non metal breastplate?

[Spiritchaser]

I want a nice treasure for a druid, and I was thinking about a breastplate made from something natural. My first flip through the MM ended up with giant crab...

An enemy barbarian wearing a laminated giant crab breastplate? Is that too much of a stretch?

[dejarnjc]

I want a nice treasure for a druid, and I was thinking about a breastplate made from something natural. My first flip through the MM ended up with giant crab...

An enemy barbarian wearing a laminated giant crab breastplate? Is that too much of a stretch?

You could theoretically make a breastplate out of an Ankheg shell, Umber Hulk carapace, turtle shell, rust monster shell, some sort of hardened wood (ironwood).

[N810]

Dragon bone, turtle shell, some thick hide....

[MrFahrenheit]

The Druid in my campaign has a chain shirt made from bone.

[dejarnjc]

The Druid in my campaign has a chain shirt made from bone.

I like the idea but I have trouble understanding how a chain shirt made from bone would work.

[Tanarii]

I like the idea but I have trouble understanding how a chain shirt made from bone would work.Seems more like it'd be rattle-mail.

*ba dum tish!*

[warty goblin]

I like the idea but I have trouble understanding how a chain shirt made from bone would work.

Getting rings from bone is simple, just take a long bone and section it perpendicular to the long axis, like cutting a carrot into medallions. Gouge out the marrow as needed, and you're good to go.

The problem is that you need to join the links together. It turns out that 4-in-1 chain mesh can be made by opening only half the rings, so you could easily do a half bone, half something else chain shirt. But since you need to be able to bend the opened links, I don't see a way to get a shirt made entirely from bone rings without some very weird magic.


Here's a thought; leather made from a dragon's wing membranes. Stuff's gotta be freaky strong, it doesn't make your character look like a Pirates of the Caribbean cosplay, and it's a bit different from the usual sorts of extra-good non-metallic armor. Plus it fits with the overall aesthetic of lighter armor, which dragonscale doesn't.

[RickAllison]

I want a nice treasure for a druid, and I was thinking about a breastplate made from something natural. My first flip through the MM ended up with giant crab...

An enemy barbarian wearing a laminated giant crab breastplate? Is that too much of a stretch?

That would work, but there is also the Spiked Armor from SCAG if you wanted something already there. Usually made from metal, but doesn't have to be. IIRC, it's 14+Dex (max. 2), disadvantage on stealth, 55 pounds. It's an armor for dwarven battleragers traditionally, so you could fit it in as a gift from some dwarven warrior band out in the world.

EDIT: For bone-mail, Fabricate. Boom, you have bone-mail :smallbiggrin:. It's even more efficient in terms of bone usage, while the marrow is easily separated for use in culinary dishes.

[Joe the Rat]

I was thinking mending could help get your bone links back together.
Hmm... a bone-link fence...


Dragon bone, turtle shell, some thick hide....

Bulette carapace, Xornhide, real gorilla chest...

[BW022]

Lots of options...


Ironwood
Hardened crystal
Petrified darkwood
Glasssteal
Turtle shells
Bones from really large animals (dragons, mammoths, wyverns, etc.)
Scales from really touch animals (dragons, wyverns, etc.)
Shells from dragon eggs
Special coral
Hardened shells from Ankhegs, giant beetles, giant wasps, giant ants, etc.
Shaped rock from the elemental plane of the earth
Magical ice shaped from the center of elemental plane of ice
Rock formed from a magical meteor strike
Tree bark from an ancient hardwood tree at the center of a fey grove which regenerated damage

[uraniumrooster]

In one of the Sporedome AL mods from the Out of the Abyss season, there was a suit of Half Plate made out of fungus that also gave the wearer poison resistance.

I ran that mod for a group with three druids, and they were about ready to murder each other over who got the armor.

[Joe the Rat]

See, a solution! One gets the armor, the second makes armor out of the third one after they kill him. Win-Win-Lose. Enh, it happens.

[HeyBJ]

Bulette carapace, Xornhide, real gorilla chest...

Hell, recreate that whole wardrobe: grizzly bear underwear, a vampire bat cape, gopher skin shoes, a hat made from cats, it should all be do-able.

[JellyPooga]

For the ultimate non-metallic Breastplate, you can't go wrong with Tarrasque Carapace. It's quite hard harvesting the raw materials though...

[RickAllison]

For the ultimate non-metallic Breastplate, you can't go wrong with Tarrasque Carapace. It's quite hard harvesting the raw materials though...

All you need is to actually find the Tarrasque, dig a really deep hole, set up water towers next to it, and find some friendly giants or some Large creatures with a few Rogue levels and paired with some casters who can Enlarge them. Shove the Tarrasque into the deep pit, fill it with water, let it drown. Harvest its carapace.

[JellyPooga]

All you need is to actually find the Tarrasque, dig a really deep hole, set up water towers next to it, and find some friendly giants or some Large creatures with a few Rogue levels and paired with some casters who can Enlarge them. Shove the Tarrasque into the deep pit, fill it with water, let it drown. Harvest its carapace.

Note that I didn't say it was dangerous; it just requires some effort. You know, not a lot, but still... :smallbiggrin: