Armour Points

[Ancient Gamer]

Kind words of feed back please... be they constructive or destructive.

Thanks


Armour Point System

General / Introduction

The Armour Point System (APS), has been developed to maintain a record of damage done to a player character’s armour. In the course of an adventurer’s travels, it mostly consists of exposing the armour to harsh environments and the results of combat. The armour undergoes wear, tear, and damage. Without proper maintenance and repairs, the armour’s protective effectiveness decreases. APS tries to reflect this by assigning Armour Points (AP), to the type of armour worn.
Damage is calculated against the armour in several ways. Light armour, Extras, and Shields receive 100% of any physical damage, Medium armour receives 100% of damage minus (-1) one point of damage with a minimum of one (1) point of damage sustained, and Heavy armour receives 100% of any physical damage minus (-2) two points of damage with a minimum of one (1) point of damage sustained.
Once armour has received damage equal to 50% of its total core points, then the armour effectively goes down by one (1) armour class value; 75% of its core points would effect the armour class value by two (2); while 100% of its core points would destroy the armour completely (note: a minimum of one (1) armour adjustment point is always maintained unless 100% of core AP are loss).

For example...Half plate armour AP is reduced to 50% of its core point value, and becomes an AC adjustment of +6 instead of an AC of +7.

The AC point value adjustment is also dependent of the type of armour worn. See Armour Point Value table for further information.


Effects of Weather and other damaging factors

Heat and cold, dryness and wetness can play havoc on armour. If the armour is not maintained, then rot (leather or cotton items) and/or rust (metal) will plague the armour and decrease it’s effectiveness for protection. Methods of maintenance usually consist of keeping the armour clean, oiling it, small repairs, and paying a visit to your local armour smith for an overhaul once in awhile. It is perfectly understood that player character’s can apply this “maintenance upkeep” automatically under certain auspiciousness (i.e. the purchase of armour oil, etc...), but if no effort is made to purchase armour oil or to clean their armour after a particularly “gory” combat encounter (blood does wonders to metal), then in time, the armour will reflect this lack of maintenance. Negligence in maintaining the armour will result in a loss of 1d10 AP, per five (5) days of neglect.

Magical Armour

Magical armour will have additional magic base AP dependant upon its class; Light armour, Extras, and Shields, plus 20 AP; Medium armour, plus 30 AP; and Heavy armour, plus 40 AP. Another 10 AP per magical bonus is also added to the core amount of the armour’s AP value.

For example...a magical +4 chain mail suit of armour has 250 core Armour Points + a magical base for medium armour of 30 AP + 10 AP per magical bonus of 40 AP equals a total of 320 AP.

Shields, helms, and hand wear receive only the magical base AP.


Armour Repairs

To repair armour, several factors have to be considered: class of armour (light?, medium?, etc...); type of armour (leather or metal based), repairing skill available, materials and resources available, and time. Also, magical armour will require special circumstances to get repaired. As long as these factors are considered, then repair of the armour can be affected.

Repairing armour is the difference of the base cost and max possible armour points for the type of armour, divided by 10%.

For example...Chain mail armour costs 150 gp and has 250 AP, the difference of 100 points equals 10 AP of repairs per gold piece.

Common sense will not be lost on this House Rule application. This is just a way to create a little more of a realistic approach to wearing armour. If in doubt, ask the Game Master and discuss it.

Armour Point Value Table

Type of Armour Armour Points AP 50 % Damage AP 75 % Damage

Padded (light armour = LA)
100
50 (n/a)
25 (n/a)

Leather (LA)
180
90 (-1)
45 (-1)

Studded Leather (LA)
200
100 (-1)
50 (-2)

Chain Shirt (LA)
200
100 (-1)
50 (-2)

Hide (medium armour = MA)
210
105 (-1)
52 (-2)

Scale mail suit (MA)
230
115 (-1)
58 (-2)

Chain mail suit (MA)
250
125 (-1)
62 (-2)

Breast plate (MA)
260
130 (-1)
65 (-2)

Splint mail (heavy armour = HA)
270
135 (-1)
68 (-2)

Banded mail (HA)
280
140 (-1)
70 (-2)

Half-Plate (HA)
320
160 (-1)
80 (-2)

Full Plate (HA)
400
200 (-1)
100 (-2)

Buckler (LA)
30
15 (n/a)
7 (n/a)

Shield, small, wooden (LA)
40
20 (n/a)
10 (n/a)

Shield, small, steel (LA)
70
35 (n/a)
17 (n/a)

