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About this mod
I spent an insane amount of time on this following a toolkit tutorial. But I present a mod to change something I've wanted. This mod adjusts Dark Justiciar armor to be considered light, while the helmets, boots, and gloves are none. Meaning those three parts can be worn with clothing and utilized with mage armor or passives that require no armor.
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For patch 7 with an optional patch 6 version. I may not be able to offer much support for the patch 6 version as I don't have a way to test it. Made all of this because I wanted it, by following a toolkit usage tutorial. Figured some people out there would find it cool as well and decided to share.
The too long didn't read of this mod is that it adjusts All the Medium Dark Justiciar Armors into Light versions. Helmets, gloves, and boots are instead changed to "none" which means they will not impact your ability to use mage armor, draconic sorcerer, barbarian or monk's unarmored passives for people doing assassin spell casters. I have also added in the unique, but niche "Night Singer's Reply" passive to all the cuirasses, followed by a +1 bonus to stealth. A few rarities were adjusted for consistency. With gold values kept intentionally the same. Except for the two very low tier armor sets. Weights and AC were changed to strictly adhere to vanilla's balancing. You can see everything for yourself in the images.
In vanilla, most of these in the early game already have the stats of light armor while somehow being classified medium. This means you are being dex restricted to +2, or +3 at the cost of a feat, while also having AC that can't take advantage of the high dex stat you are likely building already. I found myself disappointed that such an interesting, but niche effect was restricted to just a single piece of crappy armor. By the time you get to most of these, they are heavily outclassed by others armor sets you have already too. So hopefully, my mod makes these more worth using as an alternative instead of throwaway or outclassing the existing options. Thematical choices rock after all.
I strictly follow vanilla's armor rating scheme of 11 - 14. +1 stat buff on uncommon, and +2 on rare like the other armor sets. I chose a +1 to stealth like the leathers for uncommon, since the Dark Justiciar armor sets are intended for obscure areas to reap the most benefits. And a +1 to constitution saving throws on the rare sets as an alternative to the dexterity saving throws bonus. It also has practical use if you are using Night Singer's Reply because of its requirement for you to be melee attacked. Or are just a light armor spell caster.
Spoiler warning for the FAQ
FAQ
Why did you make this?
I'm a lore freak who was highly fascinated by the in-game lore of Dark Justiciars. I am fully aware that "creatures" of DND campaigns do not need to fully adhere to the same class structure that players follow. And there are a few that do try to follow the player class themes but have abilities we cannot access normally. We also have a companion who is heavily ingrained with the Sharrin group. Every attempt I've done to try to create a class that fits well enough has fallen flat. So, I made these armor adjustments to open the doors for the additional classes that make sense as Dark Justiciars in my interpretation.
What sources did you use?
My sources are the trial books. (Faith Trial, Self-Same Trial, and Soft-Step Trial.) They state that Dark Justiciars are to have faith to navigate her sacred darkness. They must excel in some of Lady Shar's most cherished arts, such as stealth, lockpicking, disarming and evasion.
How do the vanilla classes fail to adhere the role of a Dark Justiciar?
Rogue and its subclasses are all built around stealth and the sneak attack mechanic. All subclasses enjoy dex builds which boost stealth and lockpicking. You have bonus action movement abilities too. It's a perfect fit for the Assassin role of Dark Justiciars. But it is automatically disqualified in vanilla, because it cannot use medium armor without multiclassing.
Shadow Monk, like Rogue, is also built around stealth. Allowing the ability to teleport between dark areas at level 6. Access to extra attack, gives it extreme martial prowess. it also can be built high dex for lockpicking and additional stealth bonuses. And you have a bonus action hide like Rogue. But, also like Rogue, it cannot use medium armor without multiclassing.
Trickery Cleric is extremely interesting and fits the theme quite well. But all of its stealth related bonuses are spells, which require concentration, while it does not have any inherent stealth bonuses. Blessing of the trickster buffs someone else's stealth, not yours. Pass without trace is nice, though requires a spell slot and is temporary. Divinity cloak of shadows is in my opinion, completely inferior to shadow monk's, on top of only lasting 2 turns and costing a limited divinity resource. You can do dex + wis focused builds. Though you miss out on something nice like a bonus action hide. Trickery Cleric does get access to medium armor and fits the faith focus in a thematical sense. Just not in actual practical gameplay. It's an option, but I would argue any of these other choices on my list are more enjoyable options.
Warlock has access to devil's sight, which is an easy way to see through darkness. It works well as an idea with its high dex and spell casting. Pact of the blade for martial prowess. Though it cannot use medium armor. (Fixed by one dnd allowing an evocation to use medium armor.) You would only be missing a bonus action hide to really emphasize stealth. This is a flexible jack of all trades. Still, without mods that change warlock, no medium armor without multiclassing.
Gloom Stalker is the only class that really works as a vanilla Dark Justiciar. It comes with a bonus action hide, a focus on building dexterity which enhances stealth and lockpicking. It can be played melee or ranged with extra attack, and one additional attack at the start of combat. It can even use medium armor by default. With my mod's change to light armor, you now have 5 well themed options instead of 2. And 4 that offer practical gameplay, opposed to 1.
The too long didn't read of this mod is that it adjusts All the Medium Dark Justiciar Armors into Light versions. Helmets, gloves, and boots are instead changed to "none" which means they will not impact your ability to use mage armor, draconic sorcerer, barbarian or monk's unarmored passives for people doing assassin spell casters. I have also added in the unique, but niche "Night Singer's Reply" passive to all the cuirasses, followed by a +1 bonus to stealth. A few rarities were adjusted for consistency. With gold values kept intentionally the same. Except for the two very low tier armor sets. Weights and AC were changed to strictly adhere to vanilla's balancing. You can see everything for yourself in the images.
In vanilla, most of these in the early game already have the stats of light armor while somehow being classified medium. This means you are being dex restricted to +2, or +3 at the cost of a feat, while also having AC that can't take advantage of the high dex stat you are likely building already. I found myself disappointed that such an interesting, but niche effect was restricted to just a single piece of crappy armor. By the time you get to most of these, they are heavily outclassed by others armor sets you have already too. So hopefully, my mod makes these more worth using as an alternative instead of throwaway or outclassing the existing options. Thematical choices rock after all.
I strictly follow vanilla's armor rating scheme of 11 - 14. +1 stat buff on uncommon, and +2 on rare like the other armor sets. I chose a +1 to stealth like the leathers for uncommon, since the Dark Justiciar armor sets are intended for obscure areas to reap the most benefits. And a +1 to constitution saving throws on the rare sets as an alternative to the dexterity saving throws bonus. It also has practical use if you are using Night Singer's Reply because of its requirement for you to be melee attacked. Or are just a light armor spell caster.
Spoiler warning for the FAQ
FAQ
Why did you make this?
I'm a lore freak who was highly fascinated by the in-game lore of Dark Justiciars. I am fully aware that "creatures" of DND campaigns do not need to fully adhere to the same class structure that players follow. And there are a few that do try to follow the player class themes but have abilities we cannot access normally. We also have a companion who is heavily ingrained with the Sharrin group. Every attempt I've done to try to create a class that fits well enough has fallen flat. So, I made these armor adjustments to open the doors for the additional classes that make sense as Dark Justiciars in my interpretation.
What sources did you use?
My sources are the trial books. (Faith Trial, Self-Same Trial, and Soft-Step Trial.) They state that Dark Justiciars are to have faith to navigate her sacred darkness. They must excel in some of Lady Shar's most cherished arts, such as stealth, lockpicking, disarming and evasion.
How do the vanilla classes fail to adhere the role of a Dark Justiciar?
Rogue and its subclasses are all built around stealth and the sneak attack mechanic. All subclasses enjoy dex builds which boost stealth and lockpicking. You have bonus action movement abilities too. It's a perfect fit for the Assassin role of Dark Justiciars. But it is automatically disqualified in vanilla, because it cannot use medium armor without multiclassing.
Shadow Monk, like Rogue, is also built around stealth. Allowing the ability to teleport between dark areas at level 6. Access to extra attack, gives it extreme martial prowess. it also can be built high dex for lockpicking and additional stealth bonuses. And you have a bonus action hide like Rogue. But, also like Rogue, it cannot use medium armor without multiclassing.
Trickery Cleric is extremely interesting and fits the theme quite well. But all of its stealth related bonuses are spells, which require concentration, while it does not have any inherent stealth bonuses. Blessing of the trickster buffs someone else's stealth, not yours. Pass without trace is nice, though requires a spell slot and is temporary. Divinity cloak of shadows is in my opinion, completely inferior to shadow monk's, on top of only lasting 2 turns and costing a limited divinity resource. You can do dex + wis focused builds. Though you miss out on something nice like a bonus action hide. Trickery Cleric does get access to medium armor and fits the faith focus in a thematical sense. Just not in actual practical gameplay. It's an option, but I would argue any of these other choices on my list are more enjoyable options.
Warlock has access to devil's sight, which is an easy way to see through darkness. It works well as an idea with its high dex and spell casting. Pact of the blade for martial prowess. Though it cannot use medium armor. (Fixed by one dnd allowing an evocation to use medium armor.) You would only be missing a bonus action hide to really emphasize stealth. This is a flexible jack of all trades. Still, without mods that change warlock, no medium armor without multiclassing.
Gloom Stalker is the only class that really works as a vanilla Dark Justiciar. It comes with a bonus action hide, a focus on building dexterity which enhances stealth and lockpicking. It can be played melee or ranged with extra attack, and one additional attack at the start of combat. It can even use medium armor by default. With my mod's change to light armor, you now have 5 well themed options instead of 2. And 4 that offer practical gameplay, opposed to 1.