Monks and Mythril armor

[digiman619]

Mythril armor counts as one category less (heavy armor is treated as medium, medium as light, etc.) So can a monk have a mythril haramiki (+1 AC, no max dex, 0% arcane failure (from Pathfinder's Ultimate Equipment) to get armor enhancements (like fortification)?

[Divide by Zero]

Mithril armor that was originally light is still treated as light, unfortunately. There's a book though, I forgot which one, with a rule that lets you put special enhancements on Bracers of Armor.

[Necroticplague]

Nope. Mithril Light Armor is still Light Armor.

When worked like steel, it becomes a wonderful material from which to create armor, and is occasionally used for other items as well. Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light.
Thus, you're still treated as wearing light armor, so all the Monk abilities that don't work in armor don't activate.

[digiman619]

Dang it. Can't monks get anything good?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Dang it. Can't monks get anything good?They started out better in Pathfinder, but monks can't have nice things, so they were nerfed into the ground.

...further into the ground. They still sucked compared to everyone else, but they were better than NPC classes, so they had to be put down.

[Crake]

Mithril armor that was originally light is still treated as light, unfortunately. There's a book though, I forgot which one, with a rule that lets you put special enhancements on Bracers of Armor.

I think 3.5 had the ruling in magic item compendium, and also allowed the enhancement of a "shirt" to give an armor bonus and armor abilities, just the same as bracers, taking up the armor slot, but not actually being armor. Just ask your DM if he would allow that.

[Thurbane]

There's a book though, I forgot which one, with a rule that lets you put special enhancements on Bracers of Armor.

I believe that's a sidebar in Arms & Equipment Guide.

[Divide by Zero]

Dang it. Can't monks get anything good?

They did, it's called the Swordsage.

[digiman619]

They did, it's called the Swordsage.

If we're going there, I'd rather be a Soulknife [Deadly Fist]

[Mystral]

To rub in even more salt into the wound, if you play an unarmed swordsage, the only thing you lose is proficiency with armor, so if you wear a mithral chain shirt, since it has no armor check penality, you are acting perfectly fine.

[weckar]

To rub in even more salt into the wound, if you play an unarmed swordsage, the only thing you lose is proficiency with armor, so if you wear a mithral chain shirt, since it has no armor check penality, you are acting perfectly fine.You also kind of lose the WIS to AC, as you need to be wearing light armor for that.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

You also kind of lose the WIS to AC, as you need to be wearing light armor for that.Most initiators multiclass anyway, so the only things you lose are the bonus feats for eschewing armor proficiencies.


"]Special
All characters except wizards, sorcerers, and monks automatically have Armor Proficiency (light) as a bonus feat. They need not select it.

[Ashtagon]

Even if mithral did make light armour into a armour category lighter than light, that wouldn't help monks. The monk restriction is on wearing "armour", not on wearing "light, medium, or heavy armour".

[Khedrac]

You also kind of lose the WIS to AC, as you need to be wearing light armor for that.
Actually this would benefit the unarmed swordsage. A swordsage only gains Wid bonus to AC when wearing light armour (they don't gain it when not wearing armour).
By putting on a mithral chain shirt they are not wearing light armour (so get Wis to AC) without suffering from not being proficient.

[Jormengand]

To be honest, I would allow it if a monk player asked if he could do that, even though you can't in the rules as written.

[Yanisa]

There's a book though, I forgot which one, with a rule that lets you put special enhancements on Bracers of Armor.

In 3.5 it might exist, but I don't know where. But in pathfinder that is part of the default rules (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/a-b/bracers-of-armor) for bracers of armor. (Bringing it up because the OP mentioned a PF armor.)

[Troacctid]

Dang it. Can't monks get anything good?

Monks get lots of good things. Certainly more than a lot of classes.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Monks get lots of good things. Certainly more than a lot of classes.Yeah, just look at all the stuff they have under the class abilities section of their class table. Looks a lot nicer than the big blank spaces wizards, sorcerers, and clerics have, eh?

[Hecuba]

Yeah, just look at all the stuff they have under the class abilities section of their class table. Looks a lot nicer than the big blank spaces wizards, sorcerers, and clerics have, eh?

