Ranger Wearing Med. Mithral Armor?

[Tyrloch]

Hey Guys,

Rangers are only proficient with light armor, and most of their abilities only work if wearing light armor. But what if the ranger was to wear Mithral medium armor? Could he then use his abilities? From the SRD:

Mithral
Mithral is a very rare silvery, glistening metal that is lighter than iron but just as hard. When worked like steel, it becomes a wonderful material from which to create armor and is occasionally used for other items as well. Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light. Spell failure chances for armors and shields made from mithral are decreased by 10%, maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, and armor check penalties are lessened by 3 (to a minimum of 0).

If it is Medium Armor, but light enough to be considered Light Armor, can the ranger get away with this? I'm working on a Dwarven Ranger/Rogue build, and I was going to outfit him in a Mithral breastplate -- I just want to be sure that I'm not trying to 'pull a fast one'. What do you think??

~Jace

 

[Runestar]

Yes. The ranger would retain his class features in mithral breastplate. The rules only care if the final product is treated as light, and not the base armour type.

You could even wear halfweight fullplate (an armour property which lets your armour be treated as light, though it is terrifically expensive) and still be able to TWF.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

I realize this is a 3E question, but just in case anybody's interested, I'll point out that Pathfinder is going to change this rule. I believe the intention is to say that mithral armor counts as one category lighter, but explicitly state that the change doesn't affect the proficiency needed to wear the armor.

So a ranger could use TWF with mithral plate, but unless he had Heavy Armor Proficiency, he'd be taking big penalties.

 

[Shin Okada]

Rule texts regarding Mithral in DMG are not 100 % clear if a suit of medium armor made of mithral is light armor in all the aspects or not.

But Races of Wild has a dedicated table for armors made of some special materials, including Mithral (P.168). And in that table, Mithral Breastplate is classified as light armor. So, as long as you are playing 3.5e, Mithral Breastplate is simply light armor by RAW.

 

[glass]

I realize this is a 3E question, but just in case anybody's interested, I'll point out that Pathfinder is going to change this rule. I believe the intention is to say that mithral armor counts as one category lighter, but explicitly state that the change doesn't affect the proficiency needed to wear the armor.

So a ranger could use TWF with mithral plate, but unless he had Heavy Armor Proficiency, he'd be taking big penalties.

AFIAC that is how it has always worked, although I realise not everyone agrees.

EDIT: Where in PFRPG is it described? I can't seem to find it.


glass.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

AFIAC that is how it has always worked, although I realise not everyone agrees.

I do tend to agree, although I've not found it important enough to raise a fuss about.

EDIT: Where in PFRPG is it described? I can't seem to find it.

It's not. Jason stated his intention to make that explicit in a post.

 

[Kask]

I believe the intention is to say that mithral armor counts as one category lighter, but explicitly state that the change doesn't affect the proficiency needed to wear the armor.

Correct. Proficiency has to do with type not weight. Full plate could weigh almost nothing but you still have to train how to fight wearing it...

 

[Kask]

So, as long as you are playing 3.5e, Mithral Breastplate is simply light armor by RAW.

Actually, not. Any rule in a splat book that conflicts with a rule in a Core rule book is decided in favor of the Core rule book.

 

[frankthedm]

The proficiency issue was mention in one of the best entries in the 3.5 FAQ. While I don't agree with the entry, i respect it because it cites the rules, explains that there is some vaugeness and does not hide what it is suggesting IS a suggestion.

Is a character proficient with light armor, such as a rogue, considered to be proficient with mithral breastplate? What about a character proficient with medium armor, such as a barbarian—is he considered proficient with mithral full plate armor?

The description of mithral on page 284 of the DMG is less precise than it could be in defining how it interacts with armor proficiency rules. The simplest answer—and the one that the Sage expects most players and DMs use—is that mithral armor is treated as one category lighter for all purposes, including proficiency. This isn’t exactly what the DMG says, but it’s a reasonable interpretation of the intent of the rule (and it’s supported by a number of precedents, including the descriptions of various specific mithral armors described on page 220 of the DMG and a variety of NPC stat blocks).

Thus, a ranger or rogue could wear a mithral breastplate without suffering a nonproficiency penalty (since it’s treated as light armor), and each could use any ability dependent on wearing light or no armor (such as evasion or the ranger’s combat style). A barbarian could wear mithral full plate armor without suffering a nonproficiency penalty (since it’s treated as medium armor), and he could use any ability dependent on wearing medium or lighter armor (such as fast movement).

The same would be true of any other special material that uses the same or similar language as mithral (such as darkleaf, on page 120 of the ECS).

 

[Shin Okada]

Actually, not. Any rule in a splat book that conflicts with a rule in a Core rule book is decided in favor of the Core rule book.

It will depend on if you regard RW table is clarifying the rather less precise description in DMG, or it contradicts to DMG. I say in this case, that is a clarification.

Also, though the credibility of official FAQ is not so high, at least the sage says,

Is a character proficient with light armor, such as a rogue, considered to be proficient with mithral breastplate? What about a character proficient with medium armor,
such as a barbarian—is he considered proficient with mithral full plate armor?

The description of mithral on page 284 of the DMG is less precise than it could be in defining how it interacts with armor proficiency rules. The simplest answer—and the one that the Sage expects most players and DMs use—is that mithral armor is treated as one category lighter for all purposes, including proficiency. This isn’t exactly what the DMG says, but it’s a reasonable interpretation of the intent of the rule (and it’s supported by a number of precedents, including the descriptions of various specific mithral armors described on page 220 of the DMG and a variety of NPC stat blocks).

Thus, a ranger or rogue could wear a mithral breastplate without suffering a nonproficiency penalty (since it’s treated as light armor), and each could use any ability dependent on wearing light or no armor (such as evasion or the ranger’s combat style). A barbarian could wear mithral full plate armor without suffering a nonproficiency penalty (since it’s treated as medium armor), and he could use any ability dependent on wearing medium or lighter armor (such as fast movement).

The same would be true of any other special material that uses the same or similar language as mithral (such as darkleaf, on page 120 of the ECS).