BARKWARD CARAPACE

ARMOR VARIES ARMOR (SCALE MAIL) RELIC (DORMANT → AWAKENED → EXALTED) REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT   ARMOR TYPE: MEDIUM (SCALE-LIKE LIVING BARK) BASE AC: 14 + DEX MODIFIER (MAX 2) STRENGTH REQUIREMENT: NONE STEALTH: NO DISADVANTAGE WEIGHT: 40 LB.   WHILE WEARING THIS ARMOR IT COUNTS AS MAGICAL.   THE ARMOR EVOLVES THROUGH DORMANT AWAKENED AND EXALTED STATES AT THE DM’S DISCRETION.   DORMANT STATE   RARITY: UNCOMMON REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT   BARKHIDE   YOU GAIN A +1 BONUS TO AC WHILE WEARING THIS ARMOR. (TOTAL AC: 15 + DEX MAX 2)   ROOTED STANCE   WHILE YOU ARE STANDING ON NATURAL GROUND (SOIL STONE OR VEGETATION) YOU HAVE ADVANTAGE ON SAVING THROWS MADE TO RESIST BEING KNOCKED PRONE OR MOVED AGAINST YOUR WILL.   AWAKENED STATE   RARITY: RARE REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT (MUST FINISH A LONG REST IN NATURAL VEGETATION WHILE WEARING THE ARMOR)   THE ARMOR GAINS THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES:   VERDANT RENEWAL   AT THE START OF YOUR TURN IF YOU HAVE AT LEAST 1 HIT POINT AND ARE STANDING IN NATURAL VEGETATION YOU REGAIN HIT POINTS EQUAL TO YOUR PROFICIENCY BONUS. THIS HEALING FUNCTIONS A NUMBER OF ROUNDS PER LONG REST EQUAL TO YOUR PROFICIENCY BONUS.   TERRAIN MASTERY   YOU IGNORE NON-MAGICAL DIFFICULT TERRAIN CAUSED BY PLANTS.   EXALTED STATE   RARITY: VERY RARE (LEGENDARY IN HIGH-MAGIC CAMPAIGNS) REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT   THE ARMOR GAINS THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES:   LIVING BULWARK   YOU GAIN RESISTANCE TO BLUDGEONING AND PIERCING DAMAGE FROM NON-MAGICAL ATTACKS.   NATURE’S DEFIANCE   WHEN YOU ARE REDUCED TO 0 HIT POINTS BUT NOT KILLED OUTRIGHT YOU CAN DROP TO 1 HIT POINT INSTEAD. ONCE YOU USE THIS FEATURE YOU CAN’T USE IT AGAIN UNTIL YOU FINISH A LONG REST.   ROOTED MASTERY   WHILE YOU ARE STANDING ON NATURAL TERRAIN FORCED MOVEMENT AGAINST YOU IS REDUCED BY 10 FEET. Awakened+ :Must have spent a long rest in natural vegetation while wearing it. Requires Attunement

Relic Armor (Medium), Verdant Coil   The Barkward Carapace is not forged — it is grown.   Formed from interwoven heartwood, living bark, and sap-hardened fibers, this armor resembles a natural extension of an ancient forest given shape around a mortal frame. Its layered plates resemble overlapping slabs of dark oak and ironwood, veined with faint green luminescence that pulses slowly like the rhythm of a deep-rooted tree.   When worn, the armor feels firm but alive. It adjusts subtly with breath and movement, tightening in moments of danger and relaxing at rest. Small flecks of moss cling to its seams, and faint vines curl along its edges, never fully wilting.   Appearance by Relic State   Dormant The bark is deep brown with faint green veins tracing through the grain. Moss collects lightly at the shoulders and waist. When the wearer plants their feet, small roots briefly press into the soil beneath them.   Awakened Green light glows more vividly through the bark’s veins. Leaves sprout briefly along the armor during moments of stress or combat. The surface thickens when struck, and woodgrain patterns shift as though responding to unseen forest winds.   Exalted The armor appears ancient and monumental, like a walking fragment of a world-tree. Branch-like ridges crown the shoulders, and glowing roots trail faintly behind the wearer when they move across natural terrain. In battle, the bark hardens like stone, and faint petals or leaves scatter when the wearer deflects a powerful blow.   Sensory Details   Carries the scent of damp soil and rain-soaked timber   Feels cool and steady, like leaning against an old tree   Emits a faint creaking sound when bracing against force   Warm to the touch in sunlight, faintly humming in deep forest   Lore   The Verdant Coil teaches that strength is not merely endurance, but rootedness. The Barkward Carapace is said to be grown from a fragment of an elder tree that refused to fall during a cataclysmic storm. Those who wear it are seen as guardians of wild places — defenders who stand unbroken when all else bends.   Some druids whisper that if planted in fertile soil for a full season, the armor would sprout into something far greater — but none have dared test that claim.