Move Over, Armor Class — This 5E D&D Magic Armor Brings the Razzle Dazzle

Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted pile on the Armor Class for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons — but is it all in vain? Whenever we create video content about Armor Class in 5E D&D we noticed it gets a ton of engagement so we asked ourselves why and tried to come up with an answer. The best we came up with is Armor Class represents a quantifiable part of a character that players can exert some modicum of control over. But for my money I’m looking to get a lot more out of my characters’ armor than merely an impenetrable Armor Class. That’s where magic armor with razzle dazzle comes into play.

Putting the magic in magic armor

In addition to the prodigious amount of video and website content we create we also have a growing library of digital products for 5E D&D. Every month we give these to our Patreon supporters before they head over to Nerdarchy the Store. Over the last few years we’ve amassed 40 products full of material for 5E D&D Dungeon Masters and players ready to drop right into your games.

Throughout all those titles there’s about 125 magic items but only five of them are armor. Can you believe this? Clearly we need to put our digital blacksmiths and magewrights to work forging more protective body coverings. Interestingly enough though many of the most beloved of all those items are the magic armor selections. Whenever I drop them in a game the players love them and they often become signature items for the characters who don their spiffy new magic armor.

These five pieces of magic armor might not necessarily become a crucial component to your 5E D&D character’s ultimate Armor Class but I bet you’ll have a blast using them in your games while enjoying whatever protection they offer your adventurer.

Armor of Fallen Leaves

Source. Arbor Jade

Very rare (requires attunement)

You have a +1 bonus to your Armor Class while wearing this breastplate made of enchanted autumn leaves of red, orange and yellow. As a bonus action the armor transforms you into a swirling cloud of leaves that allows you to move up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see, moving through occupied spaces without interference and not provoking attacks of opportunity.

In addition, as an action you can transform into a swirling mass of leaves with the effect of the gaseous form spell. Once you use this feature you cannot use it again until the following dawn.

Shield of the Guardian

Source. Arbor Jade

Rare (requires attunement)

You have resistance to damage from ranged weapon attacks while you are holding this shield made from a tree stump with living, leafy branches radiating from the sides. Whenever a ranged weapon attack is made against an ally within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to become the target instead.

Hair Shirt

Source. Hairable Ideas

Uncommon (requires attunement by a barbarian)

* Little bit of a cheat here since this was designed to go along with the Path of the Barbhairain. So technically it’s not armor. But it is something your barbarian can wear!

When you wear this incredibly uncomfortable shirt made of hair, the fibers irritate your skin and make your anger rise to the surface easier. You can an additional use of your Rage feature.

Frog Tongue Shield

Source. Muckwuggle, the Frog God

Rare

While holding this frog-faced shield, as an action you can speak the command word Usamigraras and cause a tongue to lash out from the mouth at a target within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be pulled to within 5 feet of you.

• Rope. The tongue can also be used as a 30 foot long rope. It is sticky enough to be able to firmly adhere to walls and ceilings.
• Tongue Save. As a reaction when falling you can command the shield’s tongue to shoot out and latch onto a wall or ceiling to halt your descent. Roll a d10. On a result of 1 the tongue snaps and takes 1d6 days to repair itself. During this time the shield has no special properties.

Hoarfrost Armor

Source. Winter Lord’s Throne

Very rare (requires attunement)

This plate armor is constantly cool with a sheen of ice over the metal that comprises it. When worn, until it is attuned to it sends a chill to the core of the person wearing it. You have a +1 bonus to Armor Class while wearing this armor.

Once attuned to the chill disappears. Hoarfrost armor grants you resistance to cold damage. Whenever you are hit with a melee attack you can use your reaction to force the attacked to make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 3d6 cold damage on a failed save and half as much on a successful one as the frost from the armor flashes along the creature’s weapons to nip at their hands and bodies in recompense for daring to strike its master.

While attuned to this armor you are vulnerable to fire. If fire damage reduces you to 0 hit points while wearing the armor you die as your body is incinerated and you rise 24 hours later as a wraith.

Your favorite magic armor for 5E D&D

I hope some of these become your 5E D&D character’s favorite magic armor. Far and away the Frog Shield has proven incredibly popular in my games and Armor of Fallen Leaves is one of my personal favorites too. In fact that’s the very first 5E D&D magic item I created, way back when I first began contributing to this very website and we created a free adventure for International Tabletop Day. As content director I’ve got a good handle on all the stuff we’ve made and with our next exclusive Patreon magic item card we’ll have enough frog themed items to outfit a character with everything they’ll need to hop into adventure so I’m really looking forward to that. What are some of your favorite magic armor items from 5E D&D that your adventurers discovered? Let me know in the comments and, of course, stay nerdy.