Some monstrous creatures such as crabs and scorpions and aberrations such as rust monsters produce a hard outer shell called chitin which can be used in place of steel in armor. Chitin is less rare in more primitive or druidic cultures and is commonly used in Findle for protecting against the rusting effect of rustmonsters, especially by the Onyx-Brass farms.
Chitin Armor
Chitin is naturally formed in an armor-like shape and is easily worked into a humanoid form. Scale mail, breastplates, half plate, splint mail, and full plate can all be constructed using chitin which replaces the metal components of the armor, or in the case of shields, large pieces replace the wood. They are one half the weight of their base armor, and have the fragile property. The armor bonus of chitin armor is reduced by 1 and the maximum dexterity bonus is increased by 1. Shields function identically to wooden shields.
Rust Monster Mail and Dire Scalemail are examples of chitin armor and are relatively common in certain areas.
Cost
Armor and Weapons made from chitin cost 25% more than those made from steel and are common enough that they are found in most cultures with druidic traditions or rust monster farms.
| Item Type | Cost Modifier | Stat Modifier | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Armor | +25% base value | -1 AC, +1 Max Dex | 1/2 |
| Heavy Armor | +25% base value | -1 AC, +1 Max Dex | 1/2 |
| Shields | +25% base value | - | 1/2 |