Craft (Armor)
Craft (Armor) covers the creation, fitting, modification, and repair of armor and shields. The skill applies according to the finished item's protective purpose rather than its primary material. A gambeson, boiled-hide suit, chain suit, plate harness, wooden shield, and metal buckler are all made with Craft (Armor).
Basic Shared Ingredients
Material units are abstract recipe quantities rather than exact pounds. An item's finished weight remains the weight given in its equipment entry. Material units measure how much usable stock the recipe consumes.
Basic Ingredients
- Cordage (C)
- Leather (L)
- Metal (M)
- Textile (T)
- Mineral (K)
- Sundries (S)
- Wood (W)
A Sundries unit represents minor ingredients that are not worth tracking independently. Sundries cannot be an item's primary material and normally do not receive special-material properties.
These seven ingredients are shared by Craft (Outfitting), Craft (Arms), and Craft (Armor).
| Code | Ingredient | Armor Uses |
|---|---|---|
| T | Textile | Gambesons, padded foundations, linings, and arming garments |
| L | Leather | Straps, hardened hide, hinges, edging, and suspension |
| W | Wood | Shield bodies, splints, and rigid internal supports |
| M | Metal | Chain, scales, bands, plates, bosses, rivets, and buckles |
| C | Cordage | Stitching, lacing, ties, and suspension cords |
| K | Mineral | Bone, horn, ceramic, and other rigid mineral components |
| S | Sundries | Glue, oil, wax, pitch, dye, and miscellaneous fasteners |
Crafting DC Scale
| DC | Complexity |
|---|---|
| 10 | Ordinary protective equipment with straightforward construction |
| 15 | Skilled armor construction requiring reliable shaping, joining, or fitting |
| 20 | Complex full-body coverage or articulated construction |
| 25+ | Masterwork, experimental, or special-material construction; rules to be established later |
The Craft DC measures the precision and complexity of construction, not the amount of material or labor involved. A full chain suit uses far more material than a chain shirt, but repetitive addition of properly made links does not make every additional section technically more difficult. Full-body fitting and articulation can increase the DC.
Masterwork Construction
Masterwork armor and shields are produced through exceptional craftsmanship rather than through a separate recipe. If the result of the Craft (Armor) check is at least 10 higher than the item's final Craft DC, the completed item is Masterwork. If the check meets the Craft DC but does not exceed it by at least 10, an ordinary version of the item is produced.
Determine the Masterwork threshold after applying all special-material and construction modifiers. For example, armor with a base Craft DC of 20 made from Shorehl has a final Craft DC of 30 and becomes Masterwork only on a result of 40 or higher.
Masterwork quality must be achieved during the item's original construction. Repairing or refitting an ordinary item cannot make it Masterwork.
Masterwork armor gains the following benefits:
It gains the Masterwork Damage Reduction listed for its armor category:
- DR 2/- for light armor, DR 3/- for medium armor, or DR 4/- for heavy armor.
- Its weight is reduced by 5 lbs.
- Its check penalty is reduced by 1, to a minimum of 0.
- Its movement penalty is reduced by 5 ft., to a minimum of 0 ft.
- Its Shatter Resistance increases by 2.
- Its Hit Points increase by 10.
- It qualifies for Enhancements.
Masterwork shields gain the following benefits:
- Their check penalty is reduced by 1, to a minimum of 0.
- Their Shatter Resistance increases by 2.
- Their Hit Points increase by 10.
- They qualify for Enhancements.
A Masterwork armor or shield has a market value 30 gp higher than the ordinary item.
Armor Recipes
Every armor recipe produces a complete suit appropriate to its category. Helmets, gloves, boots, padded foundations, straps, and other necessary components are included where appropriate. Separating those pieces does not divide the armor bonus among them or allow them to grant separate armor bonuses.
