looking for different types of beast hide

[blelliot]

I'm working on making lower tech armors for a new world, and I began to wonder, is there any other beat, besides dragon that one could make into armor of varying strengths? Sounds interesting, and before I try to homebrew any, I figured I'd check the playground. Any helpwould be appreciated, thanks!

[Greenish]

It's not animal-based, but ECS has Bronzewood, which is basically really tough wood you can fashion armour and weapons from. RoE has chitin armours (made from the chitin of giant scorpions).

I'm pretty sure A&EG has boatloads of various materials.

[cakellene]

Doesn't armor made from Chaos Beast hide grant displacement or something similar?

[Greenish]

I checked A&EG, and it doesn't actually have any different stats for various leathers or hides. It does have bone, cord, wicker, bark, chitin, shell, and a few other materials that ought to fit for low-tech.

[blelliot]

I've already got those written in my notes. I was just wondering if there was anything else to supplement that. Should have said that I read through that one. My bad...

[Bullet06320]

I don't recall where I saw the rule, could've been a house rule, but if u use the hide of a critter, u get hide armor with an armor bonus equal to its natural armor bonus
and in sum cases u get special qualities of the critter, such as displacement if u used the hide of a displacer beast

[Darrin]

Excerpts from a languishing handbook:

Chameleon Leather (Serpent Kingdoms p. 148)
Price: 360 GP
Made out of color-changing snakeskin, this armor has the same stats as masterwork leather, but provides a +2 circumstance bonus on Hide checks. Circumstance bonuses can be pretty hard to come by, but unless you're a sneaky druid (tree ninja?) trying to max out your Hide check, you'll probably want something better than a +2 armor bonus. Shadow silk hide offers a +2 bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks when in shadowy or dark conditions, or a "Camouflage" pattern (FR Underdark p. 66) can be added to any armor for a +2 circumstance Hide bonus in a particular terrain.

Chitin (A&EG p. 19)
Price: +10000 GP (heavy), +2000 (shield)
There are several varieties of chitin armor that have appeared in a multitude of sourcebooks, and they all have different properties. The AE&G version only offers a 50% weight reduction, and apparently can only be used with heavy armor (although breastplate is mentioned in the text, no price is given for medium armor). This version is too expensive for what it does (even mithral is cheaper), so don't bother with this one.

Chitin (Races of Eberron, Secrets of Xen'drik p. 136)
Price: 20 GP
Ok, so now it's apparently light armor... and only slightly better than leather. If you need a higher Max Dex, Spidersilk or Nightscale (FR Underdark p. 66) are probably a better deal.

Chitin Armor (Races of Faerun p. 157, Stormwrack p. 106)
Price: 75 GP
Now it's medium armor. It has stats similar to scale mail, so it's a little better than hide armor (add masterwork to drop the ACP down to -3), but isn't as good as the various breastplate options. This version was updated in Stormwrack, but the stats are the same as in Races of Faerun.

Chitin (Races of the Dragon p. 121)
Price: Masterwork x2
Comparatively similar to dragonhide (same cost) and now covers both medium and heavy armor, but like dragonhide only for certain types: breastplate, half-plate, full plate, and shields. One notable advantage over dragonhide is it increases Max Dex by +1. Of all the variations on "chitin" armor, this version usually has the best stats.

Dhenuka Hide (Oriental Adventures p. 75)
Price: 30 GP
Rhino hide armor, with a better armor bonus than normal hide armor (comparable to scale mail), but Max Dex and ACP are much worse. At only 30 GP, though, a great bargain for a 1st level druid looking for something better than normal hide.

Dragonhide (PHB)
Price: Masterwork x2
This is one of the cheaper non-metallic options, so an excellent choice for low-level druids. Inside Core/SRD only, it will probably be your best option. Only a few medium/heavy armors can be replaced with dragonhide: hide, breastplate, banded mail, half-plate, and full plate. However, other than masterwork reducing ACP by 1, there isn't much mechanical benefit. Darkleaf (similar to mithral, but cheaper) and sentira (Secrets of Sarlona, same properties as mithral) are going to have much better Max Dex and ACPs and can be applied to more types of armor. However, it can be upgraded as a Dragoncraft item (see below).

