armor ability to shift [Archive] - Wizards Community

armor ability to shift [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
gwarath
04-23-05, 01:30 PM I am looking for an armor special bonus. Where can i find the ability that makes your armor able to shift as you change shape (such as shifting and wild shaping)
thx
stamhaven
04-23-05, 02:07 PM The complete adventurer has an armor enhancement called Beastskin which reforms it to fit your new body and counts as a +2 enhancement for cost. The MAJOR drawbacks are that it only works with wildshape (no good to polymorph or lychanthropes), and that it costs a daily use of wildshape to make it do this. Wild enhancement at only +3 is signifigantly better since it takes no daily uses to enable and allows for effective animal disguises while retaining the armor bonus. Many think Beasthide is too weak compared to Wild from DMG for their reletive cost and usefulness.

Also in the Complete Adventurer is a new weapon enhancement called Sizing which costs the same as a +1 enhancement and makes the weapon change size as a standard action (specifically mentioned as useful for polymorph). The big hitches for this enhancement is the fact that the official explination of how the polymorph spell works includes adjusting the size of your equipment, making this useless for polymorphers. Given that rule it still has value if you want to make use of an odd sized weapon you find, simply pay to have this enchantment added and suddenly it's handy.

A similar Sizing property for armor would probably be of similar value (for odd size characters and to allow the use of oversized armor from monsters like giants). Again it would be useful for non polymorph or wildshaping situations. I used this property to accomodate a party comprised entierly of halflings and gnomes without relying on polymorph any object to resize. These properties seem like obvios magic enhancements given the change to equipment size rules in 3.5.
gwarath
04-23-05, 04:02 PM what special ability are you talking about that takes no daily wild shape (at +3?) i didint get that part but thanks for sizing thats what i deed
Ovistavin
04-23-05, 05:00 PM Wild: The wearer of a suit of armor or a shield with this ability preserves his armor bonus (and any enhancement bonus) while in a wild shape. Armor and shields with this ability usually appear to be made covered in leaf patterns. While the wearer is in a wild shape, the armor cannot be seen.
Moderate transmutation; CL 9th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, baleful polymorph; Price +3 bonus.

This is what stamhaven was refering to. The Wild armor ability is in the DMG (and the SRD as noted above) and Beastskin is in the Complete Adventurer.
Catra
04-23-05, 05:11 PM So, does Wild armor work with regular polymorph? Say I want to polymorph a psudodragon to the size of a horse, and the psudodragon has armor on. Would the Wild attribute let the armor reshape itself to fit the psudodragon?
stamhaven
04-23-05, 05:50 PM As written it's a no for wild armor and alternate form, polymorph or anything other than wildshape. Balance and concept wise it should be fine with any of those. That you keep the armor bonus while Wild armor is melded is clear, what other properties and limitations of armor are retained is a big judgement call. For instance armors with other properties like fortification, energy resistance, ghost touch, etc. Other things to consider are arcane spell failure, armor check penalties, and movement penalties that come while armored along with any non proficient penalties. Other things that can come up include are they considered armored while it's melded for purposes of monk style AC benefits (either through a monk's belt of multiclassing) or other unarmored benefits.

Wild is a big can of worms, which is why I prefer using a modified beasthide players IMC where it costs like a +3 enhancement but both resizes and shapes to fit the wearer regardless of form. That leaves the uses poer day out of the equasion, the paradox of getting a massive armor bonus at the same time as being considered armored.

