Sartorial Defense

Campaigns in the world of Zeitgeist often focus on cities, where strolling about in full plate with shields out can be socially unacceptable, while also sometimes venturing into wilds where monsters would gladly tear through a wool coat to devour you.

Our assumption is that characters will simply have to accept that they can’t wear armor all the time, and that they’ll have to be less fashionable if they want to be as well protected as possible. However, if you prefer a game where heroes can dash into battle in their finest attire, you can use this optional rule. It reinterprets “armor proficiency” as “defensive training.” The Armor Class a character can gain from this training is roughly comparable to wearing low cost armor. If a character wants the highest AC possible, however, expensive armor is still superior.

Defensive Stance. Any character with any shield or armor proficiency can take time to stretch, meditate, and enter a defensive stance that prepares them to defend themselves as if they had armor. The time it takes to enter a stance is comparable to how long it would take to don armor of the appropriate type. When you finish a short or long rest you can choose to adopt one of these stances without taking any extra time. The stance persists until the character spends a minute relaxing their muscles and readjusting their mindset. The character even remains in the stance if they fall unconscious, are stunned, or die.

• Shield Proficiency. Any character proficient with shields can treat a cane or similar sturdy item they hold as though it were a shield in any turn it isn’t used for another purpose (such as attacking or activating a magic item).

• Light Armor Proficiency. Any character proficient with light armor can enter a light defensive stance with one minute of preparation. This stance provides an AC of 12 + your Dexterity modifier.

• Medium Armor Proficiency. Any character proficient with medium armor can enter a medium defensive stance with five minutes of preparation, which leaves your limbs heavy—the better to block and parry, but less able to move nimbly. This provides an AC of 14 + your Dexterity modifier, to a maximum of +2. You have disadvantage on Stealth checks.

• Heavy Armor Proficiency. Any character proficient with heavy armor can spend ten minutes to enter a heavy defensive stance, which is even more of an exertion than a medium defensive stance. This provides an AC of 16. You do not add any Dexterity modifier to your AC, and you have disadvantage on Stealth checks. If your Strength is 12 or lower, reduce your speed by 10 feet.

Drawbacks. Being in a stance has similar effects to being in armor of that type. For example, some adept special abilities might not function if you are in any sort of defensive stance.

Magic Items. Any clothes of sufficiently fine quality can be enchanted, as with armor. Most provide their benefits regardless of what stance you’re in. At the Narrator’s discretion, however, some might only work with particular types of stances.