So as someone who has worn both chainmail and leather armor for long periods of time ( 8-12 hours in a day). This would be rough. Frankly as a Dm I would allow it but like said in a post above the don/dof time would be for all of those suits and the weight would all add up and frankly I would add a level of exhaustion since more people are not used to wearing that much armor AND you would be restricting your movements. The exhaustion would be after the armor was removed or after X amount of time ( most likely a 8 hours mark). Plus each armor sits on a person differently and puts weight and pressure on the body differently.
RAW sure you can wear them. But there is no benefit over all other then to tire yourself out.
IMO as a DM The negatives would out weight the positives in this. More then one suit of armor - Disadvantage to dex based checks - 1 level of exhaustion once you take a rest long or short. A body in motion will stay in motion but once it stops moving it catches up to you. - Don/dof time bases on the armors your wearing and the weight of all of those would also add up.
And all my opinion from personal experience and working within the game rules.
There are a lot of misconceptions about armor in DnD and it’s simplified rules. The basic end result is that no you can’t wear 2 sets of armor (especially medium and heavy armors) one on top of the other. Because the rules are simplified and most players are never going to experience anything close to real midieval armors I’ve seen a lot of things tried and yes, somewhere out there is a DM that will allow each and every one. Here are some pieces that are not RAW but many DMs might allow: 1) removing the chain or plate armor and leaving the gambeson on while in camp (and not sleeping) treating the gambeson as padded leather. 2) wearing cloaks of protection around camp ( maybe even sleeping under them) 3) having an alternate suite of lighter armor that you change into in camp ( this is what knights actually did). 4) having a fine/elven/Mithril chain lined cloak (probably granting an AC of 12/13 (elven) , this would have the weight/encumbrance of a chain shirt that would have to be accounted for. 5) having a shield handy that you can grab to give you some protection if attacked suddenly. Realistically this is the simplest, easiest and best way to deal with the late night armor problem.
stumbled across this thread and found it intriguing... after reading what folks said and digging through the rules a bit, it seems the rules intentionallydon't say whether you can or cannot "layer armor" - check it out
Your Armor Class (AC) represents how well your character avoids being wounded in battle. Things that contribute to your AC include the armor you wear, the shield you carry, and your Dexterity modifier. Not all characters wear armor or carry shields, however.
Without armor or a shield, your character’s AC equals 10 + his or her Dexterity modifier. If your character wears armor, carries a shield, or both, calculate your AC using the rules in chapter 5. Record your AC on your character sheet.
Your character needs to be proficient with armor and shields to wear and use them effectively, and your armor and shield proficiencies are determined by your class. There are drawbacks to wearing armor or carrying a shield if you lack the required proficiency, as explained in chapter 5.
Some spells and class features give you a different way to calculate your AC. If you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use.
D&D worlds are a vast tapestry made up of many different cultures, each with its own technology level. For this reason, adventurers have access to a variety of armor types, ranging from leather armor to chain mail to costly plate armor, with several other kinds of armor in between. The Armor table collects the most commonly available types of armor found in the game and separates them into three categories: light armor, medium armor, and heavy armor. Many warriors supplement their armor with a shield.
Armor Proficiency. Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm. Only those proficient in the armor’s use know how to wear it effectively, however. Your class gives you proficiency with certain types of armor. If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can’t cast spells.
Armor Class (AC). Armor protects its wearer from attacks. The armor (and shield) you wear determines your base Armor Class.
Heavy Armor. Heavier armor interferes with the wearer’s ability to move quickly, stealthily, and freely. If the Armor table shows "Str 13" or "Str 15" in the Strength column for an armor type, the armor reduces the wearer’s speed by 10 feet unless the wearer has a Strength score equal to or higher than the listed score.
Stealth. If the Armor table shows "Disadvantage" in the Stealth column, the wearer has disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Shields. A shield is made from wood or metal and is carried in one hand. Wielding a shield increases your Armor Class by 2. You can benefit from only one shield at a time.
The Armor table shows the cost, weight, and other properties of the common types of armor and shields used in the worlds of D&D.
