zherog on Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:15 am, edited 14 times in total.
Reason: Fixed formatting tags
Simplified Tome Armor.

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Red_Rob
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Post by Red_Rob »

Heavy Armors
Heavy armorsArmor BonusMax DexACPPriceWeight[/b]
Hoplite Armor+6+1-9250gp60lb
Half Plate+7+2-5800gp45lb
Coral Armor+6+2-3850gp40lb
Great Armor+7+2-71,000gp50lb
Full Plate+8+1-61,100gp50lb
Silk Steel Armor(*)+7+3-43,400gp50lb
Dragonscale Suit(*)+9+4-55,500gp40lb
Adamantine Carapace(*)+11+2-99,000gp75lb
Magic Heavy armors____
Elukian Clay Armor(*)(L)+6+3-46,000gp50lb
Stone Plate(*)(L)+10+0-96,750gp75lb
Demon Armor(*)(M)+9+5-1016,660gp50lb
Sun Plate(*)(M)+9+6-1020,000gp40lb
Mechanus Armor(*)(G)+12+0-840,000gp75lb
Force Plate(*)(G)+11+3-650,000gp60lb

(*) - This armor is already masterwork and cannot be further improved

Adamantine Carapace:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Adamatine Carapace+11+2-99,000gp

Made of one of the hardest and most durable known metals, this armor completely encases you.
You gain DR equal to your BaB/Adamantine


Coral Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Coral Armor+6+2-3850gp

Made of living Coral, this armor is as dangerous to your opponents as it is protective.
All Coral Armor counts as having been made with Armor Spikes. Enemies you damage with the Coral spikes are poisoned (DC 10 + ½ your Level + Con Bonus), initial and secondary damage of 1d3 Dex.


Demon Armor [Medium Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Demon Armor+9+5-1016,660gp

Crafted from a live Demon, the Demon Armor must be constantly put in its place or it will think itself the master of the Warrior who wears it.
You gain DR equal to your BaB/Magic and Good
Scaling bonus: Demon Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Every time you kill a living creature of at least 1 HD or greater, you heal hit points equal to its HD.


Elukian Clay Armor [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Elukian Clay Armor+6+3-46,000gp

Made of a strange clay from the Elemental Plane of Water, this heavy suit takes to water like a puppy to a well.
Whilst underwater the ACP of this armor is reduced to 0 and its Max Dex is doubled if you have Heavy Armor proficiency.
Scaling bonus: Elukian Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Whilst underwater you gain the Aquatic subtype and a swim speed equal to your land speed.


Dragonscale Suit:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Dragonscale Suit+9+4-54,500gp

This armor forged from the hide of a dragon provides excellent protection from swords and flames alike.
You gain Energy Resistance to one Energy type equal to the Armor Bonus the suit provides (inc. any Enhancement bonus).


Force Plate [Greater Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Force Plate+11+3-650,000gp

Pure Force energy held in the shape of armor, only the most powerful of mages can craft this mythical and much sought after armor.
The Armor bonus provided by Force Plate (including any Enhancement bonus) counts as a Deflection bonus for the purpose of deciding when it would be ignored.
Scaling bonus: Force plate has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Any physical attack against your AC or a spell which allows spell resistance cast against you has a 50% chance of failing to affect you unless it specifies it can penetrate Force effects.


Full Plate:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Full Plate+8+1-61,100gp

Plates of steel, flexible chain armor, and leather straps encase your entire body.
Whenever you suffer lethal physical damage you may convert an amount of that damage equal to your BAB into nonlethal damage.


Great Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Great Armor+7+2-71,000gp

Large, bulky armor typically worn by Samurai, Great Armor consists of many bands of lacquered iron with great shoulder pads known as O-sode.
Great Armor includes arm panels which provide a +2 Shield bonus to AC


Half Plate:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Half Plate+7+2-5800gp

A mixture of rigid plates and flexible chain, Half Plate combines protection with flexibility
Whenever you suffer lethal physical damage you may convert an amount of that damage equal to your BAB into nonlethal damage.


Hoplite Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Hoplite Armor+6+1-9250gp

Oldschool armor made of bronze and layered on in thick sheets all over the vitals.
Hoplite Armor provides Medium Fortification as an Ex ability whilst worn.


