Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="CRGreathouse" data-source="post: 30132" data-attributes="member: 474">First, to do so you'd need the infrastructure: rules for adding or removing helmets to/from armor.  Next, you'd have to increase the power level of the heavier armors, especially medium armors.  Finally, you'd need a way to distinguish between various helmets' effect on hearing.  An example follows:Normal head protection comes in three types: metal "caps" like the standard chain shirt's cap, "typical" helmets, and gret helms.  For simplicity's sake, these are called light, medium, and heavy helmets.A light helmet does not typically add to combat ability unless you are attacked from above.  It provides a stackable +1 armor bonus (which cannot be enhanced by magic) of +1 vs. missile weapons fired from more than 2 range increments away (ballistic weapons).  It also adds this bonus to your AC when you are attacked by an opponent at least one size category larger than yourself when on foot, or larger than your mount when mounted.Medium helmets are like light helmets, but also add their bonus against critical confirmation checks.Heavy helmets provide a +2 bonus agaisnt ballistic weapons and larger oppoents, as well as +1 vs. critical confirmation checks.Light helmets give a -1 penalty to Listen checks; Medium helmets give a -2 penalty on Listen checks and a -1 penalty on Spot checks; Heavy helmets give a -3 penalty to both Spot and Listen checks.***************************************************************************************An alternative system follows:Helmets provide a stackable +1 armor bonus to AC (which cannot be increased by magic).  Armors that normally come with a helmet (chain shirt, breastplate, and full plate) give one less point of protection each; their total bonus includes the helmet bonus.  Helmets give a -2 penalty to Spot and Listen checks.Since this weakens havier armors, all heavy and medium armors provide an additional point of protection.  Thus, chainmail gives a +6 armor bonus, full plate gives +8 (or +9 with helmet), etc.***************************************************************************************A system you design could be more or less complicated than either of these systems.  The points I'm trying to make:* These systems change the balance of a pre-existing system, and should be playtested before being used - chainmail, for example, has the potential to offer a +7 bonus to AC.* Even the more complex system adds little to the game, and both require effort to implement.  If it's worth it to you, though, that's great.</blockquote>

Verification