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Elven Chain 5e: AC, Armor Proficiency and the 2024 Chain Mail Option
Elven Chain 5e is rare magic armor that gives +1 to AC and counts as armor you're proficient with (trained in, in 2024) even if you have no armor proficiency at all. In the 2014 rules it's always a chain shirt (AC 14 + Dex, max +2). In 2024 it can be a chain shirt or a suit of chain mail (AC 17), and the training covers heavy armor too. It needs no attunement. The verdict: the item that lets a wizard or sorcerer wear real armor and still cast spells, worth it at low to middling Dexterity.
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Elven Chain Rules Text
SRD 5.1 (2014), then SRD 5.2.1 (2024).
Elven Chain
2014 rules
Armor (chain shirt), rare
RareNo attunement
You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you wear this armor. You are considered proficient with this armor even if you lack proficiency with medium armor.
You gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class while you wear this armor. You are considered trained with this armor even if you lack training with Medium or Heavy armor.
Two sentences each. All the depth is in what proficiency with armor does for a character who doesn't have it.
How Elven Chain Works
What proficiency fixes
Wearing armor you lack proficiency (2014) or training (2024) with has two penalties in the SRD: Disadvantage on ability checks, saving throws and attack rolls involving Strength or Dexterity (on any D20 Test involving them, in 2024), and you can't cast spells. Elven Chain removes both for anyone wearing it. That's the whole point for a wizard: without it, a wizard in a chain shirt can't cast a single spell.
The proficiency applies to this armor only. It doesn't let the wearer use a shield or any other armor.
The numbers
Armor
Base AC
With Elven Chain
Strength
Stealth
Weight
Chain shirt (medium)
13 + Dex (max 2)
14 + Dex (max 2)
none
normal
20 lb
Chain mail (heavy, 2024 only)
16
17
13
Disadvantage
55 lb
The chain mail form keeps chain mail's drawbacks. A wearer with Strength under 13 has their speed reduced by 10 feet, and Dexterity (Stealth) checks have Disadvantage. Proficiency doesn't remove either. Mithral Armor removes them, but that's a different item.
Putting it on takes as long as the base armor: 5 minutes for a chain shirt (1 minute to take off), 10 minutes for chain mail (5 minutes to take off). The 2014 SRD grants the armor's AC only after the full donning time, so it's not something to put on when the ambush starts.
Elven Chain vs Mage Armor
Mage Armor sets an unarmored creature's AC to 13 + Dexterity modifier for 8 hours, for a 1st-level slot. It ends if the target dons armor, so the two don't combine. For a wizard with no shield:
Dex modifier
Mage Armor
Elven chain shirt
Elven chain mail (2024)
+1
14
15
17
+2
15
16
17
+3
16
16
17
+4
17
16
17
+5
18
16
17
The chain shirt wins at Dexterity +2 or lower, ties at +3, and loses above that. Its real advantage is that it's always on: no slot spent, no 8-hour window to track, nothing for Dispel Magic to remove. Both work with the Shield spell's +5.
The 2024 chain mail gives a flat 17 at any Dexterity: better than Mage Armor up to Dexterity +3, equal at +4, worse at +5. It suits a wizard with Strength 13 who doesn't care about Stealth.
Does +1 armor stack with other bonuses?
Yes, with bonuses from other sources. A Ring of Protection or Cloak of Protection adds its +1 on top. You can only wear one suit of armor, so Elven Chain doesn't stack with another magic armor.
Elven Chain: 2014 vs 2024
2014 (SRD 5.1)
2024 (SRD 5.2.1)
Rarity / attunement
Rare, none
Same
Base armor
Chain shirt only
Chain shirt or chain mail
Bonus
+1 to AC
+1 to Armor Class
Proficiency
Proficient even without medium armor proficiency
Trained even without Medium or Heavy armor training
Best AC
16 (Dex +2)
17 (chain mail)
Value
No price in the SRD
4,050 GP (shirt) or 4,075 GP (mail)
At the table: a 2014 Elven Chain is always light enough to wear quietly. A 2024 one might be heavy chain mail, which raises AC for a weak-Dexterity wearer but costs Stealth and, below Strength 13, speed. When the DM rolls or chooses the base armor, it changes who in the party wants it.
Who Should Use Elven Chain?
Wizards and sorcerers with Dexterity +2 or lower. That's the case the table above favours: 1-2 AC over Mage Armor plus a free 1st-level slot every day.
Any character without armor proficiency who stands near the front. A 2024 caster with Strength 13 gets AC 17 in chain mail, one point better than the best a breastplate (14 + Dex, max 2) can give.
Not for high-Dexterity light-armor users. A rogue or bard with Dexterity +4 in studded leather (12 + Dex) already has AC 16, the same as Elven chain shirt. At +5 the studded leather is better. Not for fighters or paladins either: they already have heavy armor proficiency, and +1 plate is AC 19.
Elven Chain doesn't take an attunement slot, so it never competes with a Pearl of Power or Cloak of Protection.
Elven Chain for DMs
Where it turns up. As rare armor, a mid-level hoard. In 2024, pick the base armor with the party in mind: a chain shirt for a Dexterity-focused caster, chain mail for one with Strength 13.
What it changes. A wizard's AC climbs 1-2 points and they stop spending a slot on Mage Armor each day. Over a campaign, that's a real survivability gain for the party's most fragile member.
Pricing. Under the 2024 SRD, a rare item is worth 4,000 GP, plus the base armor's cost: 50 GP for a chain shirt or 75 GP for chain mail. The 2014 SRD has no magic item prices. The shop price calculator handles armor-plus-rarity pricing.
Hooks.
•A dead knight's chain shirt is too small for any fighter in the party, but it fits the wizard. Only when he puts it on does anyone realize it's magic.
•An armorer offers a trade: the Elven Chain in her window for a favour no one else will do.
•A rival party's spellcaster wears Elven Chain, and the party's attacks keep bouncing off the "robed" wizard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Elven Chain require attunement?
No. It's rare armor with no attunement in either edition.
Can a wizard cast spells in Elven Chain?
Yes. Anyone wearing it counts as proficient (2014) or trained (2024) with it, so the wearer can cast spells and avoids the Disadvantage that comes with untrained armor.
What is Elven Chain's AC?
As a chain shirt, 14 + Dexterity modifier (max +2), so 16 at most. In 2024 it can also be chain mail, AC 17, which has a Strength 13 requirement and Disadvantage on Stealth.
Is Elven Chain better than Mage Armor?
At Dexterity +2 or lower, yes, by 1-2 AC, and it costs no spell slot. At +3 they tie, and at +4 or more Mage Armor gives higher AC.
How much is Elven Chain worth?
Under the 2024 SRD, 4,050 GP as a chain shirt or 4,075 GP as chain mail: the 4,000 GP rare item value plus the base armor's cost. The 2014 SRD lists no prices.
Item text: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Analysis, rulings and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.