Armor & Coins - please, No.

[Doug McCrae]

Astral pearls, their

No, let's not go there.

I would, but I don't have enough spunk.

By which I mean courage, obviously.

 

[skraig]

Armor types

Medium armor has had good showings in the games I have been in and games I have run. The restriction that you cannot run in Heavy armor always came up. (only triple speed) Fighters in full plate tended to get left behind and eaten. The breastplate in particular has been used a lot.
That said the top choice for armor was always the chain shirt. Fighters, rogues rangers, even clerics and occasionally wizards. (mithril chain shirts)

I suspect that there are two reasons for so few armors in the PHB. The first being that they are sufficient and that there is a LOT they need to get into that book. Especially now that magic items are in the PHB along with summoned and companion creatures. The second reason is that there is a lot of room for things like new armors (studded leather, banded mail, splint mail, half plate, breastplate, chain shirt) in the PHBII.

I know that putting things like that in the PHBII will cause a lot of people to be angry, but it really is a good idea. WotC needs to get everything that makes a Great game in the PHB, DMG and MM. 12 armors is more than you need for that. The left out armors are like the left out classes. Perfect for adding new options later.


The new coin exchange rates are fine.

Like I said in a different post. I got to play 4th ed ad D&DXP and it was a lot of fun. Give it a chance when it gets published!

 

[Lab_Monkey]

I'll definitely miss studded leather, chain shirt, and breastplate armors. IME these all saw lots of use in game.

I'll also miss buckler shields if they are no longer in. Virtually every rogue, ranger, wizard or sorcerer I DMed for used a masterwork buckler.

Things like the tower shield and half-plate will be less missed. However, I did like the verisimilitude that these options added to the game.

Oh well. This and the tripping limitations are the first thing I haven't liked about 4e.

 

[Bagpuss]

All armor takes 5 minutes to put on. - So leather armor isn't any easier to put on that a chainmail suit, or plate mail?

It does not say that read it again. All armour takes at least 5 minutes to put on. Plate mail takes longer than leather, just neither is a combat activity so the exact time isn't relevant, or worth noting.

 

[Jack99]

So whenever you speculate you list every conceivable possibility in every post? Wow, you must have some serious free time on your hands.

Thanks for the troll, though. Have a cookie.

Sorry, wife doesn't allow me cookies. I have been fed too much, it appears.

Regarding every conceivable possibility: Of course I don't, but I do try not to leave out the most obvious ones, especially when I am calling the work of professionals crap.

Cheers.

 

[Sir Sebastian Hardin]

I'll miss Breastplates too. a lot. I've always enoyed playing roman-type warriors. I'll miss tower shields too. Good bye to my evil phalanx NPCs.

 

[ZombieRoboNinja]

What bothers me most in this is cosmetic...the names. How many compound pointless words can they make up per page? It seems to me that the old standards of mithril and adamantine have been removed because they aren't copywriteable. WotC has to replace anything that doesn't fall under their IP with something they can hold on to and restrict via the new game license.

Feyweave
Starweave
Feyleather
Starleather
Darkhide
Elderhide
Forgemail
Spiritmail
Wyrmscale
Godplate
Warplate

Agreed. These names are incredibly stupid.

 

[ppaladin123]

Astral Cubic Zirconium= Vizine of the Gods.

 

[Saitou]

Astral Cubic Zirconium= Vizine of the Gods.

Cubic zirconium is actually rarer than diamonds! I am not making this up.

 

[MaelStorm]

I like some of those names. Feyweave sounds evocative, I like the notion of 400 senile pixies working at a loom for centuries underneath their mad king's willow-hall, to produce a silken toga of unsurpassed fineness yet highly resistant to staining and tears. Godplate sounds awesome too. It's what you deck out the fighter with when you're going hunting the princes of hell and boot them in the teeth.

Starleather... not so much. And Forgemail sounds like a subscription to an indie rpg newsletter.

I agree completely with you. And exotic material with name has an added background benefit than just a generic concept. Starleather will have another name IMC. Forgemail is OK with me though.