[3.5]Heavy Armor Classes

[Thurbane]

So, I've been trying to put together a list of classes who function normally in heavy armor (i.e. none of their class features are lost while wearing heavy armor).

This is classes who get heavy armor proficiency:

Ardent
Cleric
Crusader
Divine Mind
Duskblade 4* (with Battle Caster)
Fighter
Knight
Marshal
Paladin
Psychic Warrior
Samurai
Soulborn

And this is classes that don't get proficiency, but do function normally in heavy armor:

Archivist
Binder (may have heavy armor proficiency, depending on bound vestiges).
Divine Bard
Dragon Shaman
Druid (must be non-metal)
Factotum 15
Favored Soul
Healer (must be non-metal)
Hexblade 3
Incarnate
Lurk
Mountebank
Psion
Psychic Rogue 1
Ranger 1
Rogue 1
Shugenja
Soulknife
Spirit Shaman
Totemist
Truenamer
Warblade
Warmage 8* (with Battle Caster)
Wilder

Yes, I am aware of Mithril Full Plate and similar - this was specifically a list of classes that can wear heavy armor without impeding class features.

So, any I've missed, or any I've got wrong? I haven't included NPC classes, or PrCs; also, I haven't looked at the Dragon Compendium classes, but I'll probably add them at some point.

Cheers - T

[sonofzeal]

Warlock and Dragonfire Adept can sometimes function normally, depending on Invocations chosen.

[Amphetryon]

Binder is an odd case, since specific vestiges grant heavy armor proficiency.

[Thurbane]

Warlock and Dragonfire Adept can sometimes function normally, depending on Invocations chosen.
True, but you need to remove the armor to activate the invocations without ASF if I recall correctly?

Binder is an odd case, since specific vestiges grant heavy armor proficiency.
Good point.

[sonofzeal]

True, but you need to remove the armor to activate the invocations without ASF if I recall correctly?
That's why I said "depending on Invocation choice". If you select all 24-hour buffs, or Invocations useful outside of combat like the DFA's "Magic Insight" where failing and retrying a few times doesn't matter, then you're just peachy.

[Greenish]

Divine Bards work in heavy armour.

Dragon Magazine Compendium only has the Mountebank, which doesn't have proficiency, but isn't hampered by it either.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

A Dragonfire Adept can pick 24-hour duration buffs for all his Invocations, and use them before he puts his armor on. All day he can just spam his breath attack + effects, which is supernatural and ignores ASF. So he does spend his entire adventuring day in heavy armor, and can even use a tower shield nonproficient with almost no drawback.

[Zaq]

A Dragonfire Adept can pick 24-hour duration buffs for all his Invocations, and use them before he puts his armor on. All day he can just spam his breath attack + effects, which is supernatural and ignores ASF. So he does spend his entire adventuring day in heavy armor, and can even use a tower shield nonproficient with almost no drawback.

I wish people would stop saying this. As an area debuffer/blaster, the DFA really, really likes to go first. Nonproficiency penalties apply to DEX checks, including initiative. The AC bump isn't totally without cost; you'll almost never go anywhere near the top half of the initiative order, so you won't be able to catch the enemies in their nice pre-battle clumps, nor will you be able to lay down debuffs before they can do anything about it.

[Psyren]

I don't see any of the Incarnum classes up there.

Psychic Rogue can function in heavy armor (even regaining evasion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/evadeBurst.htm)) but it's generally a bad idea.

[Tokiko Mima]

I wish people would stop saying this. As an area debuffer/blaster, the DFA really, really likes to go first. Nonproficiency penalties apply to DEX checks, including initiative. The AC bump isn't totally without cost; you'll almost never go anywhere near the top half of the initiative order, so you won't be able to catch the enemies in their nice pre-battle clumps, nor will you be able to lay down debuffs before they can do anything about it.

It depends on where you're reading in the SRD. If you're reading the armor proficiency feats, the penalty is only to attack rolls and specific skill checks.


A character who is wearing armor with which she is not proficient applies its armor check penalty to attack rolls and to all skill checks that involve moving, including Ride.

If you skip over to the armor section, the penalty is increased in harshness. Attack rolls, and all STR/DEX ability and their related skill checks are penalized there.


Nonproficient with Armor Worn

A character who wears armor and/or uses a shield with which he or she is not proficient takes the armor’s (and/or shield’s) armor check penalty on attack rolls and on all Strength-based and Dexterity-based ability and skill checks. The penalty for nonproficiency with armor stacks with the penalty for nonproficiency with shields.

Which means wearing armor makes it more difficult to stand still and hide, or open a lock, or push/lift anything heavy.

Regardless of the interpretation, I don't think it's that big a deal for DFA's to have high Initiative checks. If you're a DFA using armor without proficiency, the goal would really be to let the fight come to you, since you're slower (too, because of the armor) and are unable to effectively make Attacks of Opportunity.

Enemies don't necessarily start all clumped up, but they have to clump as they swarm into the party. If you're going to count on losing initiative a lot, then you'll want to make sure you have the Endure Exposure invocation applied liberally, since you'll have to breathe over party members more than you would otherwise.

[Psyren]

It depends on where you're reading in the SRD.

Actually, Rules Compendium is the final word here:


NONPROFICIENCY
If you wear armor or use a shield you aren’t proficient with, you take the armor check penalty on attack rolls, as well as on all Strength-based and Dexterity-based ability and skill checks. This effectively adds Open Lock, Ride, and Use Rope to the list of penalized skills. The penalty for non proficiency with armor stacks with the penalty for non proficiency with shields.

If you have a check penalty from encumbrance that is higher than your armor check penalty, use the encumbrance’s check penalty on skills normally affected by the armor check penalty. Use the armor check penalty on checks and rolls normally penalized for nonproficiency.

[Thurbane]

I don't see any of the Incarnum classes up there.
Another good call. Edited.