Armor Fitting

Armor made for one race rarely fits another; it may be too big, too small, or proportioned too strangely.

Below is a chart. The column to the left shows the type of demihuman trying to wear the armor. The rows along the top show what species the armor was made for. The percentage chances shown are the chances that the person can wear the armor, and the "+" and "–" symbols show whether the armor is more likely to be too big or too small for the wearer. (If there is no such symbol, it means that odds are even, 50% that it will be too big, 50% that it will be too small.) "Too large" could mean that it is so baggy or empty that it hinders the wearer and does not protect him well enough, or that it is so long on him that it interferes with his walking. "Too small" could mean that it is not broad enough to accommodate the wearer's chest, or that it is so short that it looks ridiculous and does not sufficiently protect the wearer.

Now, at the DM's discretion, many things can affect these percentage chances.

If a character of one sex is trying to put on armor built for another sex, chances go down that it will fit. The chance is reduced 10% (but never goes below 5%). If a fit fails because of that modifier, it's because the woman found the man's armor too big, or the man found the woman's too small.

Race
Trying To

Wear Armor

Race For Which Armor Was Built:

Armor:	Dwf	Elf	Gnm	1/2 Elf	1/2–lg	Hum
Dwarf	80%	0% –	10% –	10% –	35% –	40%
Elf	10% +	90%	50% –	70% +	35% +	50% +
Gnome	40% +	40% +	75%	25% +	60% +	20% +
Half-Elf	20% +	45%	10% +	70%	35% +	50%
Halfling	75% +	30% –	35% –	35% +	70%	20% +
Human	50% –	20% –	5% –	30% –	10% –	65%

However, the DM may allow the difference in sex to help sometimes—in cases where the armor is not likely to fit a male human because it is too small in the shoulders and chest. A human woman trying to put on a male half-elf's armor might be at no modifier, and find herself at a +10% modifier to wear a male elf's armor.

Remember that full plate has its own modifiers for chances to fit; it has only a 20% chance to fit another member of the same race (10% if the new wearer is of the other sex). A character cannot wear full plate made for a character of another race, period.

The DM can allow previously role-played determinations of a character's height and build to affect the chances from the chart below. For instance, if one player has always said that his human character was short and stocky, say 5'4" and powerfully built, so that many people joked about him having a dwarvish ancestor, the DM can give him a +15% chance to wear dwarvish armor; this raises his chance from 50% to 65%, as if he were a human trying to wear armor of his own kind. The DM should, however, subtract that same modifier from the character's chance to wear armor built for humans; that chance would go down from 65% to 50%.

Example: An adventuring party kills a beholder in its lair and finds the armor worn by previous victims. The adventurers include a huge human male barbarian, a slender human female warrior, a dwarf axeman, and a female gnome. The dead victims include an elf male in enchanted chain mail and a halfling male in enchanted leather. The heroes see who can wear the captured armor.

The DM decides arbitrarily that the human barbarian cannot even roll. He's always described himself as being massive, with enormous rippling muscles and a bodybuilder's physique. In this campaign, that often helps him with the ladies, but this time it disqualifies him from wearing any of the treasure.

The slender human warrioress tries the elf's chain mail. A human trying on elf armor, on the chart above, has a 20% to wear it successfully. The DM raises her chance 10% because she is a female human trying to fit into male elf armor; her build is at an advantage here. He raises it 10% further because in the campaign she has always described herself as of delicate build, very slender. This raises her chance to 40%. She rolls 38 on percentile dice; she can wear the chain. She also tries the enchanted leather. A human woman trying to wear male halfling armor is at 10%, and the DM again assigns her the +20% from the two modifiers mentioned. She has a 30% chance, but rolls a 79; she cannot wear it.

The dwarf axeman tries the elvish chain. A dwarf trying to wear elf armor has a 0% chance to wear it. He can't. He has a 35% chance to wear the halfling's armor; the DM lowers that to 25% because this character has always described himself as especially burly for a dwarf. But he rolls 03 on percentile dice; he can wear the enchanted leather.

The female gnome tries the elvish chain. She has a base 40% chance to wear it. The DM does not modify it for her sex. She rolls a 51 and fails. She tries the leather; she has a base 60% chance with it, –10% for different gender equals 50%. She rolls a 33 and can wear it.

So the human warrioress gets the chain mail, and the dwarf and gnome must choose or gamble to decide who gets the leathers.

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