d20 Armors

 (That's the equivalent of d12.45 Armours, for metric readers)

When I wrote my d30 Rings post, I put together a little random generator at the bottom that randomly selects from a list of almost every spell and item I've written for the blog, distributed according to a certain old-school table that prescribes a certain  proportion of swords, non-sword weapons, scrolls, and so on. In doing so, I noticed that I almost never wrote any amulets, cursed swords, or magical armors, and that stuck in the back of my head until I wrote a d20 amulets post, a cursed items and double-edged swords post, and now a d20 armors post. 

More often than I expected, when I want to place a magic armor, the type (leather/chain/plate/exc.) I find I already have a strong opinion of what it should be in the context where it is being generated. Therefore, unless implied by the armor's description, you can apply these effects to whatever baseline AC type you want, and give a magic +1 AC bonus about 2-in-6 of the time. If you want to determine it randomly, roll a d4 and on a 1 it's leather, on a 2 or 3 it's chain, and on a 4 it's plate.

d20 Armors

1. The visor, vents, and weakpoints are shrouded with whale bristles, kept vital by the craft of merfolk bartsmiths. This affords better visibility from within, and utterly keeps out swarming creatures which might otherwise find a narrow entry under the armor.

2. Copper-trimmed armor forged against a spirit of Venus. If laid out in the sunrise or sunset, it gains up to 3 Charge. The wearer can spend a charge to add 1d6 damage to an unarmed attack or gain an unbreakable clenching grip for a few seconds. They can spend all remaining charges to emit a thunderbolt in a 200' line, dealing [charges]d6 damage to all, save for half. Expending a charge feels like releasing a muscle you've never noticed before, and shooting thunder is like euphoric emesis.

3. Hydraulic legs. Cranking a dial roots you to the spot so nothing short of a giant's tyrannous strength can move you. Cranking it another way causes the legs to deliver a powerful califerous hop up to 20 feet.

4. Spidersilk. Weighs only as much as your undershirt, and cannot be stuck by webbing or glue.

5. Brimmed fox helm and immaculate gown. When out of sight, you can appear at another place within 30 feet that is also unobserved by others, leaving behind an object the DM deems most appropriate as "a gift". Some has-been scholars will recognize this as the costume of a culture hero whose reverence and observances were suppressed.

6. Stone Judge. Moss-covered granite suit of armor as +1 Plate, the uniform of a beloved now-extinct sect. The people of the Ochre Vale will trust you on sight. Habitual wearers gain old memories-- in the Ochre Vale, get +2-in-6 to Find Secret Doors rolls, and when you are told rumors in that land, you instead hear old lore which is approximately as helpful.

7. Orca-Faced Plate. Airtight when worn with matching leathers. The wearer can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes.

8. Quicksilver Plate. Repels werewolves. At will, turn into a motile pool of mercury for up to 1 minute/hour spent wearing the armor. Take minimum damage from piercing attacks while fluid, but splashing you apart hurts like a weapon does.

9. Rough-skinned Leather. Eat a ration of fresh meat to turn into a shark, or back again.

10. Baroque and insectile suit with a wicked, harpoon-like stinger jutting out of the knee. The wielder can deliver a knee-strike that automatically hits, dealing d10 damage to the target, then-- wrenching like a bone breaking off-- 10-[damage dealt to target] to the wearer. The stinger regrows in about a week.

11. Evil. Red and black, with random spikes jutting out of it. Deal d8 damage on a grapple. Once donned, she cannot be doffed before killing a person on the spikes. In addition to whatever normal penalties one might have for wearing armor indefinitely, after 24 straight hours in this thing, get -4 wisdom until you can remove it.

12. Put the full set on and turn into Ata, a warrior from the time before history. Her stats are as an ogre, but her personality is problematic for modern dungeoneering and you may have to make frequent saves vs culture-shock-induced-violence. Turn back when even a glove or helm is removed.

13. A cerulean gown. Elegant, pretty, and oddly protective.

14. Basilisk scale. Turns creatures with a good sense of smell, or any creature that comes out of a mirror.

15. Hook helm. Shoots a grapple javelin straight up, and mechanisms on the body pull you to whatever you embed it in. If you want to bow forward to shoot it as a projectile, make a ranged attack at -2 damage for 1d8 damage. Range 50'.

16. Sweating jumpsuit, eyeless helm. As long as you wear it, you animate and see through the eyes of a bronze construct. For each hour spent piloting the construct, save vs wands or suffer distracting hallucinations.

17. Onion-Vein. Armor is semitransparent and flexible. If you are dismembered, the missing member regrows in 10 minutes, but with a 2-in-6 chance of misalignment.

18. Sloshing Armor. Stores up to 8 pints of blood. Expend 1 pint/round to regain 1 HP. When less than full, the armor goes cold, and the next person it touches other than its wearer instantly loses 1 HP per missing pint and the armor is topped up.

19. Horned Helm of Glory. Adorned with the (1d6+1)-point antlers of an elk that was hanged for murder, I guess. Burn a point like a candle, and it will glow for 1 hour, during which time the helm will absorb any sounds you make and no one else can see the point-fire, but at the end of the hour the helm will flash and shriek, releasing all the stored up sound and light.

20. Clockwork Armor. +2 Strength. Shoulder-mounted miniature crossbow that can attack for free (1d4 damage) but takes a full round to reload. When hit by a critical attack, save vs paralysis or perform a random act on your next turn as per Confusing Gaze.