3e SRD:Magic Armor

This material is published under the OGL

Magic Items (Armor)

Armor

Magic armor bonuses are referred to as enhancement bonuses, never rise above +5, and stack with regular armor bonuses (and with shield and magic shield enhancement bonuses). Further, all magic armor is also masterwork armor, so armor check penalties are reduced by 1.

In addition to an enhancement bonus, armor may have special abilities. Special abilities 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.

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. Magic armor, like almost all magic items, resizes itself to fit the wearer.

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 shield enchantment, however, does grant a +1 bonus to attacks and damage (see the item description). A shield could be built with offensive powers (like a magic weapon), but the magic offensive bonus cost would need to be added into the defensive bonus cost of the shield.

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.

Shield Hardness and Hit Points

An attacker cannot damage a magic shield with an enhancement bonus unless the attacker’s own weapon has at least as high an enhancement bonus as the shield struck. Each +1 of enhancement bonus also adds 1 to the shield’s hardness and hit points.

Activation

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).

Table: Armor and Shields

Minor	Medium	Major	Item	Market 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*	+36,000 gp
—	—	—	+7 armor/shield*	+49,000 gp
—	—	—	+8 armor/shield*	+64,000 gp
—	—	—	+9 armor/shield*	+81,000 gp
—	—	—	+10 armor/shield*	+100,000 gp
—	58–60	58–60	Specific armor**	—
—	61–63	61–63	Specific shield†	—
88–100	64–100	64–100	Special ability and roll again‡	—
* 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.

Table: Random Armor Type

d%	Armor	Armor Cost*
01	Padded	+155 gp
02	Leather	+160 gp
03–12	Hide	+165 gp
13–27	Studded leather	+175 gp
28–42	Chain shirt	+250 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
All magic armor is masterwork armor (with an armor check penalty 1 less than normal). * Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Armor and Shields to determine total market price.

Table: Random Shield Type

d%	Shield	Shield Cost*
01–10	Buckler	+165 gp
11–15	Shield, small, wooden	+153 gp
16–20	Shield, small, steel	+159 gp
21–30	Shield, large, wooden	+157 gp
31–95	Shield, large, steel	+170 gp
96–100	Shield, tower	+180 gp
All magic shields are masterwork shields (with an armor check penalty 1 less than normal). * Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Armor and Shields to determine total market price.

Armor and Shield Special Qualities

Table: Armor Special Abilities

Minor	Medium	Major	Special Ability	Modifier*
01–05	01–02	01–02	Fortification, light	+1 bonus
06–30	03–07	03–08	Glamered	+1 bonus
31–52	08–19	09	Slick	+1 bonus
53–74	20–30	10–11	Shadow	+1 bonus
75–96	31–49	12–14	Silent moves	+1 bonus
—	50	15–16	Spell resistance (13)	+2 bonus
—	51-60	17–21	Ghost touch	+3 bonus
—	—	22–23	Invulnerability	+3 bonus
97–98	61–65	24–27	Fortification, moderate	+3 bonus
—	66	28–29	Spell resistance (15)	+3 bonus
—	67–71	30–31	Acid resistance	+3 bonus
—	72–76	32–41	Cold resistance	+3 bonus
—	77–81	42–51	Fire resistance	+3 bonus
—	82–86	52–61	Lightning resistance	+3 bonus
—	87–91	62–64	Sonic resistance	+3 bonus
—	92–94	65–67	Spell resistance (17)	+4 bonus
—	95	68–69	Etherealness	+5 bonus
—	96–98	70–72	Fortification, heavy	+5 bonus
—	—	73–74	Spell resistance (19)	+5 bonus
99–100	99–100	75–100	Roll twice again**	—
* 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.

Table: Shield Special Abilities

Minor	Medium	Major	Special Ability	Modifier*
01–30	—	—	Bashing	+1 bonus
31–50	—	—	Blinding	+1 bonus
51–60	—	—	Fortification, light	+1 bonus
61–99	01–10	—	Arrow deflection	+2 bonus
—	11–16	01–15	Animated	+2 bonus
—	17–20	16–20	Spell resistance (13)	+2 bonus
—	21–25	21–25	Ghost touch	+3 bonus
—	26–30	26–35	Fortification, moderate	+3 bonus
—	31–40	36–38	Acid resistance	+3 bonus
—	41–50	39–41	Cold resistance	+3 bonus
—	51–60	42–44	Fire resistance	+3 bonus
—	61–70	45–47	Lightning resistance	+3 bonus
—	71–80	48–50	Sonic resistance	+3 bonus
—	—	51–55	Spell resistance (15)	+3 bonus
—	—	56–60	Spell resistance (17)	+4 bonus
—	—	61–65	Fortification, heavy	+5 bonus
—	81–90	66–70	Reflecting	+5 bonus
—	—	71–80	Spell resistance (19)	+5 bonus
100	—	81–100	Roll twice again**	—
* 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.

Specific Armors

The following specific suits of armor usually are preconstructed with exactly the qualities described here.

Table: Specific Armors

Medium	Major	Specific Armor	Market Price
01–10	—	Mithral shirt	1,100 gp
11–25	—	Elven chain	4,150 gp
26–35	—	Rhino hide	5,165 gp
36–45	—	Adamantine breastplate	5,350 gp
46–70	—	Dwarven plate	10,500 gp
71–80	91–10	Plate armor of the deep	16,650 gp
81–90	11–40	Banded mail of luck	18,900 gp
91-100	41–60	Breastplate of command	21,600 gp
—	61–80	Celestial armor	25,300 gp
—	81–100	Demon armor	41,650 gp

Specific Shields

The following specific shields usually are preconstructed with exactly the qualities described here.

Table: Specific Shields

Medium	Major	Specific Shield	Market Price
01–10	—	Darkwood shield	257 gp
11–18	—	Mithral large shield	1,020 gp
19–25	—	Adamantine shield	2,170 gp
26–45	01–20	Spined shield	2,670 gp
46–65	21–40	Caster’s shield	3,153 gp
66–90	41–60	Lion’s shield	9,170 gp
91–100	61–80	Winged shield	15,159 gp
—	81–100	Absorbing shield	50,170 gp

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