Dragoncraft (Draconomicon p. 117)
Price: +3000/6000/11000 GP
Adding the dragoncraft quality to dragonhide armor drops the weight category, reduces ACP by 2, and adds a nonmagical energy resistance 5, energy type based on the dragon's color (if you're looking for sonic or force resistance, it doesn't specifically mention it but doesn't forbid it). Darkleaf and sentira are cheaper and will get you better Max Dex/ACP, but... hmmm, a buckler or shield with force resistance 5, that's pretty tempting (never worry about magic missile again). Like dragonhide, it's only available on certain armors, but they are *not* the same options as dragonhide: breastplate and banded are not available, but scale mail is. Huh, I can't tell if that's a mistake by the designer or intentional. Hide, half-plate, and full plate are the other three armors available. The price for a shield isn't mentioned, either. I assume it's the same as light armor (+3000 GP). If you're looking for energy resistance (particularly sonic or force), then you might consider a dragoncraft buckler or light shield. Otherwise, stick with darkleaf or sentira.

Dreamhide (Secrets of Xen'drik p. 136)
Price: 700 GP
Made from the skin of dream serpents, dreamhide is a good replacement for a chain shirt. It's a little cheaper than a darkleaf chain shirt, but for the same price you can buy a dragonhide breastplate with a better armor bonus.

Mammoth Leather (Races of Stone p. 157)
Price: 45 GP
If this weren't exotic (requiring the Exotic Armor Proficiency feat), this would be a fabulous pick for a 1st level druid: same armor bonus and Max Dex as a chain shirt, lighter weight category than normal hide, and a little "yeah, I killed and skinned a mammoth, punk" flavor. However, better options with higher armor bonuses should be available later, so it's not worth wasting a feat on.

Nightscale (FR Underdark p. 66)
Price: 1000 GP
Same armor bonus as leather but with a Max Dex bonus on steroids. The combination of armor/dex bonus is one of the best in the game: +12 total, three points better than full plate and two points better than mechanus gear. The description describes this armor as exotic, meaning you would have to take Exotic Armor Proficiency to avoid any penalties, but since the ACP is already zero, you can wear this armor without the feat and still take no penalties. This is one of the better options for high Dex druids/wildshape forms.

Scorpion Breastplate (Races of Eberron p. 171, Secrets of Xen'drik p. 136)
Price: 300 GP
Another member of the "chitin" armor family, this breastplate is comparable to scale mail, if not a little better. Dreamhide and a darkleaf chain shirt have the same armor bonus and better stats, but the scorpion breastplate is cheaper.

Serpentscale Mail (Serpent Kingdoms p. 148)
Price: 800 GP
Another contender in the "is it as good as a breastplate?" category, and actually one of the better options (same ACP as a masterwork breastplate, but Max Dex is 1 higher). Also, great flavor for those herpetologists/ophidiophiles out there. Chitin breastplate (Races of the Dragon version) has the same stats only costs 700 GP. A dragonhide breastplate also costs 700 GP, but Max Dex isn't quite as good.

Shadow Silk (Tome of Magic p. 155)
Price: 1500 GP (padded), 1750 (leather), 2500 (hide)
I'm not sure what kind of druid would be comfortable wearing something made out of material from the plane of shadow... but hey, at least it's not metal. Shadow silk increases Max Dex by 2, reduces ACP by 2, and reduces weight by 75%. When in shadowy or dark conditions, it grants a +2 untyped bonus to Hide and Move Silenty checks, and also repairs itself (1 HP/round). Compared to leafweave, shadow silk will have a better Max Dex bonus but masterwork leafweave will have a better ACP. Leather scale, leafweave studded leather, sharkskin, dreamhide, or spidersilk offer better protection for a cheaper price.

