SRD:Magic Armor

This material is published under the OGL

Magic 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.

Table: Armor and Shields

Minor	Medium	Major	Item	Base Price
01–60	01–05	—	+1 shield	1,000 gp
61–80	06–10	—	+1 armor	1,000 gp
81–85	11–20	—	+2 shield	4,000 gp
86–87	21–30	—	+2 armor	4,000 gp
—	31–40	01–08	+3 shield	9,000 gp
—	41–50	09–16	+3 armor	9,000 gp
—	51–55	17–27	+4 shield	16,000 gp
—	56–57	28–38	+4 armor	16,000 gp
—	—	39–49	+5 shield	25,000 gp
—	—	50–57	+5 armor	25,000 gp
—	—	—	+6 armor/shield^1	36,000 gp
—	—	—	+7 armor/shield^1	49,000 gp
—	—	—	+8 armor/shield^1	64,000 gp
—	—	—	+9 armor/shield^1	81,000 gp
—	—	—	+10 armor/shield^1	100,000 gp
88–89	58–60	58–60	Specific armor^2	—
90–91	61–63	61–63	Specific shield^3	—
92–100	64–100	64–100	Special ability and roll again^4	—
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^1
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).

Table: Random Shield Type

d%	Shield	Shield Cost^1
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).

Caster Level for Armor and Shields

The caster level of a magic shield or magic armor with a special ability is given in the item description. For an item with only an enhancement bonus, the caster level is three times the enhancement bonus. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the two caster level requirements must be met.

Shields

Shield enhancement bonuses stack with armor enhancement bonuses. Shield enhancement bonuses do not act as attack or damage bonuses when the shield is used in a bash. The bashing special ability, however, does grant a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls (see the special ability description).

A shield could be built that also acted as a magic weapon, but the cost of the enhancement bonus on attack rolls would need to be added into the cost of the shield and its enhancement bonus to AC.

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

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

Activation

Usually a character benefits from magic armor and shields in exactly the way a character benefits from nonmagical armor and shields—by wearing them. If armor or a shield has a special ability that the user needs to activate then the user usually needs to utter the command word (a standard action).

Armor for Unusual Creatures

The cost of armor for nonhumanoid creatures, as well as for creatures who are neither Small nor Medium, varies. The cost of the masterwork quality and any magical enhancement remains the same.

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.

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 bonus^1
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 bonus^1
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 bonus^1
—	80–84	34–35	Invulnerability	+3 bonus^1
—	85–89	36–40	Fortification, moderate	+3 bonus^1
—	90–94	41–42	Spell resistance (15)	+3 bonus^1
—	95–99	43	Wild	+3 bonus^1
—	—	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 bonus^1
—	—	89	Etherealness	+49,000 gp
—	—	90	Undead controlling	+49,000 gp
—	—	91–92	Fortification, heavy	+5 bonus^1
—	—	93–94	Spell resistance (19)	+5 bonus^1
—	—	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 again^2	—
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	Base Price Modifier
01–20	01–10	01–05	Arrow catching	+1 bonus^1
21–40	11–20	06–08	Bashing	+1 bonus^1
41–50	21–25	09–10	Blinding	+1 bonus^1
51–75	26–40	11–15	Fortification, light	+1 bonus^1
76–92	41–50	16–20	Arrow deflection	+2 bonus^1
93–97	51–57	21–25	Animated	+2 bonus^1
98–99	58–59	—	Spell resistance (13)	+2 bonus^1
—	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 bonus^1
—	86–95	47–56	Fortification, moderate	+3 bonus^1
—	96–98	57–58	Spell resistance (15)	+3 bonus^1
—	99	59	Wild	+3 bonus^1
—	—	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 bonus^1
—	—	87	Undead controlling	+49,000 gp
—	—	88–91	Fortification, heavy	+5 bonus^1
—	—	92–93	Reflecting	+5 bonus^1
—	—	94	Spell resistance (19)	+5 bonus^1
—	—	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 again^2	—
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

