Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Krvavy 01-12-06, 02:13 PM	Today I was archiving some old char sheets I found on the closet (wife threatened to throw the whole box if I don't sort and clean it) and I came across one of my dear characters in 2nd ed. I recalled the good times I had with the character, and remembered one very neat item the character had: ankheg plate mail. Now, I'm playing 3.5 for two and half years now, so I searched the books I have and didn't find it. I also checked the SRD, but didn't find it. Am I missing something? Do any of you guys know in which book it is (or the good guys in WotC have forgotten about the best armor the druid can have in 2nd ed)?
Darien_CR 01-12-06, 02:16 PM	I remember that Ankheg armor from Baldur's Gate computer game. You could kill and ankheg and then take its body to a blacksmith. Maybe it's from where you got it. It'd be cool to have some rules for ankheg armor now in 3.5. :D PV.
Krvavy 01-12-06, 02:20 PM	In that particular 2nd ed campaign my group was attacked by ankhegs and we took their chitin to the blacksmith and made two sets of ankheg plate mail for my paladin and friends ranger. Kewl armors... (btw, the stats for the armor was in 2nd ed. Monster Manual, in description of ankheg - in 3.5 ... nada). And that was waaaay before Baldur's Gate...
Despana 01-12-06, 02:50 PM	If you posted the 2e stats for the armor I bet someone could do a conversion for it. (I honestly don't remember the stats of it :( )
WhiteHarness 01-12-06, 02:57 PM	Plate mail made from an Ankheg: Okay, I can sorta see how you could make armour plates from this beastie's shell, but I can't figure out how you could make mail from it. I mean, how would you form the shell into the little rings necessary for mail? It's not like you could pass the shell through a draw-plate or anything, could you?
Krvavy 01-12-06, 03:34 PM	Ok, I misspelled (but we kinda always called it "Ankheg plate mail" although it's actually a Field plate) Here: Ankheg Ecology: Though a hungry ankheg can be fatal to a farmer, it can be quite beneficial to the farmland. Its tunnel system laces the soil with passages for air and water, while the ankheg's waste products add rich nutrients. The ankheg will eat decayed organic matter in the earth, but it prefers fresh meat. All but the fiercest predators avoid ankhegs. Dried and cured ankheg shells can be made into armor with an AC of 2, and its digestive enzymes can be used as regular acid. Armor Class Ratings Type of Armor AC Rating None 10 Shield only 9 Leather or padded armor 8 Leather or padded armor + shield, studded leather, or ring mail armor 7 Studded leather or ring mail + shield, brigandine, scale mail, or hide armor 6 Scale mail or hide + shield, chain mail 5 Chain mail + shield, splint mail, banded mail, bronze plate mail 4 Splint mail, banded mail, or bronze plate mail + shield, plate mail 3 Plate mail + shield, field plate 2 Field plate armor + shield, full plate 1 Full plate armor + shield 0 And I think we kinda houseruled that the armor granted some minor acid resistance. I can homebrew this myself, but I was wandering if the good folk at WotC have made it official or not.
Wolf72 01-12-06, 05:34 PM	I would make chitin armor MW and 1/2 weight ... and it's natural. ... there's issues with the creation rules, but I'd add at least another 1000gp price to the tag
WhiteHarness 01-12-06, 05:49 PM	Armor Class Ratings Type of Armor AC Rating None 10 Shield only 9 Leather or padded armor 8 Leather or padded armor + shield, studded leather, or ring mail armor 7 Studded leather or ring mail + shield, brigandine, scale mail, or hide armor 6 Scale mail or hide + shield, chain mail 5 Chain mail + shield, splint mail, banded mail, bronze plate mail 4 Splint mail, banded mail, or bronze plate mail + shield, plate mail 3 Plate mail + shield, field plate 2 Field plate armor + shield, full plate 1 Full plate armor + shield 0 I wish full plate still granted a +9 bonus. ...either that, or I wish BAB didn't go up so fast. Armour is next to useless in this game, unless it's only a wizard that's trying to stab you... :(
aelryinth 01-12-06, 06:18 PM	Treat it as Masterwork Breastplate, and I think you are covered, with the added advantage of it being Natural. It could be half weight, but honestly I'd keep it normal, the bulk and thickness of it balanced out against the superior strength of steel. +1000 gp is a good price for it, reflecting the craftsmanship needed, and I'd probably use Armorsmithing and Leatherworking combined. Now, if you spend some more money for alchemical treatment, you could cut the weight in half. At that point, use the Mithral modifiers, but don't change the TYPE of armor to one less...just modify the weight. You can't modify plates of chitin like you can leather, chain, and plate for normal breastplate. ==Aelryinth
Gahread 01-15-06, 02:14 AM	The big reason Ankheg plate is so nice is the same reason we're trying to find a young adult red dragon someplace for our party: Druids can't use metal. Scale/chitin armors aren't metal! Aside from that, I think it's a masterwork set of half plate.
Tetsubo 01-15-06, 02:26 AM	The big reason Ankheg plate is so nice is the same reason we're trying to find a young adult red dragon someplace for our party: Druids can't use metal. Scale/chitin armors aren't metal! Aside from that, I think it's a masterwork set of half plate. I've used Giant Ant chitin as armour in a game as well... As for Ankheg armour... I'd allow a single Ankheg to be made into Medium Scale, with two Ankhegs you could make Heavy Half-Plate. Both would be "vegetarian", non-metallic armour. Every Druids favorite Yule gift...
Esgay 01-15-06, 10:10 AM	From what I can remember from the baldurs gate game it was identical to full plate but a lot lighter, maybe less of an armour check penalty?