Armor Spikes: Unpractical?

[Raven Crowking]

I don't know Dannyalcatraz, in the real world metal armors were often painted or laquered to protect against rust. Armorers could probably formulate a coating that would make most monsters decide you were inedible.

In a D&D world, couldn't you have an alchemical laquer that actually does taste bad/is poisonous? That wouldn't hamper the character in the least (unless he was given to licking his armour ) while bright colours could warn monsters against attempting to Swallow Whole. Since this could probably be done more cheaply than spikes, and could be mimicked by non-armour-wearing folk, I could see some real advantages to this.

Perhaps Erol Otus really was depicting the way adventurers would look?

 

[werk]

It seems this thread is down to a simple complaint that some art has armor spikes that you think may not be located in workable positions?

Could I get directions to one (if not multiple) examples of this? Otherwise, I just don't see it as something worth complaining about.

 

[Shadeydm]

It seems this thread is down to a simple complaint of some art that has spikes that you think may not be located in workable positions?

Could I get directions to one (if not multiple) examples of this? Otherwise, I just don't see it as something worth complaining about.

Its also about debunking the notion that armor spikes would serve as more of a deterrant to attacking people than a two handed sword for example.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I don't know Dannyalcatraz, in the real world metal armors were often painted or laquered to protect against rust. Armorers could probably formulate a coating that would make most monsters decide you were inedible.

In a D&D world, couldn't you have an alchemical laquer that actually does taste bad/is poisonous?

Sure, its possible, its just less likely than armor spikes.

We've been trying for hundreds of years to come up with repellants for various large RW predators. Very few actually exist, and few of those actually work the majority of the time.

Many of them are just extracts from other animals...like skunk musks- we haven't really succeeded in making artificial versions of them- and on top of that, most of them have significant downsides.

Oils & pastes dry and flake off, requiring repeated applications. Some materials (see above) smell really bad, others require such amounts that harvesting them results in a crittercaust.

Admittedly, magic makes such an endeavor more possible, but it would still be more expensive and "high-tech" than simple armor spikes.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Sure, its possible, its just less likely than armor spikes.

Remember, we are talking about a world where alchemical items are fairly normal. Common enough to appear in equipment lists, and frequently cheaper than armour spikes. If you can design something that contains all of the strengths of protection that spikes provide, with none of the drawbacks, and cheaper to boot, you would be a fool not to.

RC

 

[Nifft]

The most common tactics to avoid being eaten/grappled in nature are:

1) Spikes or razor sharp edges on the body.

2) Bad taste/poison, usually coupled with warning coloration.

3) Stingers, esp. nematocysts.

4) Camoflage

5) Speed & dexterity

Need to write up some Symbiotech...

Cheers, -- N

 

[Banshee16]

Fine, let's abandon real-world logic, and just look at D&D.

Wearing armor doesn't protect you in any way from the most effective tactic of large creatures - grappling and then pulling your limbs off at their leisure.

And by D&D logic, armor spikes don't do enough damage to the attacker to prevent a giant or a dire tiger from killing the wearer. At best, they'll just make whatever is eating you angry.

Of course, if you make armor spikes effective enough to matter, the question of why a footlong chunk of sharp steel - a big dagger, say - only does a piddly 1d4 damage. Because while it doesn't need to follow real-world logic, some kind of internal consistency is necessary.

Maybe it should be more like a spike trap spell or something.....where the guy grappling you has to roll to see how many spikes he comes in contact with, and then takes 1d4 for each spike...

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

true, but the bigger the creature, the less one knights little spike armor is going to do. It would be like if you or I bit into a chicken wing and swallowed some of the bone. Yes, it might hurt...or may even get caught. But, i ask you, how many people die a year by choaking on a bone...people do...but comeon, how many. And on the other hand, how many people eat and swallow something that hurts their throat but they go right ahead and finish their meal. Maybe the cough, or have to get a drink of water...but they finish it. A wild animal, or worse...a monster, yeah. Think about it.

Game On

Not a good comparison. Ask how many wolves and cougars actually eat porcupines. I know some cougars eat porcupines, by flipping them over to get at their soft underbellies....but it's by no means a sure thing.

And the cougar stands a fair risk of getting injured. Heck, I know a friend who ended up needing to get his car repaired, because he hit a porcupine, and the quills damaged the undercarriage of the vehicle.

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

Do they? Are D&D animals scared away by a good sword blow or two? I suppose they should be, because that's "food" doing a lot more damage than armor spikes are likely to do. Of course, if they were run "appropriately", they should hardly ever attack humans to begin with, but that's not why they're in the Monster Manual.

But that's sort of mixing reality and D&D, anyway. My point was that, by D&D logic, any animal or monster that actually puts up a fight against an armed human shouldn't care about the tiny amount of damage from armor spikes - especially given the abstract nature of hitpoints.

Humans get attacked all the time.....whether it's by sharks, bears, cougars, or Ving Rhame's dogs, it happens. It's not a high percentage, but most humans are not armed and ready to repel an animal. This is why man-eaters can be so dangerous. Most of us aren't equipped to protect ourselves against predators. Without our guns, humans, physically, are a pretty weak, and defenseless species.

Banshee

 

[William drake]

Not a good comparison. Ask how many wolves and cougars actually eat porcupines. I know some cougars eat porcupines, by flipping them over to get at their soft underbellies....but it's by no means a sure thing.

And the cougar stands a fair risk of getting injured. Heck, I know a friend who ended up needing to get his car repaired, because he hit a porcupine, and the quills damaged the undercarriage of the vehicle.

Banshee

K...so where is the soft underside of armor?

Our points seem to be the same, pointy armor, while it might hurt, won't stop a hungrey animal...