Armor
Armor in The Domains of Dread is the main contributing factor to any character's Armor Class, otherwise denoted as AC. Attackers must beat a target's AC as part of their attack roll in order to hit and deal damage.
A character's base AC is 10 +/- Dex modifier. They may lose their Dex bonus due to external factors, but will always have negative modifiers applied if present. After their base AC, the armor AC bonus of their equipment is applied, then the shield AC of any equipped shield. Duplicate sources of AC that are not untyped AC do not stack, including dodge AC gained from Tumble or Poise. For example, a character may have gauntlets that provide +1 shield AC. If they equipped a shield that provided +2 shield AC, they would have +2 shield AC, taking from the highest rather than adding.
Characters may attempt to wear any armor as there are no armor proficiencies in The Domains of Dread. However, there may be maluses associated with equipping armor without enough of that armor family's prerequisite attribute. Should a character wear armor they do not meet the prerequisites for, they lose -3 armor AC and any dodge AC.
Armor Families
| Armor Family | Base Armor AC | Maximum Bonus | ACP | ASF | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloth Armor | +0 armor AC
|
- Dex (unlimited)
|
0 | 0% | |
| Light Armor | +3 armor AC
|
+5 Dex
|
0 | 15% | |
| Medium Armor | +7 armor AC
|
+3 Dex, +3 Str
|
-5 | 30% | |
| Heavy Armor | +9 armor AC
|
+0 Dex, +5 Str
|
-10 | 45% | 14 Str
|
Shield Families
| Shield Family | Base Shield AC | ACP | ASF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Shield | +2 shield AC
|
0 | 15% |
| Large Shield | +3 shield AC
|
-5 | 30% |