Scale Mail
Medium armor: AC 14 + DEX (max +2). Imposes stealth disadvantage. Same AC as breastplate but heavier with a stealth penalty.
Scale Mail (Medium)
Scale mail consists of overlapping metal scales sewn onto a leather coat, like fish scales.
Stats:
- AC: 14 + Dexterity modifier (max +2)
- Stealth: Disadvantage
- Weight: 45 lb
- Cost: 50 gp
- Category: Medium armor
Don/doff time: 5 minutes to don, 1 minute to doff.
Assessment: Scale mail provides the same AC as a breastplate (AC 16 with +2 DEX) but imposes stealth disadvantage and weighs more than double. There is very little reason to choose scale mail over a breastplate if one is available. However, scale mail is more commonly available in lower-level campaigns and may be found as starting equipment for some class kits.
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.