Worldbuilding and Character Development for 5E D&D Inspired by Game of Thrones — Padded Armor

I recently started rewatching Game of Thrones all the way through for a second time. I’d bounced off the series twice and gotten hooked on my third attempt watching the series. Watching it again now engages me in different ways. For one thing it’s fun knowing the fate of the characters and seeing how each step of their journey influences their outcomes. For another I simply missed a lot of the nuance the first time around. Like countless fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons nerds the show appeals to me as a source of inspiration for gaming too. One thing about the show that stands out particularly to me is the armor worn by warriors across Westeros and Essos. There’s a wealth of worldbuilding and character development potential for 5E D&D through armor and I’m excited to explore them so let’s get into it.

Armor offers more than protection in 5E D&D

There’s A Song of Ice and Fire from Green Ronin custom designed to reflect the realities of Westeros with play centered around noble houses and the characters from them, which I played once at PAX Unplugged, I’m more interested in a very particular aspect of Game of Thrones I’ve always found really neat — the distinctive armor worn by people of various regions.

In 5E D&D there’s 12 kinds of armor in three different categories — light, medium and heavy — plus shields. Generally a warrior wishes to wear the best possible armor for protection in battle. But I wonder if there’s not perhaps equally useful reasons for donning different armor types including worldbuilding from either side of the Dungeon Master screen.

It’s worth noting when it comes to 5E D&D mechanics I am not a believer in the necessity of squeezing every possible incremental bonus from every source. If you’re in the camp plate armor or bust you’ll have to continue reading with a grain of salt. In fact part of my curiosity in exploring this idea is wondering how armor can inform other character choices.

Light armor in 5E D&D

There’s three types of light armor in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook plus another one found in Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount. Light armor takes one minute to both don and doff.

“Made from supple and thin materials, light armor favors agile adventurers since it offers some protection without sacrificing mobility. If you wear light armor, you add your Dexterity modifier to the base number from your armor type to determine your Armor Class.”

Light. Leather, Padded, Pride Silk Outfit, Studded Leather

Medium armor in 5E D&D

There’s six types of medium armor in the PHB. Medium armor takes five minute to don and one minute to doff.

“Medium armor offers more protection than light armor, but it also impairs movement more. If you wear medium armor, you add your Dexterity modifier, to a maximum of +2, to the base number from your armor type to determine your Armor Class.”

Medium. Breastplate, Chain Shirt, Half Plate, Hide, Scale Mail, Spiked Armor

Heavy armor in 5E D&D

There’s only four varieties of heavy armor in 5E D&D. Heavy armor takes ten minutes to don and five minutes to doff.

“Of all the armor categories, heavy armor offers the best protection. These suits of armor cover the entire body and are designed to stop a wide range of attacks. Only proficient warriors can manage their weight and bulk. Heavy armor doesn’t let you add your Dexterity modifier to your Armor Class, but it also doesn’t penalize you if your Dexterity modifier is negative.”

Heavy. Chain Mail, Plate, Ring Mail, Splint

Making the most of padded armor in 5E D&D

According to the 5E D&D PHB padded armor consists of quilted layers of cloth and batting. It costs 5 gold pieces and provides an Armor Class of 11 plus Dexterity modifier. It weighs 8 pounds and causes disadvantage on Stealth checks.

As far as I can determine there’s not a single official 5E D&D creature that wears padded armor. If I’m honest I’m not sure why it’s even included but it is and I aim to find some value here. Basically padded armor is a gambeson except due to the nature of the rules it cannot be worn underneath mail or plate, which is what warriors did back in the day.

In the context of 5E D&D I imagine padded armor would be used quite often by warriors when battle isn’t imminent but the possibility of danger exists nonetheless. Adventuring characters are outliers because of their vocation so padded armor as standard gear for questing seems out of the question but I don’t think it would be a bad idea for a warrior to keep padded armor in their equipment. Wearing plate armor to a noble’s social gathering probably isn’t the thing to do and in these situations a nice gambeson lets everyone know the individual is familiar with warfare but has a sense of style too.

When it comes to cultures who rely on padded armor these are the least economically successful ones. A folk hero might set off with a trusty family sword of fine steel but for a community not so well off a single suit of chain mail would be an astounding treasure far more likely to be sold than kept around for defense. To warriors from a poor culture even a simple set of padded armor might be the most they can muster and they’ll need to make the best of things.

