[3.5 / 3.P] Armor Check Penalty and Archers

[Souhiro]

Well, I'm currently GMing a Pathfinder game, and the party managed to kill not one, but two (blue) dragons. Woozah!!

Then, the Druid decided that he wanted a Full Plate armor, made from the dragon's hide. Since there were two dragons, I decided that we would be able to have one made for himself. But then, we ahve a problem:

Armor Encumbrance: The druid, while unmorphed, likes to use his bow. And well, a full plate will have a HUGE Armor Check Penalty. He don't mind to have a penalty to Acrobatics and Fly, but: Does it apply to shooting, too? it uses DEX.

[Jeraa]

If you are proficient with the armor worn, its Armor Check Penalty only applies to certain skills, but not attack rolls.

IF you are not proficient with the armor worn, it still applies its Armor Check Penalty to those skills, but also applies it to all attack rolls, melee or ranged.

Druids are not proficient with heavy armor, so he would takes the full plates ACP as a penalty to all of his attack rolls until he takes the Heavy Armor Proficiency feat.

[Vastly]

Armor Check Penalty

Any armor heavier than leather, as well as any shield, hurts a character's ability to use Dex- and Str-based skills. An armor check penalty applies to all Dex- and Strength-based skill checks. A character's encumbrance may also incur an armor check penalty.

Nonproficient with Armor Worn: A character who wears armor and/or uses a shield with which he is not proficient takes the armor's (and/or shield's) armor check penalty on attack rolls as well as on all Dex- and Str-based ability and skill checks. The penalty for non-proficiency with armor stacks with the penalty for shields.

I bolded the important parts for you. So only if they are not proficient with the armor.

[Souhiro]

Thank you! he was going to get the Heavy Armor Proficiency for using the FullPlate, so I didn't want to tell him "You have wasted a truckload of money a lot of nice dragon scales, and most important: a feat, in an armor that hurst you"

[Norin]

Also have him make it "masterwork", that will reduce penalty a bit too.

[Volthawk]

Also have him make it "masterwork", that will reduce penalty a bit too.

Dragonscale armour is automatically masterwork.

[Norin]

Dragonscale armour is automatically masterwork.

Nice! Then just ignore my silly post and carry on as if nothing happened! :smallbiggrin: