Dragonhide armor

[dama]

The attributes for dragonhide armor are pretty vague. I see no reason armor made from a dragon's hide has to be heavy/plate. I don't see how dragon hide could be clothing (AC 0), though.

I am looking for guidelines for all hides, not just dragons. But, taking a shot in the dark i get a nightmare; leather armor is AC 2, Adult black dragon has a natural AC of +18. 2e DnD says armor made from a dragon's hide is 4 less AC than when the dragon was wearing it. That would make black dragon leather armor AC 16 or at least ac 14 (2+18-4 or 18-4). That is too much. I think a dragon's hide should also provide some resistance to the same kind of damage as it's breath. A wyrmling white dragon (the least of the dragons) has a natural AC of +2. I think armor made from a great wyrm's hide would be better than from a wyrmling's hide.

 

[kmdietri]

I beleive now in 3.5 you can make certain types of dragon hide armour based on the size of the dragon you are taking the hide from.

I don't remember the sizes but for really big dragons you can make a suite of full plate dragon scale armour. which basically functions like non-magical full plate.

I believe the dragon scale gives special properties like reduced armour chekc penalties or increased max dex but I'm not possitive on that.

Any other creature I would probably just say the armour is hide armour...

Hope this helps.

 

[Pickaxe]

Dragonhide allows you to make masterwork hide armor, shields, banded, half-plate, breastplate, or full plate, all dependent on the size of the dragon. The only specific benefit described is that druids can wear all these armors without penalty (apart from non-proficiency). I too would expect that dragonhide would confer some kind of energy resistance or other benefit, but I haven't seen any such benefits described.

--Axe

 

[kmdietri]

DRAGONHIDE Armorsmiths can work with the hides of dragons to produce armor or shields of masterwork quality.

That's from the SRD I guess it's Masterwork armour of whatever size the dragon would yield.

There are a lot more details in Draconomicon

 

[dcollins]

Here's the full specification from the 3.5 SRD on "Special Materials". Basically the same as from 3.0:

Dragonhide: Armorsmiths can work with the hides of dragons to produce armor or shields of masterwork quality. One dragon produces enough hide for a single suit of masterwork hide armor for a creature one size category smaller than the dragon. By selecting only choice scales and bits of hide, an armorsmith can produce one suit of masterwork banded mail for a creature two sizes smaller, one suit of masterwork half-plate for a creature three sizes smaller, or one masterwork breastplate or suit of full plate for a creature four sizes smaller. In each case, enough hide is available to produce a small or large masterwork shield in addition to the armor, provided that the dragon is Large or larger.

Because dragonhide armor isn’t made of metal, druids can wear it without penalty.

Dragonhide armor costs double what masterwork armor of that type ordinarily costs, but it takes no longer to make than ordinary armor of that type.

Dragonhide has 10 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10.

So yes, masterwork hide armor, banded mail, half-plate, breastplate, or full plate (with shields) are possibilities.

 

[VoiceOfReason?]

no scale mail?

 

[Bryan898]

IIRC dragonarmor in 2nd edition was the thing to have. I think it's AC was based off the age category of the dragon you took it from and it bestowed resistance did it not? Now it's pretty worthless, simply expensive cool looking armor, unless you're a druid. Funny that those scales that provide a dragon a +40 natural armor bonus aren't any stronger than steel when used by PCs.

 

[kigmatzomat]

IMO, the scales that give the gargantuan dragon +40 are too large & too thick to be crafted into medium humanoid armor. You end up using the supple thinner sections.

The armor does have one advantage for enchantment; the "double masterwork cost" applys as material components towards enchantment. IIRC (no books handy) fullplate is 1500, MW full plate is 2000 so dragonhide fullplate is 4000gp. Since you need half the final item's value for enchantment, that's equivalent to 8,000gp so appropriate for +4 armor or some of the non-plus additions in 3.5.

 

[dcollins]

The armor does have one advantage for enchantment; the "double masterwork cost" applys as material components towards enchantment.

No, it doesn't. You're not going to find any core rule that says such a thing -- it's a "special material" like mithril, adamantine, etc., with it's own properties and own cost.

However, I personally use the "Variant: Power Components" and in so doing, allow dragonhide to fill in for the XP needed for the appropriate energy-resistance power.

 

[Sejs]

Funny that those scales that provide a dragon a +40 natural armor bonus aren't any stronger than steel when used by PCs.

Heh, well, it's not just the scales that provide the natural armor bonus. The scales, the hide, the tough connective tissue, the flexibility of the skeleton, etc, etc, etc. It's the total package that provides the full natural armor bonus. That the scales/hide alone can be worked to provide the same protection as steel speaks worlds for how tough just those component parts are. Most creatures have scales that are about as tough as a fingernail; dragons are a bit better off.

However, I personally use the "Variant: Power Components" and in so doing, allow dragonhide to fill in for the XP needed for the appropriate energy-resistance power.

That's how I handle it as well. The hide retains an affinity for the appropriate energy resistance, but needs to be enchanted in order to express that affinity.