Heavy Armor Tricks
Heavy armor tricks are most common among those who utilize the mass and heft of armor, and don’t function when you’re wearing heavy armor that uses magic or materials to be treated as medium armor for any purpose, unless the heavy armor trick says otherwise.
In addition to the prerequisites listed in parentheses for each of the following armor tricks, you must be proficient with any armor used in the trick and have the Armor Trick feat with the appropriate armor option.
Blade among the Folds (Sleight of Hand 3 ranks): You are adept at concealing small weapons in your armor. While wearing armor, you gain a +2 bonus on Sleight of Hand checks to conceal a light melee weapon or an easily concealed ranged weapon, such as a dart, sling, or hand crossbow, within your armor. In addition, a searcher doesn’t gain the usual +4 bonus on Perception checks to find the hidden weapon as long as you are wearing your armor, even if the searcher frisks you. This trick functions even in heavy armor that uses magic or materials to be treated as medium armor.
Protected Limbs (Powerful Maneuvers or Deft Maneuvers): Whenever you attempt a disarm, grapple, sunder, or trip combat maneuver check, you gain a +4 bonus to your AC against any attack of opportunity you provoke as a result of attempting the combat maneuver check, and to your CMD against any combat maneuver your foe attempts against you before the beginning of your next turn.
Shrug It Off (Great Fortitude): Once per day as an immediate action, when you are hit by a confirmed critical hit or sneak attack, you can direct the blow to the thickest section of your armor to lessen the damage dealt. This reduces the attack to dealing its minimum damage, though it remains a successful critical hit or sneak attack (the minimum damage calculated includes all additional dice for the critical hit or sneak attack, and any abilities that apply due to it being a critical hit or sneak attack function normally). You can use this ability a second time each day when your base attack bonus reaches +4, and an additional time per day for every 4 points of bonus you accrue thereafter.
Steel-Plated Smasher (Base Attack Bonus +1): You gain a bonus equal to 1/4 of your armor’s armor check penalty (not including any reduction to the armor check penalty from class features or feats) on Strength checks to break doors and objects with less hardness than your armor. When your base attack bonus reaches +8, this bonus increases to 1/2 your armor’s armor check penalty. When your base attack bonus reaches +16, this bonus increases to equal your armor’s full armor check penalty.
