Armor Proficiency: If you are proficient with heavy, are you proficient with others?

[Xuldarinar]

As the title. If you acquire proficiency with heavy armor, are you automatically proficient with medium and light armor, or is it just that it tends to progress that way?

[Ilorin Lorati]

I don't think there's any actual text that states you're proficient with lesser armors. So if, somehow, you get a class or a feat that only gives you proficiency to heavy armor, then by RAW you're only proficient with heavy armor. I don't think there are many cases that can happen though, and it's likely that those that do are oversights.

[Mehangel]

I would say no.. My reasoning is, if you are proficient, meaning trained in only heavy armor, you would probably be accustomed to not dodging most of the attacks that come your way, as you let the armor take the brunt of the damage.

Those who are proficient with light armor, probably spend most of their time actually attempting to dodge most of the attacks, and those that they cannot block, they usually try to divert to places the armor provide the most protection.

So if someone were to be proficient with only heavy armor, I wouldnt make them also proficient with light armor, as they wouldn't be accustomed to its function.

[Psyren]

Heavy Armor Proficiency requires medium and light as prerequisites - how are you bypassing this?

[Sacrieur]

Heavy Armor Proficiency requires medium and light as prerequisites - how are you bypassing this?

Indeed, I can't think of a class that bypasses this. If it gives you proficiency in heavy armor you also get the lighter armors with it explicitly.

In the instance you're only given heavy armor proficiency, you'd only have proficiency with heavy armor and not the lighter ones.

[Xuldarinar]

Well, the methods are actually quite simple.

If you don't mind third party, use Archetype packages. Swap out one of any class you belong to, pick up the one from the oracle.

Alternatively, using variant multi classing, pick the oracle as your secondary class.


In either case, select the battle mystery so you can pick up the revelation called Skill at arms, which provides proficiency in all martial weapons and heavy armor.




You could be an arcanist in full-plate, though still doesn't (by raw) do you any good regarding ASF...

[Psyren]

Very well - then yes, as written, you only have proficiency in that type of armor for those corner cases. Generally, the classes that lack any form of lower armor proficiency are not the best-suited for heavy armor anyway.

[toapat]

Heavy Armor Proficiency requires medium and light as prerequisites - how are you bypassing this?

i believe ive seen that one of the classes does actually give light and heavy armor proficiency, but not medium.

[Secret Wizard]

Variant Multiclassing.

Choose VMC Oracle, pick the Battle Mystery, get the Skill at Arms revelation at level 3.