Rogue Armor - How Heavy Should I Go?

[SocietalEclipse]

I'm not at all experienced with casting characters other than an occasional ranger. Even then I generally wore heavy armor and just minded the glove restriction. Now I have myself a Lv26 High-Elf Rogue and I do enjoy the usefulness of my spells now and then. At the moment I use my spell books for detecting traps and monsters, having decided to get $ instead of keeping the rods I've found. I keep a stack of 3x Staves of Teleportation in case things get dicey. I'm wondering at what point (if any) should a Rogue forgo their SP and don some really heavy protective armor? Right now I have the choice of:

Soft Leather Armor of Resistance [4, +5] (8lb in my pack = 40 sp)

Covers resist Acid and Cold I don't get from other gear

Studded Leather Armor of Resist Acid [6, +9] (10lb in my pack = 40 sp)

Just a few extra AC but a loss of resist cold so obviously not this one

Augmented Chain Mail (Dwarven) [16, +16] (+2) (27lb - in the Black Market = ??sp)

This looks really nice. A trade of resistance to Acid and Cold and max SP in return for the Str/Con/Infra/FreeAct.

Adamantite Plate Mail [40, +1] (42lb - Collecting dust in my home = 14 sp)

Nothing good but AC and more AC

I've kept that plate mail around for a while in case it would become useful but it's looking like I'll never be able to take that SP hit without essentially becoming a Warrior. So it looks like a tossup between the soft armor of Resistance or the Dwarven mail. Ideas?

Name Zeeplex Self RB CB EB Best
Sex Male Age 112 STR: 18 +1 +2 +6 18/90
Race High-Elf Height 98 INT: 14 +3 +1 +3 18/30
Class Rogue Weight 195 WIS: 10 -1 -2 +3 10
Title Filcher Social Unknown DEX: 16 +3 +3 +1 18/50
HP 251/251 Maximize Y CON: 17 +1 +1 +0 18/10
SP 20/40 CHR: 13 +5 -1 +0 17

Level 26 Armor [19,+52] Saving Throw 75%
Cur Exp 45323 Fight (+8,+5) Stealth Superb
Max Exp 45323 Melee (+18,+15) Fighting Heroic
Adv Exp 56250 Shoot (+18,+20) Shooting Heroic
MaxDepth 950' (L19) Blows 4/turn Disarming 92%
Turns 1480880 Shots 1/turn Magic Device Superb
Gold 74406 Infra 50 ft Perception 1 in 2
Burden 153.7 lbs Speed Normal Searching 45%

Acid:......+...... Confu:.............
Elec:......+.+.... Sound:.............
Fire:+.....+...... Shard:.......+.....
Cold:......+...... Nexus:.............
Pois:............. Nethr:.............
Fear:............. Chaos:.............
Lite:..+.........+ Disen:.............
Dark:............. S.Dig:.............
Blind:............. Feath:.............

PLite:..+.......... Aggrv:.............
Regen:............. Stea.:.............
Telep:............. Sear.:..+..........
Invis:.........+..+ Infra:....+.......+
FrAct:............. Tunn.:.............
HLife:............. Speed:.............
ImpHP:............. Blows:.............
ImpSP:............. Shots:.............
Fear:............. Might:.............


[Character Equipment]

a) a Whip of Flame (1d3) (+10,+10)
Provides resistance to fire.
Cannot be harmed by fire.
With this weapon, you would currently get 4 blows per round. Each
blow will do an average damage of 21.5 against fire-vulnerable
creatures, and 17.4 against normal creatures.

With this item, you can expect to clear rubble in 4.1 turns, magma
veins in 11 turns, quartz veins in 29 turns, and granite in 200
turns.
b) a Long Bow of Power (x3) (+10,+20)
c) a Fluorite Ring of Light (+2 searching)
+10% to searching.
Provides resistance to light.
Radius 1 light.
d) a Pearl Ring of Strength (+3)
+3 strength.
Sustains strength.
e) a Carved Oak Amulet of Infravision (+1)
+1 infravision.
f) a Lantern (0 turns)
Cannot be harmed by fire.
Radius 2 light.
g) Soft Leather Armour of Resistance [4,+5]
Provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, cold.
Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
h) a Cloak of Protection [1,+13]
Provides resistance to shards.
Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
i) The Leather Shield of Ereglin [6,+10] (+3)
+3 strength, intelligence, wisdom.
Provides resistance to lightning.
Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
j) The Hard Leather Cap 'Doren' [2,+12] (+1)
+1 dexterity.
Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
Grants the ability to see invisible things.
When activated, it creates a fire bolt with damage 9d8.
It takes 9 to 16 turns to recharge after use.
k) (nothing)
l) a Pair of Steel Shod Boots [6,+9]

[Donald Jonker]

Without hesitation, the dwarven mail. FA is the most important resistance until you get a perfect saving throw, and it's worth losing the SP for, especially for a rogue. You'll still be able to cast your utility spells, with the possible exception of identify, but that's an easy trade off.

When you get another source of FA, switch to the armor of resistance. Sell everything else. AC, when compared to everything else, is very unimportant.

[Pete Mack]

Matter of taste. Do you think you can survive without FA? If yes, keep what you have. If no, buy the Dwarven armor, and ditch the heavy boots. Sell the Adamantine for cash. It's no use without some bonus.