Shield, large, wooden (LA)
60
30 (n/a)
15 (-1)

Shield, large, steel (LA)
180
90 (n/a)
45 (-1)

Shield, tower (LA)
200
100 (n/a)
50 (-1)

Armour Spikes (extras = E)
10 per spike
5 (n/a)
2 (n/a)

Leather Gauntlet (E)
10
5 (n/a)
2 (n/a)

Mail Gauntlet (E)
20
10 (n/a)
5 (n/a)

Helm, small (E)
25
12 (n/a)
6 (n/a)

Helm, great (E)
50
25 (n/a)
12 (n/a)

Heavy Cloak
50
25 (n/a)
12 (n/a)


Note: Heavy Cloaks maybe worn in addition to other armour.

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These house rules were originally 2nd Ed AD&D house rules converted to 3rd Ed D&D and still need some "tweeking", but over all, it doesn't really take away from the combat situations once players get comfortable with it, just like any other rules. Finally a reason to have the blacksmith/ armoursmith and a way to have PC spend that whole extra 100 silver they just fought tooth and nail for.

These rules have done well in my past games and for Game Masters who look to add a level of realism to there campaigns, this isn't so bad of an approach.

I hope someone will get a chance to use these and give it a few games to see how it fits in.

If someone has a similar system, please share it with me.

Thanks

P. aka The Ancient Gamer.

 

[Zentermi]

I like it.

I want to say this next part in a way that isn't critical, because I think you have a well reasoned, adding to realism post.

There are reasons why this system could be a pain or be inconsistent.
1: The DM is in for a tremendous amount of bookeeping for this House Rule as you have described it.
2: Unless the miss was due to a bad roll or a DEX bonus, a miss... is not really a miss. The armor/shield has actually been hit.
3: Different armor types may be affected almost not at all by the various conditions mentioned. Metal- almost no affect from Heat/Cold, while (properly)oiled leather suffers very little wear-and-tear from wetness/dryness.

Hence, I propose this possible modification:
Any attack roll that beats a PC's unarmored AC is a hit(unless it beats the armored AC rating, it's just a hit to armor). Any 12hour period exposed to destructive environmental conditions adds a 'hit' as well.

Keep your AP, for the various armor types, the same. Instead of damage inflicted to the AP equivalent to damage rolled(I envision a scratch-paper nightmare here), use a set amount of damage per hit to armor. I like 4. You might prefer a higher number.

This way, instead of having to track each attack and having PCs/critters roll damage on a technical miss, all you have to do is put a "tic" for each >unarmored hit on a character. At the end of the combat, multiply the number of "tic"s by base strike damage(in my example '4'). If the PC uses a shield, split the total by 2.

IRL Armor tends to last through at least several actual combats. If Your PC's happen to be fighting a beasty that can deal the main fighter 80pts of damage, his a** is grass, usally, if he ran into anything else that day(since his armor should be in rough shape already). Might detract from the fun factor.

For repair, I think an Armorsmithing check equal to 15+ the AC of the the item would repair AP equal to the AC rating, or perhaps restoring a number of AP equal to what the PC beat the DC by. Critical success should double this, while Critical failure should result in losing double(never resulting in destruction of the item).

Another possible addendum for magical armor: At the end of each combat, a number of strikes to the armor/shield will be effectively negated equal to the magical bonus of the armor/shield in question(eg: during the course of a battle PC in plate +3 is hit 7 times- 7*4=28AP, upon end of combat 3 strikes are negated- 3*4=12AP - 28AP for 16AP total. I mean, it's magical fer Chrissake >.

 

[Zentermi]

Hmmn.

I realize my stuff may have been way off base, but I think the original poster had some valid stuff.

Someone critique the whole deal. The original poster wanted some feedback, help the guy out.

Plus, I'd like to see if it would be valid to include in any campaing I'm in/running.

 

[Cecil]

Looks similar to some of the house rules we use. We've provided a rating for each armor type--say 35 points, but mark off one point anytime the person is hit (die roll high enough to hit the unarmored character). If more than 5 points of damage are done (only for those strikes that actually damage the character--a non-damaging strike is always only one AP), then we mark off one AP for every five points of damage done.

The various skills providing armorsmithing abilities allow characters to repair damage.

Sometimes I consider making a major change: wearing armor may actually make you easier to hit, but provides a DR. While realistic, I then realize how I may have to adjust weapon damages and shelve the whole idea.

I'll give this some careful consideration and compare it to what I have.