Quilted Cloth (Gambeson)
Quilted cloth armour uses thick layers of stitched fabric to protect its wearer without rigid plates. Padding can soften impacts, protect against chafing and serve as a layer beneath other armour. In Pathfinder 1e, a special reinforced version is designed to snag small piercing missiles and provides limited damage reduction. Its tightly stitched layers catch arrows and bolts before the points can bite deeply.
Quilted Cloth at a Glance
- Construction: several dense layers of quilted cloth and batting, cut as a protective coat rather than ordinary daily wear.
- Best use: light protective clothing where flexibility and low material cost matter.
- Key trade-off: it is warmer and bulkier than a shirt; the precise movement and Stealth effects are system-specific.
- Pathfinder speciality: the Advanced Player’s Guide version costs 100 gp and reduces damage from specified small piercing missiles.
- Across editions: quilted cloth traps small piercing missiles; see each tab for the protection it gives.
Edition tables · Using it in play · Pathfinder special benefit
Quilted Cloth Rules by Edition
Quilted cloth sacrifices some ease of movement for protection against arrows, bolts and other small piercing missiles.
Quilted Cloth — D&D 2024
Campaign equipment · Light Armor. Dense quilted layers trap incoming arrowheads and other small projectiles.
| Armor | Armor Class (AC) | Strength | Stealth | Weight | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quilted Cloth | 11 + Dex modifier | — | Disadvantage | 15 lb. | 100 GP |
Arrow-catching layers: reduce by 2 the Piercing damage you take from a ranged weapon attack made with an arrow, crossbow bolt, dart, thrown dagger or similar small piercing projectile (minimum 0). The padding does not reduce damage from melee thrusts, larger missiles or spells.
Light Armor Training applies. Donning and doffing each take 1 minute.
Quilted Cloth — D&D 2014
Campaign equipment · Light armor. Reinforced cloth padding catches the heads of smaller piercing projectiles.
| Armor Name | Cost | Armor Class (AC) | Strength | Stealth | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quilted Cloth | 100 gp | 11 + Dex modifier | — | Disadvantage | 15 lb. |
Arrow-catching layers: when you are hit by a ranged weapon attack made with an arrow, bolt, dart, thrown dagger or similar small piercing projectile, reduce the Piercing damage taken by 2 (minimum 0). This protection does not apply to melee attacks, larger missiles or spells.
Light armour proficiency is required. Donning and doffing each take 1 minute.
Quilted Cloth — Pathfinder 1e
Light armor. The layers are specially sewn to catch and trap small piercing missiles.
| Armor | Cost | Armor/Shield Bonus | Maximum Dex Bonus | Armor Check Penalty | Arcane Spell Failure Chance | Speed (30 ft.) | Speed (20 ft.) | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quilted cloth | 100 gp | +1 | +8 | 0 | 10% | 30 ft. | 20 ft. | 15 lb. |
Edition-specific rules: Special published benefit: DR 3/— against the listed smaller piercing missiles, including arrows, bolts, darts, shuriken and thrown daggers. It does not reduce all piercing damage or other weapon attacks. It is still light armour with the Pathfinder proficiency, spellcasting and dressing rules.
Source: Pathfinder 1e equipment.
Quilted Cloth — D&D 3.5e
Campaign equipment · Light armour.
| Armor | Cost | Armor/Shield Bonus | Maximum Dex Bonus | Armor Check Penalty | Arcane Spell Failure Chance | Speed (30 ft.) | Speed (20 ft.) | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quilted cloth | 100 gp | +1 | +8 | 0 | 10% | 30 ft. | 20 ft. | 15 lb. |
Arrow-catching layers: this suit grants damage reduction 3/— against ranged piercing weapons such as arrows, bolts, darts, shuriken and thrown daggers, not against melee piercing or spells. Apply 3.5e damage-reduction rules and the usual light-armour proficiency, speed and arcane spell-failure rules.
Quilted Cloth in Play
Crossing an arrow lane. A Pathfinder scout wearing the specialised quilted suit runs toward a gate while defenders shoot arrows at her. On a hit from the specified small piercing missile, the armour’s DR 3/— applies under Pathfinder’s damage rules. If the defenders switch to axes or clubs, the special layers do nothing. In D&D 2024 or 2014, ordinary Padded Armor instead provides AC 11 + Dexterity and imposes Stealth Disadvantage; the Pathfinder damage reduction is not part of those rules.
A long day on the road: thick stitching absorbs sweat and rain. Drying the coat, repairing split seams and replacing compressed padding can matter as much as buying it in the first place. A gambeson is easy to carry compared with heavy metal harness, but damp padding can still be unpleasant, heavy and slow to dry.
Gambeson and Aketon
Medieval padded coats came in many forms and thicknesses. Some were worn alone, and others under mail or plate to reduce rubbing, help distribute weight and cushion blows. The word gambeson covers more than one style; the fantasy equipment term does not identify a single standard cut across Europe. The Pathfinder enhanced quilted item is a particular game construction rather than an exact replica of the garment illustrated above.
Original Video References
The two video URLs from the original entry are preserved as optional reference links, without placing autoplay players above the rules. Video playback has not been independently tested.
View the two original gambeson videos
Pathfinder 1e Advanced Player’s Guide Reference
This item has a distinct Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide entry: 100 gp, +1 armour bonus, maximum Dexterity +8, armour-check penalty 0, 10% arcane spell failure, 15 lb. and normal light-armour movement. Unlike ordinary Padded Armor, it provides DR 3/— against the specified smaller piercing missiles, not against all piercing weapons or all damage.
Show the original Pathfinder quilted-cloth statistics
| Armor | Cost | Armor/Shield Bonus | Maximum Dex Bonus | Armor Check Penalty | Arcane Spell Failure Chance | Speed (30 ft.) | Speed (20 ft.) | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quilted cloth | 100 gp | +1 | +8 | 0 | 10% | 30 ft. | 20 ft. | 15 lb. |
Source: Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide — Advanced Gear, with comparative numerical listing in Ultimate Equipment.
Related Armour and Sources
Armour & Shields · Leather Armor · Studded Leather · Chainmail. Edition source texts: D&D 2024, D&D 2014, Pathfinder 1e Advanced Player’s Guide, D&D 3.5e SRD.
Rules Credits
Pathfinder special-equipment source: Advanced Player’s Guide, Copyright 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; author Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook and Skip Williams. Related SRD: System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Open Game License v1.0a, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; OGL v1.0a text. Fifth-edition SRD material is credited to Wizards of the Coast LLC under CC BY 4.0. Original David Ring illustration is CC0; full legal notice-chain certification remains pending.
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