Armor properties on robe and itemlevel for specific character.

[Orsayan]

Hello!

Im about to make a lvl10 wizard and I have three questions:

a) I have the Magic Item Compendium where different armor properties are described, is it possible to add these to a cloth item? Like a wizard's robe? If not, can I add these properties to a "Bracers of Armor" item? The rules for armor crystals say "Add this to... ... or any item that gives an AC bonus to armor" which would work for "Bracers of Armor".

b) How do you figure the balance should be regarding itemlevels? The rules in MIC are pretty clear, for a lvl10 char = 2 lvl10 items, 2 lvl9 items, 2 lvl8 ect and you can add and substract itemlevel to get more powerfull items. So its technically possible for me as lvl10, to get a lvl20 item. However I dont think this is very balanced. What is a good rule of thumb here? Just looking at prices doesnt work since a high level item can be cheaper then a low level.

c) Again with balancing. In DMG the items have a CL but not an itemlevel. Reference to MIC these two variables arent dependant on eachother either.

[Keld Denar]

There are no rules for adding armor proprties to plain clothes, but there is the wording on Magic Vestaments that states it can affect plain clothes. Clothes also occupy the "body" slot, which, according to the table in the back of the MIC, has an affinity for armor.

The Arms and Equipment Guide, a 3.14159 edition book, suggests that adding armor properties to a Bracers of Armor should be allowed. They suggest that the Bracers not allow more than +13 in base armor, and I think no more than +5 in equivalent special abilities.

Worst case, wear a Gnome Twistcloth from Races of Stone. It's a +0 AC, -0 ACP, 0% ASF exotic armor. If you don't have proficiency, you literally lose nothing, but if you spend a feat on Exotic Armor Proficiency, you get to add the AC value of the Twistcloth to your touch AC. You couldn't wear it with a suit of magical robes, but you could wear a suit under your non-magical robes for the style points.

As far as item CLs, those are mostly inconsequential. They only come into play if the item generates an effect (for duration, magnitude, etc) and if someone tries to cast a spell on the item or dispel the item. For the most part, don't worry about it.

I'd read up on the item level section in the MIC. It's a variant rule, and goes into depth on how to use it. It is essentially a replacement for the existing Wealth By Level rules. The MIC, IIRC, has rules for determining the level equivalent of items not mentioned in the MIC, and all of the items in the MIC and DMG tabulated.

Any other questions?

[Orsayan]

Well I cant use the Twistcloth armor eventhough that sounds like a good option. We have this rule that we only allow our current books (core, complete series, mic and phb2) otherwise one could find that perfect feat/item in one of the hundreds of books released for this game and really cheese the game apart.

Essentially, the bracers of armor are an +0 AC, -0 ACP and 0% ASF type of armor, right? Its basicly a cloth/leather/metal band enchanted with the +1 AC armor enchant, so shouldnt one be able to add the +1 AC armor enchant to any cloth, say like a robe? Seems logical to me.

So if you could that, you could add armor crystals to the robe, the question remains though; what about armor properties? And no, I coulndt find any ruletext about this in MIC either (nor in DMG) so what Im asking for is wheater you guys think its a reasonable thing to implement?

[Marnath]

Well I cant use the Twistcloth armor eventhough that sounds like a good option. We have this rule that we only allow our current books (core, complete series, mic and phb2) otherwise one could find that perfect feat/item in one of the hundreds of books released for this game and really cheese the game apart.

Essentially, the bracers of armor are an +0 AC, -0 ACP and 0% ASF type of armor, right? Its basicly a cloth/leather/metal band enchanted with the +1 AC armor enchant, so shouldnt one be able to add the +1 AC armor enchant to any cloth, say like a robe? Seems logical to me.

So if you could that, you could add armor crystals to the robe, the question remains though; what about armor properties? And no, I coulndt find any ruletext about this in MIC either (nor in DMG) so what Im asking for is wheater you guys think its a reasonable thing to implement?

Several of the robes in MiC have armor bonuses already, so I don't see how it would be a problem.



The Arms and Equipment Guide, a 3.14159 edition book, suggests that adding armor properties to a Bracers of Armor should be allowed. They suggest that the Bracers not allow more than +13 in base armor, and I think no more than +5 in equivalent special abilities.

+13 total limit, a maximum of +8 of that can be actual armor bonus. At least that's how I read it.*edit: You can also add the flat cost stuff too like resist energy.