| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
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| #1IshamaelusAug 04, 2008 10:03:57 | Me and a group have friends have recently started a 4th Edition game, and while this may be a while away, me and my DM are currently trying to decide how masterwork armour is classified. I'm of the opinion that an item with a +4 enhancement, such as the example in the PHB on page 227 Automatically qualifies as a Masterwork armour piece, and thus gains the benefits of the higher tier of AC as listed on page 214, and is supported by the generic table listed on page 225. My DM however is of the opinion that the enhancements are mutually exclusive, in that you can easily have a +4 standard plate armour, as well as a +4 WARplate, and as such the stats would differ, and uses the description of masterworks as stated in the PHB to support him. Neither of us are very clear as to which is the correct interpretation as the PHB does seem to support both stances at the same time without coming right out and stating which is the accurate. Can anyone help shed some light on which interpretation is more accurate? |
| #2t3hb4k4Aug 04, 2008 10:54:13 | I'm of the opinion that the armors automatically upgrade to their Masterwork forms at +4 and +6 respectively, and I believe this is the general consensus I've seen reached on many other threads posted regarding this same subject. Given that the Masterwork armors do not include base prices for the Masterwork forms it's reasonable to assume this, since otherwise +4 Plate mail and +4 Warplate armor would be identical to each other in cost, and it seems silly that they would include armor with weaker basic stats that was not somehow cheaper. There's also the matter that the PHB actually does say that Masterwork armor base prices are included in the prices of the appropriate level items, so it's not unreasonable at all to assume they automatically become the next stage at +4 and +6 imho, especially given that magic item prices increase like they do. I believe this also helps the defenses granted by light armor + Dex/Int and Heavy armor alone keep pace with each other as light armor's basic stats go up by 1 instead of 3 at each Masterwork level, which means that someone who stacks completely into Dex or Int and light armor will not have a huge AC bonus compared to someone who does not get any ability bonus to AC due to the fact that they've chosen the heavy armor path. Hope this helps. |
| #3drmorganesAug 04, 2008 14:40:21 | I'm of the opinion that an item with a +4 enhancement, such as the example in the PHB on page 227 Automatically qualifies as a Masterwork armour piece, and thus gains the benefits of the higher tier of AC as listed on page 214, and is supported by the generic table listed on page 225. I believe you are correct. P212 of the Player's Handbook states . . . Masterwork armors never appear except as magic armor, and even then only at the highest levels (16th and above). The various kinds of masterwork armor fall into the same categories as mundane armor and have similar statistics, but they have a higher armor bonus than their mundane counterparts. The cost of masterwork armor is included in the cost of magic armor. The emphasis on the last sentence is mine. If you have a suit of Level 16 armor with a +4 enhancement bonus, it's going to be Feyweave, Feyleather, Darkhide, Warplate, etc. Adjust your base armor bonus appropriately. My DM however is of the opinion that the enhancements are mutually exclusive, in that you can easily have a +4 standard plate armour, as well as a +4 WARplate, and as such the stats would differ, and uses the description of masterworks as stated in the PHB to support him. I've quoted the bit in the PHB above. Note again that the last sentence in the paragraph specifically states that the cost of masterwork materials is included in the cost of magic armor. +4 magic armor costs 45,000gp. This includes the masterwork component. If your DM is allowing non-masterwork +4 armor, how much does it cost? What text is he using to support his pricing? |
| #4koukAug 04, 2008 15:35:48 | I originally posted this in the Godplate thread currently in the Q&A forum:Hi, I'm trying to get more familiar with the 4e Mechanics (I'm dming my first 4th Edition campaign soon), and I can't find anything about Godplate or Warplate armors. I'm not sure I understand the minimum enhancement bonus. Special armors work like this: The game rules do not support enchanting an item more than once. Any magic armor that has a bonus of +1 to +3 was created that way using the base armor types. Any magic armor with a +4 or +5 enhancement was created using the second-tier armor. There is no option to make a +4 or +5 using any kind of armor other than the second-tier types. There is no option to make a +3 or less armor with a second-tier armor type. Any magic armor that has a +6 (or higher) enhancement bonus was created using the third-tier armor types. There is no option to make +5 or less Godplate armor for instance. Note that there are no prices listed for the armor types above first tier. They are assumed to be created along with the magic armor when you use the Enchant Magic Item ritual. All magic items of certain levels cost the same amount regardless of materials, so it is safe to assume the costs are accounted for when enchanting magic armor. The FAQ says this: 5. On page 214 of the Player’s Handbook, some of the listed armor selections have a cost of “special.” What does this mean? |
| #5korpusAug 05, 2008 1:37:42 | Cool thanks guys (I'm the DM) I miss read the part on page 212 hence why it caused the confusion. I thought it was intentionally left open to the DM to decide when and where things were based on the better armour types. |
| #6IshamaelusAug 05, 2008 3:26:52 | Cheers for all the input guys, I think its really clarified things for me and my DM, really looking forward to actually getting up to level 16 in order to obtain some Masterwork armour now :D |