The Armor table provides the statistics for the various forms of protection without wearing armor and for suits of armor that can be purchased and worn, organized by category. The columns in the table provide the following statistics.
The armor's category—unarmored, light armor, medium armor, or heavy armor—indicates which proficiency bonus you use while wearing the armor.
This number is the item bonus you add for the armor when determining Armor Class.
This number is the maximum amount of your Dexterity modifier that can apply to your AC while you are wearing a given suit of armor. For example, if you have a Dexterity modifier of +4 and you are wearing commercial defrex hide, you apply only a +2 bonus from your Dexterity modifier to your AC while wearing that armor.
While wearing your armor, you take this penalty to Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks, except for those that have the attack trait. If you meet the armor's Strength threshold (see
Strength below), you don't take this penalty.
While wearing armor, you take the penalty listed in this entry to your
395"Speed", as well as to any other movement types you have, such as a
climb Speed or
swim Speed, to a minimum Speed of 5 feet. If you meet the armor's Strength threshold (see
Strength below), you reduce the penalty by 5 feet.
This entry indicates the Strength modifier at which you are strong enough to overcome some of the armor's penalties. If your Strength modifier is equal to or greater than this value, you no longer take the armor's check penalty, and you decrease the Speed penalty by 5 feet (to no penalty if the penalty was –5 feet, or to a –5-foot penalty if the penalty was –10 feet).
This entry gives the armor's Bulk, assuming you're wearing the armor and distributing its weight across your body. A suit of armor that's carried usually has 1 more Bulk than what's listed here (or 1 Bulk total for armor of light Bulk). An armor's
Bulk is increased or decreased if it's sized for creatures that aren't Small or Medium in size.
Armor can be customized with upgrades, which include technological armor modifications and magic armor fusions. This indicates how many upgrades the armor can Install.
Each type of clothing and armor belongs to an armor group, which classifies it with other armor of similar a type, material, and construction. Some abilities reference armor groups, typically to grant
armor specialization effects.