Chitinous Armour

[Dargesh]

I am looking for advice on Chitinous Armour.
What I am aiming at is creating a set of armour from Thri-Kreen. The set will include Chest, helm, arms and legs. No boots or gaunts. I noticed that Thri Kreen aren't listed in 3ed MM and the only reference to Chitinous Armour I am aware of is in Return to Temple of Elemental Evil, which I don't have a copy of.

Any suggestions on weight, AC and category (ie medium or heavy)

[EZ_Swipey]

1) Chitin is not horribly flexible, so any type of armor component made from it will be rigid. The chitin will replace steel bits, be they plates, scales, rings, or whatever. Most likely the chitin will be used to replace steel plates, as I cant really see an armorer breaking up a big chunk of chitin to carve scales or rings out of it.

2) If it is going to be used in place of plates, you next have to decide exactly how malleable the chitin is when being worked by the armorer. Can he, for example, use a chemical process to soften the plates of chitin to the point that their shape chan be changed to most anything, then reharden them? If that is the case, then the parts could well be made into field or full plate equivalents. If not, then you're pretty much stuck with plate mail, where the joints and other places needing more flexibility are covered by chainmail at best. IF you wish, the armorer could use the chitin for the majority of the armor, but then rivet the chitin plates to regular steel joint armor, thus making a composite of sorts. (the chitin is like the wood in a iron bounded shield.. it just makes up the broad middle)

3) How strong is the Chitin? Armor class in D&D is a combination of coverage, materials, agility and construction. What is the AC of a thri-kreen? (3 seems to pop to mind) If one considers a thri-kreen in its own shell to be covered as well as full plate (full coverage, articulated joints) then its actual shell strength would be 1 ac less than steel. (full plate is ac 2, yet the thri-kreen is ac 3, despite equivalent coverage, rigidity, and agility... the diff HAS to be the materials) You can easily justify playing with the material AC by either saying its removal from the organism makes it weaker (worse ac) or that chemical treatments akin to tanning make it stronger (better ac)

4) How much does it weigh for its nominal strength? Steel is petty dense. Chitin is a lot less dense, but odds are its going be thicker for an equivalent strength. Is the extra thickness going to more than make up for the lesser density? (ie does your chitin shell armor weigh less than standard steel armor?) and does the extra thickness of the plates further impair the wearer's mobility?

Here's the decisions I would make...

1 & 2) The chitin can be made into plate mail, or into field plate, but only with metal fittings for the joints.

3) The chitin is naturally weaker than steel, even after certain secret chemical processes are performed on it.

4) The chitin is considerably lighter than steel.

SO :

Thri-Kreen Chitin Plate mail : AC 4 base, 75 % normal weight

Thri-Kreen Composite Field Plate : AC 3 base, 75 % normal weight.

So, unless you're a weight freak, or are partiucularly afraid of electrical attacks, it wouldnt really be worth it, at least in one of my campaigns. The theory behind this armor not being better is that Thri-Kreen, while fantastic, are not extremely magical. The stuff they are made of is the same stuff (more or less) that humans, cows, and puppy dogs are. Now, parts from highly magical or extraplanar creatures are a whole nother matter...Dragons scales are stronger than steel, and demon skin leather is like no leather you've ever seen

The other reason one might like to make armor from this material would be if certain enchantments were to be placed on it that required a sympathetic connection to Thri-Kreen.


Edit : Just thought of another downside to non-magical exotic armor... maintenance. Magic armor is self maintaining, or at least it should be, whereas every ding and chip in this stuff is gonna be a major pain to fix. Edited by: Swipey at: 8/1/02 8:19:44 pm

[EZ_Kintire]

If you are operating in Dark Sun, or even Al Qadim, Chitin being a lighter natural material could well be cooler.

[Kroe]

are thri kreen listed in the monsters of Faerun book? I thought I had seen them for 3E somewhere already. 1 Crow bad news
2 Crows myrth
3 Crows a wedding
4 Crows a birth
5 Crows for riches
6 Crows a thief

[DarthEnder]

If the chitin is flexable and soft(as most insect chitin tends to be) you could actually end up with hide armor.

[EZ_Swipey]

Most insect chitin is flexible and soft?

Hmm.. not being an entomology major, I always figured it was somewhat rigid, given the "crunch" noise ya get when ya moosh a roach.

Hide armor, AC 7 then...

[Dargesh]

Thanks for the input everyone.

[EZ_Sillis Spineslicer]

Well, I found an official chitin armor under 3E, but not Thri-Keen =/

Here is the relevant paragraph:
Pg 154 Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

Because it is organic, it is easy to move within it. It has all the properties of masterwork breastplate, half plate, or full plate armor (as appropriate), plus it raises the maximum Dexterity bonus of the armor type by +1. The secrets to making this armor are only know to the Troglodyte craftspeople.

Market price 500gp (breastplate) 900gp (half plate) 1500gp (full plate)

Hope that gives you an idea of what they were thinking.

Sillis