another hitpoint variant, kinda.....

[Calico_Jack73]

I started a topic up about revising firearms rules and one of the responses that I really liked would work well for what you want to do. Basically after every hit have the PC make a Massive Death save with a DC equal to the damage dealt +10 (I'd personally lower it to +5). If you fail then you are unconsious due to shock. If you succeed then you take normal hit point damage. Using this system you'd have a cinematic game where the PC's mow through the mooks but the important NPC's actually would be more of a challenge. PC's would have to watch themselves while low level and of course a natural roll of a 1 would always fail so even 20th level PC's could be brought low by that goblin archer with the lucky shot.

 

[noretoc]

If you have a class bonus that is applied to one AC (DAC), armor and magic applied to the other (NAC), dex applied to both (it'd be silly otherwise)...
you mention three cases:
Attack < NAC: miss
Attack => NAC & < DAC: subdual
Attack => NAC & => DAC: normal hit.
Now, is the defense AC the normal AC with a class bonus applied? I was reading it as if it were not, but rather with a class bonus replacing the armor bonus, in which case there is a situation missing.
If it is added to the armor bonus...it doesn't make much sense, and seems backwards. Whether you get hit or not should be based on the class bonus, with the armor determining what you take from it, and maybe Dexterity. You are trying to avoid the hit and the wound with or without armor.
Your ability to avoid the attack/wound comes first (10 + dex? + class bonus), and then the armor comes in and helps soak the hit after that fails (10 + dex + class bonus + armor), unless the hit is too powerful or aimed too well (normal damage).

Note I use the touch attack part because it is needed for normal D&D magic w/o magical defense items. All those magic armor bonuses affect touch attacks (or at least enough of them do), and if you remove them, the spellcasters become very powerful. The class bonuses in other games, mainly WoT, since I have the book for it, have a maximum progression of +1/2 per level...which matches up perfectly with wiz/sor BAB.

I'm using reference progressions of 2 + 1/3lvl, 3 + 2/5lvl, and 4 + 1/2lvl. If armor is counted in the AC, the +2,+3 and +4 bonuses can be removed, as then fighter-types have the advantage of medium and heavy armor proficiencies, and that armor is included in the AC, where in WoT at least, it isn't, unless it makes the AC higher than w/o it. The fighter will still get to a point where he can hit someone of the same power easily, but when the most possible damage (not counting crits) is 2d6 + 10 (18 Str, Specialization (Greatsword)), it's not so bad.

The defense ac is including armor. The object is not to bring realism. Lots of other systems do that like the hp/vp. The object is to put ac more in line with BAB and make up for low magic. While what you are saying is true, (the person trying not to get hit, before armor is applied) but That is making things much more complicated than I want. Also the reason I am not doing hp/vp. I don't want the player to have to keep track of more stuff. At the same time, I don't want to change the rules by adding a one shot chance. Crits do that do some degree.

My goal is to get the player some added defense but in a way that will not change the balance much. In this case (the subdual and reg) the same amount of damage will drop the player as before. Healing will come a little easier because magic healing heals both subdual and real damage. And last it gives some power to the heal skill on a low magic campaign. (I will allow the heal skill to heal subdual damage. I will also probably have some herbs and herbal concoctions which heal subdual, since real healing potions will be hard to come by. I was even playing with the idea of a shot of whiskey healing 1d4 subdual, hehe).

Also it isn't the BAB ot players that is too high. it is the hot bonus of monsters. When you start getting into the higher levels, It dosen't matter whether you are fighting in full plate, or leather. The creatures with +27 will hit you either way. This evens it a bit. That extra +5 from the armor makes a difference.