Sharkskin (Races of Faerun p. 158, Stormwrack p. 106)
Price: 85 GP
This is a good substitute for studded leather, comparable to leather scale but with a better ACP (which you can bring down to zero by making it masterwork). On top of that, it has built-in shark teeth that work as armor spikes *and* give a +6 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist attempts to get out of an entangle effect (even better than Netcutter Spikes from Races of the Wild). Sharkskin was updated in Stormwrack, and while the stats are the same, the +6 circumstance bonus on Escape artist checks was changed to "when the wearer is bound with rope or similar easily cut bindings". While this should still apply to nets, check if your DM will allow it to still apply to other entangle effects.

Spidersilk (FR Underdark p. 66)
Price: 750 GP
This is one of the best replacements for studded leather, particularly for high-Dex druids. It's listed as an exotic armor, which would require taking the Exotic Armor Proficiency feat to avoid non-proficiency penalties, but since it's not described as masterwork, you can spend 150 GP to add the masterwork quality and reduce the ACP to zero, at which point you don't take any penalties for non-proficiency.

Tentacled Hide (FR Underdark p. 67)
Exotic hide armor for hentai fetishists. +2 untyped bonus on Strength checks to trip your opponents, but based on the description, I'm having a hard time imagining how they don't trip the owner. It also requires the Exotic Armor Proficiency, which just isn't worth it for a +2 bonus on trip checks.

Thunderhide (Serpent Kingdoms p. 148)
Price: 25 GP
Love the name, dinosaur hide is awesomesauce, but functionally not as good as leather scale or sharkskin armor. Still, not bad for the price and a great 1st-level pick for a druid with a Dex bonus in the +2 to +5 range.

Vine (Secrets of Xen'drik p. 136)
Price: 80 GP
You can't "go green" much more than this (ok, well, Moss Ivy may beg to differ). It has roughly the same stats as leather and offers a +2 circumstance bonus to Hide checks in a jungle environment, but if you don't water it, it dies and the circumstance bonus goes away... which is kinda annoying, but probably much of a concern for somebody with create water as a cantrip. If you really want the Hide bonus, try Chameleon Leather (it doesn't need to be watered), or you can buy a much better armor and add a "Camouflage" pattern (FR Underdark p. 66) for +300 GP.

War Chitin (Secrets of Xen'drik p. 136)
Price: 1500 GP
A heavier upgrade to the Scorpion Breastplate. Same price and same armor bonus as dragonhide half-plate or chitin half-plate (Races of the Dragon version), but has a better Max Dex bonus and ACP. Masterwork isn't mentioned in the description, so you can also add that to reduce ACP by 1. This is the best option if you're looking for something better than coral or stone plate but can't quite afford dwarven stone or heavier darkleaf/sentira plate armor. Requires Heavy Armor Proficiency.

[blelliot]

Beautiful, thank you very much. This combined with what I've found in the arms and equipment guide will make a very fine list of armors. Now to work on weapons. Thought that will be easier.

[Greenish]

Excerpts from a languishing handbook:Aww, it's languishing? I was hoping you were polishing it for timely publication. :smallfrown:


Beautiful, thank you very much. This combined with what I've found in the arms and equipment guide will make a very fine list of armors. Now to work on weapons. Thought that will be easier.PF has stone age (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons/stone-age-weapons) and bronze age (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons/bronze-age-weapons) weapons, though they're not that interesting, honestly.

[blelliot]

So does the arms and equipment guide and the dmg. I'm shooting for a world with very little in the way of metal. Which will make money interesting as well.

[Darrin]

Aww, it's languishing? I was hoping you were polishing it for timely publication. :smallfrown:


Very large chunks of it are done, but I'm still whimbling and wheebling about table formatting stuff. For now, I'm trying to finish off the TWF OffHandbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15034585#post15034585), but I'm not entirely sure if anyone is finding it all that useful.