D&D 5E helmets?

[wicked cool]

is there any point in having a helmet for non full plate characters. First time playing a warrior and just wondering if they have any purpose/benefit

 

[Caliban]

is there any point in having a helmet for non full plate characters. First time playing a warrior and just wondering if they have any purpose/benefit

No game mechanical benefit. In real life they are important, but D&D has abstracted the rules to the point where helmets aren't really taken into consideration.

 

[abe ray]

Yes, think of hard hats for engineers.


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[Oofta]

As TV and movies have shown us, helmets are only necessary for nameless NPCs. The heroes almost never wear them unless it's important to the plot that their identity must be hidden. Once it is important to the plot, the helmet will be knocked off or removed for no reason whatsoever.

Oh, and from a game perspective they make no difference. IIRC in previous editions it was stated that you were assumed to be wearing some sort of helmet if you were wearing medium or heavy armor.

 

[Reynard]

If you care about helmets for verisimilitude but don't necessarily want to deal with called shots, add a rule that a character not wearing a helmet at the time of being dropped to 0 HP has a penalty or disadvantage on death saving throws.

 

[Hriston]

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.

 

[abe ray]

Would(in 2nd edition dnd) engineers use a helmet during their usual work in the field?


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[Reynard]

Would(in 2nd edition dnd) engineers use a helmet during their usual work in the field?


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OSHA was established in 1971 so engineers in all editions of D&D had to.

 

[akr71]

No game mechanical benefit. In real life they are important, but D&D has abstracted the rules to the point where helmets aren't really taken into consideration.

In a manner similar to how a breastplate raises the AC of your entire body. As a DM, if there was a rational reason for me to say something only happened at head-level (say a swinging log trap?) I might take into account who was or was not wearing a helmet.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I know that there's at least one version of the game where equipping a helmet meant you were immune to critical hits, but that rule hasn't shown up in 5E yet, to the best of my knowledge.