armor from monsters? [Archive] - Wizards Community

armor from monsters? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
colyn kell
10-23-05, 03:59 PM can you make armor from monsters you kill? are there any rules on it? like monsters that have skin or natural armor that are magical would they still retain there abilities?
Verelor
10-23-05, 04:10 PM Yes, for armor made of dragon scales, in teh Dugneon Master's Guide. I suppose that's about half or more of what you were looking for, but if you want to make armor out of other sorts of beasts like Behirs or Pit Fiends, it will be very easy because you will only have to slightly modify from the set of rules for creating armor from the scales of a dragon.
Tarionz_Cousin
10-23-05, 10:36 PM The Draconomicon has more rules on getting armor from dragons--specifically, how much armor you can get from which size of dragon.
Realms of Chaos
10-23-05, 10:59 PM I'd rule that it could be done with proper tools to any corpereal, solid creature (other than those made from pure rocks or elements). The creature, I would rule, could provide light armor for a creature of up to one size category larger, medium armor for any creature of the same size category, or heavy armor for any creature of up to one size category smaller. I'd also rule that the armor would transmit half of the slain creatures natural armor bonus as an armor bonus rather than the usual bonuses per type, but as this would make the armor more stiff, every point of natural armor bonus provided in this way beyond the armor bonus of regular armor of that kind provide a -1 armor check penalty and a 5% arcane failure. As this armor would be somewhat improvisational, I'd rule that it could not be masterwork and could not be made magical with means less than a wish or miracle spell. The maximum dexterity bonus for this armor would be the average limit for that armor or the dexterity bonus that the slain creature had, whichever is lower.

That's just me, however.
Slagger the Chuul
10-24-05, 04:12 AM can you make armor from monsters you kill? are there any rules on it? like monsters that have skin or natural armor that are magical would they still retain there abilities?

For a lot of monsters, it would just be a way to make fancy leather or hide armour, some will probably be like dragonskin as Verelor said, and for others you'll need to be making something up.

Tarionz_Cousin mentioned the Draconomicon, which also has dragoncraft items; these are a useful guide if you want items that retain some of the monster's abilities, but mostly it's just obvious natural properties of the monster that carry across. For example, if you make armour out of a creature immune to fire, the armour is also immune to fire (it won't make you immune to fire, but you won't need to worry about the armour).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
colyn kell 10-23-05, 03:59 PM	can you make armor from monsters you kill? are there any rules on it? like monsters that have skin or natural armor that are magical would they still retain there abilities?
Verelor 10-23-05, 04:10 PM	Yes, for armor made of dragon scales, in teh Dugneon Master's Guide. I suppose that's about half or more of what you were looking for, but if you want to make armor out of other sorts of beasts like Behirs or Pit Fiends, it will be very easy because you will only have to slightly modify from the set of rules for creating armor from the scales of a dragon.
Tarionz_Cousin 10-23-05, 10:36 PM	The Draconomicon has more rules on getting armor from dragons--specifically, how much armor you can get from which size of dragon.
Realms of Chaos 10-23-05, 10:59 PM	I'd rule that it could be done with proper tools to any corpereal, solid creature (other than those made from pure rocks or elements). The creature, I would rule, could provide light armor for a creature of up to one size category larger, medium armor for any creature of the same size category, or heavy armor for any creature of up to one size category smaller. I'd also rule that the armor would transmit half of the slain creatures natural armor bonus as an armor bonus rather than the usual bonuses per type, but as this would make the armor more stiff, every point of natural armor bonus provided in this way beyond the armor bonus of regular armor of that kind provide a -1 armor check penalty and a 5% arcane failure. As this armor would be somewhat improvisational, I'd rule that it could not be masterwork and could not be made magical with means less than a wish or miracle spell. The maximum dexterity bonus for this armor would be the average limit for that armor or the dexterity bonus that the slain creature had, whichever is lower. That's just me, however.
Slagger the Chuul 10-24-05, 04:12 AM	can you make armor from monsters you kill? are there any rules on it? like monsters that have skin or natural armor that are magical would they still retain there abilities? For a lot of monsters, it would just be a way to make fancy leather or hide armour, some will probably be like dragonskin as Verelor said, and for others you'll need to be making something up. Tarionz_Cousin mentioned the Draconomicon, which also has dragoncraft items; these are a useful guide if you want items that retain some of the monster's abilities, but mostly it's just obvious natural properties of the monster that carry across. For example, if you make armour out of a creature immune to fire, the armour is also immune to fire (it won't make you immune to fire, but you won't need to worry about the armour).