Items: Armor¶
"Wear something. Anything. The forest doesn't care that you're a Bard."
The shape of it: Armor lives in five body slots and ranges from patched cloth to plate. Heavier gear means more damage absorbed, more weight carried, and (sometimes) class restrictions. Most classes can wear most things - but the ones with a real armor identity (Warrior, Paladin) gain real value from going heavy, and the ones who don't (Mage, Monk) lose more than they gain.
At a glance¶
| Slots | head / chest / legs / feet / hands (some sets add shoulders, arms, belt) |
| Where to find | smithy, leather-worker, faction-locked stock, dungeon loot, quest reward |
| Cost tier | cheap (cloth/leather) → mid (chain) → pricey (plate) → expensive (named) |
| Class restrictions | yes for some - Mages and Monks lose abilities in metal; see below |
| Weight | meaningful - overencumbered = dodge + speed penalties |
How to read an armor piece¶
/inventory shows each piece's slot, material, quality, and armor
value. /stock <item> against a vendor shows price and rarity. The
relevant fields:
- Slot - where it goes (you can wear one piece per slot).
- Material - leather, chain, plate, scale, cloth, mithril, etc. Drives both armor value and class restrictions.
- Quality - crude / standard / fine / superior / masterwork. A fine chain shirt outperforms a crude one of the same material.
- Armor value - flat damage reduction the piece contributes.
- Weight - counts against your carry cap. Plate is heavy.
/inventory
look chest
examine plate cuirass
Material tiers¶
The progression curve, roughly:
| Material | Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cloth / robe | Light | Mage / Cleric / Scholar - keeps casting clean |
| Leather | Light | Universal starter, Rogue/Ranger sweet spot |
| Studded leather | Light-medium | Hybrid; Rogue endgame light option |
| Chain shirt / chain | Medium | Paladin / Warrior mid-game upgrade |
| Scale | Medium-heavy | Faction-locked variants (Town Guard, Temple) |
| Plate | Heavy | Warrior / Paladin frontline - slow, hard to hurt |
| Mithril | Heavy (light feel) | Rare. Chain-armor protection at leather weight |
What counts as "real armor"¶
The engine distinguishes between gear that protects and gear you happen to be wearing:
- Real armor - anything with non-zero armor value. Reduces damage taken in combat. Chain shirt, leather cuirass, plate, etc.
- Clothing - robes, sashes, fancy cloaks, party dresses. Zero or
near-zero armor value; some carry social or class-skill modifiers
(Performance, Stealth, casting bonuses). The
layer: "under"flag marks pieces meant to sit beneath outer armor.
A Monk's wraps and a Bard's cloak ARE gear. They're just not armor - they buy you something other than damage reduction.
Class restrictions¶
- Mage / Cleric / Necromancer - casting incurs a spell-failure drag in heavy metal (chain, plate, scale). Robes and light leather are clean.
- Monk - light gear and unarmed-focused; heavy armor breaks the meditation/stamina identity even where it'd "fit."
- Bard - can wear medium but loses Performance modifiers. Stay light or sound like a tin pan.
- Warrior / Paladin / Tinkerer - no restrictions; heavy is home.
- Ranger / Rogue - physically can wear anything, but Stealth rolls hate plate.
If you're not sure, /stats will reflect armor's drag on your active
class skills.
The progression curve¶
| Hour | Typical loadout |
|---|---|
| Hour 1 | Starter - leather chest + leather elsewhere, or robes for caster |
| Hour 5-10 | Upgrade chest piece first (most damage reduction per slot) |
| Hour 10-20 | Material tier upgrade - chain or plate for martial, fine robes for caster |
| Hour 20-50 | Faction-locked sets (Town Guard plate, Thieves' shadowweave, Collegium-enchanted robe) |
| Hour 50+ | Mastercrafted, enchanted, or named pieces from late dungeons/quests |
Edge cases¶
- Mismatched sets are fine - there's no set bonus penalty. A plate cuirass over leather legs is legal (just looks rough).
- Encumbrance compounds - full plate + greatsword + a 40-slot pack is fast over-cap. Drop something or upgrade the pack.
- Layers stack -
layer: "under"clothing (like silk under-shirt) sits beneath outer armor. The outer piece's armor value applies; the under-piece's social/comfort modifiers still count. - Repair flow - durability is in the engine pipe but not heavily consequential yet. Vendors will repair items at low cost; assume this gets sharper later.
- Stripping for stealth - taking off plate before a sneak run is
legit.
wear/removecycle is a real strategy for hybrid play.