D&D General Huge Equipment Lists: Good, Bad, or Ugly?

[Oofta]

I just…apply common sense. I’m curious as to how many DMs would allow characters to sleep in armour, for example, in any edition. Being attacked in the night and having to fight unarmored is a fun challenge; it happened just a couple sessions ago.

The issue I generally have with the "no sleeping in armor" is that

1. I've never slept in armor. I have slept just fine on rocky ground with no or minimal padding. I slept fine. If we needed a bed and PJs to sleep, humanity would never have survived.
2. Armor is generally unrealistic in D&D, why make sleeping an exception? Well made plate armor should be virtually impenetrable to most normal weapons, even early firearms. Yet we don't blink an eye that "leather armor" (if there really even was such a thing widely used) let's people get basically as much protection as plate.
3. It only affects heavy armor. Like somehow brigandine (studded leather in D&D) would somehow be completely okay.
4. The monk, wizard and barbarian don't care, the rogue is barely affected, the PC that decided to use the generally suboptimal choice of being strength based is SOL.
5. It's not a "challenge" if 5 out of 6 PCs in the party are basically unaffected, it's a "Gee too bad you didn't choose to build a dex based character."

Anyway, enough with my rant/pet peeve. Carry on.

 

[Oofta]

I actually wonder about that. Mail armor sounds very unpleasant; knew someone who tried and yeah the weight on your chest makes it hard to breathe. But a cuirass is rigid so maybe it wouldn't be that bad? Reports are that contrary to popular belief, plate armor can be comfortably worn for hours, even by amateurs (I don't know about lying down though). And a gambeson is basically like wearing a quilt.

So, wouldn't it really depend on the armor?

There are a lot of myths about how heavy and uncomfortable plate armor was. Things like armor being so heavy a knight had to be hoisted onto their horse started as a joke in the 19th century (1).

Custom made armor allowed for significant freedom of movement, could be comfortably worn for hours, and was actually lighter and had it's weight better distributed than most people assume.

 

[Micah Sweet]

There are a lot of myths about how heavy and uncomfortable plate armor was. Things like armor being so heavy a knight had to be hoisted onto their horse started as a joke in the 19th century (1).

Custom made armor allowed for significant freedom of movement, could be comfortably worn for hours, and was actually lighter and had it's weight better distributed than most people assume.

Easy to move in and easy to sleep in aren't necessarily the same thing.

 

[Oofta]

Easy to move in and easy to sleep in aren't necessarily the same thing.

Have you ever slept in armor? No? Then you don't know either. From a game standpoint I simply don't see a reason to totally f*** over people who choose to not play a dex based PC.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Have you ever slept in armor? No? Then you don't know either. From a game standpoint I simply don't see a reason to totally f*** over people who choose to not play a dex based PC.

I never said I know, but it seems like it would matter to some degree and I tend to err on the side of things making logical sense (to me at least until I learn differently) over making things easier for players when I don't feel it makes sense that they should.

 

[Mannahnin]

From experience, sleeping in (most) armor sucks, but you can do it if you're tired enough.

A mail hauberk does indeed weigh on your chest, especially if you're prone, and inhibits your breathing.

A plate or hard leather back-and-breastplate / cuirass supports its own weight, but is normally shaped for comfort standing, not lying. It will tend to dig in places you don't want if you try to sleep in it, and that can really only work at all flat on your back. Side sleeping is basically impossible. This applies equally to brigandine or any other rigid armor.

Catnaps sitting up are more doable.

A padded gambeson would be ok, though very warm in hot weather.

 

[Oofta]

I never said I know, but it seems like it would matter to some degree and I tend to err on the side of things making logical sense (to me at least until I learn differently) over making things easier for players when I don't feel it makes sense that they should.

But you're basing your "logical" assumption on something you know nothing about. While dismissing personal experiences such as modern soldiers sleeping in full gear (or my example of sleeping on solid rock) as irrelevant.

All with a system that ignores all sorts of real world concerns at the cost of punishing people for a specific type of character build.

 

[Micah Sweet]

But you're basing your "logical" assumption on something you know nothing about. While dismissing personal experiences such as modern soldiers sleeping in full gear (or my example of sleeping on solid rock) as irrelevant.

All with a system that ignores all sorts of real world concerns at the cost of punishing people for a specific type of character build.

Someone just gave a personal experience that lines up almost exactly with my concerns.

And my preference is for a system that doesn't ignore these real world concerns, like Level Up (which has armor qualities and other mechanics to deal with just these questions).

 

[Oofta]

Someone just gave a personal experience that lines up almost exactly with my concerns.

And my preference is for a system that doesn't ignore these real world concerns, like Level Up (which has armor qualities and other mechanics to deal with just these questions).

Without going into details, I've spent the last month sleeping propped up wearing a brace (hopefully done next week) and have to sleep on my back which I kind of hate. Yet while it can be uncomfortable but I still sleep fine.
Being uncomfortable is not the same as impossible. Armor as represented in D&D is not realistic, I don't know why some people insist on specific levels of realism in a game where many of the armor types never existed.

 

[Mannahnin]

Without going into details, I've spent the last month sleeping propped up wearing a brace (hopefully done next week) and have to sleep on my back which I kind of hate. Yet while it can be uncomfortable but I still sleep fine.

You sleep "fine"? Are you using a sleep tracking device to see how good the rest you're getting actually is? A lot of folks function chronically under-rested, and it's definitely not good for us. I don't mean to get into personal stuff or give you a health lecture, but it's very common for folks to underestimate how bad their sleep is.

Being uncomfortable is not the same as impossible. Armor as represented in D&D is not realistic, I don't know why some people insist on specific levels of realism in a game where many of the armor types never existed.

I agree that how realistic we want to get with this stuff is a matter of subjective preference.

If I want a quasi-realistic game I'd probably say sleeping in gambesons is ok, but nothing heavier. And folks would have to deal with somewhat compromised protection (grab your helmet and shield and go!) during night attacks.