D20:Magic Items: Armor Rules

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[hide][top]Magic Items II (Armor & Weapons)

[hide][top]Armor

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.

[top]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/shield¹	36,000 gp
?	?	?	+7 armor/shield¹	49,000 gp
?	?	?	+8 armor/shield¹	64,000 gp
?	?	?	+9 armor/shield¹	81,000 gp
?	?	?	+10 armor/shield¹	100,000 gp
88?89	58?60	58?60	Specific armor²	?
90?91	61?63	61?63	Specific shield³	?
92?100	64?100	64?100	Special ability and roll again⁴	?
Armor and shields can?t actually have bonuses this high. Use these lines to determine price when special abilities are added in. Roll on Table: Specific Armors. Roll on Table: Specific Shields. Roll on Table: Armor Special Abilities or Table: Shield Special Abilities.

[top]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
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).

[top]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
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).

[hide][top]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.

[hide][top]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.
As with armor, special abilities built into the shield add to the market value in the form of additions to the bonus of the shield, although they do not improve AC. A shield cannot have an effective bonus (enhancement plus special ability bonus equivalents) higher than +10. A shield with a special ability must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.

[hide][top]Shield Hardness and Hit Points

Each +1 of enhancement bonus adds 2 to a shield?s hardness and +10 to its hit points.

[hide][top]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).

[hide][top]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.

[hide][top]Magic Armor and Shield Special Ability Descriptions

Most magic armor and shields only have enhancement bonuses. Such items can also have one or more of the special abilities detailed below. Armor or a shield with a special ability must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.

[top]Table: Armor Special Abilities
Minor	Medium	Major	Special Ability	Base Price Modifier
01?25	01?05	01?03	Glamered	+2,700 gp
26?32	06?08	04	Fortification, light	+1 bonus¹
33?52	09?11	?	Slick	+3,750 gp
53?72	12?14	?	Shadow	+3,750 gp
73?92	15?17	?	Silent moves	+3,750 gp
93?96	18?19	?	Spell resistance (13)	+2 bonus¹
97	20?29	05?07	Slick, improved	+15,000 gp
98	30?39	08?10	Shadow, improved	+15,000 gp
99	40?49	11?13	Silent moves, improved	+15,000 gp
?	50?54	14?16	Acid resistance	+18,000 gp
?	55?59	17?19	Cold resistance	+18,000 gp
?	60?64	20?22	Electricity resistance	+18,000 gp
?	65?69	23?25	Fire resistance	+18,000 gp
?	70?74	26?28	Sonic resistance	+18,000 gp
?	75?79	29?33	Ghost touch	+3 bonus¹
?	80?84	34?35	Invulnerability	+3 bonus¹
?	85?89	36?40	Fortification, moderate	+3 bonus¹
?	90?94	41?42	Spell resistance (15)	+3 bonus¹
?	95?99	43	Wild	+3 bonus¹
?	?	44?48	Slick, greater	+33,750 gp
?	?	49?53	Shadow, greater	+33,750 gp
?	?	54?58	Silent moves, greater	+33,750 gp
?	?	59?63	Acid resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	64?68	Cold resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	69?73	Electricity resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	74?78	Fire resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	79?83	Sonic resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	84?88	Spell resistance (17)	+4 bonus¹
?	?	89	Etherealness	+49,000 gp
?	?	90	Undead controlling	+49,000 gp
?	?	91?92	Fortification, heavy	+5 bonus¹
?	?	93?94	Spell resistance (19)	+5 bonus¹
?	?	95	Acid resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
?	?	96	Cold resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
?	?	97	Electricity resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
?	?	98	Fire resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
?	?	99	Sonic resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
100	100	100	Roll twice again²	?
Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Armor and Shields to determine total market price. If you roll a special ability twice, only one counts. If you roll two versions of the same special ability, use the better.

[top]Table: Shield Special Abilities
Minor	Medium	Major	Special Ability	Base Price Modifier
01?20	01?10	01?05	Arrow catching	+1 bonus¹
21?40	11?20	06?08	Bashing	+1 bonus¹
41?50	21?25	09?10	Blinding	+1 bonus¹
51?75	26?40	11?15	Fortification, light	+1 bonus¹
76?92	41?50	16?20	Arrow deflection	+2 bonus¹
93?97	51?57	21?25	Animated	+2 bonus¹
98?99	58?59	?	Spell resistance (13)	+2 bonus¹
?	60?63	26?28	Acid resistance	+18,000 gp
?	64?67	29?31	Cold resistance	+18,000 gp
?	68?71	32?34	Electricity resistance	+18,000 gp
?	72?75	35?37	Fire resistance	+18,000 gp
?	76?79	38?40	Sonic resistance	+18,000 gp
?	80?85	41?46	Ghost touch	+3 bonus¹
?	86?95	47?56	Fortification, moderate	+3 bonus¹
?	96?98	57?58	Spell resistance (15)	+3 bonus¹
?	99	59	Wild	+3 bonus¹
?	?	60?64	Acid resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	65?69	Cold resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	70?74	Electricity resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	75?79	Fire resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	80?84	Sonic resistance, improved	+42,000 gp
?	?	85?86	Spell resistance (17)	+4 bonus¹
?	?	87	Undead controlling	+49,000 gp
?	?	88?91	Fortification, heavy	+5 bonus¹
?	?	92?93	Reflecting	+5 bonus¹
?	?	94	Spell resistance (19)	+5 bonus¹
?	?	95	Acid resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
?	?	96	Cold resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
?	?	97	Electricity resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
?	?	98	Fire resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
?	?	99	Sonic resistance, greater	+66,000 gp
100	100	100	Roll twice again²	?
Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Armor and Shields to determine total market price. If you roll a special ability twice, only one counts. If you roll two versions of the same special ability, use the better.

Template:d20:specific magic armor rules

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