A character's armor protects him in combat and is worn in the Armor slot of your inventory screen. All armor belongs to either light armor, medium armor, heavy armor or clothing. Heavier armor provides more protection, but also weigh more and will trouble arcane spellcasters and characters with a high dexterity score.
Armor properties[]
Base armor class: Is added to the character's total armor class. Ranges from 0 to 8. Some material may increase this amount.
Armor check penalty: Reduces certain dexterity-based skills. Ranges from -7 to 0. Mithral armor has this reduced by 3.
Maximum dexterity bonus: Limits the AC bonus from dexterity. Ranges from 0 to 8, except for clothing. Mithral increases this by 2 (except for half-plate, which only gets +1).
Armor type: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor or clothing. Except for clothing, one must be proficient with the armor's type to wear it. Mithral armor is treated as one rank lower.
Arcane spell failure: A chance to fail any arcane spell cast with a somatic component. Ranges from 0% to 40%. Bards and warlocks suffer no arcane spell failure from light armor. Mithral armor has this reduced.
Clothing has no armor check penalty, maximum dexterity bonus, or arcane spell failure.
Armor statistics[]
| Armor | Armor Type | Armor class | Maximum dex bonus | Armor check penalty | Arcane spell failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing | N/A | 0 | N/A | 0 | 0% |
| Padded armor | Light | 1 | 8 | 0 | 5% |
| Bondleaf Ivy | Light | 1 | 100 | 0 | 0% |
| Leather armor | Light | 2 | 6 | 0 | 10% |
| Nightscale | Light | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5% |
| Studded leather armor | Light | 3 | 5 | -1 | 15% |
| Sharkskin | Light | 3 | 6 | -1 | 10% |
| Spidersilk | Light | 3 | 8 | -1 | 10% |
| Chain shirt | Light | 4 | 4 | -2 | 20% |
| Hide armor | Medium | 3 | 4 | -3 | 20% |
| Scale mail | Medium | 4 | 3 | -4 | 25% |
| Chainmail | Medium | 5 | 2 | -5 | 30% |
| Breastplate | Medium | 5 | 3 | -4 | 25% |
| Living Coral | Medium | 6 | 3 | -4 | 20% |
| Splint mail | Heavy | 6 | 0 | -7 | 40% |
| Banded mail | Heavy | 6 | 1 | -6 | 35% |
| Half-plate | Heavy | 7 | 0 | -7 | 40% |
| Full plate | Heavy | 8 | 1 | -6 | 35% |
| Battle Plate | Heavy | 9 | 1 | -7 | 50% |
| Mithral Battle Plate | Heavy | 9 | 3 | -4 | 40% |
| Mountain Plate | Heavy | 10 | 0 | -9 | 60% |
| Mithral Mountain Plate | Heavy | 10 | 2 | -6 | 50% |
Light Armor[]
Light armor is a form of armor that requires the armor proficiency (light) feat to equip and use effectively, and is worn in the Armor slot. It provides only basic protection against physical attacks but doesn't hinder movement as much as heavier armors so it's popular among characters who rely on dexterity. The spellcasting techniques of Bards and warlocks is simple enough that they have Armored Caster and can avoid arcane spell failure from these armors. This type of armor includes: Padded armor, Leather armor, Studded leather armor, and Chain shirt. Any medium armor made with mithral is also considered light armor.
Medium Armor[]
Medium armor is a form of armor that requires the armor proficiency (medium) feat to equip and use effectively, and is worn in the armor slot. It strikes a balance between the metal-encased design of heavy armor and the light-but-flexible light armor. This type of armor includes: Hide armor, Scale mail, Breastplates, and Chainmail.
Heavy Armor[]
Heavy armor is a form of armor that requires the armor proficiency (heavy) feat to equip and use effectively, and is worn in the Armor slot. It provides a lot of protection from physical attacks by effectively encasing the character in a solid shell. Unfortunately this hinders a lot of movement so is not very popular among characters who rely on dexterity or those vulnerable to arcane spell failure.
This type of armor includes: Banded mail, Splint mail, Half-plate, and Full plate.
Other armor pieces[]
- Helmets
- Shields
- Amulets
- Cloaks
- Bracers and gloves
- Boots
Armor Class additions[]
STACKABLE = means Additional to itself. Different types can stack with each other.
- Armor bonus to AC = is the Additional AC that is added to your BASE Armor Class of your Armor. UNSTACKABLE.
- Shield bonus to AC = is the Additional AC that is added to your BASE Armor Class of your Shield. UNSTACKABLE.
- Natural armor bonus = from Amulets, Spells & Feats UN-STACKABLE, But It should be.
- Deflection bonus = It Applies against ALL other attacks including touch attacks. UN-STACKABLE
- Dodge Bonus = from Boots, Spells, Feats & Songs; It Applies against ALL other attacks including touch attacks. STACKABLE
See also[]
- Craft armor
Modding notes[]
- Armor is customizable in NWN2, allowing the mod community to actually build its own custom armor pieces. [1]