Ankheg Plate Mail is a type of plate mail in Baldur's Gate (game) (and Enhanced Edition), Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (and Enhanced Edition), and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.
Acquisition[]
Baldur's Gate / Enhanced Edition[]
- One set of ankheg armor can be found at a farm patch in Nashkel (coordinates 183, 2745).
- Slay an Ankheg and take its shell to Taerom Fuiruim at the Thunderhammer Smithy in Beregost.
In the classic game, he will charge 4,000 to craft the shell into armor. About ten days later the shiny new armor will be ready to collect. In the Enhanced Edition it costs the same but will be finished in three days, or 2,000 more can be paid to have it ready in just one day.
Regardless of game versions or how fast you want the armor made, Taerom will only craft one piece of Ankheg armor for your party; afterwards he will only buy Ankheg shells for 500 .
Siege of Dragonspear[]
In addition to being able to import the two sets from Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, Onoroth in Bloodbark Grove has one for sale.
Baldur's Gate II / Enhanced Edition[]
To obtain this armor in Shadows of Amn, bring a shell to Cromwell in the Athkatla Dock District. He will charge you 5,000 to make the armor and you need to help him for a day. You can do this more than once.
Effects[]
By raw numbers, Ankheg Plate is weaker by 2 AC vs. piercing and missile weapons and 1 AC vs. slashing compared to Full Plate Armor but matches it vs. crushing weapons. Compounding this, in the classic game, you cannot wear protection items such a Ring of the Princes or Cloak of Protection +1 with Ankheg Plate Mail. So Full Plate Armor is a better choice if you also want to use protection gear for their armor and saving throws bonuses.
Even so, Ankheg armor is nearly as strong as Full Plate, but as light as Studded Leather Armor. It is one of the best suits of armor available to druids in the original game and its low strength requirement of 8 also allows weaker companions like Viconia to wear it and gain decent protection. The low weight of 25 lb makes it a good back-up armor for Fighter / Mages and Cleric / Mages to keep in their inventory and put on once they have exhausted their arcane spells, so as to survive better in melee.
In the Enhanced Editions, the armor is non-magical, and may be used with items that magically boost armor class, which changes it to be one of the better options, even for front-line fighters and paladins.
Description[]
“ | This plate mail has been expertly crafted by Taerom Fuiruim of Beregost. Sheathed in the chitinous scales of the ankheg, it provides a greater degree of protection than traditional plate mail and is not susceptible to rust. As any world-weary adventurer will tell you, however, the best appreciated aspect of ankheg mail is its light weight and low encumbrance. Monsters come and go, but fatigue is a constant enemy. | ” |
— Baldur's Gate |
“ | This plate mail has been expertly crafted. Sheathed in the chitinous scales of the ankheg, it provides a greater degree of protection than traditional plate mail and is not susceptible to rust. As any world-weary adventurer will tell you, however, the best appreciated aspect of ankheg mail is its light weight and low encumbrance. Monsters come and go, but fatigue is a constant enemy. | ” |
— Baldur's Gate II |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Ankheg Plate Mail is most likely based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (2nd Edition) Field Plate since they share the same modifiers, although the Ankheg Plate has a base AC of 1 instead of 2. This discrepancy is could be explained by being personally crafted for the player by a master armorer.
External Links[]
- Ankheg plate mail on the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Forgotten Realms.