Mechanus Armor [Greater Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Mechanus Armor+120-840,000gp

A powerful collection of gears and chains that offers the finest protection that the Clockwork Nirvana can devise. Sometimes, a small jet of steam or oil will be ejected for no particular reason.
Mechanus Armor provides a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to Str
Scaling Bonus: Mechanus Armor has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Whilst wearing Mechanus armor you are not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain as if you were a construct.


Silk Steel Armor:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Silk Steel Armor+7+3-43,400gp

Made using an ancient bugbear technique, overlapping plates of steel are held apart by layers of silk and the entire carapace slides virtually without sound. While bulky, this black armor is remarkably stealthy.
Whenever you suffer lethal physical damage you may convert an amount of that damage equal to your BAB into nonlethal damage. The ACP of this armor is ignored when using Move Silently.


Stone Plate [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Stone Plate+100-96,750gp

Grown or carved from solid stone, this Dwarven armor is hard to move in, but the protection is amazing.
Whilst in contact with an unworked earth or stone floor you gain DR equal to your BaB/-
Scaling bonus: Stone Plate has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: You gain Tremorsense to 30’.


Sun Plate [Medium Magic item]:
ArmorArmor BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Sun Plate+9+6-1020,000gp

Glorious golden armor forged from Hope and filled with Goodness.
You radiate light like a Daylight effect. As a swift action you may cause any Undead creatures and Evil Outsiders within this area to suffer 1d6 Light damage per BaB point you have.
Scaling bonus: Sun Plate has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Once per day, the armor will cast a Heal spell on you with a Caster level of 11. This is a contingent effect and goes off when you need it to.
Last edited by Zherog on Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:16 am, edited 8 times in total.
Reason: Fixed formatting tags
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

Try our fantasy card game Clash of Nations! Available via Print on Demand.

“Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” - Voltaire
Red_Rob
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Post by Red_Rob »

Shields
ShieldsShield BonusMax DexACPPriceWeight[/b]
Buckler+1--115gp5lb
Wooden Shield+1-015gp5lb
Steel Shield+2--150gp10lb
Dragonscale Shield(*)+3--1950gp15lb
Mithril Shield(*)+2-01,020gp5lb
Adamantine(*)+3--12,000gp25lb
Magic Shields____
Vine Shield(*)(L)+1--14,045gp10lb
Force Shield(*)(L)+3-04,800gp10lb
Great ShieldsShield BonusMax DexACPPriceWeight
Tower Shield+4--5100gp45lb
Kite Shield+4--5120gp35lb
Bone Wall+3--4150gp30lb
Kappa Shell+3--6500gp30lb
Magic Great Shields____
Ice Aegis(*)(L)+5--44,600gp40lb
Crystal Shield(*)(L)+3--35,000gp40lb

Adamantine Shield:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Adamantine Shield+3--12,000gp

A target shield constructed of pure Adamantine, it is nearly indestructible and can be placed between your important bits and deadly weapons.
As an Immediate action you may force an opponent to reroll a successful attack against you.


Buckler:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Buckler+1--115gp

A small shield strapped to the wrist or forearm used for parrying.
A buckler provides no bonuses while you are denied your Dexterity bonus to AC. You may use a weapon with the hand using the Buckler, but doing so causes you to suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls using this hand (including two handed weapons).


Dragonscale Shield:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Dragonscale Shield+3--1950gp

Fashioned from a single dragon scale, this shield deflects dragon breath and other similar attacks
Whilst carrying this shield you may use an Immediate Action to gain Evasion for 1 round.


Force Shield [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Force Shield+3-04,800gp

A clear shield made out of pure Force.
A Force Shield cannot be sundered by anything less than a completely arbitrary effect like a Sphere of Annihilation and its AC counts against Touch attacks, including Incorporeal attacks.
Scaling bonus: A Force Shield has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: You gain Energy Resistance against Force Damage equal to the Shield Bonus the shield provides.


Mithril Shield:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Mithril Shield+2-01,020gp

It's as strong as titanium and as light as titanium. Who are we fooling? This is a great shield.
Attacks against you by enemies that are not flanking you have a 20% miss chance.


Steel Shield:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Steel Shield+2--150gp

It can be round or square or shaped like something in particular. It's not important, the key is that it's between you and sharp objects and it's made out of steel.
Whilst there are no enemies within your natural reach you count as having cover from ranged attacks


Vine Shield [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Vine Shield+1--14,045gp

A writhing mass of vines extends from your arm and at your direction - protects you.
You may add the shield bonus (inc. Enhancement bonus) of the Vine Shield to your BaB for determining the Edge when attempting a Trip, Grapple or Disarm maneuver.
Scaling bonus: A Vine Shield has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: Any attack made against you that misses you provokes an attack of opportunity. This must be a trip or disarm attempt.