Getting Into and Out of Armor
The time it takes to don or doff a type of armor or a shield is shown in the Donning and Doffing Armor table.
Don. This is the time it takes to put on the item. You benefit from its AC only if you take the full time to don it.
Doff. This is the time it takes to take off the item. If you have help removing armor, reduce this time by half.
Using a magic item’s properties might mean wearing or wielding it. A magic item meant to be worn must be donned in the intended fashion: boots go on the feet, gloves on the hands, hats and helmets on the head, and rings on the finger. Magic armor must be donned, a shield strapped to the arm, a cloak fastened about the shoulders. A weapon must be held in hand.
In most cases, a magic item that’s meant to be worn can fit a creature regardless of size or build. Many magic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they magically adjust themselves to the wearer.
Rare exceptions exist. If the story suggests a good reason for an item to fit only creatures of a certain size or shape, you can rule that it doesn’t adjust. For example, armor made by the drow might fit elves only. Dwarves might make items usable only by dwarf-sized and dwarf-shaped characters.
When a nonhumanoid tries to wear an item, use your discretion as to whether the item functions as intended. A ring placed on a tentacle might work, but a yuan-ti with a snakelike tail instead of legs has no way to wear magic boots.
Multiple Items of the Same Kind
Use common sense to determine whether more than one of a given kind of magic item can be worn. A character can’t normally wear more than one pair of footwear, one pair of gloves or gauntlets, one pair of bracers, one suit of armor, one item of headwear, and one cloak. You can make exceptions; a character might be able to wear a circlet under a helmet, for example, or be able to layer two cloaks.
Paired Items
Items that come in pairs—such as boots, bracers, gauntlets, and gloves—impart their benefits only if both items of the pair are worn. For example, a character wearing a boot of striding and springing on one foot and a boot of elvenkind on the other foot gains no benefit from either item.
Sleeping in light armor has no adverse effect on the wearer, but sleeping in medium or heavy armor makes it difficult to recover fully during a long rest.
When you finish a long rest during which you slept in medium or heavy armor, you regain only one quarter of your spent Hit Dice (minimum of one die). If you have any levels of exhaustion, the rest doesn’t reduce your exhaustion level.
So, we have:
"Some spells and class features give you a different way to calculate your AC. If you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use."
"Armor Class (AC). Armor protects its wearer from attacks. The armor (and shield) you wear determines your base Armor Class."
"Shields. A shield is made from wood or metal and is carried in one hand. Wielding a shield increases your Armor Class by 2. You can benefit from only one shield at a time."
Suggestions on size, fit, what's typical and how that could be adapted, and similar "DM Discretion" type things.
and I'm sure lots of other things to consider, but...
Therefore, sure - go ahead and allow donning every kind of armor - calculate gold cost to modify the armors for exactly that purpose... Given base AC is derived from worn armor and then increased by everything else, be it a wielded shield, potentially Dex modifiers, or maybe a spell, why pick anything but the one highest AC to start with? A character could have 5 suits of Plate on, but there is no rule which adds their worn armor AC together, so it seems pointless... Considering all the penalties and criteria for armor, like Heavy/Stealth Disadvantage or Str Requirements, use the keyword 'wear' - such as to wear, wearer, wearing, and so on, it becomes not just pointless, but detrimental...
But what about donning/doffing time, layering, and wearing parts of armor? As some have pointed out, a lot of heavy armors are arguably composites of lighter armors - like, couldn't most full or half-plate be worn as just a breastplate or padded armor? And what if I do don 1 of each armor type? What order to I don them in? Does Padded Leather count as the lining to Plate, so I don't need to consider the time donning and doffing?
Well, let's consider these two things (pointed out by several folks):
the highest base AC is ideal, unless you're avoiding stealth disadvantage and strength requirements, or trying to sleep.
donning-doffing times are long enough to be unsuitable within combat, but shorter than a ritual - with a shield only a free-action away! EZ in or out of combat!
