Armor reducing damage

[Sammael99]

Just caught up !

Sorry, I just caught up with th thread I started.

I had envisaged two possible systems :

1. AC is split between "Avoidance" and "Protection". So all DEX bonuses, magical items with deflection bonuses, etc. Remain as per the current AC, and "Protection" is a straight DR equivalent to the AC bonus of the Armor. I don't think on the whole it would be unrealistic, but I do think it would affect combat very seriously and give it a very different flavour, as well as probably make it a hell of a lot longer.

2. Keep AC as it is and add DR based on armors. The tables provided by A'koss sound like more or less what I need. I might try that out...

 

[saduff]

Sorry Sammael99

 

[comrade raoul]

I opt for a system like Darklone's and Wolf72's: DR 1/- for medium armor, 2/- for heavy armor. I don't see the need to limit it to melee weapons, though: I'm just assuming that armored characters as they stand are at a slight disadvantage; the DR helps make up for the speed loss.

 

[Wolf72]

So, you people with DR1/- medium armours...does Mithril Breastplate still provide the user with DR1/-?

If so Mithril Breastplate just got even better.

Does the DR stack woth the Barbarian's DR?

I didn't give the medium armors DR at all (but if I did it the mithral breastplate DR1)

DR stack with Barbarians: hmm ... I'd say yes. IMC the armor DR is from an equipment bonus (ala SWRPG). It would be like an armor bonus and a natural armor bonus stacking. At most a Barbarian wearing mithral full plate (DR2 imc) would have DR6 all day long ... pretty good but not overpowering.

DR: I only did DR for heavy armors ... using DR I kind of recreated field plate too. Field plate is DR1, while full plate is DR2 (and more expensive) ... Full plate is even better than HighPlate (house armor), but does not have the really high AC.

...I know that the higher AC's mean that armor using PC's/monsters will be harder to hit ... but I wanted there to be a better advantage to using medium and heavy armor ... as it is who would ever wear a suit of scale mail when a comparable suit of chain shirt is available (... same AC, better dex mod, better mobility)

 

[green slime]

Thank you Wolf72 for answering my questions.

I also agree with the fact that at the moment, the loss of mobility is a price too high, and this is reflected at character creation. As it stands, A high Dex character will NEVER choose a heavy armour, he gains nothing from it.

This tends, in my experience, to cause players to gravitate towards creating fighter/ranger/barbarian combos (perhaps with a smattering of rogue) in order to maximize all the synergy benefits.

In fact the only characters walking around in heavy armour are paladins and clerics, as they can't afford to have a good Dexterity on top of their other requirements (Wis/Cha/Str...)

The question is, does the introduction of DRs swing the pendulum too far in the other direction? What fighter-type characters are you seeing people create in your games?

 

[Wolf72]

south-north: the other direction

hmm good question. I haven't had the opportunity to actually try the new rules ...

I think the change will be a good one. As you said, most warriors tend to play the high mobility character ...

I think with the house rules I (drowdude&trentonjoe) have worked on there will be a more even distribution ... or at least not so heavily weighted to one side ...

it's so tempting to not to play a virtual tank if your character has a high dex. If a warrior has a 16 dex, why would they ever wear a suit of chainmail (yeah yeah, besides availability) when they could get a chain shirt ... AND be able to move at full speed.

with the better AC/DR I think you might see more characters with a higher [edit: I put in lower, 1e hold over ] AC (hey, with heavy armor I'd put my low stat in dex).

And you might see characters with less range in their scores too ... dex will always be important, hopefully not so much now.

 

[Mean DM]

Hi folks,

Just thought I'd throw in Grim-n-Gritty into the discussion. I like what Keith does with Protection and Defense. It is possible to use the new AC system without the drastic HP change. Some changes will be needed IMO, but I haven't worked anything out yet.

http://www.sleepingimperium.rpghost.com/downloads/GrimNGrittyHitPointRules.pdf

Mean DM