D&D 5E helmets?

[The Crimson Binome]

Sorry, I'm still getting used to 5th edition parlance! I started with 4th edition.

So it would be Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Performance) checks.

Since all Persuasion checks are based on Charisma, just like all Stealth checks are based on Dexterity, you don't have to spell it out. The rule books will usually spell it out every time, because that's the level of formality that they've agreed on, but it's not strictly necessary (or useful).

Note, also, that there is a variant rule about using some skills with different ability scores, like using Stealth with Charisma in order to hide in a crowd. As with most variant rules, these are rarely brought up for discussion, since there's no way to know what variant rules might be in effect for any given campaign. If someone is using a variant, then they will write out the whole thing as a Stealth (Charisma) check, but in the absence of clarification it's safe to assume that default abilities are in use.

 

[Hriston]

Sorry, I'm still getting used to 5th edition parlance! I started with 4th edition.

So it would be Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Performance) checks.

Oh. Does Diplomacy cover Performance as well? I'm unfamiliar with 4e myself.

 

[plisnithus8]

Sorry, I'm still getting used to 5th edition parlance! I started with 4th edition.

So it would be Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Performance) checks.

No worries, I skipped 4th.

 

[Kobold Stew]

My favourite helmet rule is in the LOTR game, The One Ring. There, having a helmet adds to your (effective) armour class, but you can remove your headgear in combat to get a burst of energy.

(so in TOR: the helm is +1 or +2 of your AC, so accepting a penalty to your AC in combat suddenly puts you back to 50% hit points, say, as a bonus action/reaction.)

 

[Mad_Jack]

Oh. Does Diplomacy cover Performance as well? I'm unfamiliar with 4e myself.

In 3.5, the social skills were divided into Bluff, Diplomacy, Innuendo (like anyone ever put a skill point in that, lol), Intimidate, and Perform.
In 4E, they knocked it back to just Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate. There wasn't a specific Performance skill, but if a performance was part of a skill challenge it would probably be handled by a Diplomacy roll.
5th has Performance and Intimidation, and renamed Diplomacy and Bluff to Persuasion and Deception.


Personally, I've never really bothered with game mechanics for helmets. D&D has just never really gotten quite that fiddly with Armor Class. (I'm perfectly content to let players describe their character's "chainmail" as anything from a Medieval illustration of a Norman knight to something designed by Boris Vallejo.)
The only time I think it really matters whether or not someone is wearing a helmet is when something is clearly going to affect the character's head, such as when someone tries to sneak up and knock them out.

If I was going to impose a rule on helmets, I think I'd go with medium and heavy armor helmets imposing a penalty on sound-based Perception checks and heavy armor helmets affecting vision as well.

 

[LapBandit]

Any rule that makes martial characters lives harder I am against. They have it though enough as it is.

 

[Flamestrike]

My house rules derived from AD&D 1e:

Every suit of armor comes with an appropriate helmet/headgear. If it is removed, the head is AC 10 + DEX mod., and the head is targeted by 1 attack in 6 by creatures with INT 4 or below, or 1 attack in 2 by creatures with INT 5 or above, determined randomly of course. Removing/equipping a helmet takes an action.

That sounds overly complex to me.

An easier patch would be to allow Helmets to negate crits (X on a d6), turning them into a 'normal hit' and destroying the helm in the process, but negatively affect perception.

Helm: Light armor. Cost 10gp, protects against crits on a 1-2 on d6, weight 2lbs.
Great helm: Light armor. Cost 25gp, protects against crits on a 1-4 on a d6, imposes disadvantage on Perception checks, weight 5lbs.

Full plate comes with a Great Helm included in the price. Half Plate, Splint and Chain come with Helms included in the price.

 

[abe ray]

Along these lines of this, has anyone ever made the medieval version of a athletic cup?


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[kirkdent]

Because there are no specific mechanics involved, I'd just keep it simple: If the player thinks it'd be cooler for the character to wear a helmet, they wear a helmet. If they don't want it, they don't have it. Take the movie cue and give them some plot armor on their heads. It doesn't need to be consistent, either. Who cares if player #1 imagines a helmet on a character, while player #2 pictures no helmet on the same character? It's all about the rule of cool, and whatever helps immersion for each player is what should happen.

 

[Horwath]

I'd house rule it. If you're not wearing a helmet, you don't get the full effect of the armor. So if they aren't wearing a helmet, reduce the AC from that armor by 1.

This. but not on light armor.