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WhiteHarness wrote:

You are dreadfully wrong.

Read the comments underneath the video. Since I am the man in the video, I happen to know that this armour weighs 71 pounds, and is made of some quite thick steel in places--no aluminum at all. How do you figure that it "looks more like a breast plate?" Per the description in the PHB, a breastplate consists only of a cuirass, helmet, and greaves. The armour in that video has all the necessary parts for what D&D terms full plate and then some. Here's a clearer image of the armour in that video:

http://www.mediumaevum.com/josh/000_0058b.jpg

How does that not rate as full plate in your estimation?

Have you ever worn a custom-made suit of armour, tailored specifically to your own physique, as full plate would be? If not, then by what authority do you presume to comment on the subject?

I believe it's real armor. Even if it isn't, it still looks bulky and cumbersome enough to hold a person back.

That being said, even though you could do cartwheels in that armor, was it as easy or at least a little more difficult than doing a cartwheel out of armor. If it's a little more difficult, then that is a simple display of the reasoning behind armor check penalties.

What about avoiding a swing. Would you as easily move out of the way of someone swinging their fist at you (perhaps in a light protective glove or gauntlet to prevent injury)? Would it be a little more difficult to do so while wearing that armor? If so, then that's a simple display of the reasoning behind Max Dex Bonus.

WhiteHarness wrote:

Of course it's a bit more difficult to do a cartwheel in that armour than out of it--it took me several days of practice to get it right. It alters your center of gravity pretty significantly. For what it's worth, as I noted elsewhere, I do not support the removal of a dexterity cap in armour. I'd like to see that cap raised at least in the case of well-made upper-end armour, but it is absolutely inarguable that even the best full plate armour hampers your movement, even if only a little bit.

From what little we've heard about the subject in leaked 4th edition details, it seems like they're taking what I feel is the right track on this issue. It sounds like there will indeed be a Max. Dex. statistic for armour, but that well-trained fighters will be able to raise that a bit. If this is in fact the case, then I will be satisfied.

You're probably right that masterwork should affect your Max Dex Bonus too, and I wouldn't disagree with that modification. Not to mention that there is Armor Optimization, which allows your armor bonus and level bonus to work together in some way. It means that people wearing armor won't be as encumbered as one might think in 4E, so long as they have the training.