D&D (2024) Dropping armor proficiencies and using Strength as base for armor use.

[tetrasodium]

I really don't like scaling the dexterity mod. I don't like it on the current rules TBH, but going from 3 tiers to 6 would be worse.

I think all characters should get full dex mod to AC. I also think encumberance and a movement penalty is the best way to deal with armor weight and better than making it solely based on strength.

What do you mean by 3 tiers to 6? Both dex & strength builds get a dex bonus to AC in the table (up to +6 for leather& +1 for plate) but both dex & strength builds need a point or two with of mods or reduction of the other if they want to max out AC. It also makes it so the GM can have another way that could allow them to suit a bit of armor more towards Alice than Bob.

Movement penalties do good things for tactical grid combat & incentivizing mounts, but they often tend to just penalize heavy armor & give dex builds a free pass despite the same or similar ac. A system where both strength & dex builds need a bit of the other for the best ac could mitigate that problem by needing slightly more strength for dex builds thsn dex for dex builds or some other secondary benefit for strength builds

 

[Clint_L]

I really don't like scaling the dexterity mod. I don't like it on the current rules TBH, but going from 3 tiers to 6 would be worse.

I think all characters should get full dex mod to AC. I also think encumberance and a movement penalty is the best way to deal with armor weight and better than making it solely based on strength.

It seems to me that if you give full dex mod to AC you are gonna get some crazy high ACs at low levels. Characters can already start with AC 18 just off starting equipment; let them potentially have +3 dex bonus as well and you have lots of level 1 characters with 21 AC. So now to pose a challenge you need mobs with a decent +attack roll, but then those hit hard enough that if it gets through they are likely one-shotting most low level characters.

 

[ECMO3]

What do you mean by 3 tiers to 6?

The current system uses 3 tiers - light armor full dex, medium armor dex up to +2, heavy armor no dex.

The method above if I read it correctly has 6 different numbers depending on specifically what kind of armor you are wearing.

IMO I fail to understand why dexterity does not help someone in plate mail. If plate and shield with 10 dexterity is 20AC, then plate and shield and 20 dexterity should be 25 and plate and shield and 6 dexterity should be 18. I don't know why we need to complicate it any more than that and if we are going to change it, then it certainly should not be more complicated IMO.

This detracts from the game when you start trying to add it up in your head - well I am wearing leather now with my full dexterity, but if I take that magical chain my AC would be lower because I lose my dex bonus, except it is magical so my AC is actually better. Unless you are a freaking expert this becomes impossible to do in a timely fashion and you spend time looking into the rule books to add this bonus and that bonus if I wear this armor, but reducing that one and the other if I wear this armor.

For most players that is going to be a huge turnoff and a substantial barrier to new players. Heck you run into a lot of players right now that put a chain shirt on their Dwarf Rogue and wonder why their AC is the same as the studded leather they discarded.

 

[ECMO3]

It seems to me that if you give full dex mod to AC you are gonna get some crazy high ACs at low levels. Characters can already start with AC 18 just off starting equipment; let them potentially have +3 dex bonus as well and you have lots of level 1 characters with 21 AC. So now to pose a challenge you need mobs with a decent +attack roll, but then those hit hard enough that if it gets through they are likely one-shotting most low level characters.

Sure but if we are changing rules we can compensate simply by lowering the AC value of the armor to start with.

 

[Lojaan]

The current system uses 3 tiers - light armor full dex, medium armor dex up to +2, heavy armor no dex.

The method above if I read it correctly has 6 different numbers depending on specifically what kind of armor you are wearing.

IMO I fail to understand why dexterity does not help someone in plate mail. If plate and shield with 10 dexterity is 20AC, then plate and shield and 20 dexterity should be 25 and plate and shield and 6 dexterity should be 18. I don't know why we need to complicate it any more than that and if we are going to change it, then it certainly should not be more complicated IMO.

This detracts from the game when you start trying to add it up in your head - well I am wearing leather now with my full dexterity, but if I take that magical chain my AC would be lower because I lose my dex bonus, except it is magical so my AC is actually better. Unless you are a freaking expert this becomes impossible to do in a timely fashion and you spend time looking into the rule books to add this bonus and that bonus if I wear this armor, but reducing that one and the other if I wear this armor.

For most players that is going to be a huge turnoff and a substantial barrier to new players. Heck you run into a lot of players right now that put a chain shirt on their Dwarf Rogue and wonder why their AC is the same as the studded leather they discarded.

Nah Dex caps on armor are a good thing. They enable different character archetypes. Otherwise everyone is just wearing plate.

The current popularity of 5e is evidence that the current system is not actually a huge turn off or a substantial barrier to new players.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Can I use a feat to ignore that and play a small guy in heavy armor anyway?

 

[CubicsRube]

The system was mentioned before but I've been running shadow of a demon lord for a number of years and the armour rules work fantastically.

A magician can get heavy armor eventually, but they will have to sacrifice agility or willpower, which are also very useful.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Sure, can we make casting spells Int/Wis/Cha based rather than class based?

Oh, right, we only want to give away the fighter's stuff.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Sure, can we make casting spells Int/Wis/Cha based rather than class based?

Oh, right, we only want to give away the fighter's stuff.

I know your being sarcastic, but that is not a bad idea.

I know SotDL (which does the ''armor & weapon proficiencies based on STR'' thing, btw) has a ''Power'' stat, which grants you spellcasting when it goes up, no matter your class.

In a system built around it, I could see a fighter with high wisdom or int getting some access to spellcasting if they can get their hands on scrolls to scribe.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Sure, can we make casting spells Int/Wis/Cha based rather than class based?

Yes.