Borin's Armor clarification

[mainat]

Apologies if this has been asked or covered before. I wasn't able to find a definitive answer.

Borin's Armor This magical suit of plate mail allows the wearer to roll four combat dice in defense. Unlike normal plate mail, this mysterious, ultralight metal armor does not slow down its wearer.
Plate Armor This heavy metal armor gives you two extra combat dice in defense. However because it is so heavy you may only roll one Red Die for movement while wearing it. May be combined with the Helmet and/or the Shield.

As printed I interpret Borin's armor as giving a hero 4 defense dice, cannot be combined with a helmet or shield (as that text is omitted), and doesn't stack with the base 2 defense dice. The hero get 4 defense dice, no more.

However, I think the spirit or intention was to make it just like plate mail accept you can roll two red die for movement instead of the restricted one.

Thoughts?

[drathe]

However, I think the spirit or intention was to make it just like plate mail accept you can roll two red die for movement instead of the restricted one.

I believe this to be true.

We play Borin's as: 4 defence dice (2 for base defence, 2 for the plate, since it doesn't state extra defence dice as all other armour does). Can be combined with helmet or shield (since it doesn't state that it can't, like other armours/weapons that can't). Ignore the helmet in the picture, as it's just a picture. Text doesn't say anything about headgear.

[Sjeng]

We play Borin's as: 4 defence dice (2 for base defence, 2 for the plate, since it doesn't state extra defence dice as all other armour does)

Isn't that a contradiction? If you state it's 2 base + 2 from the plate, and you may add helmet and shield, then if you already had the helmet and shield before Borin's armor, you'd get +2 extra defense. So in my opinion it's "although it dones't state extra defence dice as all other armour does".
I play it the same, but I see it as 2 base plus 2 extra for the armour. So Borin's in +2 without the movement penalty.

[Goblin-King]

Yes! Same as the plate mail, but no penalty. Both armors replace the hero's base defense and allows for +defense items.
And yeah, I would ignore the helmet depicted too. If you can't wear a helmet it's just a normal mail armor and helmet and not legendary at all...

[Fullork345]

I used to wonder that myself when I was little. I think I used to say that if you equiped it first it worked like normal plate, but if you equiped it after it didn't. Granted I was like 8 when the game came out.

Nowadays I would say that it's a normal platemail that doesn't hurt your penalty.

[bastianbux]

This has been a problem for my group as well. The way we all read it was that Borin's Armor adds two extra defense dice to 2 that every already starts with. So that's 4. But then the Hero CAN add a shield and a helmet? Doesn't allowing a character 6 Defense so early in the game make that character practically invincible? That's what has happened to my group. The Elf is wearing the armor and now acts as the "tank" preventing the monsters from causing much damage to anyone else because often times the Elf can block their path and take basically no damage.

[Sjeng]

Yup, but that's the case. Get borin's early, buy a helmet and a shield, and you've got 6 defense dice. A bit OP early on, I agree.

[bastianbux]

Well I'm glad to know we weren't doing it wrong, at least. I had worried that the armor excluded either the helm or shield or both and that the wording was just not very well constructed on the card. Good to know I won't have to be telling my elf: "So, about those rolls of 6 defense dice..." haha.

[chaoticprime]

Borin's armor works exactly as written, and does not stack with the shield or the helmet. There is absolutely no reason to ever assume that the game applies unstated rules to play, when there is definitive precedent for how the rules are applied. If it does not specifically include wording for what it may be combined with, it may not be combined with anything. Its a board game, not a role-playing game.

Also, it does not add 4 to starting defense, it allows you to roll 4 defense. If you are wearing it, you may roll 4 defense dice. The rules will state that it allows you to roll extra dice.

[bastianbux]

So you're saying that if a Hero ever wants to wear Borin's Armor, he/she cannot use a helm or shield at the same time?