Mithral Armor 5e: No Stealth Penalty, No Strength Requirement, Same AC

Mithral Armor in 5e is an uncommon suit of medium or heavy armor (any type except Hide) that drops the armor's Disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks and its Strength requirement. It needs no attunement and gives no bonus to AC: mithral half plate is still AC 15 + Dex (max 2), mithral plate is still AC 18. In the 2014 rules only a mithral chain shirt or breastplate can be worn under ordinary clothes; in 2024 any mithral armor can. The verdict: a big upgrade on half plate, plate and splint, and almost nothing on a chain shirt or breastplate.

Table of Contents

• •Mithral Armor Rules Text
• •How Mithral Armor Works
• •Mithral Armor: 2014 vs 2024
• •Is Mithral Armor Worth It?
• •Mithral Armor for DMs
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Mithral Armor Rules Text

The 2014 card (SRD 5.1), then the 2024 card (SRD 5.2.1):

How Mithral Armor Works

What it removes, armor by armor

Mithral only removes two drawbacks. Whether that matters depends on which armor it's made from. The base numbers below are the same in both SRDs' Armor tables.

The Strength requirement in both SRDs reduces your speed by 10 feet if your Strength is below the listed score. Mithral removes that speed penalty, so a Strength 10 cleric in mithral plate moves at full speed.

What it doesn't change

• •AC. Mithral isn't a +1. Mithral plate is AC 18, same as plain plate.
• •Training. You still need armor training (2024) or proficiency (2014) with the armor's category. Without it, you have Disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity rolls and can't cast spells, in both editions.
• •Category. Mithral plate is still Heavy armor. A Barbarian can't enter a Rage in it (2024), Rage gives no benefits in it (2014), and features that only work when you aren't wearing Heavy armor still switch off.
• •Donning time. Heavy armor still takes 10 minutes to put on and 5 to take off.
• •Weight. The text calls mithral "a light, flexible metal" but changes only the Stealth and Strength entries, so the weight on the Armor table stands: mithral plate is 65 lb, mithral half plate 40 lb, in both editions.

Worn under clothes

In 2014 the text names only the chain shirt and breastplate as wearable under normal clothes. The 2024 text extends that to all mithral armor. This matters for social scenes: a character can attend a ball or pass a checkpoint armored. DM ruling: "can be worn under normal clothes" means a glance won't spot it; a pat-down or a deliberate search still finds it.

Mithral Armor: 2014 vs 2024

What this means at the table: the mechanical core is unchanged. The 2024 version adds a social use for heavy suits. A paladin in mithral plate can now wear it under a cloak and tunic, which was a chain-shirt-only trick before.

Is Mithral Armor Worth It?

It depends entirely on the base armor. Ranked by how much mithral adds:

1. •Mithral half plate. The best medium armor for a stealthy character. AC 15 + Dex (max 2) means AC 17 at Dex 14, with no Stealth penalty. Plain breastplate gives AC 16 at the same Dex. That +1 AC is the reason Dexterity-based rangers, fighters and clerics who scout want it.
2. •Mithral plate or splint. Removes the Strength 15 requirement and the Stealth penalty. Huge for a low-Strength character with heavy armor training, such as a 2024 Cleric who took the Protector option, or for a paladin who scouts.
3. •Mithral chain mail. Strength 13 is easy for heavy armor wearers, so this is mostly a Stealth fix.
4. •Mithral scale mail and ring mail. Stealth fix on armor that's otherwise outclassed.
5. •Mithral chain shirt or breastplate. No mechanical change at all. Only the under-clothes rule (2014 or 2024) gives them a purpose.

Compare the other uncommon suit of armor in both SRDs: Adamantine Armor turns every Critical Hit against you into a normal hit. A frontliner who never sneaks wants adamantine; one who scouts wants mithral. Both are out-scaled at higher levels by +1, +2 and +3 armor (Armor, +1, +2, or +3), which raises AC directly.

A note for 2014 dwarves: SRD 5.1 dwarves already ignore the speed penalty from heavy armor, so for them mithral plate only fixes Stealth.

Mithral Armor for DMs

Placement. It's a good reward for a character who has been clanking around in half plate and failing every Stealth check. It also fits as loot from an elite guard or assassin who needed armor nobody would notice.

What it changes. Scouting. A plate-wearing character who can now sneak changes how the party approaches a dungeon. Under 2024 rules it also opens up armored infiltration of parties, courts and temples.

Pricing. The 2024 SRD values uncommon items at 400 GP and adds the base armor's price for magic armor. Mithral half plate is 1,150 GP (400 + 750), mithral plate 1,900 GP (400 + 1,500), a mithral chain shirt 450 GP (400 + 50). The 2014 SRD has no magic item prices; any 2014 figure comes from the Dungeon Master's Guide, not the SRD. The shop price calculator handles these quickly, and the uncommon item list shows what else sits at this tier.

Which armor to roll. The item line lists the armor types allowed but doesn't pick one. Pick for a character in your party: mithral half plate for a stealthy medium armor user, mithral plate for a low-Strength heavy armor user. A mithral breastplate is a reward that does nothing.

Hooks.

• •A dwarven smith in a mountain town will make mithral from raw ore the party brings back, but only from ore mined in a specific flooded tunnel.
• •An ambassador arrives at court in silk and is stabbed at dinner. The blade stops on mithral plate under the silk, and the ambassador wants to know who warned her to wear it.
• •A hoard holds a mithral chain shirt sized for a halfling, with a name scratched inside it.

Who's wearing what, and under which coat, is easy to lose between sessions. Loreify records the game and writes the recap.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Mithral Armor give a bonus to AC?

No. Mithral Armor has the same AC as the base armor. It only removes Stealth Disadvantage and the Strength requirement.

Does Mithral Armor require attunement?

No. It's uncommon with no attunement in both 2014 and 2024.

Can mithral armor be light armor?

No. It has to be Medium or Heavy armor other than Hide, in both editions. Mithral doesn't change the category, so mithral plate is still Heavy armor and still needs Heavy armor training.

What is the best mithral armor in 5e?

Mithral half plate for a character using Dexterity and stealth (AC 15 + Dex, max 2, no Stealth penalty), and mithral plate for a low-Strength heavy armor wearer (AC 18 with no Strength 15 requirement).

How much does Mithral Armor cost?

Under the 2024 SRD, 400 GP plus the base armor's price: 1,150 GP for mithral half plate, 1,900 GP for mithral plate. The 2014 SRD gives 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.