Armor

Traditional combat armor is worn in one of four slots on your body, hands, feet, and head. It acts as a primary line of defense, the difference between continuing the fight or going down. When you take any amount of damage from an attack, you suffer a wound. You’ll need the Armor that this equipment provides if you want to avoid that from happening.

There are three tiers of defensive gear: unarmored, light, and heavy. You’ll need to meet the requirements of a piece of armor to wear it properly, and this includes proper armor training. Without the Defense Training ability, you won’t be able to properly dodge attacks while you wear light armor, and without Heavy Defense Training later on, you’ll be slowed with any heavy armor equipped. Failing to meet stat requirements is worse — trying to wear light armor without meeting the requirement slows you, and equipping a piece of heavy armor without meeting the requirements slows and immobilizes you until you remove the offending item.

Armor has a listed weight. In addition to this counting against your total weight carried, subtract this value from all Agility rolls while the item is equipped. Additionally, all armor types that are medium and heavy are made of metal.

In the table below, you’ll find all the bonuses and requirements of each basic armor type. Pay special attention to the Weight column, as this value must be subtracted from Agility skill rolls made while wearing the body armor. Note that this penalty doesn’t apply to Evasion and Accuracy rolls as they aren’t skill rolls. Also, this penalty only applies once, and only for the heaviest piece of armor worn. Wearing a suit of full plate along with plate gloves, boots, and a helm only garners the -4 to Agility rolls, no more. Wearing only plate boots along with clothing in your other armor slots will impose a -2 penalty to Agility rolls.

Clothing: Apparel of all colors, fabrics, and styles. Provides no defensive bonuses, but can be enchanted for benefit to those who prefer to eschew armor.
Wrap: A simple wrapping made of leather and other light materials, this provides a great boost to evasion, but little in the way of protection.
Leathers: Multi-piece leather strappings that cover vital points and provide mobility.
Doublet: A solid piece of leather fabric that guards the torso and can be used by just about anyone with minimal training.
Skinhide: Tanned and treated hides of animals that are patched together for protection. A little more effective than a simple doublet, but often more expensive due to the creation process.
Mesh Tunic: A fabric tunic weaved with metal meshing. Provides great protection and mobility for its weight.
Chain Shirt: Chainmail tunic that’s a bit heavier, but still light enough to move around in. Provides the best protection among light armors.
Breastplate: A solid metal covering for the torso that leaves the limbs entirely free for increased mobility. Its weight requires training with heavier armor.
Scale Mail: Chainmail that’s been overlaid with metal scales to increase protective benefit. The increased weight requires training.
Layered Plate: Also known as half-plate, this armor set covers the thighs and shoulders for efficient protection while not hindering the wearer.
Full Plate: A full suit of plate armor for maximum protection.

Shields

Shields are equipped in one hand as a weapon, and as such they grant no bonus to Armor on their own. When you use the Block reaction however, you can add a shield’s Block Value to your Armor for that attack.