Minor	Medium	Major	Specific Armor	Market Price
01–50	01–25	—	Mithral shirt	1,100 gp
51–80	26–45	—	Dragonhide plate	3,300 gp
81–100	46–57	—	Elven chain	4,150 gp
—	58–67	—	Rhino hide	5,165 gp
—	68–82	01–10	Adamantine breastplate	10,200 gp
—	83–97	11–20	Dwarven plate	16,500 gp
—	98–100	21–32	Banded mail of luck	18,900 gp
—	—	33–50	Celestial armor	22,400 gp
—	—	51–60	Plate armor of the deep	24,650 gp
—	—	61–75	Breastplate of command	25,400 gp
—	—	76–90	Mithral full plate of speed	26,500 gp
—	—	91–100	Demon armor	52,260 gp

Specific Shields

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

Table: Specific Shields

Minor	Medium	Major	Specific Shield	Market Price
01–30	01–20	—	Darkwood buckler	205 gp
31–80	21–45	—	Darkwood shield	257 gp
81–95	46–70	—	Mithral heavy shield	1,020 gp
96–100	71–85	01–20	Caster’s shield	3,153 gp
—	86–90	21–40	Spined shield	5,580 gp
—	91–95	41–60	Lion’s shield	9,170 gp
—	96–100	61–90	Winged shield	17,257 gp
—	—	91–100	Absorbing shield	50,170 gp

Epic Armor

Except when otherwise stated, epic magic armor and shields follow the rules for nonepic magic armor and shields.

There is no limit to the enhancement bonus of epic magic armor or shields, to the market price modifier of epic magic armor or shield special abilities, or to the total enhancement bonus and market price modifier of epic magic armor or shields.

Epic Armor and Shield Base Price

To find the base price of an epic suit of magic armor or an epic magic shield, roll on Table: Armor and Shields. Note that the +6 to +10 rows apply only to armor and shields that provide an enhancement bonus of +6 to +10 or armor and shields with a single special ability whose market price modifier is +6 to +10. Magic armor and shields with a total effective bonus of +6 to +10 but that have an enhancement bonus of +5 or less and special abilities whose individual market price modifiers are +5 or less use the table for nonepic magic armor to determine price.

Table: Armor and Shields

d%	Enhancement Bonus	Market Price
01	+1 shield^1	+1,000 gp
02	+1 armor^2	+1,000 gp
03	+2 shield^1	+4,000 gp
04	+2 armor^2	+4,000 gp
05–06	+3 shield^1	+9,000 gp
07–08	+3 armor^2	+9,000 gp
09–12	+4 shield^1	+16,000 gp
13–16	+4 armor^2	+16,000 gp
17–21	+5 shield^1	+25,000 gp
22–26	+5 armor^2	+25,000 gp
27–30	+6 shield	+360,000 gp
31–34	+6 armor	+360,000 gp
35–38	+7 shield	+490,000 gp
39–42	+7 armor	+490,000 gp
43–45	+8 shield	+640,000 gp
46–48	+8 armor	+640,000 gp
49–50	+9 shield	+810,000 gp
51–52	+9 armor	+810,000 gp
53–54	+10 shield	+1,000,000 gp
55–56	+10 armor	+1,000,000 gp
57–62	Specific armor or shield^3
63–75	Armor with special ability and roll again^4
76–98	Shield with special ability and roll again^4
99	Epic shield^5
100	Epic armor^5
Roll also on nonepic magic item Table: Shield Special Abilities. Roll also on nonepic magic item Table: Armor Special Abilities. Roll on Table: Specific Epic Magic Armor and Shields. Roll on Table: Armor Special Abilities or Table: Shield Special Abilities. Roll on Table: Epic Armor and Shields.

Table: Epic Armor and Shields

d%	Enhancement Bonus	Market Price
01–21	+11	+1,210,000 gp
22–39	+12	+1,440,000 gp
40–54	+13	+1,690,000 gp
55–66	+14	+1,960,000 gp
67–76	+15	+2,250,000 gp
77–84	+16	+2,560,000 gp
85–90	+17	+2,890,000 gp
91–94	+18	+3,240,000 gp
95–97	+19	+3,610,000 gp
98–99	+20	+4,000,000 gp
100	Roll again and add +10 to bonus^1	^2
This is cumulative if rolled multiple times. For enhancement bonuses higher than +20, the market price modifier is equal to the square of the bonus ×10,000 gp.

