Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General D&D Armor - How It Should Work

Posted this on a different thread and thought it would make a good thread of its own. This first bit was taken from someone else, but it's so true:

Dungeons and Dragons is quite known for “not understanding armor”, most of their armor types don’t make sense.

Why is leather armor stealthy, but padded armor is not? Leather tends to be more noisy. Gambison, which I’m assuming is what “padded armor” is supposed to represent, is quite silent. A leather jacket, not so much.

If you look through the list of armor in DnD 5e, and what armor you as a player can choose when you start your adventure, you’ll notice that there exists a LOT or armor that’s worse than what you can start with.

Hide armor is the lowest medium armor you can get, but many classes start with Scale Mail. At least here you start with the “not stealthy” variant, and to get the same AC but without disadvantage, you have to pay 4 times as much as your scale mail.

Som classes can start with a chain shirt, but I don’t think any start with Hide Armor.

Same with heavy armors, none really start with ring mail.


Basically, D&D armor is weird. I think armor should work more like this:

Light Armor - covers the torso, arms and legs. It does not cover the neck or head. This type of armor is typically worn almost like clothing and can even replace clothing, though it doesn't have to. Only 1 type of Light Armor can be worn.

Padded Armor - a padded defensive jacket, worn as armour separately, or combined with mail or plate armour. Padded armor is usually constructed of linen or wool; the stuffing varied, and could be for example scrap cloth or horse hair. AC +1 (Dex Max +2). No Stealth Disadvantage. Acrobatics and Athletics Disadvantage.

Leather Armor - Leather armor was made of several layers of leather. Material for leather armor was taken as hard and thick as possible. Then, it was boiled in oil to get additional hardness. AC +1 (No Dex Max). No Acrobatics and Athletics Disadvantage. Stealth Disadvantage.

Studded Leather Armor - same as leather but with studs or rings sewn into it for added protection. These could be made of metal, though some versions are made of bone or other natural materials. AC +2 (No Dex Max). No Acrobatics and Athletics Disadvantage. Stealth Disadvantage.

I figure that's a good start. I'll do Medium Armor next time.

Edit: Added Dexterity maximums because of Fuji's suggestions. Padded Armor should definitely have some sort of Dexterity Max because it's more cumbersome armor while Leather Armor's primary advantage is that it is more flexible and allows freedom of movement and mobility. Thus, Leather is superior for defense but inferior in that it is not stealthy. Meanwhile, Padded Armor is quiet armor and good for stealth, but it is more restrictive.

Also added a basic description for Light Armor.