Armor

[gwyllgi]

okay i think my DM will let anything from a book fly, this means dastana and chahar-aina are allowed but other things we have to convince him. So far i have convinced him to allow me to wear (all at the same time)
*Lamellar armor
*chahar-aina
*dastana
*guantlets

but im wondering if you all think it would be physically possible to wear certain ultralight armors such as mithril shirt or elven chain as well. this isn't so much a question of would you do it but why would one be able to. I know there are armors that have in their descriptions that you can wear it under clothing, which is one of my points.

I.E. i need more points, all of my armor is light armor mostly to the point of being weightless due to being made of mithril or glassteel.

 

[Empirate]

Armor bonuses from different source do not stack, unless the rules explicitly say so. So your lamellar armor cannot be combined with mithral shirt/elven chain/celestial armor.

Since all your armor is light, you can pick up some AC points by dipping Swordsage (decent dip for anything melee, really), so you can add Wis to AC.

 

[irdeggman]

Also magic items won't work with more than 1 item per slot (except for rings).

While the rules don't address stacking armor - the logic is still sound - you can't wear multiple layers of armor.

As pointed out previously, the armor bonuses do not stack regardless of being able to to it - but the penalties would stack, at least IMO if allowed to layer armor.

Clothing is special in that it doesn't count as using any body slots, and its weight is ignored for encumbrance purposes.

 

[gwyllgi]

good point but it brings up the question, is there one category for armor? also if the armor is un enchanted does armor beneath it remain active?

Also what if the armors are made out of two different magical materials? do they stack.

also do stronger magic items overpower others?

 

[Celebrim]

good point but it brings up the question, is there one category for armor?

Yes. It's the armor bonus to AC. It does't stack; so, you always take the highest armor bonus available. That's the only armor bonus that applies.

also if the armor is un enchanted does armor beneath it remain active?

I'm not sure I understand the question, but, regardless of the situation you take the highest armor bonus available to you.

Also what if the armors are made out of two different magical materials? do they stack.

To armor bonuses do not stack ever. In general, no two named bonuses with the same name ever stack unless the rules explicitly say otherwise. So, two morale bonuses don't stack. Two insight bonuses don't stack. Two luck bonuses don't stack (I think). Two divine bonuses don't stack. Dodge bonuses do stack as can circumstance bonuses and unnamed bonuses. Otherwise, no stacking (that I can think of).

so do stronger magic items overpower others?

Not sure what this means, but two armor bonuses don't stack so the strongest magic item will be the only one that counts.

 

[Empirate]

When you wear multiple magic items in the same body slot, e.g. two amulets, or two sets of armor (whose armor bonuses to AC wouldn't stack, anyway), only one of them can be active at a time. Usually, the first item you put on is the one to be active, with all items later put on in the same body slot remaining dormant until the first item is removed.

In a game I ran, one of the PCs was unfortunate enough to find no less than four magical amulets that he liked (Laeral's Tears, Natural Armor, Mighty Fists, and... I don't remember the last one). He was always changing around his amulets before combat, trying to get the most out of what he had. He also bickered about body slot idiocy quite a bit...

 

[gwyllgi]

If memory serves there was a feat that allowed you to add a magic item slot, like a third ring slot, would this work for armor? Or at least could i wear a magical ultralight armor underneath my maical lamellar and use the magical abilities of both if i took armor as the magic item slot?

 

[Empirate]

If you want the abilities of another set of enchanted armor, might as well strap on that magical mithral buckler (or animated heavy shield). Even better, the AC bonus stacks!

 

[jefgorbach]

Staking rules wouldnt apply per-se for the simple reason any pending attack would only hit the outer-most layer of armor and be affected accordingly. the only benefit would be negating the need to switch armors if/when that outer layer is destroyed/damaged and thus no longer providing protecting; which itself would be a houserule situation since RAW lacks general rules for damaging/bypassing armor AFIRC. (ie wearing leather underarmor beneath your primary metal-based armor is a good idea when hunting rust monsters. otherwise its a waste of weight/etc).

 

[Greenfield]

Okay, let's say you wear plate over chain over leather. The Leather is Ghost Touch. The Chain is Fortified.

The AC bonus you get is from the Plate, period. Not because it's on the outside, but because it's the best of the Armor Bonuses you have,

If attacked by a non-corporeal, they'll ignore the AC of the Plate and Chain, and be hitting at the Ghost Touch leather, since that's the only one that could work.

If said Ghost scores a critical hit, the Fortification DOES NOT kick in, since it isn't Ghost Touch.

If a normal, mortal, solid type opponent scored a Crit, the Fortification would apply.

The Armor Check and Encumbrance penalties would have to include all these layers of armor, and would trash your movement ans a lot of your skills, but you could do it.

Now, suppose you had a Feat that allowed an extra Body slot, and you decided to wear more armor. Now you have Scale over your Plate over your Chain over your Leather.

Unless its magical bonuses make it better than any of the others, all you've done is add to your encumbrance. The Armor Bonuses still don't stack. Period. End of sentence.

The limitation isn't about materials or styles or colors or body slots, it's about the general type of bonus the item gives. Armors all give Armor bonuses, and armor bonuses don't stack.