40k Armour-Magic Items

[JNAProductions]

Power Armour
Very Rare Full Plate

Power Armour is mechanized and powered armor that provides unparalleled defense. While wearing it, your AC is 20, and you gain a +2 bonus to your Strength Score (to a max of 30).

However, Power Armour is incredibly difficult to use, and requires a lot of training. In order to be proficient in Power Armour, you must already be proficient in heavy armor and spend three months and one feat to learn how to use it.

Terminator Armour
Legendary Full Plate

Terminator Armour is the utmost in personal defense. While wearing it, your AC is 22, you gain a +2 bonus to your Strength score (to a max of 30), and you have advantage on all saving throws against any effects that would cause damage.

Terminator Armour is even more complicated than Power Armour, and so requires proficiency in Power Armour, six months, and a feat to be proficient in it.

Centurion Armour
Very Rare Full Plate

Centurion Armour is massive, bulky armour that provides a very stable weapons platform. While wearing it, your AC is 22, you gain a +4 bonus to your Strength score (to a max of 30), your size increases from Small or Medium to Large, and your speed is halved.

Centurion Armour is difficult to use, and requires a suit of Power Armour within it. It requires proficiency in Power Armour, three months, and a feat to become proficient.

Artificer Armour
Legendary Full Plate

Artificer Armour is upgraded Power Armour. It requires no extra training to use, and is the same as Power Armour except providing AC 22.

Jump Pack
Legendary Back Equipment

A Jump Pack can be affixed to Power or Artificer Armour, requiring a DC 25 Intelligence check to hook up. While wearing Jump Pack enabled armour, you have a flying speed of 60' and may Dash as a bonus action. You must end your turn on a solid surface or you fall. In addition, if you Dash, move at least 60' in a straight line, and attack in the same turn while wearing a Jump Pack, you deal an extra 2d6 damage on the first attack you make.

[zeek0]

Well I can't consider these items based on balance - they are intended to be far more than anything else. And I can't balance them based on combat, as they would be used against mecha-dragons or cyber-gorgons or techno-goblins, not the usual variety.

I would recommend a single feat: Power Armor Proficiency. It has no prerequisites, but they still need proficiency in the armor type to use it. So, if my rogue has the Power Armor Proficiency feat and finds a "Camo Suit" with the quality "Light Power Armor", she can wear it. However, she can't use "Electromail", because she doesn't have proficiency in medium armor.

I'd say that the AC numbers would look like this:
Light Armor: 12 +Dex Light Power Armor: 16 +Dex
Medium Armor: 15 +Dex (max 2) Medium Power Armor: 19 +Dex (max 2)
Heavy Armor: 18 Heavy Power Armor: 22

Under these numbers, power armor would give 19+Dex(max 2) AC, and would be called medium power armor. Centurion Armor gives 22 AC, and is called heavy power armor.

I would avoid needing to get more feats than the first to use additional power armors. After all, we are already operating in a more advanced world, we don't need a feat tax so our PCs can catch up. If you still want characters to train for their new armor, then you could make it so that they don't get the full features until they attune to it, which takes x months of training.

Would Terminator Armor give advantage for, say, vicious mockery? What about other mental saves against damage?

I agree that only basic armor (power armor) should be able to be upgraded with bits like jump packs. This keeps you from upgrading your legendary armor too much.

The jump pack gives 60 fly speed, and you can dash as a bonus action. That means that you can move (60), dash as your action (60), dash as your bonus action(60), for a total of 180 feet in one round [this is three times as fast as a dashing human and 1.5 times as fast as a galloping horse]. I don't know if this is intended or not.

The extra damage should from the jump pack charge should be dealt only by the first attack. I argue this from a realism standpoint, since I have no clue about the damage needed here.

Does the Jump Pack have a battery that only allows for so many uses/day or /battery, or no?


Power Armor that gives recharging temporary HP
Light Power Armor that increases Dex saves, to hit, and dex skills (since simply increasing Dex would increase AC)
Electromail, medium power armor that deals lightning damage when they hit you
Hoverpack, an attachment that gives you a small hover speed
Assassin's Suit, a Light Power Armor that gives a climb speed and invisibility 2/day for a minute.
An attachment that gives darkvision, but automatically fail saving throws against being blinded
An attachment that causes you to be blind, but gain blindsight within 45 feet.
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I hope I made sense and I would love to discuss it more - I think this requires more tinkering.