The only time you might get a benefit out of layering armor is:
If they have magical effects - which there's no rule stopping a player from mix and matching a magical suit of full plate with a magical helm, perhaps with a circlet underneath, magic boots, magic gloves, magic bracers, and completely iced over in jewelry - rings, bracelets, amulets, earrings and even tattoos so why not wear magical chainmail and breastplate together? Or mix and match two magic sets of Full-Plate?
The rules only say pairs must be worn together and makes no mention of a complete set of plate or anything like it.
Likely so helms, gloves, etc. can be swapped in.
The rules even say under Donning, "You benefit from its AC only if you take the full time to don it" and make absolutely no mention of wearing the whole set
Though they make notes to be reasonable - for example, in the DMG: a snake not wearing a pair of boots, so it might be difficult to argue only wearing the helm to a suit of full plate and counting the full AC simply because the character took 10min to don it, lol.
If any armors worn have cast-off, they could be shed in a single action with another suit of armor ready to go beneath, but when is that going to matter?
A player bought two sets of plate, one with cast-off, just in case they get Heat Metal'd or something?
A player is proficient in sneaking and heavy armor and wants a set of cast-off heavy armor so they can sneak around in some sneaky leathers without disadvantage only to have to spend 5-10min donning heavy armor again if caught?
A player is worried they'll be weakened and drop below the strength requirement for their armor, so they bought a cast-off version of it just in case, with a lighter suit underneath?
Long story short, RAW doesn't need to address layering armor outright as it functions just fine as is and could really only limit other rules and aspects of the game indirectly by specifying. Beyond that, a player would have had to invest pretty heavily into any potential, and likely super limited, benefit.
Anyway - that was a fun dig through an old thread!!
Worth noting, even with Dex 20 (+5), only Full Plate goes above 17 AC
Also, you can use the rules on AC as well as Attack Roll bonuses to infer how an attack doesn't hit a target for flavor/context...
Attack Rolls lower than 10 are outright Misses (the targets dexterity, armor - natural or otherwise, and/or even size likely not a factor in not hitting it)
Attack Rolls greater than or equal to 10, but less than the added AC from worn armor are stopped by the armor.
If a character has no worn armor, there's nothing to stop the attack;
With higher rolls going through lighter armor's AC;
unless of course...
Attack Rolls greater than the worn armor's AC but lower than the worn armor's AC + Dex modifier are evaded by the target (not a factor in Heavy armor)
Attack Rolls greater than armor AC + Dex + shield are blocked
Additional sources of AC bonuses stop attacks beyond that, such as the spell Shield which would stop attacks which beat AC + Dex + shield (if applicable) but not another +5 AC...
Just some homebrew some friends and I run with loosely as it adds some variety to attack roll outcomes in an organic manner (we don't sweat the details tho) Plus, there's things like the Dodge action (which even heavy-armor wearers could use to 'evade' an attack in spite of their lack of Dex Bonus, hehe) Not to mention, there are all kinds of things a person could do with light armor to distract attackers and even deflect/redirect attacks if you're having a hard time imagining your robe stopping a certain kind of strike... Maybe it didn't "absorb the hit" but rather concealed your character's body, allowing them to avoid taking the blow in any significant way? Or maybe it's just more fun for you to imagine your Heavy Armor wearer dodging most attacks than simply tanking every single shot that comes their way?
And remember, there's nothing saying a failed roll is "on the character" who made it, as in their error or mistake - it could just as easily be the opportunity wasn't there...
So, like, your character "misses" - maybe you just didn't have a clean shot in that moment...
Your character rolls terrible on a Survival - Tracking check - well maybe it's just terrible conditions for locating a trail when/where you happened to make it, only to pick up 20min later, after rolling much higher on your next check - your character is just at good at Survival each check, so it must be the conditions messing with them, right?
Maybe the low Stealth roll represents a bunch of crunchy gravel in this part of the dungeon?
I mean, unless they're actually just lacking that skill; then making such considerations could be counter-productive to immersion.
Make even failed rolls your own! Use them to make the situation more desperate, not your character less skilled :D
stumbled across this thread and found it intriguing... after reading what folks said and digging through the rules a bit, it seems the rules intentionallydon't say whether you can or cannot "layer armor" - check it out
yaddayadda
I didn't read your full wall of text but: "Armor Proficiency. Anyone can put on asuit of armor or strap ashield to an arm."
