Chain Shirt
Medium armor: AC 13 + DEX (max +2). No stealth penalty. Solid mid-tier armor for characters with moderate DEX.
Chain Shirt (Medium)
A chain shirt is made of interlocking metal rings worn between layers of clothing, covering the torso.
Stats:
- AC: 13 + Dexterity modifier (max +2)
- Stealth: No penalty
- Weight: 20 lb
- Cost: 50 gp
- Category: Medium armor
Don/doff time: 5 minutes to don, 1 minute to doff.
Assessment: The chain shirt is a solid mid-tier option. With DEX 14 (+2), it provides AC 15 with no stealth penalty. It's ideal for characters who need moderate protection without sacrificing stealth — clerics, druids, and rangers who don't want to invest in heavy armor. It's outclassed by the breastplate (same AC, same stealth, slightly more expensive) only in edge cases involving damage type resistances or campaign flavor.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
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