Dark Sun Special Rules and other stuff

[Najo]

What I originally was going to do for weapon breakage was this:

If you roll maximum damage or cause a critical hit, then the weapon deals its own damage against itself as if it were sundered.

How would could this be simplfied?

Anyone know what Dave Noonan was going to do?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I am starting up a 3.5 Dark Sun campaign and I am looking for some input from the community for some special rules. I want some streamlined and feel good rules for the following:

1. Weapon Breakage (for weapons made out of bone, wood, stone etc).

Breaks on a natural 1. (If that's too often, allow a confirmation roll to prevent it.) At a 5% likelihood, this should happen less often than in 2e anyway. I liked the flavor behind the 2e weapon breakage rule, but I thought the damage-based system was terrible. Why should you be punished for rolling high? Also, it does weird things with daggers and falchion-equivalents.

2. Piecemeal Armor (something very simple but realistic for wearing just pieces of armor)

Class defense first! Fix that problem before you move on to this one. Dark Sun characters have lame ACs, and I don't think that's right. I think it's good that they don't walk around in full chitin in the hot desert, but Dark Sun characters are often good fighters who know how to dodge and parry.

 

[Najo]

Breaks on a natural 1. (If that's too often, allow a confirmation roll to prevent it.) At a 5% likelihood, this should happen less often than in 2e anyway. I liked the flavor behind the 2e weapon breakage rule, but I thought the damage-based system was terrible. Why should you be punished for rolling high? Also, it does weird things with daggers and falchion-equivalents.



Class defense first! Fix that problem before you move on to this one. Dark Sun characters have lame ACs, and I don't think that's right. I think it's good that they don't walk around in full chitin in the hot desert, but Dark Sun characters are often good fighters who know how to dodge and parry.

I like the idea of nailing something hard and then having the possibility of the weapon shattering from the devastating blow. The weapon sundering itself makes it so it may or may not break immediately. The must roll maximum damage on the dice is clunky, but it doesn't penalize characters with a high strength. I would like something more like this but simplified. Weapon breakage should happen when they hit something and it should be unexpected.

As for armor, your right about that. I did add in some armor optimization and improved dodge style feats, as well as parry. That should help a bit, but seems like there needs to be something more. Problem with class defense is that is doesn't stack with armor bonus, so characters will not wear any armor at all. Perhaps going to a class defense with armor giving damage reduction would be better. But doing that takes it away from current D&D rules. How do we keep attack roll vs armor class and then roll damage, but keep the feel of dodging and evasion causing the misses and then armor aiding a bit without overhauling the entire system or having to re-stat monsters.

 

[frankthedm]

Class defense first! Fix that problem before you move on to this one. Dark Sun characters have lame ACs, and I don't think that's right. I think it's good that they don't walk around in full chitin in the hot desert, but Dark Sun characters are often good fighters who know how to dodge and parry.

problem is, Darksun warriors are usually attacking with weapons that suffer a -2 to hit because they are made with bone or stone, even magic versions there of. Much as armor class are lower, so are attack rolls.

Armor is supposed to be an agonizing life or death choice. Wear it and need more water or go without and get your guts spilled.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

As for armor, your right about that. I did add in some armor optimization and improved dodge style feats, as well as parry. That should help a bit, but seems like there needs to be something more. Problem with class defense is that is doesn't stack with armor bonus, so characters will not wear any armor at all. Perhaps going to a class defense with armor giving damage reduction would be better. But doing that takes it away from current D&D rules. How do we keep attack roll vs armor class and then roll damage, but keep the feel of dodging and evasion causing the misses and then armor aiding a bit without overhauling the entire system or having to re-stat monsters.

You can make it stack; Dark Sun house rules. However, letting it stack would probably be overpowered; you would need to find a happy medium.

 

[frankthedm]

You can make it stack; Dark Sun house rules. However, letting it stack would probably be overpowered; you would need to find a happy medium.

Could iron heroes handle Psionics?

 

[Nifft]

My favorite weapon breakage rule (for a gritty campaign):

If you roll a natural 1, you have a choice:
- You miss, and weapon takes 1d20+Str damage (reduced by hardness); or
- You miss, and weapon "jams" -- becomes useless, must be repaired after fight (bowstring breaks, axe head comes loose, etc.); or
- You crit, and weapon is destroyed.

Thus, if you ever have a weapon you really love, you can preserve it; if you don't care about the safety of your weapon, you can crit more.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Could iron heroes handle Psionics?

Probably, but with spellcasters being less powerful, you'd have to nerf the psi classes as well. You might even opt to use GR's Complete Psychic's Handbook instead of the XPH etc.

 

[Najo]

Probably, but with spellcasters being less powerful, you'd have to nerf the psi classes as well. You might even opt to use GR's Complete Psychic's Handbook instead of the XPH etc.

I want to stay using 3.5 D&D. I prefer to keep any rules in the form they would likely be in if WOTC actually made a Dark Sun CS rulebook.

 

[Torack]

For armour I'd use the same rules as presented in the revised Dark Sun boxed set. So a single leg armour confers 1/7th rounded down, an arm armour or two leg armour confers 1/4th rounded down AC bonus, two arms confers 1/3rd rounded down and a breastplate variant is half of the full suit, rounded down. Simply have the D&D v3.5 Breastplate be the breastplate variant of a full plate.

As for the attack/break-rules, I'd simply use the original Dark Sun break rules. Or have the maximum damage rule invoke an automatic Weapon Sunder attack against the attacker.