The rules don't intentionally address every possible scenario for those who actively try to find cracks and exploits.
I wish I had seen this thread when it was originally posted.
In my campaign I have told my players that under any set of armor is a quilted garment that provides protection for the skin and attachment points for adding the final layer of armor. This garment will be treated as a gambeson that provides AC 11 + Dex Bonus when the full set of armor isn't available. The players may sleep in their gambeson, but may not sleep in medium or heavy armor or even "studded leather armor". So if a party were awakened during their long rest, some party members may be limited to gambeson + dex bonus + shield.
I feel this is a reasonable interpretation of the conditions that would exist on players traveling through the wilderness. But, it can't be specifically substantiated in the rules because the rules are vague in this and many other areas.
I have a similar question about partially completed armor. For example, a fighter may have a chainmail tunic, but also have plate gauntlets, pauldrons, a gorget and plate helmet. At some point, without a full set of plate armor, they would have an AC better than 16. I would be comfortable letting the player move up to AC 17 at some point before completing the entire set of armor.
I have a similar question about partially completed armor. For example, a fighter may have a chainmail tunic, but also have plate gauntlets, pauldrons, a gorget and plate helmet. At some point, without a full set of plate armor, they would have an AC better than 16. I would be comfortable letting the player move up to AC 17 at some point before completing the entire set of armor.
This would just be the upgrade to like half plate or the breast plate. Also usually most plate armors used chain mail under it already to cover the weak points like you elbows and back of the knees. Also of note a suit of plate mail was made to fit itself. Think of it like this you might get a new car door cause yours broke. But you got the wrong year for you car and now it doesn't quite fit right.... It kind of closes but sits oddly. Most armor will be the same. The plate mail is designed with its straps in mind and where they sit in relations to the rest of the armor.
But that would all need to be homebrewed if you were going to do that as there is no rule set for it.
I've seen LARP'ers in like ... chain over leather. It's certainly doable. Is it any good in combat? No clue.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
That is really the question - is it any good in combat? I don’t know - never actually tried. What I do know is that as a thing it wasn’t done in the Middle Ages so I suspect that it’s not effective. There are things that were done - padded under chain and plate (or perhaps sometimes soft leather), plate pieces applied to chain (plate mail vs plate armor). Keep in mind that the padding and leather were likely to be built into the armor not a separate suit - much like the padding in football armor is built in not separate to allow maximum mobility. Putting on a breastplate over chainmail is much like putting in a metal/ceramic plate with a Kevlar vest - it does add to the protection but it also stiffens the armor limiting mobility. The other thing to consider is cost: chainmail is 75 GP, adding a 400 GP breastplate (costing 500 including fitting it to the chain and your your body) should raise your AC to 17 - splint is only 200 GP for the same AC - is it really worth it? (unless your doing it for story reasons not mechanical). Something else to consider leather armour in the game is supposed to be Cuir Boilli - stiffened leather not the soft leather (like a motorcycle jacket) that many folks think it is. There is nothing in the game really like the splint gambeson knights actually wore that are the pictorial basis for studded leather or the (soft) leather and (light) chain hauberks of a somewhat earlier era. I would love for them to get real but I can work with the system they have so it’s a want not a need. Generally as a DM I would not grant any additions to metal armors with padded or leather full armor under the metallic. While I would allow something like the breast and chain described above it isn’t cost effective as pointed out above.
That is really the question - is it any good in combat? I don’t know - never actually tried.
not that anything IRL is comparable to D&D; but I have worn a bullet-proof vest and a flak jacket at the same time...its only good for just standing there. -5 Dex...at least...and forget about reaching anything on the left side of your body with your right hand , and visa versa.
Thanks for making my point - you can layer but it doesn’t really work. Yeah D&D is not the real world - but it is based off the real world - several times removed. There is nothing clear in either RAW or RAI as far as I can tell so I go back to reality and re-extrapolate from there to what I can accept as a DM.
