NPCs and Armor

[Alex319]

A couple questions about NPC armor:

Question 1:

On p.28 of the ARB, the following statement is made:

"If the field says Must Wear Rep, the monster must wear actual armor and have an armor tag (which can be obtained as treasure) to get Armor Points."

Is the intent here that a monster cannot have armor without a lootable armor tag? (In other words, this is different than weapons; monsters often have weapons but don't have lootable weapon tags.)

Question 2:

If an NPC can have armor without a lootable armor tag, can a PC who kills an NPC take the (untagged) armor physrep, put it on himself, and gain the benefit of that armor for that battle (in a similar way that you can pick up an NPC's weapon and use it for that battle as per p.81)

 

[jpariury]

The pg 28 quote should probably be done away with and rolled into the same rules as weapons on pg 81.

I see no specific issue with the scenario in your second question, but the rules for armor are wonky - the value of the tag is dictated by your "armor rating", which may have only a fleeting relationship with your tag.

 

[norman b]

Question 2:

If an NPC can have armor without a lootable armor tag, can a PC who kills an NPC take the (untagged) armor physrep, put it on himself, and gain the benefit of that armor for that battle (in a similar way that you can pick up an NPC's weapon and use it for that battle as per p.81)

In regards to this, I would say no. Typically the amount of time it takes to remove the armor and get it on yourself then get it repaired, the NPC is going to respawn. That means you now have to take it off and give it back and they have to put it on. That is taking way too much time out of your game as well as the NPC's time for a few points of monster armor.

 

[Draven]

Plot can simply provide an LCO rule stating that monsters might be wearing armor that is considered monster-quality and will fall apart when someone else attempts to wear it. So, in practice, this is the ARB rule, but it really holds zero weight when it comes to Plot capabilities. If Plot wants their NPCs to wear armor that's not lootable, then they can.

 

[Alex319]

In regards to this, I would say no. Typically the amount of time it takes to remove the armor and get it on yourself then get it repaired, the NPC is going to respawn. That means you now have to take it off and give it back and they have to put it on. That is taking way too much time out of your game as well as the NPC's time for a few points of monster armor.

In the scenario that this happened in, the NPC involved was actually on the PCs side, and the PCs were escorting the NPC through a dungeon, and the NPC died midway through the dungeon. So the NPC didn't need to respawn in the first place.

 

[phedre]

in a situation like that, I think it's best to ask the marshal on the mod, as they'll know the armor value and any other particulars about it.

 

[Gandian Ravenscroft]

In that scenario, it sounds like the armor's wearability wouldn't have been a factor if y'all had just done a better job escorting the poor guy.

 

[Alavatar]

 

[Paladin of Chaos]

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