Heavy Armor
Pictured here: 1) laminar armor, 2) lamellar armor, 3) half-plate, 4) mountain pattern armor, and 5) heavy lamellar armor.
LAMINAR ARMOR
Armor Bonus: +7
Maximum Dexterity Bonus: +0
Armor Check Penalty: -7
Spell Failure: 40%
Description: Laminar-style armor consists of long strips of rigid metal overlapping the body and extremities, providing plentiful protection but restricting mobility. It is also called splint mail or banded mail.
Cost: 200 gp
Weight: 45 lbs
LAMELLAR ARMOR
Armor Bonus: +7
Maximum Dexterity Bonus: +1
Armor Check Penalty: -6
Spell Failure: 35%
Description: Similar to the more rigid laminar armor, lamellar armor provides superior mobility due to its use of smaller plates and a tremendous quantity of intricate knotwork. This extra protection comes at an increased cost, and tends to require a great deal of maintenance and upkeep. Lamellar armor is considered the "gold standard" for soldiers and adventurers.
Cost: 250 gp
Weight: 35 lbs
HALF-PLATE
Armor Bonus: +8
Maximum Dexterity Bonus: +0
Armor Check Penalty: -7
Spell Failure: 40%
Description: Considered something of an oddity, half-plate armor is a rare and relatively recent invention. Also called plate-and-mail armor, it is composed of metal plates of varying sizes that cover most of the major areas of the body, connected to one-another with sheets of chainmail and suspended only minimally from straps or a backing of heavy cloth, silk, or leather. It's presence is rare enough to occasion comment and is still seen as an idle curiosity rather than a serious means of self-defense.
Cost: 600 gp
Weight: 45 lbs
MOUNTAIN PATTERN ARMOR
Armor Bonus: +8
Maximum Dexterity Bonus: +1
Armor Check Penalty: -5
Spell Failure: 35%
Description: The armor of generals and lords, mountain pattern armor combines individual pieces of painstakingly-crafted metal joined in an interlocking, self-reinforcing pattern that can disperse the power of even the most telling of blows. Beautiful enough to be a work of art in its own right, this armor costs more money than most commoners will earn in their lifetime, but its combination of protection, mobility, and prestige are utterly unrivaled.
Such is the cultural cachet of mountain pattern armor, the right to purchase and wear it can only be granted by the Imperial Hebdomad and its use by unapproved individuals is one of the grossest violations of the imperial sumptuary laws.
Cost: 2,000 gp
Weight: 50 lbs
HEAVY LAMELLAR ARMOR
Armor Bonus: +9
Maximum Dexterity Bonus: +0
Armor Check Penalty: -8
Spell Failure: 50%
Description: The ultimate in protection, heavy lamellar armor is bulky and slow, but nigh-impenetrable. Usually given to stationary guards due to its restrictive nature, a wall of iron-bound warriors can turn aside almost any foe imaginable. This style of armor is often known as "iron pagoda armor" for its tremendous defensive power or as body-rounded lamellar as it follows the contours of the body, rather than laying in flat sheets.
This style of armor is especially good at deflecting ranged attacks such as bolts, arrows, and thrown weapons. It grants the wearer DR 3/— against physical ranged attacks. Donning the armor hastily negates this extra bonus.
Heavy lamellar armor is designed specifically for humanoid physiology. Because of this, it cannot be made into barding.
Special: Due to the extreme bulk of heavy lamellar armor, its speed reduction is greater than normal for heavy armor, reducing creatures with a base land speed of 30 feet down to 15 feet and those with a speed of 20 feet to 10 feet. Furthermore, these penalties apply even to characters who normally ignore the movement penalties from armor, such as fighters with the Armor Training class feature or the Slow and Steady racial trait of dwarves. Even if this armor is made out of mithral, it still counts as heavy armor, though the wearer can now treat it like other heavy armors when calculating its effects on base speed or its interactions with class and racial abilities or feats.
Cost: 1,800 gp
Weight: 75 lbs