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<blockquote data-quote="Azlan" data-source="post: 748518" data-attributes="member: 2340">If the alternate rules are done right, it's possible to maintain that abstraction while using DR for armor.The whole idea for using armor DR, in the first place, is because it &quot;feels&quot; right, it makes more sense, and because it opens the game to a whole new set of interesting options and viable alternatives.By separating the defensive values given by Dex, size, and the Dodge feat into one class, and the defensive values given by armor into another class, combat &quot;feels&quot; more like the real thing, even though you'd still be dealing with abstractions and heroic fantasy un-realities.With alternate rules incorporating armor DR, the term &quot;AC&quot; or &quot;armor class&quot; would no longer be used, since armor would no longer be the lead contributing factor toward determining how hard a target is to hit. &quot;AC&quot; would be replaced with a target's &quot;to hit&quot; difficulty class, or simply its &quot;DC&quot;. Big fighters clad in heavy plate armor would have rather low &quot;to hit&quot; DCs, while monks and halfling rogues using Dodge and Tumble would have high DCs. On the other hand, the former example would absorb lots more damage from each successful hit than the latter examples.Furthermore, the various melee and missile weapons would act and serve more realistically by assigning them penetration values based on those of their real-life counterparts. This way, weapons such as maces, picks, hammers, and crossbows would be viable alternatives to swords, axes, and bows.True enough. So, to avoid this, a balanced, playtested set of alternate rules incorporating armor DR would have to a.) make the base damages of weapons higher, or b.) make criticals occur more frequently, or c.) a combination of the two.Again, true enough. Problem is, once you've played D&amp;D for a while, you *do* find yourself thinking about it, harder and harder, as you play out combat encounters, again and again. I think the many posts regarding &quot;armor DR&quot; in these forums, throughout the past couple of years, is testament to that.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Azlan, post: 748518, member: 2340"] If the alternate rules are done right, it's possible to maintain that abstraction while using DR for armor. The whole idea for using armor DR, in the first place, is because it "feels" right, it makes more sense, and because it opens the game to a whole new set of interesting options and viable alternatives. By separating the defensive values given by Dex, size, and the Dodge feat into one class, and the defensive values given by armor into another class, combat "feels" more like the real thing, even though you'd still be dealing with abstractions and heroic fantasy un-realities. With alternate rules incorporating armor DR, the term "AC" or "armor class" would no longer be used, since armor would no longer be the lead contributing factor toward determining how hard a target is to hit. "AC" would be replaced with a target's "to hit" difficulty class, or simply its "DC". Big fighters clad in heavy plate armor would have rather low "to hit" DCs, while monks and halfling rogues using Dodge and Tumble would have high DCs. On the other hand, the former example would absorb lots more damage from each successful hit than the latter examples. Furthermore, the various melee and missile weapons would act and serve more realistically by assigning them penetration values based on those of their real-life counterparts. This way, weapons such as maces, picks, hammers, and crossbows would be viable alternatives to swords, axes, and bows. True enough. So, to avoid this, a balanced, playtested set of alternate rules incorporating armor DR would have to a.) make the base damages of weapons higher, or b.) make criticals occur more frequently, or c.) a combination of the two. Again, true enough. Problem is, once you've played D&D for a while, you *do* find yourself thinking about it, harder and harder, as you play out combat encounters, again and again. I think the many posts regarding "armor DR" in these forums, throughout the past couple of years, is testament to that. [/QUOTE]

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