So at least a larping side no layering just makes it increasingly difficult to move. In respect to some armor that's made to layer its a lot better. So gambeson + chain + like breast plate would work if they were made in the idea of using them together. But usually as suit of armor is made to be stand alone.
In game terms it would be more like you would start layering things and getting a minus to your dex cause you cant dodge out of the way efficiently or fast enough. Plus armor is HEAVY and each type sits differently on you. Most chain mail rests completely on your shoulders, so that's almost 55lbs on your shoulders ALL DAY LONG. You add a breast plate to that now you have 75 lbs your carrying though the day on your shoulders.... plus backpack with stuff.
Plus each armor in real life was made to stop different weapons. Plate mail was made to stop slashing/stabbing attacks but was bad against blunt or piercing attacks. Nothing like having part of your armor bent into your ribs...etc....
Layering while sounds cool there is only so much you SHOULD do before it becomes too much. Even a character with a Strength of 18 only has a carry weight of 270. You take 55lbs of that plus say another 20 lbs for you back pack that's now a 1/4 of your carry weight on your shoulders all day plus you may have several fights during they day....
There comes a point where layering looks like the kid with 27 layers of winter gear that mom put on so they can go play outside in the snow.... and well you would move the same way too.
Thanks for making my point - you can layer but it doesn’t really work. Yeah D&D is not the real world - but it is based off the real world - several times removed. There is nothing clear in either RAW or RAI as far as I can tell so I go back to reality and re-extrapolate from there to what I can accept as a DM.
this is pretty clear to me "Anyone can put on asuit of armor or strap ashield to an arm."
Saying that leaves room to have 2 suits of armor on is saying this leaves room for me to wield four swords in one hand. "A melee attack typically uses a handheld weapon such as a sword, a warhammer, or an axe."
So as someone who has worn both chainmail and leather armor for long periods of time ( 8-12 hours in a day). This would be rough. Frankly as a Dm I would allow it but like said in a post above the don/dof time would be for all of those suits and the weight would all add up and frankly I would add a level of exhaustion since more people are not used to wearing that much armor AND you would be restricting your movements. The exhaustion would be after the armor was removed or after X amount of time ( most likely a 8 hours mark). Plus each armor sits on a person differently and puts weight and pressure on the body differently.
RAW sure you can wear them. But there is no benefit over all other then to tire yourself out.
IMO as a DM The negatives would out weight the positives in this.
More then one suit of armor
- Disadvantage to dex based checks
- 1 level of exhaustion once you take a rest long or short. A body in motion will stay in motion but once it stops moving it catches up to you.
- Don/dof time bases on the armors your wearing and the weight of all of those would also add up.
And all my opinion from personal experience and working within the game rules.
D&D's rules don't work in such a way as to let people layer suits of armor for cumulative effect.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Underarmor and Tactical PJs, fun thread. Let's also wear double layers of padded armor outside our regular combat armor to minimize fall damage.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
There are a lot of misconceptions about armor in DnD and it’s simplified rules. The basic end result is that no you can’t wear 2 sets of armor (especially medium and heavy armors) one on top of the other. Because the rules are simplified and most players are never going to experience anything close to real midieval armors I’ve seen a lot of things tried and yes, somewhere out there is a DM that will allow each and every one. Here are some pieces that are not RAW but many DMs might allow:
1) removing the chain or plate armor and leaving the gambeson on while in camp (and not sleeping) treating the gambeson as padded leather.
2) wearing cloaks of protection around camp ( maybe even sleeping under them)
3) having an alternate suite of lighter armor that you change into in camp ( this is what knights actually did).
4) having a fine/elven/Mithril chain lined cloak (probably granting an AC of 12/13 (elven) , this would have the weight/encumbrance of a chain shirt that would have to be accounted for.
5) having a shield handy that you can grab to give you some protection if attacked suddenly. Realistically this is the simplest, easiest and best way to deal with the late night armor problem.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
How about a Mithril Plated Bedroll? Movement is reduced to like 10 because you can only "worm" plus you're fighting prone most likely, but the AC?
I mean, you'd probably have to wrap in another layer of padding to minimize fall damage still, but...
