| Armor Type | Original | Torso | One Arm | Both Arms | One Leg | Both Legs |
| Padded | 1 | 0.5 | 0.125 | 0.25 | 0.125 | 0.25 |
| Leather | 2 | 1 | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.25 | 0.5 |
| Studded Leather | 3 | 2 | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.25 | 0.5 |
| Chain Shirt | 4 | 3 | 0.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Hide | 3 | 1.5 | 0.25 | 1 | 0.25 | 1 |
| Scale Mail | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Chainmail | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Breastplate | 5 | 4 | -- | -- | 0.5 | 1 |
| Splint Mail | 6 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.75 | 1.5 |
| Banded Mail | 6 | 3 | 0.75 | 1.5 | 0.75 | 1.5 |
| Half-Plate | 7 | 4 | 0.75 | 1.5 | 0.75 | 1.5 |
| Full Plate | 8 | 4.5 | 0.75 | 1.5 | 1 | 2 |
Piecemeal Armor: Characters in a Dark Sun campaign seldom (if ever) wear complete suits of metal armor. As such, it is not uncommon for a hero to wear scavenged portions from various suits of armor, hence “piecemeal armor.”
Determining the correct armor bonus for someone wearing piecemeal armor can be difficult. For simplicity’s
sake, each piece of armor can cover the torso, each leg and each arm, with each location providing a certain AC bonus. Note that although helmets exist, they are not an essential part of the armor when it comes to determining one’s overall AC bonus.
As a word of note, armor includes all “layers” involved in its construction and use—no stacking of armor is permitted over a specific location.
To determine a character’s total, overall AC, add up the AC bonuses for each location as listed on Table 1–3: Piecemeal Armor; fractions of .5 or less are rounded down. As noted on Table 1-3, some types of armor are not designed to cover every location; these locations are marked with an X on the table. A different type of armor must be worn over these body locations to gain any additional AC benefit.
Although a helmet does not normally increase the armor class of a suit of piecemeal armor, a DM may rule that certain helmet-armor combinations—such as wearing the helmet from a suit of heavy armor in conjunction with piecemeal armor primarily composed of light armor pieces—provides an additional +1 bonus to the suit’s overall armor class. This additional bonus is at the sole discretion of the DM, and should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Pricing and Weight: The cost and weight listed in the Player’s Handbook for armor is for the entire suit, minus a helmet. When dealing with piecemeal armor, consider the torso to cost and weigh 1/2 as much as that of a full suit, while each arm and leg costs and weighs 1/8th that of a full suit. In the case of a chain shirt or breastplate (or any other type of armor that only has two limbs), each limb (arms or legs, respectively) costs and weighs 1/4th the suit’s total. Helmets must be purchased separately, costing 1/10th the suit’s cost and weighing 1/10th it’s weight.
Magic and Psionic Properties: In the case of magic piecemeal armor, apply either the enhancement bonus of the torso, or, if the character is wearing two or more limbs that have an enhancement bonus, add the lowest of the limb enhancement bonuses instead; the character uses the higher of the two to determine the piecemeal armor’s enhancement bonus. For instance, if a character is wearing a +2 breastplate, a +3 leather left arm, and a +1 half-plate right leg, they would get a +2 enchantment bonus to their overall AC; the torso location has a +2 bonus, while the limbs would only give a +1 bonus (two or more enchanted limbs, the lower of which is +1), so the character gets the +2 bonus of the torso armor (the higher of the two). An enhancement bonus to a helmet is never counted when wearing piecemeal armor.
For the various other armor special abilities, the character gains benefit of all special abilities of the torso armor, any abilities that exist on two or more limbs, as well as any abilities that exist on the helmet (if worn). Special abilities found on only a single limb do not benefit the character in any way; the character cannot even use any special abilities of that limb armor that require an action to activate.
Piecemeal Armor Qualities: Determining the non-AC armor qualities for a character wearing piecemeal armor—armor check penalty, maximum Dexterity bonus, arcane spell failure and movement speed—is calculated as follows:
• A character wearing no torso armor and no more than 2 pieces of limb armor counts as wearing no armor.
• A character wearing no torso armor and 3 or 4 pieces of limb armor uses the armor qualities of whichever armor type covers the most limbs; if no majority exists, use the armor qualities of the armor type that has the lowest maximum Dexterity bonus (and has worst armor check penalty, if maximum Dexterity bonuses are the same). For example, a character wearing 1 half-plate limbs and 2 leather armor limbs would use the leather armor qualities, while a character wearing 2 leather armor limbs and 2 half-plate limbs would use the armor qualities of the half-plate (as neither armor type is in the majority, and the half-plate has a lower maximum Dexterity bonus).
• A character wearing torso armor and no more than 2 limbs uses the armor qualities of the torso armor.
• A character wearing torso armor and 3 or 4 pieces of limb armor uses the armor qualities of the torso armor or those of whichever limb armor type is in the majority, whichever is worse. If no type of limb armor is in the majority, the character uses either the armor qualities of the worst type of limb armor worn or that of the torso armor—use whichever of the two is worst.
For the purpose of determining non-AC armor qualities, helmets are only considered if they provide the wearer with some sort of benefit, such as a +1 bonus to armor class or an armor special ability. In that case, apply the arcane spell failure chance of the helmet if it is worse than the arcane spell failure chance already imposed by any other armor (if any).
The armor check penalty, maximum Dexterity bonus, and movement speed are unaffected by the addition of a helmet.
Heat and Piecemeal Armor: When wearing piecemeal armor, a character suffers the additional heat-related penalties from wearing metal armor if their torso, head, and/or more than two limbs are covered in metal armor.
