Does an Arcane Armor replace the legs of the Centaur?

Question

If I was playing a Centaur and I lost my leg would the Artificer Armorer's Arcane Armor replace it while I'm wearing it?

Arcane Armor states:

It also expands to cover your entire body, although you can retract or deploy the helmet as a bonus action. The armor replaces any missing limbs, functioning identically to a body part it is replacing.

As far as I'm aware, when Centaurs wear armor, it doesn't cover the horse part of the Centaur, but the Arcane Armor specifically says it would cover your entire body.

Would it expand to cover the legs of a Centaur? If it doesn't would I still have a functioning leg or not?

Answer 1

There's nothing to say a centaur's armor does not cover the horse part of the body, so presumably any armor the centaur wears effectively covers the body however it needs to in order to accomplish the job. While we traditionally imagine centaurs in half-plate, chain, and other "torso up" armor types, in terms of game mechanics, there is no real distinction.

Since the artificer's Arcane Armor specifically states it replaces any missing limbs, it does so. If your centaur is missing a leg, then the Arcane Armor feature produces a new thematically appropriate leg for so long as you continue to wear it.

Answer 2

Yes it does

The PHB does have information on Barding, i.e. horse armor (p. 157) which costs four times as much and weighs twice as much as normal armor. However, it is described under Mounts and Vehicles, which indicates it is not meant to be relevant to PCs. Additionally, the Centaur race does say nothing about armor. The feature called Equine Build considers their horse part and its consequences but says nothing about needing different armor than other PCs. We can conclude that Centaur PCs can use the same armor as other characters.

Additionally, the Arcane Armor is created by an Artificer Armorer using Smith's Tools. We should assume that they are competent enough in this to make an armor suit that fits their own body, covers it completely, and replaces missing limbs as appropriate which seems to be both the mechanical point of the feature and very in flavor for an Artificer.

Answer 3

As far as I'm aware, when Centaurs wear armor, it doesn't cover the horse part of the Centaur, but the Arcane Armor specifically says it would cover your entire body.

There's nothing that I've found in the rules (e.g., Guildmaster's Guide To Ravnica) that specifies what Centaur armor looks like, but if there was, it would be overridden by this more specific rule. The horse part of the arcane armor is therefore full bard:

"Maximilian I on an armored horse"

As the illustration shows, it's not such a far-fetched idea; people entirely without magic (not even a single magic item!) were able to create armor that covers an entire horse.

Answer 4

So far as I know, Armor on a Centaur is 'two phase'... meaning, that the upper torso is covered by 'normal' armor types, but... The lower 'Equine' (horse) body of the Centaur requires 'Barding', which is armor for a horse. Barding costs four times the cost of whatever armor type of the upperbody, and weighs twice the upper torso armor's weight.

Thus, Studded Leather: AC 12 + DEX, 13 lbs, 45 GP. And the same Barding would cost be: AC 12 + DEX, 26 lbs, 180 GP. For a total of AC 12 + DEX, 39 lbs, and 225 GP cost.

As for the question as to Arcane Armor and its protection, yes. The AA does extend to all four legs of the lower body.

Centaurs can choose to wear 'standard' armor, 'barding', or both, But only both counts as 'fully armored'. Wearing either, or both types of armor does not affect movement, so the Centaur thus armored would still have its full 40-foot movement rate.

Addendum: A Centaur can wear both a backpack, AND saddlebags. Saddlebags hold more (between the two of them, and always in pairs) than a standard backpack. A backpack's weight limit is 2 GP cost, 5 lbs weight, for 30 lbs capacity. Saddlebags are 4 GP cost, 8 lbs, for 40 to 50 lbs capacity. Saddlebags are NOT a 'saddle' and should be envisioned like saddlebags seen in old Western movies, mounted behind a saddle on a horse. A Centaur might wear a saddle and allow a small to medium-sized person to ride them. The rider can fight from the Centaur's back, and Centaur will fight 'normally' with or without a 'rider'. No bonuses are given for such combat, since the 'mount' and 'rider' are not trained to work with each other. Just a few thoughts on the subject.