D&D 5E Changes with Equipment, Weapons, Armor.

[Warbringer]

I'd wish they'd just take the time to list in the weapon the impact of critical hit and jump the general rule. Most people will only use 1 or 2 weapons and will learn their critical effects easily, then you can do.

Greatsword
Hit: 2d6
Critical: +1d10, or knockback your target STR (-size difference) squares. If they hit a solid object (wall) they take d4 damage for every square travelled. (Basic rules do only damage on a crit)

Adding flavor to the weapons would be a lot more fun...

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Studded leather armor is one of those completely made up DnD things. It was a mistaken view of brigandine, where iron plates are riveted to the inside of a leather jacket.

While that may be true, it's been a made-up D&D thing for over 30 years now. So it needs to hang around as a unique D&D-ism. As long as it is hanging around, it might as well be useful

 

[Remathilis]

Please for all things holy, fix that armor table.

1.) St. leather needs to move up to Light, Chainmail to medium.
2.) Move the "funky component" armor away from common material ones. It really makes it tricky to gauge armors when I have to keep checking the prices...

 

[DEFCON 1]

There needs to be a reach Spear. Otherwise you can't do your hoplite tactics.

They have the pike for that, don't they?

 

[JonWake]

They have the pike for that, don't they?

But it's 2-handed, so no shield for you.

 

[Ace]

I note that every longsword is now a bastard sword. While OK, I feel like we've lost something. The katana fanbois are going to freak with that equivalency, though.

I like this rule actually. Its historically sound and gameable. That said it does kind of leech away a little of the Gygaxian history well alright mediocre Victorian scholarship Gary used (not that there was better) and the Katanas are cool

I think also some changes in what backgrounds do with gear what and what backgrounds there are will help, FREX the gambler one mentioned upthread.

Also strongly agreed on the spear issue and plate armor weight. Plate ought to weigh about half that and should spears do more damage.

lastly if we wanted more historical accuracy and we probably don't, it would be easy to treat plate armor with historical accurately, Plate and Chain would cost the same (hey did, roughly historically though chain was often a bit more) but plate would have better protection (chain is roughly uncutable skin plate is a rigid steel shell) but plate would give disadvantage on endurance roles as IRL wearers got hot and fatigued very fast (twice as fast according to studies) as well as being hard to put on (takes two people IIRC)

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Yes, they need to make the quarterstaff do 1d6 bludgeoning and the spear do 1d8 piercing.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Yes, they need to make the quarterstaff do 1d6 bludgeoning and the spear do 1d8 piercing.

I could even live with the staff being 1d8 bludgeoning (two handed) and spear be 1d8 piercing (1-handed, reach). That makes a staff-focused combatant somewhat viable, and makes spear & shield a somewhat viable alternative to sword & shield.

 

[Remathilis]

Re-looking over armor, I think a lot more can be done.

First, most of the armors are redundant and honestly kinda poor. Light armor is useless (you're honestly better off with a buckler than wearing leather) and heavy armor has a huge collection of widely varied armors ranging from full-plate to leather-with-rings-sewed on (?).

My idea to fix it.

Light armors are made of Leather. Medium are Mail, and Heavy are Plate. You can even call them "Leather, Mail, and Plate" and do away with the Light/Medium/Heavy if you want.

Light armors Include
Padded 5gp (11+Dex)
Leather 10gp (12+Dex)
Studded Leather 25 gp (13+Dex)
Hide 15gp (13+Dex) [Metal Less for Druids]

Medium Armors Include
Chain Shirt 75gp (14+Dex Max 2)
Scale Mail 50gp (14+Dex Max 2) Stealth Disadvantage
Chainmail 100gp (15+Dex Max 2) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage
Banded Mail 150gp (16+Dex Max 2) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage

Heavy Armor Includes
Breastplate 200gp (16) Stealth Disadvantage
Splint 150gp (16) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage
Half-Plate 300gp (17) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage
Full Plate 600gp (18) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage

Then add in your mithral and dragon armors.

You'll notice most of the armors still cap around 18-19. Your light armors (with a +5 dex bonus) max at 18 (for high dex rogues, rangers, and barbarians). Mediums are around 14-18 (but often coupled with speed/stealth penalties) and heavies set a base AC. A shield adding +2 and then the rest is magic bonuses (which are low/optional) so most ACs (if you get the best and max out your dex) don't go much higher than 20.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Light armors Include
Padded 5gp (11+Dex)
Leather 10gp (12+Dex)
Studded Leather 25 gp (13+Dex)
Hide 15gp (13+Dex) [Metal Less for Druids]

Medium Armors Include
Chain Shirt 75gp (14+Dex Max 2)
Scale Mail 50gp (14+Dex Max 2) Stealth Disadvantage
Chainmail 100gp (15+Dex Max 2) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage
Banded Mail 150gp (16+Dex Max 2) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage

Heavy Armor Includes
Breastplate 200gp (16) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage
Splint 150gp (16) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage
Half-Plate 300gp (17) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage
Full Plate 600gp (18) -5 speed Stealth Disadvantage

Good improvements, but what's the point of the Breastplate? Spend less and get Splint for all the same performance. Or for that matter, spend less and go with Banded and get improved performance. I'd tweak Breastplate and Splint, or consider moving Banded to Heavy and tweak it.

Within an armor category, each increase in performance should bring an increased cost. At the edges, between armor categories, there should be tradeoffs so that aside from cost one item is not strictly better than another, to avoid the 3E "medium armor is meaningless" problem.