Supernatural Monster Hide Armor:
Many supernatural creatures have super strong hides and can withstand incredible damage. Some of the more common include the Beast Dragon, Chimera, Peryton, and Manticore although there are many other similar creatures. Armor can be made from the hides of these creatures and it is much stronger than armor made from normal animal hides. Because the creatures are far more dangerous than domestic animals such as cows, sheep, or goats and wild animals such as deer or bison, the armor is far most costly and rare than armor made from more common animals. Even though the armor is very expensive than normal armors, it is still far cheaper than enchanted armors. It is rarely sold as “Supernatural Monster” hide armor but is instead sold as Manticore Hide armor or whatever the creature which was used to create the armor. Some leather craftsmen specialize in the creation of armor made from monster hides. As well, some adventurers specialize in hunting monsters to sell components to Alchemists and other professions that use body parts from supernatural creatures. As well, some adventures will kill supernatural monsters and commission a leather craftsman to make them armor from the hides. Armor made from supernatural creatures is more expensive to repair due to the cost of materials and can also be repaired by magic. Normal Armors include soft leather, hard leather, and studded leather but leather based scale mail can also be constructed from supernatural monster hide. Supernatural monsters with scales such as Beast Dragons and Chimera can also be used to create scale armor instead of metal scales. As well, bone / horn lamellar can also be created using the hide and bones of supernatural creatures.
The hide of many monsters can be used for making monster hide armor but only supernatural creature’s hides make super strong armors. While the hides of some sentient creatures can be used as well, this marks the wearer in most places in the same fashion as wearing human finger bones in a necklace. Dragon hide and scales can also be used to make leather armor and scale male but is done by specialized alchemists and has additional properties. Of course, Dragons without scales cannot be used for scale armor. These special features are listed below.
In game terms, the supernatural monster hide armor will have an armor rating of one greater than normal leather armor and double the normal S.D.C. but the weight of the armor remains the same. For example, hard leather constructed from supernatural monster hide would have an armor rating of 12 and 58 S.D.C. and would weigh 11 lbs. Bone / Horn Lamellar can be made from supernatural creatures as well although in that case increase AR rating by two although S.D.C. is still doubled. These armor may also be reinforced as per normal light armor with 40 S.D.C. and an increase in weight of 8 lbs.
For example, a suit of reinforced studded leather armor would have an A.R. rating of 14, a total of 116 S.D.C., and would weight 28 lbs. Scale mail with the backing of leather from a supernatural monster would have the armors S.D.C. increased by 20 points but no increase in A.R. Rating. Scale mail using the scales of supernatural creatures and backed by the hide of a supernatural creature has an increase in A.R. Rating of One point and S.D.C. is doubled similarly to leather armor types. Half suits of leather armor and scale mail can also be made from supernatural monster hide is available as well but is very uncommon. At game masters option, the armor can be treated to have half its S.D.C. in M.D.C. in Rifts. For example, standard soft leather from the hide of a supernatural creature would have 20 M.D.C. in Rifts.
Base cost of Supernatural Monster hide armor is 2,000 to 4,000 Gold in addition to the normal cost of the armor. The cost depends on the rarity of the hide being used and how much the leather craftsman wants to charge. Most leather craftsman will charge between 400 and 800 Gold if the person commissioning the armor provides the materials. Supernatural Monster scale armor using just the hide normal costs the same as hide armor. Scale armor using the scales of supernatural creatures normally costs more and normally between 4,000 and 8,000 Gold in addition to the normal cost of scale male for the armor and 800 to 1,600 Gold to craft if the purchaser provides the material. Double cost of the armor is made using dragon hide or scales which give additional properties. Cost to repair the armor costs four to eight times normal. Magical repairs by alchemists costs 40 gold per point repaired (80 gold per point for Fire, Great Horned, Ice, Kukulcan, Lo-Dox, Night Stalker, Serpent of the Wind, Thunder Lizard, and Wooly Dragon Armors.
Special Dragon Armor Features:
Hit rolls which roll below the A.R. Rating of the armor strike the armor instead of the wearer and inflict no damage against the wearer unless it is pentrated
Fire Dragon Armor: Armor is impervious to fire / Wearer takes half damage from fire.
Great Horned Dragon Armor: Armor takes half damage from fire and cold / Reduce damage by one quarter to wearer when fire and cold attacks are used against them.
Ice Dragon Armor: Armor is impervious to fire and cold / Wearer takes half damage from fire and cold.
Kukulcan Dragon Armor: Armor takes half damage from fire and cold / Reduce damage by one quarter to wearer when fire and cold attacks are used against them.
Lo-Dox Dragon Armor: Armor takes half damage from fire and cold / Reduce damage by one quarter to wearer when fire and cold attacks are used against them.
Night Stalker Dragon Armor: Armor takes half damage from fire and cold / Reduce damage by one quarter to wearer when fire and cold attacks are used against them.
Serpent of the Wind Dragon Armor: Armor takes half damage from fire and cold / Reduce damage by one quarter to wearer when fire and cold attacks are used against them.
Thunder Lizard Dragon Armor: Armor takes half damage from fire and cold / Reduce damage by one quarter to wearer when fire and cold attacks are used against them.
Wooly Dragon Armor: Armor takes half damage from fire and cold / Reduce damage by one quarter to wearer when fire and cold attacks are used against them.