Wooden Shield:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Wooden Shield+1-015gp

Made of wood and held together with bands of steel or strips of leather, a wooden shield makes up in shock absorbance what it loses in resilience.
Whilst there are no enemies within your natural reach you count as having cover from ranged attacks


Great Shields
The ACP of Great Shields is counted as double for the purpose of using skills. In addition, any attacks made whilst using a Great Shield have a -2 penalty to hit.

Bone Wall:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Bone Wall+3--4150gp

A seemingly random assortment of bones collected into a large shield.
A Bone Wall provides a bonus to saves against Death Effects and Necromancy spells equal to its Shield bonus


Crystal Shield [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Crystal Shield+3--35,000gp

A shield crafted out of a single solid crystal. It's transparent, but the refraction of the crystal can make things appear differently on the face of the shield than they are.
A Crystal Shield provides a +2 bonus to saving throws against Spell-Like Abilities.
Scaling bonus: A Crystal Shield has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: The DC of any spell-like ability you use whilst using this shield is increased by 1


Ice Aegis [Lesser Magic Item]:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Ice Aegis+5--44,600gp

A magically inscribed block of ice shaped into a massive shield.
An Ice Aegis provides resistance to Fire and Cold equal to its Shield bonus (including any enhancement bonus)
Scaling bonus: An Ice Aegis has a +1/3 levels enhancement bonus to AC
Magic ability: An Ice Aegis provides a bonus to saving throws against spells with the [Fire] or [Cold] descriptors equal to its Shield bonus (including any enhancement bonus)


Kappa Shell:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Kappa Shell+3--6500gp

Fitting on the back of a character like the Kappa's Shell it is named after, the Kappa Shell provides decent protection for units moving across a dangerous battle field.
You may use both your hands while using this shield.


Kite Shield:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Kite Shield+4--5120gp

Shaped metal shields fit easily over a rider and his steed, allowing good protection for mounted troops.
Your mount gains any benefit you gain from this shield (AC, feat bonuses etc.)


Tower Shield:
ArmorShield BonusMax DexACPGold Cost
Tower Shield+4--5100gp

Giant pieces of wood or metal, tower shields offer tremendous protection, but cannot be effectively used while mounted.
You may claim total cover whilst using a Tower Shield. This must be declared at the start of your action and lasts until the start of your next action. You may not make any attack actions, including spellcasting, whilst claiming total cover.
Last edited by Zherog on Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:17 am, edited 9 times in total.
Reason: Fixed formatting tags
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

Try our fantasy card game Clash of Nations! Available via Print on Demand.

“Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” - Voltaire
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Sunwitch
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Post by Sunwitch »

I actually like this, it cuts down on the excessive bonus overload that I've noticed goes on in Tome games I and my friends have been running and I really like the idea of merging magic effects into the item itself; it seems a lot more flavourful.
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Post by Judging__Eagle »

Yo, thanks a lot, having "some" price scheme at all is better than "no" price scheme at all.
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Post by Surgo »

I really like this revision a lot. I haven't gone over the specific numbers but I think the idea is sound.
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Post by Red_Rob »

Thanks guys, some of the abilities I'm still a little unsure of so any feedback on specific abilities or possible problems is appreciated.

One thing that bugs me is that Gith armor's ability doesn't do anything. Because spell failure in Tome is based off ACP, any armour with ACP -1 can be made masterwork to reduce this to ACP 0 and have no spell failure chance. I only used the ability as it's flavourful for the Gish race and it may not be obvious to newer players that they can take the ACP down.
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

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Korgan0
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Post by Korgan0 »

Magic Clothing seems way too good for a minor magic item, especially at high levels, as characters with high Dex will get the full benefit of that along with two scaling bonuses to level. I get that it's supposed to allow wizards and the like to have decent AC, but even so, it seems a bit excessive for its price.

Other than that, they all seem pretty reasonable.
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Post by Red_Rob »

The power of Magic Clothing depends on whether you believe that you can give a normal shirt an enhancement bonus to AC. If you do, all it gives you over having Camouflaged clothing with an enhancement bonus and a Ring of Protection is +2 AC. It's kind of nice that they come together on one item, but the overall protection isn't any better.