Will, there are certainly lots of them. The fact that they are less good than other classes' nice things does not change the fact that they are both plentiful and theoretically helpful.

It's like playing a hoarder. Yes, playing a rich guy would be better. But the hoard of things might still be useful, and it's better than playing a peon/homeless guy/NPC.

[Troacctid]

Yeah, just look at all the stuff they have under the class abilities section of their class table. Looks a lot nicer than the big blank spaces wizards, sorcerers, and clerics have, eh?
Say what you will, monks have more splatbook support than the vast majority of the game's classes. Almost every book has new content aimed directly at monks, and a lot of it is legitimately good. If you're complaining that monks don't get nice things, then you probably haven't paid close enough attention.

[Divide by Zero]

Monks certainly get things. The question is whether those things are nice.

Most of the nice monk-related things I can think of either work just as well with only a few levels of monk (e.g. most unarmed strike enhancements), or aid multiclassing (Tashalatora, Ascetic Mage, etc.), which means they improve your build by allowing you to more effectively take classes that aren't monk.

[Troacctid]

If your standard for "Nice" is "As good as being able to wear mithral shirts" then they get tons of nice things.

[ZeroiaSD]

Dang it. Can't monks get anything good?

Qinggong archetype?

[WeaselGuy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can add stuff to robes too. i.e., the Robes of Blending (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#robeofBlending), which are particularly nice for monks, and allow you to actually fill in your armor slot.

[Theobod]

If you want armor on a monk, consider the Shou Disciple Prestige Class from Unapproachable East.
Lets you wear light armor and keep up with monk abilities and use other weapons in a flurry of blows, might still nix your wis to AC based on reading but gives its own dodge bonus.

Ofc Bracers of armor are the way to go for cheap armor bonus to AC, as a side benefit its a force effect iirc so works against ghosts.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Ofc Bracers of armor are the way to go for cheap extremely expensive armor bonus to AC, as a side benefit its a force effect iirc so works against ghosts.Compared to any other source of armor bonus, bracers are stupidly expensive. Want cheap AC? Take a single level in psion, psychic warrior, or ardent, and buy a few power stones of inertial armor. That, along with inertial armor and force screen as powers known will mean you'll generally have access to +8 to AC at a moment's notice.

Or take one or two levels in monk and fill the rest in with a manifesting class. Enjoy being a far more effective monk than you ever could, otherwise.

[Kyberwulf]

Well, the answer to the OP's question... is Yes. The monk could use Mithral Haramiki to get said bonuses.

However, wither the monk can use it, or some of his abilities is another question entirely. No the monk isn't proficient in it's use. If he where to multiclass, then yeah he could use it. He would still lose out on a couple abilites. Wisdom to AC, Fast Movement, and Flurry of Blows. He would keep all his other abilities.

[Divide by Zero]

No the monk isn't proficient in it's use. If he where to multiclass, then yeah he could use it.

Oddly, this isn't an issue. Nonproficiency only causes you to take the armor's armor check penalty to a bunch of things, so if the ACP is 0, you can wear it with no trouble at all.

[Drelua]

If we were talking about Pathfinder, the sohei monk archetype would be worth considering. They lose fast movement and can flurry in armour, similar to the shou disciple, so if you don't have a great wisdom, maybe you had a low point buy, armour is likely to be a good option. It gets worse at higher levels, thanks to the +1/4 level bonus on top of wisdom to AC, but even at level 20 it might be worth it if you can get celestial armour, if you can upgrade it, or mithral kikko armour, which has no ACP so proficiency isn't an issue.

As a sidenote, I love how trivial shield proficiency is. Only tower shields have an ACP high enough that mithral or darkwood doesn't negate it completely, so the proficiency only really matters when you can't afford a darkwood shield, which only cost a few hundred gold, or if you're taking a feat that requires it.

[Sir Chuckles]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can add stuff to robes too. i.e., the Robes of Blending (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#robeofBlending), which are particularly nice for monks, and allow you to actually fill in your armor slot.

I'm not 100% certain on that, but it does remind me of my favorite theoretical image from 3.5:
The ascetic beekeeper.