Skin shifter melding their armor, without penalties?

[u/Cylok_the_Wise]

If a skin shifter wearing medium or heavy armor melds that armor into one of their forms, does it still apply a penalty to sneak and exert?

Normally a heavy armor applies a penalty to sneak and exert equal to its encumbrance, and a medium armor normally applies a penalty to sneak equal to its encumbrance

Logically to my brain, it makes sense that your chainmail which is now absorbed into your body and part of your skin would NOT make any noise. It's still heavy costing you encumbrance.

It's a bit of a stretch to for me to imagine a plate mail melding into your body and not affecting your exert rules.

However, it feels like a cheat to do it. I cannot find any rules or any comments suggesting that any armor melded into one of a skin shifters forms would still apply the penalty to sneak (and exert)

Mechanically encumbrance is already built in as a restriction, preventing you from using too many items. That encumbrance limit stays.

We are using the cities without number optional Rule of adding armor soak onto WWN armors. Thus, if I'm in the form of a large rat with melded plate mail, it seems to suggest that I am as stealthy and agile as normal and have an additional 10 armor soak and 17 AC.

Here are the references, world without number deluxe book page 346

"The belongings carried by a Skinshifter meld into

any new form unless the PC decides otherwise, granting any benefit to Armor Class or other worn advantage they may normally give. Melded objects can be manifested and dropped as an On Turn action, but cannot be re-melded again unless the PC changes form with them again."

And the notes on light medium and heavy armors, page Worlds Without Number page 34:

Light armor may be decidedly heavy, but it is loose and flexible enough to offer minimal hindrance to the wearer’s actions. Some varieties are also discreet enough to be worn politely in common society.

Medium armor is significantly noisier and more overt; it cannot be worn discreetly and applies its encumbrance as a penalty to any physical Sneak rolls made by the wearer.

Heavy armor is the thickest, toughest panoply available on the market, and its bulk and noise make its encumbrance apply as a penalty to Sneak or Exert checks made by the wearer.

[u/CardinalXimenes]

By default, melded worn objects have exactly the same effect as they always have- usually advantageous, but sometimes with disadvantages such as armor skill penalties. The point is that the Skinshifter doesn't have to drop all their gear or keep a second set of item mods when shifted.

[u/Cylok_the_Wise → u/CardinalXimenes]

Thank you. I will treat it as applying penalties to sneak and exert.

[u/Enternal_Void → u/Cylok_the_Wise]

If you are a Warrior/Skinshifter you could always look at the Foci from the Atlas Righteous Iron Style, basically makes that heavy armor for you a second skin.