Armor

Wearing Armor

Armor protects you in combat, but it is also expensive and sometimes cumbersome. Armor is generally not too restrictive, if you're strong enough to handle the load--it was made to fight in, after all. See Adventuring for more information on encumbrance.

Proficiency
Depending on their class, a character may be proficient in some or all armors. For example, fighters can function normally in all types of armor, while mages are hindered by anything more than a heavy jacket. When a character wears armor for which they lack training, the check penalty (see below) applies to attacks made while wearing the armor. Arcane spellcasters also have a 50% chance to fumble their spells when casting in unfamiliar armor.

Armor Fitting
Even simple armors must fit decently to work well. Plate armors must be properly fitted to an individual, a process which requires time and a decent smith. Ill-fitting armor looks bad, and has the same penalties as nonproficiency.

AC Bonus
Each armor and shield increases a character's armor class by a certain amount, listed in its entry. An armor bonus doesn't stack with any other bonuses of the same type; if you used a shield in each hand, you would only receive the larger bonus. Similarly, if an ogre wore armor, it would only receive a bonus if the armor was more protective than its own thick hide.

Maximum Dexterity Bonus
This number is the maximum dexterity bonus to AC that this type of armor allows. Heavier armors limit your mobility, reducing your ability to dodge blows. Very agile characters can find themselves seriously hindered by heavy armor.

Armor Check Penalty
Armors heavier than a padded jack hurt a character's ability to use some skills. An armor check penalty applies to Acrobatics, Climb, Jump and Stealth checks; double the normal penalty applies to swim checks. The penalties for armor and shields stack with each other (though a shield can be stowed relatively quickly). A character's encumbrance might add a further check penalty.

Weight
Each armor has an associated weight; for weaker characters, plate armor can be impractically heavy, even if it is well distributed. Armor and shield weight counts towards encumbrance as normal, hindering a character more than just the armor statistics show. Very fine armors can be made lighter than normal without sacrificing protection.

Donning and Removing Armor
Putting on or removing very simple armor (such as a haubergeon or padded jack) can be done in about 30 seconds. Armor that covers much of the body (like boiled leather, hauberk, and mail and plates) can be donned in about a minute with help, or two minutes without. Suits of plate armor are difficult to put on without help, and pretty time consuming even if you have an assistant. Breastplate type armors and all heavy armors take 4 minutes to don with or without help. If you don't have help putting on heavy armor, the armor's check penalty is increased by three.

Sleeping in Armor
A character who sleeps in medium or heavy armor is fatigued the next day.

Armor Tables

Light Armor

Armor	Cost	AC	Max Dex Bonus	Check Penalty	Weight
Leather Coat	45 sp	1	+8	0	5 lb
Padded Jack		2	+6	0	5 lb
Boiled Leather		3	+5	-1	10 lb
Haubergeon		4	+4	-2	25 lb

Medium Armor

Armor	Cost	AC	Max Dex Bonus	Check Penalty	Weight
Hauberk	400 sp	5	+3	-3	30 lb
Mail and Plates		5	+4	-2	30 lb
Breastplate		6	+3	-3	35 lb

Heavy Armor

Armor	Cost	AC	Max Dex Bonus	Check Penalty	Weight
Half-plate		7	+2	-4	35 lb
Full Plate	1275 sp	8	+1	-4	45 lb
Heavy Plate		9	+0	-8	75 lb

Shields

Armor	Cost	AC	Max Dex Bonus	Check Penalty	Weight
Buckler		1	---	-1	5 lb
Light Shield	37.5 sp	1	---	-1	5 lb
Medium Shield	90 sp	2	---	-2	10 lb
Heavy Shield		3	---	-3	15 lb
Tower Shield		4	+2	-6	25 lb

Armor Descriptions

Leather Coat: a heavy leather coat or jacket, hardly distinguishable from civilian wear. Sometimes included in heavier armors.
Padded Jack: a padded coat, often worn under heavier armor.
Boiled Leather: boiled leather plates, cheap and somewhat effective.
Haubergeon: a shirt of mail.
Hauberk: a longer shirt of mail which also protects the arms with long sleeves.
Mail and Plates: a variety of related armors which augment mail with addition of small plates. Protecting the limbs with fitted plates instead of a heavy mail skirt and sleeves makes it less hindering than a hauberk.
Breastplate: a fitted cuirass, good protection when combined with lighter armor on the limbs.
Half Plate: The traveller’s full plate; a breastplate augmented with heavier limb armor.
Full Plate: Skillfully fitted armor plates cover almost the entire body; mail protects the joints. The great skill and expense required to create a full fitted suit makes this kind of armor a rarity in all but the richest places.
Heavy Plate: The best protection money can buy, but prohibitively expensive and restricting. This suit of full plate further protects its wearer with thicker plates and better armored joints. On the few occasions it sees use, it is mainly used for tournaments and sieges, where its drawbacks are less relevant.

Shield Descriptions

Donning or removing a strapped shield is a minor action. A held shield can be picked up like any other object, and dropped as a free action.

Buckler: A small, center-held shield, little larger than the metal boss on some larger shields. You can use your buckler hand to hold easily gripped items, but not to fight. 
Light Shield: A small shield strapped to one arm, so that you can still use the arm to fight. The shield is a little bulky, so any attacks that use that arm (including two handed weapons) are at a -1 penalty.
Medium Shield: A mid-sized shield, held by straps or a central grip. You can hold things with your shield hand, but you can't fight with it.
Heavy Shield: A tall shield, large enough to easily protect the legs as well.  Heavy shields always occupy your hand, and you have to drop anything else held in the shield hand to fight properly.
Tower Shield:  A massive shield, large enough to protect the entire body. A tower shield is so unwieldy that it imposes a -2 penalty on attacks. If you give up your attacks, you can use it as total cover, hiding your whole body behind the shield. Many such shields have small folding spikes so that they can be stuck in the ground, allowing the character to use a missile weapon. While deployed in this way, the tower shield provides cover as a low wall (+4), but only from one side.