Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BenjaminBinder 09-19-05, 10:13 AM	The sidebar on page 79 of Frostburn talks about the dangers of wearing metal armor in cold weather. Specifically, a PC who wears metal armor in temperatures of –20º or below takes 1d4 cold damage per round. Do items that raise your cold protection rating, such as a cold weather outfit, fur clothing, or armor insulation, also shield the PC against this damage?
DonGnocci 09-19-05, 10:45 AM	That would make sense, because IRL warm clothing beneath an armor insulates quite good...
BeyondFated 09-19-05, 01:49 PM	That would make sense, because IRL warm clothing beneath an armor insulates quite good... Maybe, but it would also kame it harder to move. If you let a player have extra layers for warmth to avoid such damage, I suggest using any, some, or all of the following: -1 Max Dex +1 ACP on on Dex Related skills -5 movement -1 to Reflex saves
BenjaminBinder 09-19-05, 02:38 PM	Hmm, if they have metal-hafted weapons, would they take cold damage from wielding them? And would the weapons deal 1 cold damage when hitting an enemy?
crossbow 09-19-05, 03:24 PM	In -20 degree Fahrenheit weather you are going to need some nice winter cloths, armor or not. A hat, gloves, a good coat and good wool pants with warm, moisture proof boots are going to be a must. Without these, you will freeze and die. Keeping the above in mind, it doesn’t really matter if you have armor over this or not. Metal armor is a great conductor of heat and under a stiff breeze a shirt of chain can suck the heat right out of you even on a 60 degree day. If all you are wearing is a shirt. If you have your shirt, your padding and then a wool or fur coat on and the maile on over it (it would have to be built big enough for this) is makes no difference to your core temperature. There is plenty of padding between you and the steel to keep your temperature reasonable. The two big problems with fighting in the cold have relatively little to do with the armor and much more to do with the human body. First, after fighting in the snow, I have noticed that blows seem to hurt a lot more. I don’t think they really do any more damage, but it sure feels like it when you get hit. Second, and far more dangerous, when you fight, you heat up and you sweat. When you quit it is very easy to get chilled to the point of hypothermia. As to the game mechanics behind things, ByondFated has some solid suggestions. Fighting in the cold is an interesting and memorable experience, but not one that I plan on repeating any time soon. crossbow
Kobold Paladin 09-19-05, 04:04 PM	-20 degree Fahrenheit Does it say fahrenheit in the book? In Canada where I live we have most days in winter around -20*C reaching to near -40*C in the thick of it. But then we will get a week of 15*C - 20*C a go right back to blizzards in january.
BenjaminBinder 09-19-05, 05:37 PM	Frostburn has very detailed rules about how cold weather affects players, so I wasn't asking about that, but thanks anyway, crossbow. I think it's safe to say, as a general rule, that if the PCs have full cold protection for the rank of cold weather they are traveling in, that should be enough to avoid the damage from wearing metal armor and wielding metal weapons. (Cold protection and cold weather ranks are detailed in Frostburn.)