Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sith_Lord_V 03-08-05, 05:48 PM	OK, here is my question....... If Elven Chainmail and / or Mithral Chainmail are treated as light armor for amultitude of purposes, do you still need the Medium Armor Proficincy to use them ? My group and I are of two minds, please give some insight if you would.
Tony Vargas 03-08-05, 05:53 PM	Mithral armors are treated as lighter for purposes of movment and other restrictions. Proficiency is not a restriction, it's a feat, and, the penalty for non-proficiency (also not a restriction, but a penalty) is based on the armor check penalty, which is already reduced by mithral, anyway. Notice, for instance, that a character who is not proficient in light armor still takes no penalty for wearing a mithral chain shirt, since it's armor check penalty is zero. Same goes for shield proficiency and a mithral bruckler. So, even if a character isn't proficient with medium armors, he still has a much easier time wearing a mithral breastplate, suffering only a -1 non-proficiency penalty, instead of the usual -3.
StevenO 03-08-05, 11:05 PM	As you have found out this topic is often debated and both sides always say they are right. I agree with Tony on this issue that the proficiency doesn't change with material. The material makes the armor easier to move in but it still doesn't mean you know HOW to move in it. Also ask if the material would change the don-remove time that the armor has. The truth is that allowing mithral chain and breastplates to be used with light proficiency isn't too broken (normally a -1 or -2 penalty by the rules) but allowing mithral heavy armors to be used effectively with out heavy armor prof. really nerf the classes that want the heavy armor.