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*TTRPGs General
Helmets: Under-Used but Over-Important
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8131686" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>This is something which is very system-dependent, I think.</p><p></p><p>In Prince Valiant, for example, there are three categories of armour: light, medium and heavy.</p><p></p><p>Light armour is "a shield, usually combined with a light helmet and a few bits of leather or cloth armor".</p><p></p><p>Medium armour is "a partial suit of metal armor, usually consisting of an open helmet and a breastplate or mail hauberk . . .the typical late Roman infantryman’s style of equipment, and also the Arab knight’s costume".</p><p></p><p>Heavy armour is "a full suit of chainmail, scale armor or Roman plate armor . . . which covers arms and legs as well as the torso and head. Usually a massive helmet covering the face is a part of this ponderous and extremely expensive equipage."</p><p></p><p>An attempt to gain an advantage by (say) ripping off or knocking off an opponent's helm would be resolved using the general framework for gaining bonuses or inflicting penalties. There is no mechanical state in the game of being <em>in heavy armour but unhelmeted</em>.</p><p></p><p>Compared to Prince Valiant, Burning Wheel is far more granular in its treatment of armour - it has six categories (leather/quilted; plated leather; light mail; heavy mail; plated mail; full plate) and four body locations (torso; arms - which can be half-armoured; legs - which can be half-armoured; and head). Wearing a helmet grants the appropriate armour dice to the head, but if it is anything more than a skull cap or hood (the helmet type that corresponds to leather/quilted armour) then it inflicts a penalty to perception/observation checks.</p><p></p><p>In AD&D's AC system, I would suggest a possible change is to assume that 1 point of AC in armour types between leather and scale comes from a helmet (so that taking it off reduces AC by 1) and that 2 points of AC in armour types between chain and plate comes from a great helm (so that taking it off reduces AC by 1, and replacing it with a lighter helm reduces AC by 1). A great helm can be rated for bulk like other armour in the system, though exactly how this interacts with the rules for DEX, surprise, initiative etc is pretty opaque (though there are some hints in the PHB and DMG).</p><p></p><p>There would be no point worrying about helmets in 4e D&D's armour system. 5e's system is similar to 4e's and so probably the same thought applies.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8131686, member: 42582"] This is something which is very system-dependent, I think. In Prince Valiant, for example, there are three categories of armour: light, medium and heavy. Light armour is "a shield, usually combined with a light helmet and a few bits of leather or cloth armor". Medium armour is "a partial suit of metal armor, usually consisting of an open helmet and a breastplate or mail hauberk . . .the typical late Roman infantryman’s style of equipment, and also the Arab knight’s costume". Heavy armour is "a full suit of chainmail, scale armor or Roman plate armor . . . which covers arms and legs as well as the torso and head. Usually a massive helmet covering the face is a part of this ponderous and extremely expensive equipage." An attempt to gain an advantage by (say) ripping off or knocking off an opponent's helm would be resolved using the general framework for gaining bonuses or inflicting penalties. There is no mechanical state in the game of being [I]in heavy armour but unhelmeted[/I]. Compared to Prince Valiant, Burning Wheel is far more granular in its treatment of armour - it has six categories (leather/quilted; plated leather; light mail; heavy mail; plated mail; full plate) and four body locations (torso; arms - which can be half-armoured; legs - which can be half-armoured; and head). Wearing a helmet grants the appropriate armour dice to the head, but if it is anything more than a skull cap or hood (the helmet type that corresponds to leather/quilted armour) then it inflicts a penalty to perception/observation checks. In AD&D's AC system, I would suggest a possible change is to assume that 1 point of AC in armour types between leather and scale comes from a helmet (so that taking it off reduces AC by 1) and that 2 points of AC in armour types between chain and plate comes from a great helm (so that taking it off reduces AC by 1, and replacing it with a lighter helm reduces AC by 1). A great helm can be rated for bulk like other armour in the system, though exactly how this interacts with the rules for DEX, surprise, initiative etc is pretty opaque (though there are some hints in the PHB and DMG). There would be no point worrying about helmets in 4e D&D's armour system. 5e's system is similar to 4e's and so probably the same thought applies. [/QUOTE]
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