| Armor | Ingredients | Craft DC |
|---|---|---|
| Light gambeson | 10 T, 4 C, 2 S | 10 |
| Light chain | 1 light gambeson, 15 M, 2 L, 2 C, 2 S | 15 |
| Light plate | 1 light gambeson, 20 M, 2 L, 2 C, 2 S | 15 |
| Medium hide or bone | 1 light gambeson, 24 L or K, 4 C, 4 S | 15 |
| Medium chain | 1 light gambeson, 32 M, 4 L, 4 C, 3 S | 15 |
| Medium plate | 1 light gambeson, 40 M, 4 L, 4 C, 4 S | 20 |
| Heavy chain | 1 light gambeson, 48 M, 6 L, 5 C, 4 S | 20 |
| Heavy plate | 1 light gambeson, 60 M, 8 L, 6 C, 5 S | 20 |
The Metal units in a chain recipe can represent chain links, scales, bands, or a mixture of those forms. The Metal units in a plate recipe represent shaped rigid plates and any chain used to protect gaps.
Medium hide or bone armor may use any combination of Leather and Mineral units totaling 24. The Leather units represent thick hide hardened by boiling it in fat or oil. Mineral units represent shaped bone, horn, or similar rigid plates. Mixing the two changes the armor's appearance without changing its basic statistics.
Shield Recipes
| Shield | Ingredients | Craft DC |
|---|---|---|
| Buckler | 4 M, 1 L, 1 C, 1 S | 10 |
| Full shield | 8 W, 3 M, 2 L, 2 C, 1 S | 10 |
| Tower shield | 16 W, 8 M, 4 L, 3 C, 2 S | 15 |
A buckler is primarily metal. A full or tower shield uses a wooden body reinforced with a metal boss, rim, fittings, and structural bands. Leather provides grips, arm straps, edging, and padding. The item's description and decorative construction may vary without changing its statistics.
Fitting Armor
Armor is normally constructed for a particular creature. The recipe includes fitting the armor to that creature's size, proportions, and body plan.
| Task | Ingredients | Craft DC |
|---|---|---|
| Adjust straps or padding for the intended wearer | 1 C, 1 S | 5 |
| Refit armor to another creature of the same size and similar body plan | 2 L, 2 C, 2 S | 10 for light armor, 15 for medium or heavy armor |
| Refit a shield's grip and straps | 1 L, 1 C, 1 S | 10 |
Refitting cannot change an item's size category or adapt it to a radically different body plan. Such a conversion requires dismantling the item for usable materials and constructing a new suit.
Repairing Armor and Shields
Craft (Armor) can restore Hit Points to damaged armor and shields. Repairing an item requires access to suitable tools and material matching its primary construction.
| Repair | Ingredients | Craft DC |
|---|---|---|
| Restore 1d6 Hit Points | 1 matching material unit, 1 S | 14 |
| Restore 2d6 Hit Points | 2 matching material units, 1 S | 18 |
| Restore 3d6 Hit Points | 3 matching material units, 2 S | 22 |
| Restore 4d6 Hit Points | 4 matching material units, 2 S | 26 |
| Restore 5d6 Hit Points | 5 matching material units, 3 S | 30 |
Textile is the matching material for a gambeson, Leather or Mineral for hide or bone armor, Metal for chain or plate armor and bucklers, and Wood for full or tower shields. Repair DCs follow the existing Tinker progression of DC 10 plus 4 for each 1d6 Hit Points restored.
Enhancement
Enhancement permanently reinforces a masterwork item with elemental power. Armor and shields gain an enhancement bonus to Armor Class equal to their enhancement value. Each level of enhancement also increases the item's Shatter Resistance by 2 and its Hit Points by 10. Enhancement bonuses do not stack with other enhancement bonuses.
Only a masterwork item can be enhanced. Enhancement is performed after the item has been constructed and requires a separate Craft check. The item's original construction DC and any special-material modifier do not modify the enhancement DC.
| Enhancement | Required Materials | Craft DC |
|---|---|---|
| +1 | 1 M, 2 Poor Force portions | 22 |
| +2 | 1 M, 2 Average Force portions | 28 |
| +3 | 1 M, 2 Good Force portions | 35 |
| +4 | 1 M, 2 Excellent Force portions | 40 |
| +5 | 1 M, 2 Flawless Force portions | 50 |
| +6 | 1 M, 2 Flawless Force portions, 2 Flawless Void portions | 60 |
The Metal unit forms a permanent anchoring matrix within the item. This can take the form of an inlay, reinforcing plate, wire lattice, rivets, or another construction appropriate to the item's design.
