Armor Training

Any character may wear any armor.

If you wear armor you are not trained to use, you suffer 1 Bane on STR and DEX rolls where the armor would hinder you.

This includes:

Armor listed under your class may be worn without penalty.

Untrained Heavy Armor

Heavy Armor requires training.

You may wear Heavy Armor you are not trained to use, but you suffer the normal penalties for wearing armor untrained.

While wearing Heavy Armor untrained, all STR and DEX checks are made with 1 Bane.

At the end of each combat encounter or physically strenuous activity, you suffer 1 Exhaustion. You may attempt a CON check to avoid Exhaustion, but it is made with a Bane.

Physically strenuous activity includes forced marching, climbing, swimming, fleeing, hauling treasure, traveling in heat, or similar exertion.

Arcane Heat

Mages may wear armor, but metal resists arcane force.

When a Mage casts a spell while wearing metal armor, the spellcasting roll is made with 1 Bane.

If the spell succeeds, the Mage suffers 1d6 heat damage after the spell is cast.

If the spell fails, the Mage suffers 1 heat damage instead.

The armor glows, burns, cracks, or radiates painful heat as arcane power surges through it.

Nonmetal armor, such as leather, hide, padded cloth, or bone, does not trigger Arcane Heat.

Shields

Any character may use a shield.

• A shield grants +1 Armor while carried and ready.

• You cannot use a shield with a weapon that requires two hands.

Shield Sacrifice

A character wielding a shield may sacrifice it when using the Block Reaction.

You must declare that you are sacrificing the shield before damage is resolved. Otherwise, Block works normally.

Block

• When you would take damage from a physical attack, you may sacrifice your shield to absorb the blow.

• Reduce the damage to 0.

• The shield is immediately destroyed and unusable.

• It may splinter, crack, shatter, burn, or be torn apart, depending on the attack.

A shield may be sacrificed against:

The Referee may rule that overwhelming effects cannot be blocked, or that the shield is destroyed without fully protecting the wielder.