The Armor table lists the game’s main armor. The table includes the cost and weight of armor, as well as the following details:
Category. Every type of armor falls into a category: Light, Medium, or Heavy. The category determines how long it takes to don or doff the armor (as shown in the table).
Armor Class (AC). The table’s Armor Class column tells you what your base AC is when you wear a type of armor. For example, if you wear Leather Armor, your base AC is 11 plus your Dexterity modifier, whereas your AC is 16 in Chain Mail.
Strength. If the table shows a Strength score in the Strength column for an armor type, that 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 table shows “Disadvantage” in the Stealth column for an armor type, the wearer has Disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Armor
Light Armor (1 Minute to Don or Doff)
| Armor | Armor Class (AC) | Strength | Stealth | Weight | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Padded Armor | 11 + Dex modifier | - | Disadvantage | 8 lb. | 5 GP |
| Leather Armor | 11 + Dex modifier | - | - | 10 lb. | 10 GP |
| Studded Leather Armor | 12 + Dex modifier | - | - | 13 lb. | 45 GP |
Medium Armor (5 Minutes to Don and 1 Minute to Doff)
| Armor | Armor Class (AC) | Strength | Stealth | Weight | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hide Armor | 12 + Dex modifier (max 2) | - | - | 12 lb. | 10 GP |
| Chain Shirt | 13 + Dex modifier (max 2) | - | - | 20 lb. | 50 GP |
| Scale Mail | 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) | - | Disadvantage | 45 lb. | 50 GP |
| Breastplate | 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) | - | - | 20 lb. | 400 GP |
| Half Plate Armor | 15 + Dex modifier (max 2) | - | Disadvantage | 40 lb. | 750 GP |
Heavy Armor (10 Minutes to Don and 5 Minutes to Doff)
| Armor | Armor Class (AC) | Strength | Stealth | Weight | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ring Mail | 14 | - | Disadvantage | 40 lb. | 30 GP |
| Chain Mail | 16 | Str 13 | Disadvantage | 55 lb. | 75 GP |
| Splint Armor | 17 | Str 15 | Disadvantage | 60 lb. | 200 GP |
| Plate Armor | 18 | Str 15 | Disadvantage | 65 lb. | 1,500 GP |
Shield (Utilize Action to Don or Doff)
| Armor | Armor Class (AC) | Strength | Stealth | Weight | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield | +2 | - | - | 6 lb. | 10 GP |
Armor Training
Anyone can don armor or hold a Shield, but only those with training can use them effectively, as explained below. A character’s class and other features determine the character’s armor training. A monster has training with any armor in its stat block.
Light, Medium, or Heavy Armor
If you wear Light, Medium, or Heavy armor and lack training with it, you have Disadvantage on any D20 Test that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can't cast spells.
Shield
You gain the Armor Class benefit of a Shield only if you have training with it.
One at a Time
A creature can wear only one suit of armor at a time and wield only one Shield at a time.
Variant: Equipment Sizes
In most campaigns, you can use or wear any equipment that you find on your adventures, within the bounds of common sense. For example, an orc adventurer won't fit in a halfling's Leather Armor, and a cloud giant’s robe would be far too large for a gnome.
The DM can impose more realism. For example, a suit of Plate Armor made for one human might not fit another one without significant alterations, and a guard's uniform might be visibly ill-fitting when an adventurer tries to wear it as a disguise.
Using this variant, when adventurers find armor, clothing, and similar items that are made to be worn, they might need to visit a smith, a tailor, a leatherworker, or a similar expert to make the item wearable. The cost for such work is 1d4 X 10 percent of the market price of the item.