Now, if you rule that you can't get an enhancement bonus to AC on clothing that doesn't already have AC (and that gets dodgy when you realise that a helm of intellect gives an enhancement bonus to Int but doesn't have an Int score), then it gets more dicey. At that point it is giving a substantial bonus.
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

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Korgan0
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Post by Korgan0 »

I assumed that these magic armours totally superceded the existing 3.5 rules for enchanting armour, so you couldn't give armor an enhancment bonus to anything. In any case, my complaint isn't that it's to good, but rather that it's too good for the price. At 8,000 gp, the clothing by itself costs the same as a +2 ring of protection, and the costs of a ring of protection pull ahead pretty damn rapidly.
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Post by Red_Rob »

As I stated in the first post, this was actually building from Kaelik's Tome Errata item rules, therefore a Ring of Protection would provide a scaling deflection bonus by itself.

It wasn't my intention to remove the standard "magic chainmail" from the game with these armours - I think you'd have to allow any of these nonmagical armours to be at least enchanted with an enhancement bonus or the pool of available armours would become too restricted at about level 6. Troll Hide or Unreal Armour are simply specific magic armours you can find, like a Sun Blade is a specific type of magic weapon.

If you aren't using Book of Gears / Kaelik's items then some of the costs might be a little screwy, because these systems assume a scaling stat bonus is the most basic thing an item can have.
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

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Post by Josh_Kablack »

I like the general idea and I like that you answered my complaint by actually posting this.

It's pretty durn good.

But now I'm gonna nitpick:

My primary complaint is the lack of a master list table sorting by type at the start.

A related complaint, ( and the only issue where I think my revision is unquestionably better than yours ) is the subdivision of the armor types into manageably small subsets for player readability. I think it would be much more readable and more accessible to players if you split your 59 armors up not merely by not/light/med/heavy but also by one or more arbitrary distinctions (metalic/nonmetalic or elven/dwarven/orcish origin or something) down the middle so that players could digest the list in chunks of 8 or fewer items at a time.

In general you haven't really done enough to address the Tome 1.0 armor issue of abilities being granted flavor-wise to result in "the strong tendency for the relatively few good abilities to be concentrated on armors with high numeric bonuses".

What light armor character is going to pass on a +5/+6 DR= BaB/Bludgeoning Mithral shirt? The answers are pretty much Only characters who can't afford 2,000 GP, Characters who are willing to sacrifice 2-3 points of AC and the DR to use all of their 24 or 26 Dex and characters with 25,000 gp armors.

What medium armor character is going to wear anything other than Adamantine or Mithral or Dragonscale? (honorable mention to Gith Armor) which offer the best Armor Bonuses, some of the best Armor Bonus + Max Dex combos and very solid abilities on top of reasonably lower or minimal ACPs. The answer again seems to be "characters on starting loot and characters in the-post-wish economy".
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Red_Rob
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Post by Red_Rob »

Josh_Kablack wrote:I like the general idea and I like that you answered my complaint by actually posting this.

It's pretty durn good.
Thanks!
Josh_Kablack wrote:But now I'm gonna nitpick:
And things were going so well...
Josh_Kablack wrote:My primary complaint is the lack of a master list table sorting by type at the start.

A related complaint, ( and the only issue where I think my revision is unquestionably better than yours ) is the subdivision of the armor types into manageably small subsets for player readability. I think it would be much more readable and more accessible to players if you split your 59 armors up not merely by not/light/med/heavy but also by one or more arbitrary distinctions (metalic/nonmetalic or elven/dwarven/orcish origin or something) down the middle so that players could digest the list in chunks of 8 or fewer items at a time.
The lack of a list is just because my list-fu is weak. I'll look at some code and knock one up. I have a master list in Excel I use for our games though, and I agree it makes it much easier to compare and identify odd values and discrepancies.
Josh_Kablack wrote:In general you haven't really done enough to address the Tome 1.0 armor issue of abilities being granted flavor-wise to result in "the strong tendency for the relatively few good abilities to be concentrated on armors with high numeric bonuses".

What light armor character is going to pass on a +5/+6 DR= BaB/Bludgeoning Mithral shirt? The answers are pretty much Only characters who can't afford 2,000 GP, Characters who are willing to sacrifice 2-3 points of AC and the DR to use all of their 24 or 26 Dex and characters with 25,000 gp armors.