[Feuerphoenix]

Can u tell more about the stats of the special enemies?

[JNAProductions]

Can u tell more about the stats of the special enemies?

No, because that was exclusively Zeek0's idea. That being said, that is a damn cool idea, so I might work on it anyway.

The reason there are such feat taxes is because these are intended to be slotted into REGULAR campaigns. I would have to do a little more ground-work for a 40k inspired 5E, and likely would not tweak the numbers so much.

Good point on the Jump Pack only working on the first attack-it's intended to emulate Hammer of Wrath. Will adjust that.

[Submortimer]

I dig the idea. My concept for what power armor is in terms of 5e is a frame that had three of its own magic item attunement slots. Full plate + ROP + wings of flying + belt of giant strength makes for one mean marine.

[Final Hyena]

Maybe having a single feat giving access to all the different "power" armour types would be easier rather than a feat for each one?

[JNAProductions]

Maybe having a single feat giving access to all the different "power" armour types would be easier rather than a feat for each one?

I do want Terminator and Centurion Armour to have a cost. Artificer Armour is already covered by basic Power Armour feat.

Or is the halved movement speed enough on Centurion Armour, so no feat should be needed there? (I definitely want two feats for Terminator Armour-it's POWERFUL.)

[zeek0]

The reason there are such feat taxes is because these are intended to be slotted into REGULAR campaigns. I would have to do a little more ground-work for a 40k inspired 5E, and likely would not tweak the numbers so much.

Ah. Well in that case...


I believe that 22 AC is extreme, especially since this doesn't consider a shield or other boosts to AC.

It puts you in league with Ancient Red Dragons and Solars, both of which have more than 20 CR.
To compare to items in the DMG, I found no item that gave more than +3 AC.
Any character that reaches 22 AC has to sacrifice more than 2 ASIs to get there (and this doesn't take into consideration the other benefits of the armor)


Perhaps 20 AC is more reasonable?

I have another concern: say I am a level 16 paladin, and I find a cool set of power armor. I then have to hold on to it for 3 levels until I can grab the feat to use it. It would be much worse if I found Terminator Armor - I would never be able to wear the darn thing. I would be better off selling it to a level 15 paladin, who could spend their next 4 levels pining after the armor before they could put it on. If I find any of these at level 19 or 20 I could never use them myself - you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

[JNAProductions]

Ah. Well in that case...


I believe that 22 AC is extreme, especially since this doesn't consider a shield or other boosts to AC.

It puts you in league with Ancient Red Dragons and Solars, both of which have more than 20 CR.
To compare to items in the DMG, I found no item that gave more than +3 AC.
Any character that reaches 22 AC has to sacrifice more than 2 ASIs to get there (and this doesn't take into consideration the other benefits of the armor)


Perhaps 20 AC is more reasonable?

I have another concern: say I am a level 16 paladin, and I find a cool set of power armor. I then have to hold on to it for 3 levels until I can grab the feat to use it. It would be much worse if I found Terminator Armor - I would never be able to wear the darn thing. I would be better off selling it to a level 15 paladin, who could spend their next 4 levels pining after the armor before they could put it on. If I find any of these at level 19 or 20 I could never use them myself - you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

First off, TECHNO-GOBLINS! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?485162-Techno-Goblins-Monsters&p=20676359#post20676359)

Second off, how would you see about balancing them? I want these to be rare and powerful items, as befitting the ridiculously advanced tech of the 40k setting. I do get that feats might not be the best way, but what would be?

And third off, 22 AC is just a single point above +3 Plate. Still damn good in the bounded accuracy system, but it seems to befit Legendary items.

[Final Hyena]

I do want Terminator and Centurion Armour to have a cost. Artificer Armour is already covered by basic Power Armour feat.

Or is the halved movement speed enough on Centurion Armour, so no feat should be needed there? (I definitely want two feats for Terminator Armour-it's POWERFUL.)

It's hard to look at things that kinda go outside normal balance, lets take a slimmed down look at the armours.



