Just a bit curious here.

[Kurondo]

Am I allowed to replaced the gauntlets on full plate armour? Just wondering, thank you in advance. (PS found some gauntlets of ogre power, that's why I'm asking.)

[Kol Korran]

Shouldn't be a problem. Go ahead.

[Bronk]

Yeah, the gauntlets, boots, helmet and padding that come with full plate aren't part of the armor itself, nor do they provide any additional AC.

[atemu1234]

Yeah, the gauntlets, boots, helmet and padding that come with full plate aren't part of the armor itself, nor do they provide any additional AC.

This reminds me of a certain Goblins strip...


So why do I wear the helmet?

[Bronk]

Right? At least in Neverwinter Nights, non-magical helmets gave you a bonus to concentration...

[Curmudgeon]

Yeah, the gauntlets, boots, helmet and padding that come with full plate aren't part of the armor itself, nor do they provide any additional AC.
That's not what the rules say.
Full Plate

The suit includes gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a visored helmet, and a thick layer of padding that is worn underneath the armor. Where are you getting the idea that those included items aren't part of the armor, and that removing them wouldn't decrease the AC?

You might want to look at the rules for Getting Into And Out Of Armor.
Don Hastily
This column tells how long it takes to put the armor on in a hurry. The armor check penalty and armor bonus for hastily donned armor are each 1 point worse than normal. It looks like leaving off your gauntlets or helmet when you don your full plate hastily will cost you 1 point of AC. (That, at least, is the explanation my DM used. YMMV.)

[Strormer]

While I agree that the gauntlets, helm, etc are all part of the armor (and by extension AC bonus) you're not removing them, you're replacing them. Your total bonus should remain unchanged.

[Flickerdart]

You might want to look at the rules for Getting Into And Out Of Armor. It looks like leaving off your gauntlets or helmet when you don your full plate hastily will cost you 1 point of AC. (That, at least, is the explanation my DM used. YMMV.)
Why would donning full plate hastily mean leaving off your gauntlets or helmet? Those can certainly be contributing factors, but putting on a hat and gloves is such a tiny part of getting into plate (which involves assembling the damn thing out of lots of different pieces and straps and stuff) that it doesn't really make sense for the easiest part to be what you skimp out on.

[Bronk]

That's not what the rules say. Where are you getting the idea that those included items aren't part of the armor, and that removing them wouldn't decrease the AC?

You might want to look at the rules for Getting Into And Out Of Armor. It looks like leaving off your gauntlets or helmet when you don your full plate hastily will cost you 1 point of AC. (That, at least, is the explanation my DM used. YMMV.)

Mostly because they aren't attached. Those extra bits are described as being included with the armor, but not part of the armor. For example, Mithril Full Plate would still come with the standard hardened leather boots.

When enchanting the full plate, it would appear that only the main body covering part is enchanted. There are no rules I'm aware of for lessening full plate's enchantment bonus when trading out one helm etc. for another, and by themselves, all those extra pieces give no AC bonus, even if you were to have all of them on at the same time.

Also, the rules for hastily donning armor still say that the armor is on, implying that all of it is on, just secured badly or some other fluff reason for the AC dip.

Edit: I was just looking through the Magic Item Compendium. It doesn't make much sense, but even the magical full plate armors that are clearly described and pictured as having an attached non-removable helm still only take up the 'body' slot. Weird.