What is an Armor?

[martixy]

Here's an interesting question:

When are the garments or whatever you wear considered armor?
Does it have to have an armor bonus to be an armor? Or a specified Max Dex / Armor Check Penalty?

Is a monk wearing a robe that grants an armor bonus considered armored?
Can you put armor enchantments on those robes? What about on ordinary clothes?

[BowStreetRunner]

For the majority of game-related purposes I would classify armor as anything that requires an Armor Proficiency to wear properly (so not ordinary clothing even if it confers an armor bonus).

[Strigon]

I would say whatever is listed as armour; all armour I'm aware of is listed as being Light, Medium, or Heavy armour.
If it isn't listed as one of those things, it's not armour.

[XionUnborn01]

The fact that Magic Vestment specifically calls out regular clothing as counting as armor for the purpose of that spell seems to imply that only things listed in the Armor tables are counted as armor unless stated otherwise.

[martixy]

The fact that Magic Vestment specifically calls out regular clothing as counting as armor for the purpose of that spell seems to imply that only things listed in the Armor tables are counted as armor unless stated otherwise.

It does, doesn't it...

In the mean time I found a bunch of other discussions on the topic that go back and forth quite frequently.

And also seem to suggest that the Body slot and the Armor slot are 2 different things, which I've always thought is not the case.

[ZamielVanWeber]

It does, doesn't it...

In the mean time I found a bunch of other discussions on the topic that go back and forth quite frequently.

And also seem to suggest that the Body slot and the Armor slot are 2 different things, which I've always thought is not the case.

They are, at least as far as Magic of Incarnum is concerned. They don't list armor taking up the body slot.

[Psyren]

Armor is anything on the armor table, just like "weapons" are anything on the "weapons" table.

Body and Armor are the same in 3.5:


One vest, vestment, or shirt on the torso
One robe or suit of armor on the body (over a vest, vestment, or shirt)

It's Pathfinder that separated them out.

[Taveena]

For the majority of game-related purposes I would classify armor as anything that requires an Armor Proficiency to wear properly (so not ordinary clothing even if it confers an armor bonus).

Gnome Twist Cloth is a weird case where proficiency ITSELF doesn't actually grant anything, but the Exotic Armor Proficiency does. So for classes proficient with Exotic Armors (among which are the Aristocrat and Samurai - All Armors means All Armors, after all) they can wear Stoneplate but gain no additional benefit from being proficient in the Twistcloth, as it has no ACP.

[Saintheart]

Also note around what is a set of armor, and also for Iron Man 3 style shenanigans, Sectioned Armour ... with the Called armor quality enchanted on it. :smallcool:

[martixy]

Gnome Twist Cloth is a weird case where proficiency ITSELF doesn't actually grant anything, but the Exotic Armor Proficiency does. So for classes proficient with Exotic Armors (among which are the Aristocrat and Samurai - All Armors means All Armors, after all) they can wear Stoneplate but gain no additional benefit from being proficient in the Twistcloth, as it has no ACP.


On that note neither does Nightscale armor from Underdark.

And in A&EG there is Bondleaf Wrap which is the only other armor besides Gnome Twistcloth in that does not have a max dex bonus (and 0 ACP), but in addition also has no Arcane Spell Failure(making it rather unique).