Table: Random Armor Type

d%	Armor	Armor Cost^1
01	Padded	+155 gp
02	Leather	+160 gp
03–12	Hide	+165 gp
13–27	Studded leather	+175 gp
28–42	Chain shirt^2	+250 gp
43	Scale mail^2	+200 gp
44	Chainmail^2	+300 gp
45–57	Breastplate^2	+350 gp
58	Splint mail^2	+350 gp
59	Banded mail^2	+400 gp
60	Half-plate^2	+750 gp
61–100	Full plate^2	+1,650 gp
All magic armor is masterwork armor (with an armor check penalty 1 lower than normal). Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Epic Armor and Shields to determine total market price. Roll d% to determine material: 01–70 steel; 71–90 mithral; 91–99 adamantine; 100 other. Adjust price accordingly.

Table: Random Shield Type

d%	Shield	Shield Cost^1
01–10	Buckler	+165 gp
11–15	Shield, light wooden^2	+153 gp
16–20	Shield, light steel^3	+159 gp
21–30	Shield, heavy wooden^2	+157 gp
31–95	Shield, heavy steel^3	+170 gp
96–100	Shield, tower^2	+180 gp
All magic shields are masterwork shields (with an armor check penalty 1 lower than normal). Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Epic Armor and Shields to determine total market price. Roll d% to determine material: 01–70 wood; 71–99 dark-wood; 100 other. Adjust price accordingly. Roll d% to determine material: 01–70 steel; 71–90 mithral; 91–99 adamantine; 100 other. Adjust price accordingly.

Epic Armor and Shield Special Ability Descriptions

Most magic armor and shields only have enhancement bonuses. Such items can also have special abilities, such as those detailed below and nonepic abilities. Armor or a shield with a special ability must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.

Table: Armor Special Abilities

d%	Special Ability	Market Price Modifier^1
01–06	Great invulnerability (10/magic)	+4 bonus
07–11	Great invulnerability (15/magic)	+5 bonus
12–19	Negating	+5 bonus
20–26	Acid warding	+6 bonus
27–33	Cold warding	+6 bonus
34–40	Fire warding	+6 bonus
41–44	Great invulnerability (5/epic)	+6 bonus
45–50	Great spell resistance (SR 21)	+6 bonus
51–57	Lightning warding	+6 bonus
58–64	Sonic warding	+6 bonus
65–67	Great invulnerability (10/epic)	+7 bonus
68–72	Great spell resistance (SR 23)	+7 bonus
73–76	Great spell resistance (SR 25)	+8 bonus
77–79	Great spell resistance (SR 27)	+9 bonus
80–87	Roll on nonepic magic item Table: Armor Special Abilities, then roll again on this table.
88–95	Roll twice on nonepic magic item Table: Armor Special Abilities.
96–100	Roll twice again^2
Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Epic Armor and Shields to determine total market price. If a special ability is rolled twice, only one counts. If two versions of the same special ability are rolled, use the better.

Table: Shield Special Abilities

d%	Shield Special Ability	Market Price Modifier^1
01–06	Great invulnerability (10/magic)	+4 bonus
07–12	Great invulnerability (15/magic)	+5 bonus
13–19	Acid warding	+6 bonus
20–26	Cold warding	+6 bonus
27–33	Fire warding	+6 bonus
34–37	Great invulnerability (5/epic)	+6 bonus
38–43	Great spell resistance (SR 21)	+6 bonus
44–46	Infinite arrow deflection	+6 bonus
47–53	Lightning warding	+6 bonus
54–60	Sonic warding	+6 bonus
61–63	Great invulnerability (10/epic)	+7 bonus
64–68	Great spell resistance (SR 23)	+7 bonus
69–71	Exceptional arrow deflection	+8 bonus
72–75	Great spell resistance (SR 25)	+8 bonus
76–78	Great spell resistance (SR 27)	+9 bonus
79	Great reflection	+10 bonus
80–87	Roll on nonepic magic item Table: Shield Special Abilities, then roll again on this table.
88–95	Roll twice on nonepic magic item Table: Shield Special Abilities.
96–100	Roll twice again^2
Add to enhancement bonus on Table: Epic 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 Epic Armors

Table: Specific Epic Magic Armor and Shields

d%	Specific Armor or Shield	Market Price
01–20	Shapeshifter’s armor	400,165 gp
21–40	Warlord’s breastplate	416,200 gp
41–57	Dragonskin armor	564,550 gp
58–71	Armor of the celestial battalion	616,300 gp
72–82	Armor of the abyssal horde	768,260 gp
83–93	Antimagic armor	871,500 gp
94–100	Bulwark of the great dragon	1,612,980 gp

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Open Game Content → System Reference Document → Magic Items