Power Armour
20 AC
+2 Strength bonus

requirement
heavy armor proficiency
three months
one feat

Terminator Armour
22 AC
+2 Strength bonus
advantage on all saving throws against any effects that would cause damage.

requirement
Power Armour proficiency
six months
one feat

Centurion Armour
22 AC
+4 Strength bonus
Size increase
Half Speed

requirement
Power Armour proficiency
three months
one feat

Artificer Armour
22 AC
+2 Strength bonus

requirement
Power armour feat

Jump Pack
zoooom

Firstly this is a 5E game and an item needs a DC 25 int check... I get the feeling that the baseline starts at 18 rather than 8, never the less 25 is still a lot.

Anyway a neater way to do it is with tiered feats so;

Power Armour Tier 1
requirement; heavy armour proficiency, three months training.
Gives proficiency with Power Armour, Artificer Armour & Jump Pack

Power Armour Tier 2
requirement; Power Armour Tier 1, three months training.
Gives proficiency with Terminator Armour & Centurion Armour

[zeek0]

I want these to be rare and powerful items, as befitting the ridiculously advanced tech of the 40k setting.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology..." and all that. I don't think that the armor needs to necessarily exceed the standard legendary fare.

But either:


a) the armor you homebrew is standard fare (or only slightly above) and needs no feats to use, just like other legendary items, or

b) the armor you homebrew is appreciably greater than standard fare, meaning that the foes one would fight with them are appreciably greater, or

c) the armor you homebrew is appreciably greater than standard fare, and players that wish to use the armor must take 1-2 feats to use it.


This creates a tricky situation. I think that feats are not the way to go, as stated - and I think that even a single feat is unreasonable. Players either 1) find the armor first and have to wait to acquire the feat, or 2) anticipate finding the armor, so they get the feat first and have to wait until they find the armor. Either one is anti-climactic - as a player I want instant gratification for both my feats and armor finds.

Ensuring that the items you create are similar to already created items of similar rarity is the easiest way to go. This would make it so that you don't need feats to use the items - they can be used intuitively, after a short learning period, or after a long learning period (but I think that a long learning period has the same problem as feats, especially when mid-campaign).

But I think that to coolest option that requires the most work is to incorporate power armor into the world itself, even at low levels. You would have to pit your characters against tougher foes, and basically calculate your PCs levels as [actual level + approximate level gain from overpowered tech items], but it would be cool anyhow. The rarity of the items means that they are suuuper powerful in relation to anything else at that level, making our heroes automatic champions (or banes) of the people.

[manny2510]

Just make a feat Called "black carapace: you add proficiency to your AC when wearing integrated armor" and all the armors otherwise just have 18 AC as the carapace allows for more complete control. http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Carapace

[Akiron42]

As far as the Jump Pack goes, using Dash as a Bonus Action is perfectly legit. Normally Dash requires an action, which doubles your movement speed for the rest of your turn. One of the Rogue paths can already Dash as a Bonus if I recall correctly, and it's not game breaking to move further, and keep your action at the cost of your Bonus Action.

For an actual 40K Setting? There may be material out there already, but I personally prefer running my Sci-Fi/Space Opera using the Star Wars Sagas Edition system as my ground level. It's got so much done for me already, that I only need to flesh it out beyond the basis and much of the rules fit well in many potential settings. Using it with DnD 5E wouldn't be bad, just require a bit more work getting it moved over, or a lot of ad-hoc winging it.

All in all, I like the Power Armor idea in general, and would consider incorporating Dwarven/Gnomish Steam-punk mecha in a setting as a fun break from the 'dragon attacks village, go kill dragon' grind

[AlmaPenzare]

I'm curious to hear how well 5E works with homebrew.. I always saw it as a system that was fairly inflexibile compared to pathfinder or 3E

[JNAProductions]

I'm curious to hear how well 5E works with homebrew.. I always saw it as a system that was fairly inflexibile compared to pathfinder or 3E

Relatively, yes, but that's because the balance is much tighter. In 3.5 or PF, you could make a class that's OP as hell, and it'd fit right in with Wizards, or a class that's objectively terrible, and hey, look at that, it's great for a party of Samurais!

Whereas in 5E, all the classes are approximately equal-at least in combat. Out of combat, mages definitely have the edge, but to a much smaller degree.