Armor Feats

[Darius Rae]

This question is almost to short to ask, but I can't find an answer to it anywhere. Is there any feats that allow a class like Ranger, that has class abilities limited to an armor category, to be increased to the next category? I know that these feats exist for casters, but I have never seen them for other characters. Alternatively, would it be reasonable to say that after five levels of Dread Commando, the ACP reduction would allow heaver armors to be used?

[Icewraith]

Anything you can get down to a zero check penalty you can wear, even if you're not proficient, without penalty, since nonproficiency doubles your check penalty of zero.

[Fisticuffs]

I don't know of any, I'd recommend mythril armor.

[Darius Rae]

The idea that I am shooting for is to use Dread Commando to drop ACP and to be able to use Ranger, Scout, and/or Swordsage abilities in full-plate. Mithril will drop the armor one category, so I would need a way to use medium armor with these abilities.

[IonDragon]

Anything you can get down to a zero check penalty you can wear, even if you're not proficient, without penalty, since nonproficiency doubles your check penalty of zero.

Some class abilities, such as Rogue's Evasion, Ranger's Combat Style feats, and Barbarian's fast movement however do not function when wearing armor of a type heavier than indicated.

@OP: Not that I know of.

[Brock Samson]

If you plan on playing a long time, think wisely. If the only reason you want to get heavier armor is for the increased AC, you're frankly not getting much out of it. With your decent Dex, and eventually Gloves of Dex+X, any Mithril medium armor if going to give you just as high a bonus-1, plus faster land-speed, plus can be enchanted the same, and that extra feat or class feature you were going to use for that +1 to AC? (and really just +1 to non-touch ACs, when you need touch AC pretty badly actually). You can spend that feat on a number of other feats that are going to be MUCH better. Off the top of my head, if you're worried about AC a lot, maybe Combat Expertise, since you have a high int. Being a cleric you can buff your attack bonus anyway and end up with a much higher AC, including touch-AC. Or take a Devotion feat, which can up your AC too, probably more. Or, well, hey, it's a FEAT! Don't waste it on +1 AC.

[Darius Rae]

I Or, well, hey, it's a FEAT! Don't waste it on +1 AC.
Granted.

I should have mentioned in the OP that this is more for flavor than power. In my group we have come to the consensus that you use flaws to allow for sub-optimal feats.

Movement speed will be less of an issue with magic items like that tooth from ToM.

The end goal is a tank who uses Diamond Mind and Shadow Hand maneuvers (re-flavored to be purely martial or because of some very slight psionic talent tho not psionic class level talent) a long with good Hide and Move Silently for when it is appropriate.

[Baron Malkar]

The Halfweight enchantment from, I think, Underdark makes any armor it is put on count as light. Including Adamantine Mountin Plate:smallbiggrin:

[Icewraith]

I think it does the same one-step reduction as Mithril, but the two stack since one is an armor property and one is an enchant. It's very expensive, though... for the price, you could just get a +5 mithral breastplate and have the same AC for the $$$ IIRC.

[The Cat Goddess]

In Dragon Magazine #355, there's a Fighter ACF for level 1 called "Armored Savant". You ignore the weight of the armor for the purposes of encumberance. You treat the armor as if it were one catagory lighter for movement. You improve the maximum Dex by +1 and you cut the Spell Failure chance in half.

Technically, the armor would still be "heavy" (or "medium" for Mithril Full Plate), but would not slow your movement.

In the same article, there's a Fighter ACF for level 4 called "Eldritch Grace" that gives you Evasion when you are unencumbered or lightly encumbered, no matter what armor you're wearing.

[herrhauptmann]

This question is almost to short to ask, but I can't find an answer to it anywhere. Is there any feats that allow a class like Ranger, that has class abilities limited to an armor category, to be increased to the next category? I know that these feats exist for casters, but I have never seen them for other characters. Alternatively, would it be reasonable to say that after five levels of Dread Commando, the ACP reduction would allow heaver armors to be used?

The ranger, bard, warmage, barbarian (and others) get their penalties based whether the armor is classified as 'heavy' 'medium' or 'light'. The actual armor check penalty has no effect on their class abilities.

My personal opinion is that the style of armor (breastplate, full plate, splint, etc) should be considered when discussing whether the above classes can wear such armor and retain their abilities (or even have the proficiency to wear it) . Not just the final weight class of the armor. However, that's not the how the rules are worded...

edit: Wow, not exactly ninja'd, but that's a lot of responses while I was typing

[HunterOfJello]

wand of Mage Armor would probably be cheaper and more efficient

[Darius Rae]

Would extending the Armored Mage feat to apply to other class abilities be reasonable?

[Thurbane]

I think it's a perfectly reasonable houserule. I see no reason to deny something to melee types that casters can get, in relation to wearing heavier armor. If it's balalnced for a Beguiler or Bard to be able to cast with no chance of ASF in medium armor (or a Duskblade in heavy armor), I can see no harm in allowing a Ranger to use all of his abilities in medium.

In a recent thread, I managed to track down a suit of special full plate in the Arms & Equipment Guide (Tessellated Armor, p.95) that counts as medium. If the DM allowed you to add mithril to it, it would count as light.