deluge wrote:
Sorry Paul. I didn't know it had been discussed in depth. I would still like to address this issue.
Upon doing some searching, my memory of in depth is incorrect. It has been brought up multiple times though. The last official ruling was by Pedro and can be found here:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=427&hilit=Greaves+of+the+Scout&start=20It was accidentally left out of the 4.3 version of the Errata.
deluge wrote:
If the bonus was due to physical protection I would call it an Item bonus. In that case I would expect there would be a non-magical version of the Greaves that we could all purchase to give ourselves +1 AR. Who wouldn't want it? I think it is pretty clear that it is a Magic Item bonus.
Those lucky enough to have Greaves get the benefit of +1 AR without the need to purchase a rune for this benefit. That means that they can spend their limited rune slots on something else beneficial to them. Those characters without this item probably want to purchase a rune to provide +1 AR (if they value AR) when they have the money for it. So to give a stacking bonus for the Greaves seems not only to break the rules, but also to give an advantage to those with an item that can't be purchased (Magic Item), but is just found in a game.
That immediately seems unbalanced to me. The characters with Greaves already have their benefit - a terrific magic item that gives a +1 AR and a further benefit. To push for even more (the stacking of a Magic Item bonus with a Rune bonus) seems to break the rules.
Can't be purchased isn't exactly correct. Greaves are typically included in some of the heavy armor as a reason why it's heavy armor rather than light or medium. Going from Lorica Squamata to Lorica Sementata is an extra 5 Gc. It's cleverly enough made that it doesn't require Armor Training in Heavy Armor. What's the value of breaking the talent curve / armor model? Equivalent to Exceptional (50x)? If so, that's 250 Gc. [NOTE: this paragraph was edited as I realized my original comment had flawed logic.]
I very much disagree with the sentiment that a single point of AR is "unbalancing". Based on Pedro's previous ruling, the simplest solution would be to call it Untyped.
With a sweep of his hat,
Paul