For those that prefer the armorless look while wildshaping I allow amulets and other animal friendly item slots to be loaded up with bracers of armor style armor bonuses. IMO if there isn't a hunck of metal or hide there it needs to be either force armor, a deflection bonus or a natural armor bonus. Another alternative I entertained was to let Wild enhancement change the armor bonus to a natural armor bonus (armor+enhancment overlapping the wildshape natural armor +enhancement) which eliminated any armor limitations while melded (good for low NA forms but doesn't overpower the already strong forms).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
gwarath 04-23-05, 01:30 PM	I am looking for an armor special bonus. Where can i find the ability that makes your armor able to shift as you change shape (such as shifting and wild shaping) thx
stamhaven 04-23-05, 02:07 PM	The complete adventurer has an armor enhancement called Beastskin which reforms it to fit your new body and counts as a +2 enhancement for cost. The MAJOR drawbacks are that it only works with wildshape (no good to polymorph or lychanthropes), and that it costs a daily use of wildshape to make it do this. Wild enhancement at only +3 is signifigantly better since it takes no daily uses to enable and allows for effective animal disguises while retaining the armor bonus. Many think Beasthide is too weak compared to Wild from DMG for their reletive cost and usefulness. Also in the Complete Adventurer is a new weapon enhancement called Sizing which costs the same as a +1 enhancement and makes the weapon change size as a standard action (specifically mentioned as useful for polymorph). The big hitches for this enhancement is the fact that the official explination of how the polymorph spell works includes adjusting the size of your equipment, making this useless for polymorphers. Given that rule it still has value if you want to make use of an odd sized weapon you find, simply pay to have this enchantment added and suddenly it's handy. A similar Sizing property for armor would probably be of similar value (for odd size characters and to allow the use of oversized armor from monsters like giants). Again it would be useful for non polymorph or wildshaping situations. I used this property to accomodate a party comprised entierly of halflings and gnomes without relying on polymorph any object to resize. These properties seem like obvios magic enhancements given the change to equipment size rules in 3.5.
gwarath 04-23-05, 04:02 PM	what special ability are you talking about that takes no daily wild shape (at +3?) i didint get that part but thanks for sizing thats what i deed
Ovistavin 04-23-05, 05:00 PM	Wild: The wearer of a suit of armor or a shield with this ability preserves his armor bonus (and any enhancement bonus) while in a wild shape. Armor and shields with this ability usually appear to be made covered in leaf patterns. While the wearer is in a wild shape, the armor cannot be seen. Moderate transmutation; CL 9th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, baleful polymorph; Price +3 bonus. This is what stamhaven was refering to. The Wild armor ability is in the DMG (and the SRD as noted above) and Beastskin is in the Complete Adventurer.
Catra 04-23-05, 05:11 PM	So, does Wild armor work with regular polymorph? Say I want to polymorph a psudodragon to the size of a horse, and the psudodragon has armor on. Would the Wild attribute let the armor reshape itself to fit the psudodragon?
stamhaven 04-23-05, 05:50 PM	As written it's a no for wild armor and alternate form, polymorph or anything other than wildshape. Balance and concept wise it should be fine with any of those. That you keep the armor bonus while Wild armor is melded is clear, what other properties and limitations of armor are retained is a big judgement call. For instance armors with other properties like fortification, energy resistance, ghost touch, etc. Other things to consider are arcane spell failure, armor check penalties, and movement penalties that come while armored along with any non proficient penalties. Other things that can come up include are they considered armored while it's melded for purposes of monk style AC benefits (either through a monk's belt of multiclassing) or other unarmored benefits. Wild is a big can of worms, which is why I prefer using a modified beasthide players IMC where it costs like a +3 enhancement but both resizes and shapes to fit the wearer regardless of form. That leaves the uses poer day out of the equasion, the paradox of getting a massive armor bonus at the same time as being considered armored. For those that prefer the armorless look while wildshaping I allow amulets and other animal friendly item slots to be loaded up with bracers of armor style armor bonuses. IMO if there isn't a hunck of metal or hide there it needs to be either force armor, a deflection bonus or a natural armor bonus. Another alternative I entertained was to let Wild enhancement change the armor bonus to a natural armor bonus (armor+enhancment overlapping the wildshape natural armor +enhancement) which eliminated any armor limitations while melded (good for low NA forms but doesn't overpower the already strong forms).