[PF] Marvelous Mithral

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I've been looking at the alterations made to mithral in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook and notice that a few things are a bit different, and that raises a few questions.

First of all, it says that mithral weapons count as silver for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. Does this mean they take the -1 penalty to damage the same way proper alchemical silver weapons do? If not, why even have alchemical silver if mithral offers the same benefits without the penalties?

Secondly, apparently you actually have to be proficient in different kinds of armor in order to wear the mithral versions, even though those are one category lighter (in order to properly wear mithral full plate, you actually have to be proficient in heavy armor even though mithral full plate is medium). Is mithral armor worth it for characters whose abilities are restricted by heavy armor? Also, what of other armors that while lighter than their standard category, are not made out of mithral (Celestial Armor, most prominently)? Do I need to be proficient in medium armor to wear Celestial Armor, which is light armor despite being a suit of chainmail and not made of mithral?

Thank you for your candor. :smallsmile:

[Saph]

First of all, it says that mithral weapons count as silver for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. Does this mean they take the -1 penalty to damage the same way proper alchemical silver weapons do? If not, why even have alchemical silver if mithral offers the same benefits without the penalties?

The answer to this is very simple: price. Look up the cost of an Alchemical Silver weapon as opposed to a Mithral one.

[AnswersQuestion]

First of all, it says that mithral weapons count as silver for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. Does this mean they take the -1 penalty to damage the same way proper alchemical silver weapons do? If not, why even have alchemical silver if mithral offers the same benefits without the penalties?

Alchemical silver's damage penalty is not related to its damage type. Yes Mithral is better than silver at being silver. At least as far as DR is concerned.


Secondly, apparently you actually have to be proficient in different kinds of armor in order to wear the mithral versions, even though those are one category lighter (in order to properly wear mithral full plate, you actually have to be proficient in heavy armor even though mithral full plate is medium). Is mithral armor worth it for characters whose abilities are restricted by heavy armor? Also, what of other armors that while lighter than their standard category, are not made out of mithral (Celestial Armor, most prominently)? Do I need to be proficient in medium armor to wear Celestial Armor, which is light armor despite being a suit of chainmail and not made of mithral?

Wasn't that the rule for 3.5/3.0 either? If not, it's how I have always used it.

[tyckspoon]

Wasn't that the rule for 3.5/3.0 either? If not, it's how I have always used it.

Nope. It's a common houserule among people who are annoyed by using mithral to 'cheat' armor/proficiency requirements, but it's not in the rules. And to answer Zousha:

No, they didn't make it a universal rule in Pathfinder either. If you find other armor that has the 'is a lighter category than it should be' property, it will not require proficiency unless the writer/converter remembered to add that to the specific description. So Celestial Armor is just light armor, despite appearing to be chainmail.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Nope. It's a common houserule among people who are annoyed by using mithral to 'cheat' armor/proficiency requirements, but it's not in the rules. And to answer Zousha:

No, they didn't make it a universal rule in Pathfinder either. If you find other armor that has the 'is a lighter category than it should be' property, it will not require proficiency unless the writer/converter remembered to add that to the specific description. So Celestial Armor is just light armor, despite appearing to be chainmail.

Yeah, a lot of Neverwinter Nights 2 builds abused that loophole. Builds for barbarians and bards and other builds who were restricted by heavy armor REQUIRED mithral full plate.

I'm looking at a Celestial Plate Armor which isn't very different from vanilla Celestial armor except it's full plate that counts as medium, and it looks very attractive for the Inquisitor I'm playing. I just wanna make sure whether or not I should take the proficiency feat or not.

[Jarveiyan]

What it is saying is that to use the armor you still need proficiency with that armors normal type(ex. mithral breastplate - you need to be proficient with medium armor), however in other respects it acts as the lesser armor type(ex. if you have class abilities that require you to wear light armor you can still wear that mithral breastplate and keep those abilities.). Clear now? It's a way to stop the wizards from just putting on twilight mithral shirt and going to town.

[herrhauptmann]

I
Secondly, apparently you actually have to be proficient in different kinds of armor in order to wear the mithral versions, even though those are one category lighter (in order to properly wear mithral full plate, you actually have to be proficient in heavy armor even though mithral full plate is medium).

Personally, I actually like this rule. Because it's mithral, it's lighter for the purposes of encumbrance, weight, and even class features. But, you'd still have to be proficient in the heavier armor style to wear it properly.

I know it might seem ridiculous to some, but if the whole idea behind armor proficiencies was knowing how to move effectively, how the armor should fit when you wear it so that it doesn't leave huge gaps, then you shouldn't be able to bypass all that just by having armor made from a different material.

That's my two cents. Also, I didn't know that pathfinder included that rule...

[Ravens_cry]

Yeah, it's a good rule, though it invalidated my barbarian build I had in Beta.
I generally like the Pathfinder changes, though I wish they had kept the Beta Half-Orc. Their fluff doesn't really match the present stats, in my humble opinion, though they are more versitile.