What medium armor character is going to wear anything other than Adamantine or Mithral or Dragonscale? (honorable mention to Gith Armor) which offer the best Armor Bonuses, some of the best Armor Bonus + Max Dex combos and very solid abilities on top of reasonably lower or minimal ACPs. The answer again seems to be "characters on starting loot and characters in the-post-wish economy".
Aaaaaaand this is the big one. On the one hand, I don't see there being "tiers" of armours to be such a bad thing. For one thing, D&D is a levelled game and you are supposed to be getting better equipment every few levels. For another some armours are much more costly. For this to work some armours just have to be better than others, and it's entirely intentional that the DR provided by Mithril and Adamantine is better than the slashing/bludgeoning/piercing resistance provided by mundane metals.

The key is making sure that each "tier" has enough variety of viable choices and that you can't skip tiers too fast. My ultimate goal was that at levels 1-5(ish) characters would be working their way through the mundane armour types - starting with Hide or Hoplite armour say, and moving onto Fullplate or a Breastplate with an enhancement bonus. Once they reach levels 6+ they start graduating to the special material armours - mithril, dragonscale, adamantine, or a lesser item armour. Then once they get into the double digits they can afford enchanted mithril, or one of the moderate armours. Finally once they get into levels 13+ they are looking at the top end - Greater item armours.

To this end, I do think the Mithril Shirt is perhaps a little too good for its cost - it has the best profile and one of the best light armour abilities, and is pretty cheap. I had one of my players opine that he would just use a Mithril Shirt on any light armoured character too, so it could probably do with a tone down. Or maybe the other "similar tier" armours could do with a boost to put their profile on par? If Darkleaf, Mysterious Membrane and Naga Hide were all +5/+6 it would make the choice a lot less clear cut. I'll take a look at the other armours and see if any stand out as too dominant for their cost.

By the way, thanks for the post Josh, it really helped me crystallize some of the design goals I've had floating around.
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Post by Red_Rob »

Added section on magic armors, and summary of each armor type at the start of each section. Also rejigged some of the armors and costs to make less stand-out options.
Simplified Tome Armor.

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Post by Surgo »

I've tried to go through a lot of these and ask "When would I use this?" to try to get a better sense of what stats are good and what are bad. I'll post the results of this exercise this evening.
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Post by Surgo »

Let's start with the abilities.

Minor:
* Energy Resistance - LGTM, just a duplicate of what appears in the Tome Magic Items.
* Light Fortification - I don't think these work that well until you gain full immunity, personally.
* Arrow Deflection - I don't know, really. The "nonmagical" part makes this really an uncommon occurrence.
* Ghost Touch - LGTM
* Glamared - LGTM
* Skill Bonus - Okay I guess, might want to make it work with the Tome of Prowess though.

Moderate:
* Energy Immunity - LGTM
* Medium Fortification - See above comment.
* Adaptation - LGTM
* Haste - LGTM
* Wild - LGTM
* Luck - LGTM
* Weightless -- this is a flat numbers boost, it could be okay but I'm not sure if I like it or not.

Major:
* Heavy fortification -- why so afraid of 100% immunity?
* Etherealness -- 1 hour is pretty harsh, why not 10 minutes?
* Planar Travel -- this is total crap, just buy a scroll.
* Freedom -- not sure how I feel about this one; could be okay, could be to strong.
* Invulnerability -- I hate 1/day abilities, but at least this one is better than Planar Travel.
* Absorption -- see Invulnerability.
Last edited by Surgo on Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Red_Rob »

Confession time: The magic item list is just the list of DMG powers ranked by Frank plugged into the magic item system and costs from Kaelik's Tome errata. It's the simple list I put together for use in our current campaign, and I haven't really done much with it. Really it could do with bulking out with at least 10 or so abilities each for each level (more for the lower levels as that's where people play more often).

With that said, let's look at some changes. Firstly, Arrow deflection was supposed to state "physical" not "nonmagical". I'll change it. The intention was that Magic arrows are kosher, rays are not. Fortification I can see the argument for removing, however I think it's a useful ability to exist, if only so that other things can grant it. I agree that a Major item should just give immunity though. What about if Planar Travel creates a Travel Gate 1/day and provides always-on Attune Form? Etherealness was 1/day in the DMG, I dropped it to 1/hour but 1/10 minutes would probably be fine.

