Neonchameleon
Legend
Piercing is mostly what you want vs heavy armour - small impact area allowing it to drive right through. (Yes, the rapier is an exception. But the military pick really isn't)
Just throwing ideas out there. What if heavy armor added STR bonus to AC and medium armor added 1/2 STR and 1/2 DEX?
Not very realistic. Piercing attacks are good to , well, pierce armor. Against full plates, you are better using a crossbow than a sling. I'd rather use a lance than a club. So did the medieval warfare. Wouldn't you?How is this for a first-approximation fix?
Slashing attacks get damage disadvantage (roll damage twice and use the lower result) vs heavy armor. Slashing attacks get +1 to attack.
Piercing attacks get damage disadvantage vs heavy armor. Piercing attacks score a critical hit on a 19 or 20.
Bludgeoning (I prefer "crushing", to account for constriction and rocks falling) attacks get no special properties vs any armor.
All in all, I think this needs to be weighed against how characters are generated and gain in hit points as levels advance, as well as the definition of "hit points" on pg 12. In a way it makes sense that a rouge will probably get hit less than a knight because of better dexterity and being lightly armored, but the knight has more HP to soak up the damage. Perhaps DR against slashing and possibly piercing should be applied to heavy armor?
damage disadvantage for heavy armor is probably the best idea I've ever read on this website. It's better than DR because you still always get at least one damage and + your strength or magic bonuses on the sword is never reduced, making magic weapons very good indeed.
Also it would satisfy my thirst for a DR solution that doesn't make you invulnerable but still gives you a nice boost for spending that 1500gp on plate.
If they keep dex = god as in 4e I will be very disappointed.
One houserule I put in place to balance heavy armor vs light armor+high dex is that you only get your dex bonus vs the first person to attack you in a round (sort of like the Dodge feat), so if additional enemies attack you in the same round, you don't get your massive bonuses vs them. But you always get any armor bonus you have. This means that in a one on one situation, it may be better for you to go with lighter armor and keep your maneuverability, but in a general melee where you can't always be sure where attacks are even coming from it's much better to be heavily armored.
While I agree with keeping the inferior armors in there for realism and henchman, etc....I would put it in a seperate tables.
Adventurers start out with the good stuff normally, but the other table is there if the DM wants to use it. But no sense having newbies pick weak armor because they don't know better.
A little silly? THIS IS SPARTA!Light Armor, High Dex, Heavy Shield looks a little silly,