View source for Expanded Armor (3.5e Variant Rule)

{{Author
|author_name=Sulacu
|date_created=November 13, 2016
|status=Work in progress
}}
{{#set:Summary=A variety of special mundane armors for the seasoned adventurer.}}

== Expanded Armor ==

Armor in core D&D is a fairly simple affair. Each core armor shares the following five variables and the following five variables only: weight class, [[SRD:Armor Class|AC]] bonus, maximum [[SRD:Dexterity|Dexterity]] bonus, [[SRD:Armor Check Penalty|armor check penalty]], and [[SRD:Arcane Spell Failure Chance|arcane spell failure chance]]. While these constructions are certainly helpful and perfectly fine, it does create an obvious meta where stats-conscious individuals will gravitate to only a small number of different choices: there will be only [[SRD:Full Plate Armor|full plate]] for the big boys, only [[SRD:Breastplate|breastplate]] for the slightly smaller boys, and only [[SRD:Chain Shirt|chain shirts]] for the welterweights. Once you gain a few levels and money start rolling in, why have leather armor when you can have a [[SRD:Mithral|mithral]] [[SRD:Chain Shirt|chain shirt]]? Add ''twilight armor''<sup>[[Spell Compendium|SpC]]</sup> to that, and you have pretty much the only armor that arcane spellcasters can (and will) readily use. It has gotten to the point that you obviously simply buy protective stats instead of armor.

Honestly, there is nothing wrong with that. It's not just the melee fighter's desire to be properly protected in a fight; it's downright necessary for his survival. However, having a greater number of viable options to choose from for every potential type of character encourages a variety that goes more than skin-deep. Wearing a specific kind of armor should have more meaning than simply boosting your AC. Therefore we have ''Expanded Armor'', an extensive wardrobe of protective gear that offers more than just the basic stats.

This article has been largely inspired by such franchises as ''Dark Souls''.

=== Description ===

Expanded armors grant the same basic statistics as ordinary armors, but come with several benefits that increases the wearer's effectiveness in certain areas. Some heavier armors will ablate certain types of damage or offer some other form of special protection, while others will ward against climate extremes or grant certain benefits in and out of combat. Many expanded armors work as masterwork skill tools for one or more skills. Most of the added benefits are comparatively minor, but will serve to make the armor more useful for specialized professions and classes.

Though some expanded armors may produce effects that are magical in nature, they are considered as mundane armor for the purpose of construction and crafting. Many of the non-mundane benefits are the results of either faith, circumstance, an alchemical effect, or even exposure to certain phenomena along an extended period of time. Expanded armors can be enhanced as ordinary armors and may be made of different materials. Only materials that can be manipulated with the specific [[SRD:Craft Skill|Craft]] skills required to craft the expanded armor can be used to make it.

All expanded armors are inherently [[SRD:Masterwork|masterwork]] quality. All masterwork costs as well as the decreased armor check penalty have already been subsumed in the basic statictics of the armor.

The base market price of an expanded armor is between 200 and 5,000 gp.

=== Make your own Expanded Armor ===

{{:Add New 3.5e Expanded Armor}}

== The Expended Armor Wardrobe ==

{| class="sortable d20" style="text-align:left;"
|-
! align="left" | Armor !! Armor Type !! Cost !! Armor Bonus !! Maximum<br/>[[SRD:Dexterity|Dex]] Bonus !! Armor Check<br/>Penalty !! Arcane Spell<br/>Failure !! Weight
{{#ask: [[:+]] [[Category:User]] [[Category:3.5e]] [[Category:Expanded Armor]] [[Category:Mundane]]
|?Type
|?Cost
|?Armor Bonus
|?Max Dex Bonus
|?Armor Check
|?Arcane Spell Failure
|?Weight
|format=template
|template=Table Row
|link=none
|limit=9999
}}
|}

=== Expanded Armor in the World ===

Unlike regular types of armor, expanded armors are generally made for an express purpose. Some expanded armors belong to long-forgotten orders who interwove minor charms within the underchain to protect against demons. Others may be emblazoned with the holy symbol of a deity, allowing simple cloth or mundane steel to be endowed with a slight divine blessing. Though some armors may harness some simple magic within, the methods of forging and crafting are mundane and able to be replicated by blacksmiths and craftspeople of certain skill.

Crafting an expanded armor requires two distinct [[SRD:Craft Skill|Craft]] skills; armorsmithing, and a secondary crafting skill that is specific to the armor in question, such as hide, metalworking, natural materials and fibres, or even sculpting or alchemy. It is possible and even likely for two different craftsmen to collaborate on the creation of a top-rate expanded armor.

Expanded armor cannot be made of a specific material; the materials involved in its creation are already determined and can be considered part of the armor's statistics. Adding the properties of another material to an expanded armor, such as making an [[SRD:Adamantine|adamantine]] [[Black Knight Armor (3.5e Equipment)|black knight armor]], requires the [[Material Composite (3.5e Equipment)|material composite]] quality.


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{{3.5e Variant Rules Breadcrumb}}

[[Category:3.5e]]
[[Category:User]]
[[Category:Equipment]]
[[Category:Armor]]
[[Category:Supplemental Variant Rule]]
{{Navboxes}}
Author	Sulacu +
Identifier	3.5e Variant Rule +
Rating	Undiscussed +
Summary	A variety of special mundane armors for the seasoned adventurer. +
Title	Expanded Armor +