An item can possess only one enhancement value. Applying a higher enhancement replaces its lower enhancement rather than stacking with it. No item can possess an enhancement greater than +6.
Special Materials
Special materials replace one or more ordinary materials in an item's recipe. Each special material lists the parts of a recipe that must be replaced, its Craft DC modifier, and the properties it grants to the finished item.
A special-material DC modifier applies to the check used to construct, refit, or repair the item. It does not apply to a separate check made to enhance the finished item. Merely adding a decorative piece or minor fitting made from a special material does not grant the material's mechanical properties.
Dragonhide
Dragonhide retains some of the elemental nature of the dragon from which it was harvested. Its scales can be separated, softened, shaped, drilled, and layered to replace chain, bands, or solid metal plates. Although Dragonhide is easier to work than many semi-magical materials, properly fitting its irregular scales and preserving their elemental properties still requires specialized knowledge.
| Property | Dragonhide |
|---|---|
| Craft DC Modifier | +5 |
| Replaces | Metal components in armor |
| Armor Statistics | Retains all statistics of the original armor type |
| Elemental Protection | Energy Resistance 15 against the energy type associated with the dragon's elemental alignment |
| Material Type | Dragonhide armor is nonmetallic |
Each Dragonhide unit replaces one Metal unit in an armor recipe. Every Metal unit must be replaced with Dragonhide for the finished armor to gain its elemental resistance and be considered nonmetallic. Ordinary metal rivets, buckles, and other fittings must likewise be replaced with fittings made from bone, horn, hardened leather, or another suitable nonmetallic material.
Dragonhide can be worked into flexible scales or linked plates to replace chain, or shaped into larger rigid sections to replace plate. The finished armor retains the Armor Class, Maximum Dexterity, weight, movement modifier, check penalty, Shatter Resistance, Hit Points, and all other statistics of the original armor type.
Because Dragonhide contains no metal, characters prohibited from wearing or touching metal can wear Dragonhide versions of chain or plate armor without violating that restriction. The character must still possess any proficiency or training normally required to use that armor.
Dragonhide armor grants Energy Resistance 15 against the energy type associated with the harvested dragon's elemental alignment. An Air-aligned dragon grants Electric Resistance, an Earth-aligned dragon grants Desiccation Resistance, a Fire-aligned dragon grants Heat Resistance, and so forth according to the normal element and energy associations.
All Dragonhide used in a suit must come from dragons sharing the same elemental alignment. Combining hides with different elemental alignments does not grant multiple resistances.
Dragonhide's Craft DC modifier applies before determining Masterwork quality. For example, Heavy Plate has a base Craft DC of 20. Dragonhide Heavy Plate has a final Craft DC of 25 and becomes Masterwork on a result of 35 or higher.
Enhancing Dragonhide armor requires Dragonhide instead of metal.
Shorehl
Shorehl is a rare semi-magical metal suffused with the essence of Air. It appears almost ethereal: pale silver with an opalescent sheen that shimmers faintly even in shadow. Fine whorled patterns resembling wind-carved clouds run through its surface.
| Property | Shorehl |
|---|---|
| Craft DC Modifier | +10 |
| Weight | Reduce the finished item's weight by 50% |
| Shatter Resistance | +5 |
| Hit Points | +20 |
| Armor and Shields | Reduce check penalty by 2, to a minimum of 0 |
To create Shorehl chain or plate armor, replace every Metal unit in the armor's recipe with one unit of Shorehl. The gambeson, lining, straps, and other nonmetallic components remain ordinary unless another special material replaces them.
To create a Shorehl buckler, replace all Metal units with Shorehl. To create a Shorehl full or tower shield, replace every structural Wood and Metal unit in its recipe with one Shorehl unit. Shorehl used only for a shield's boss, rim, or fittings is decorative and does not grant the shield Shorehl's properties.
Apply Shorehl's 50% reduction to the base item's listed weight before applying the flat 5 lb. reduction from masterwork construction. Retain half-pound increments when necessary. Shorehl's bonuses to Shatter Resistance and Hit Points stack with masterwork and enhancement bonuses.
Enhancing Shorehl armor requires Shorehl instead of metal.