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
stumbled across this thread and found it intriguing... after reading what folks said and digging through the rules a bit, it seems the rules intentionally don't say whether you can or cannot "layer armor" - check it out
Chapter 1, PHB:
Step-By-Step Characters - Player's Handbook - Sources - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)
Chapter 5, PHB:
Equipment - Player's Handbook - Sources - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)
Chapter 7, DMG:
Treasure - Dungeon Master's Guide - Sources - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)
Chapter 2, XGtE:
Dungeon Master's Tools - Xanathar's Guide to Everything - Sources - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)
So, we have:
Therefore, sure - go ahead and allow donning every kind of armor - calculate gold cost to modify the armors for exactly that purpose...
Given base AC is derived from worn armor and then increased by everything else, be it a wielded shield, potentially Dex modifiers, or maybe a spell, why pick anything but the one highest AC to start with? A character could have 5 suits of Plate on, but there is no rule which adds their worn armor AC together, so it seems pointless...
Considering all the penalties and criteria for armor, like Heavy/Stealth Disadvantage or Str Requirements, use the keyword 'wear' - such as to wear, wearer, wearing, and so on, it becomes not just pointless, but detrimental...
But what about donning/doffing time, layering, and wearing parts of armor? As some have pointed out, a lot of heavy armors are arguably composites of lighter armors - like, couldn't most full or half-plate be worn as just a breastplate or padded armor? And what if I do don 1 of each armor type? What order to I don them in? Does Padded Leather count as the lining to Plate, so I don't need to consider the time donning and doffing?
Well, let's consider these two things (pointed out by several folks):
The only time you might get a benefit out of layering armor is:
Long story short, RAW doesn't need to address layering armor outright as it functions just fine as is and could really only limit other rules and aspects of the game indirectly by specifying. Beyond that, a player would have had to invest pretty heavily into any potential, and likely super limited, benefit.
Anyway - that was a fun dig through an old thread!!
Worth noting, even with Dex 20 (+5), only Full Plate goes above 17 AC
Also, you can use the rules on AC as well as Attack Roll bonuses to infer how an attack doesn't hit a target for flavor/context...
Just some homebrew some friends and I run with loosely as it adds some variety to attack roll outcomes in an organic manner
(we don't sweat the details tho)
Plus, there's things like the Dodge action (which even heavy-armor wearers could use to 'evade' an attack in spite of their lack of Dex Bonus, hehe)
Not to mention, there are all kinds of things a person could do with light armor to distract attackers and even deflect/redirect attacks if you're having a hard time imagining your robe stopping a certain kind of strike... Maybe it didn't "absorb the hit" but rather concealed your character's body, allowing them to avoid taking the blow in any significant way? Or maybe it's just more fun for you to imagine your Heavy Armor wearer dodging most attacks than simply tanking every single shot that comes their way?
And remember, there's nothing saying a failed roll is "on the character" who made it, as in their error or mistake - it could just as easily be the opportunity wasn't there...
Make even failed rolls your own! Use them to make the situation more desperate, not your character less skilled :D
I didn't read your full wall of text but: "Armor Proficiency. Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm."
The rules don't intentionally address every possible scenario for those who actively try to find cracks and exploits.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
I wish I had seen this thread when it was originally posted.
In my campaign I have told my players that under any set of armor is a quilted garment that provides protection for the skin and attachment points for adding the final layer of armor. This garment will be treated as a gambeson that provides AC 11 + Dex Bonus when the full set of armor isn't available. The players may sleep in their gambeson, but may not sleep in medium or heavy armor or even "studded leather armor". So if a party were awakened during their long rest, some party members may be limited to gambeson + dex bonus + shield.
I feel this is a reasonable interpretation of the conditions that would exist on players traveling through the wilderness. But, it can't be specifically substantiated in the rules because the rules are vague in this and many other areas.
I have a similar question about partially completed armor. For example, a fighter may have a chainmail tunic, but also have plate gauntlets, pauldrons, a gorget and plate helmet. At some point, without a full set of plate armor, they would have an AC better than 16. I would be comfortable letting the player move up to AC 17 at some point before completing the entire set of armor.