Regarding the regular armors, pretty much all of them were just taken from the original Tome list and given a suitable ability. Looking through with a critical eye I noticed the following:
Wooden shields have no reason to exist. I think they should have 0 ACP.
Cord armor works off a tumble check, the -1ACP seems counterintuitive.
Armors having +8 or more max dex seems like a token gesture. If they are above +7 it should just be "no maximum".
Coral armor seems weak, possibly needs a boost / cost reduction.
Mithril Shirts standing out so much is partly because they are the only "special material" nonmagical light armor. Medium has Mithril, Dragonscale and Adamantine whilst Heavy has Adamantine and Dragonscale but Light only has Mithril. Possibly need to make a new special light armor so mid level characters have more options.
Medium armor has only 1 Greater magic armor, possibly could do with another?

I'm also gonna change the Armor bonus on the shields to read "Shield bonus", because it should.
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Post by Surgo »

Making a character so I've now gone through the heavy armors:

Adamantine Carapace: LGTM.
Coral Armor: Its stats aren't as good but this is awesome for people who want TWF and a shield, so it's in a good place.
Dragonscale Suit: LGTM.
Full Plate: This is just ass compared to other options (Adamantine/Dragonscale) -- you could make it significantly cheaper to give it a saving grace, or give it a better ability. Your choice.
Great Armor: Pointless, Dragonscale Suit is a better choice even if you're not using a shield.
Half Plate: Same problem as Full Plate.
Hoplite Armor: LGTM.
Mechanus Armor: LGTM.
Silk Steel Armor: LGTM.
Stone Plate: At least give it the armor bonus that Adamantine Carapace gets.
Sun Plate: LGTM.
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Post by TarkisFlux »

The skill bonus is a pretty trashy ability since it doesn't stack with the +1 per level skill boost you could get as a basic bonus on a wondrous item. It should either give you +1 per level, like the other magical bits that also grant a second basic bonus, or you should toss it.
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Post by Red_Rob »

Surgo wrote:Making a character so I've now gone through the heavy armors:

Adamantine Carapace: LGTM.
Coral Armor: Its stats aren't as good but this is awesome for people who want TWF and a shield, so it's in a good place.
Dragonscale Suit: LGTM.
Full Plate: This is just ass compared to other options (Adamantine/Dragonscale) -- you could make it significantly cheaper to give it a saving grace, or give it a better ability. Your choice.
Great Armor: Pointless, Dragonscale Suit is a better choice even if you're not using a shield.
Half Plate: Same problem as Full Plate.
Hoplite Armor: LGTM.
Mechanus Armor: LGTM.
Silk Steel Armor: LGTM.
Stone Plate: At least give it the armor bonus that Adamantine Carapace gets.
Sun Plate: LGTM.
I don't see the problem with Half & Full plate and Great armour being strictly worse than Adamantine and Dragonscale as long as they serve a purpose. Let me expound my reasoning and you can tell me if I have my head up my ass.

In the Tomes Frank mentioned that the D&D armor system basically leads you towards using one set armor in each class. For Heavy armor Full plate just gives a bigger AC than other options, for Medium it's the Breastplate that comes out on top. The problem here is that these items are pretty cheap. Even Full plate is reachable by third level, whilst the others can be purchased with starting wealth by some characters. This means that characters all use the same gear starting from around level 2.

Now, in D&D characters go up levels and are expected to get better gear as they do so. I've tried to space out the costs and abilities so that at each level there are a variety of options, however it is inevitable that as you advance in levels the options that were good early on start to look a little ropy, and options that were outside your reach start to look affordable.

Looking specifically at Half/Full plate compared to Adamantine & Dragonscale, Full plate costs 1,500gp whilst Dragonscale is 4,500gp and Adamantine is 9,000gp. This means 2 things. Firstly, that Half plate can be purchased at second level, whilst Dragonscale becomes affordable at the earliest at fourth level, more realistically at fifth and Adamantine at 6th-7th. Secondly it means that at the point where you can afford Dragonscale or Adamantine you can afford Lesser Magic Full or Half plate, which provides another 2-3 AC and Energy resistance or Arrow deflection or somesuch. I think this gives these armors reason to exist. Also they are the only option for a lower level character to get a damage reducing ability, even if they are measurably worse than other options once money becomes no object.

A little aside about obsolescence - I feel that players will not only want Full Plate to be worse than the special armor types, they will expect[/i] it. You can't have it both ways - either Dragonscale and Adamantine are wondrous materials talked of in hushed tones, or they're just another alternative to chainmail. It is my hope that by ensuring that there are a variety of options at low, mid and high levels that all the armors will be a viable choice for at least some characters, whilst allowing players to get excited when they first see Dragonscale or a Mysterious Membrane.

A note on Great Armor - it provides the greatest raw bonus to AC until you can afford Stone Plate, or Adamantine if you have any dex bonus. I think that gives it a place amongst the mundane armors.

My overall take on Heavy armor is that by level 2-3 you can afford Hoplite armor, Half Plate, Full plate, Coral or Great armor. So these should all be roughly equivalent, with reasons to choose each one. Once you reach levels 4-6 you are starting to look at Magic versions of these, the Lesser Magical armors or non magical Dragonscale, so these options should be roughly equivalent. At levels 7-9 it is pretty much Magical Adamantine, Dragonscale or a Lesser armor, moving towards a Medium armor. It's important to note that Medium magic Half plate costs 16,800gp, whilst Medium Magic Adamantine is 25,000gp (both Wish economy items as they are over 16,000gp). That's a considerable difference, and I think might cause some players to think twice before just going ALL ADAMANT/DRAGONSCALE ALL THE TIME. After level 10 this becomes less of an obstacle and then you start graduating into the Major armors at levels 14-15.

I think that gives players a choice of options at each level without there being a clear standout winner, whilst also allowing players to feel that they are upgrading and getting better at each tier. Am I way off base here?
Tarkis Flux wrote:The skill bonus is a pretty trashy ability since it doesn't stack with the +1 per level skill boost you could get as a basic bonus on a wondrous item. It should either give you +1 per level, like the other magical bits that also grant a second basic bonus, or you should toss it.

In our games we changed the scaling skill bonus to be a flat +5. The scaling skill bonus does nothing at first or second level, and is half the RNG at level 10. It's intentional it doesn't scale with the wondrous item bonus, it basically allows you to have a skill bonus item as your armors magical effect.
Last edited by Red_Rob on Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

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Post by Surgo »

That's fine. I just think maybe Full Plate can be slightly cheaper to compensate.
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Post by Chamomile »

I am not super awesome at crunch, but here's my two cents on all of the "starter" light armors, since I happen to be making a character who can use light armors right now.

Brigandine: Of the low-level armors, this one is easily the most solid overall choice.
Chain Shirt: Looks like a solid choice for high-BAB classes who also have high-DEX, so certain Ranger builds will be happy with it
Cord Armor: I don't like replacing things which are usually fairly well balanced, like AC or saves, with things that are typically useless and thus handed out like Halloween candy, like skill bonuses. So long as absurd skill cheese is kept in check, this armor is probably the best choice for anyone who has high Tumble, though, so that's cool.
Gray Armor: This is really pushing it for "starter armor" since it costs 1,000 GP, but nonetheless it's a pretty good balance with the Chain Shirt, which it is mostly identical to, save only for the ability and cost. Might consider decreasing the cost on this a bit, just because the Chain Shirt is a serious contender with Grey Armor for anyone who has full BAB, and yet it is only a tenth of the cost.
Leather Armor: In terms of verisimilitude I don't see why leather armor grants more fire resistance than other armors (particularly the Still Suit), but mechanics-wise that seems like a good trade-off for when you know you're likely to fight something burny, especially if you've got the DEX to make use of it.
Padded Armor: Why would anyone use this ever? The tumble guys are all over cord armor, the AC is pathetic, and everyone can afford something at least slightly better. Maybe this would hold up better as a non-armor?
Still Suit: This is a pretty niche utility to be giving up 2-3 points of AC for, but I'm okay with having niche armors. Still, is there any reason you can't give this a resistance bonus like with Winter Clothing? Especially considering how much more expensive it is.
Studded Leather Armor: That's a pretty solid ability, I'd definitely consider trading 1-2 points of AC for it at low levels.
Wicker Armor: That's a less solid ability, but it's not coming at a huge AC cost so I could see people going for it occasionally. Still, I'd look into expanding the ability somehow.
Winter Clothing: That cold resistance does a lot to make up for the poor AC and middling max DEX. Seems decent, but is there any reason this isn't a non-armor?
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