If padded armor features prominently in a character’s background the warriors of the culture would train to make the most of speed and accuracy through Dexterity. They’ll use the least expensive weapons and make use of tactics like cover. Bronn of the Blackwater makes a great example of a warrior like this. If I recall correct (and my minute of research is sufficient) Bronn never wears armor of any substantial protective quality. Here’s some points to consider for playing a warrior from a poor culture who learns their craft while padded armor is the best they can get.

• Weapons with Lower Cost. Club, dagger, greatclub, javelin, light hammer, quarterstaff, sickle, spear, dart, sling, *whip, *net (*martial weapons)
• Battle Master Builds. Archer, Brawler, Skirmisher
• Actions in Combat. Disarm, Tumble
• Feats. Alert, Athlete, Defensive Duelist (only when wielding a dagger, dart or whip from the curated list of weapons costing less than padded armor), Dual Wielder, Fighting Initiate (Archery, Defense, Dueling, Superior Technique, Two-Weapon Fighting, Thrown Weapon Fighting, Unarmed Fighting), Martial Adept (Ambush, Disarming Attack, Distracting Strike, Evasive Footwork, Lunging Attack, Maneuvering Attack, Menacing Attack, Parry, Precision Attack, Pushing Attack, Rally, Riposte, Tactical Assessment, Trip Attack)

Just who are these padded armor wearing warriors? The lands they call home are not wealthy but nevertheless remain a contributor in whatever larger region of which they’re a part. When their lands or loved ones are threatened they defend them basically with the same tools they use for their livelihoods.

Survival in battle for the poor padded armor warriors means they’ll have to stay sharp and use what they’ve got in the best possible ways. Before the action gets up close and personal these warriors make advantage of cover to start the exchange with volleys of javelins and sling stones. They’ll have to master the art of using cover because opponents with better gear using crossbows or shortbows nearly triple their range.

When the melee begins their strongest warriors wield greatclubs while the rest do their best with clubs, daggers, light hammers and sickles — all of which can be employed for two-handed fighting. None of these warriors carry shields because such things are too expensive, costing twice what their armor does. Those more comfortable with a single weapon bring quarterstaffs and spears to bear.

A special tactic of these warriors is using nets and whips, the most unusual of their selection of weapons. A whip can keep enemies at bay with its reach and a net can entangle and capture opponents. These two weapons together make me think animals are an important part of this culture. Whips are used to guide the direction of animals and nets are a safe way to capture them.

I think this padded armor warrior culture scrapes by through herding animals and since 5E D&D is a fantasy game instead of beasts I’m looking at monstrosities. The rust monster jumps out at me as a great candidate for several reasons. Most of these warriors’ equipment is non-metal so developing an economy based on rust monsters as a commodity seems like a great match. The Underdark where rust monsters dwell is harsh so it makes sense a culture with poor natural resources but access to this environment would make the best of the situation. There’s plenty of cover in the Underdark and when they corral some rust monsters using whips and nets is a great strategy.

And there you have it! Truth be told I wasn’t exactly sure where this exploration would lead me and I’m very happy with the results. Playing a character whose origin lies in a culture like this sounds like a ton of fun and there’s so much to draw on. Roleplaying opportunities with other warriors, the character’s perspective on their homeland and how they’ll develop as a character both mechanically and narratively seem quite rewarding to me as a player. From a Dungeon Master perspective this sounds like a great chunk of worldbuilding too.

I’m already looking forward to taking this approach with the next armor in the list — leather. In the meantime I’d love to see what other ideas folks come up with when it comes to padded armor. I know this sort of stuff flies in the face of achieving numerical superiority in 5E D&D but in my experience this is the most forgiving edition of the game and while it’s true every other armor is mechanically better I think there’s a lot to be gained by setting aside the quest for the highest numbers on a character sheet and taking up the quest for more rich and immersive game experiences.

*Featured image — A warrior ready to delve into the Underdark to rustle up some rust monsters. This warrior’s culture may be poor but they make the best of it with their padded armor and tools to scrape by as rust monster ranchers. Thanks to the amazing Hero Forge I put this image together in about five minutes with full color. There’s so much you can do with Hero Forge! Check it out for yourself here.

New videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel here