Armor Layering (5e Variant Rule)

By default, armor comes with padding. These rules allow for customization of padding.

Each piece of Medium or Heavy armor is assumed to be worn with standard padding, what is included in it's stats. But, you can make other loadouts. Default padding is treated like Padded - outer armor without default padding has Padded Armor's cost and weight subtracted. Armor's bonus is it's listed AC minus 10; e.g. Padded Armor has +1, Plate "by itself" has +7, total is +8. Plate "by itself" costs 1495 gp and weights 57.

You can wear 3 layers total: Padding, Middle, and Outer. Outer is main armor, no restrictions; Middle must be flexible; Padding must be flexible Light armor. Total AC given by armor is sum of all layers. Each armor on each layer can be separately upgraded or enchanted.

If you have additional layers - such as armored underwear, armored clothes, armored overcoat worn over armor - they also stack with Padding, Middle, and Outer. Additionally, Worn And Natural Armor Stacking (5e Variant Rule) would also usually apply (as natural armor would be treated as yet another layer).

For example, Padding could be Padded or Studded Leather. Middle could be Hide, Chain Shirt, Scale Mail, Ring Mail, Chain Mail. Outer could be Splint or Plate.

E.G. default Padded + Plate has +8 AC (total 18 AC). Studded Leather + Chain Mail + Plate will have +16 AC (total 26 AC) - assuming you can even lift all this (125 lbs, 1620gp); if each piece of armor was enchanted for +1, the total bonus would increase to +19 AC (total 29 AC).

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