This would just be the upgrade to like half plate or the breast plate. Also usually most plate armors used chain mail under it already to cover the weak points like you elbows and back of the knees. Also of note a suit of plate mail was made to fit itself. Think of it like this you might get a new car door cause yours broke. But you got the wrong year for you car and now it doesn't quite fit right.... It kind of closes but sits oddly. Most armor will be the same. The plate mail is designed with its straps in mind and where they sit in relations to the rest of the armor.
But that would all need to be homebrewed if you were going to do that as there is no rule set for it.
I've seen LARP'ers in like ... chain over leather. It's certainly doable. Is it any good in combat? No clue.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
That is really the question - is it any good in combat? I don’t know - never actually tried. What I do know is that as a thing it wasn’t done in the Middle Ages so I suspect that it’s not effective. There are things that were done - padded under chain and plate (or perhaps sometimes soft leather), plate pieces applied to chain (plate mail vs plate armor). Keep in mind that the padding and leather were likely to be built into the armor not a separate suit - much like the padding in football armor is built in not separate to allow maximum mobility. Putting on a breastplate over chainmail is much like putting in a metal/ceramic plate with a Kevlar vest - it does add to the protection but it also stiffens the armor limiting mobility. The other thing to consider is cost: chainmail is 75 GP, adding a 400 GP breastplate (costing 500 including fitting it to the chain and your your body) should raise your AC to 17 - splint is only 200 GP for the same AC - is it really worth it? (unless your doing it for story reasons not mechanical). Something else to consider leather armour in the game is supposed to be Cuir Boilli - stiffened leather not the soft leather (like a motorcycle jacket) that many folks think it is. There is nothing in the game really like the splint gambeson knights actually wore that are the pictorial basis for studded leather or the (soft) leather and (light) chain hauberks of a somewhat earlier era. I would love for them to get real but I can work with the system they have so it’s a want not a need. Generally as a DM I would not grant any additions to metal armors with padded or leather full armor under the metallic. While I would allow something like the breast and chain described above it isn’t cost effective as pointed out above.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
not that anything IRL is comparable to D&D; but I have worn a bullet-proof vest and a flak jacket at the same time...its only good for just standing there. -5 Dex...at least...and forget about reaching anything on the left side of your body with your right hand , and visa versa.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Thanks for making my point - you can layer but it doesn’t really work. Yeah D&D is not the real world - but it is based off the real world - several times removed. There is nothing clear in either RAW or RAI as far as I can tell so I go back to reality and re-extrapolate from there to what I can accept as a DM.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
So at least a larping side no layering just makes it increasingly difficult to move. In respect to some armor that's made to layer its a lot better. So gambeson + chain + like breast plate would work if they were made in the idea of using them together. But usually as suit of armor is made to be stand alone.
In game terms it would be more like you would start layering things and getting a minus to your dex cause you cant dodge out of the way efficiently or fast enough. Plus armor is HEAVY and each type sits differently on you. Most chain mail rests completely on your shoulders, so that's almost 55lbs on your shoulders ALL DAY LONG. You add a breast plate to that now you have 75 lbs your carrying though the day on your shoulders.... plus backpack with stuff.
Plus each armor in real life was made to stop different weapons. Plate mail was made to stop slashing/stabbing attacks but was bad against blunt or piercing attacks. Nothing like having part of your armor bent into your ribs...etc....
Layering while sounds cool there is only so much you SHOULD do before it becomes too much. Even a character with a Strength of 18 only has a carry weight of 270. You take 55lbs of that plus say another 20 lbs for you back pack that's now a 1/4 of your carry weight on your shoulders all day plus you may have several fights during they day....
There comes a point where layering looks like the kid with 27 layers of winter gear that mom put on so they can go play outside in the snow.... and well you would move the same way too.
this is pretty clear to me "Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm."
Saying that leaves room to have 2 suits of armor on is saying this leaves room for me to wield four swords in one hand. "A melee attack typically uses a handheld weapon such as a sword, a warhammer, or an axe."
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks