D&D 5E How would you prefer Swashbuckling AC be handled

[Minigiant]

What would be your preference for handling D&D Armor in a Swashbuckling Setting?

So we all know Swashbuckling Fantasy Setting (and some other types of fantasy like Wuxia, Stealth/Heist, and sometimes Intrigue) tend to favor light armor and no armor for the feel. But in D&D, the game is "balanced" around having archetypes that gain high AC or even the best AC in medium and heavy armor. So how would you prefer to alter 5e's Armor and AC system to match a Swashbuckling world?

No Change: Characters just take builds that work with light or no armor. Almost everyone is DEX based or has high DEX. STR is dead.

Class Defense: Every class gain Unarmored Defense with a calculation appropriated with their prime and secondary ability scores and their expectation of ow high their AC should be. For Example, a Fighter might have an unarmored AC of 10 + their Strength Modifier + the Dexterity Modifier

Heavy Substitution Defense: Classes with heavy armor proficiency can substitute their proficiency bonus for their Dexterity bonus when it applies to AC

Fighting Styles: New Fighting Styles are created. Each one has their own AC calculation with appropriate utility or offensive features. For example, Sea Dog might give you +2 to AC and damage rolls if you are wielding a two handed weapon and not wearing heavy armor nor encumbered.

Warrior Defense Charts: Armor is scrapped mechanically. AC is level based and class based. Each class or race is placed in a column on a C that determines their AC.

Heavy Sailor: Heavy armor is buffed somehow to compensate for setting inappropriateness. Perhaps with damage reduction or increased AC.

 

[Ancalagon]

No changes. If someone wants a strenght build, let them - there is always one or two in those setting anyway. Heavy armor will be harder to find perhaps. The burly PC might have a hard time when the acrobatics challenges are there though - or they might just smash their way through!

 

[James Gasik]

Personally, rather than increase AC of lightly armored characters, I'd increase their hit points. Going back to very early versions of the game,

From this, you can see that hit points include all the various methods a skilled warrior might employ to minimize damage, such as rolling with punches and even outright dodging. Thus you can differentiate a lightly armored "swashbuckler" from a heavily armored knight quite easily by giving the swashbuckler increased hit points- he'll take damage more often, but it will take more damage to finish him off as he nimbly darts about.

Another thing you might employ is give the swashbuckler, by benefit of their superior mobility, the ability to give ground when attacked, a reaction that lets them move back when attacked in melee, which could prevent enemies with multiple attacks from easily getting more attacks in on the swashbuckler. Further, a swashbuckler likely needs some way to avoid being struck by opportunity attacks as they nimbly move about the battlefield, perhaps withdraw as a bonus action (or being able to take the Dodge action as a bonus action).

The most important detail of swashbuckling fiction, of course, is terrain. Always have interesting terrain around. Stairs, tables, chandeliers, railings, support beams- the canny swashbuckler is constantly finding ways to use their environment around them to grant them advantages. You need to lean into this, and be very open to creativity; in most games, players don't try fancy stunts because conservative DM's have a tendency to hem and haw, assign die rolls, and very fleeting advantages to such tactics; as a result, most players go "well I could splash wine in his face or attack him with this lit candelabra...but if it's more effective to stab him, I'll just do that, then."

Improvised weapon usage ala Jackie Chan is big in the genre as well, as well as very specialized fencing maneuvers- parries, stop thrusts, lunges, ripostes- things that 5e doesn't model well (just assuming that these things are going on for the most part during a combat round).

 

[DND_Reborn]

Make AC level/CR dependent by adding proficiency bonus. Sort of option for Warrior Defense Charts, but much simpler IMO.

 

[aco175]

I voted no change. Dex would become more of a god stat, but it would also allow for heavy armor that floats of allows a swim speed. The magic of heavy armor to fit would make it more flavorful. You could even add some things like improved bracers for +4 AC rather than just +2.

I could see modifying some class abilities to grant a bonus AC like a shield spell or such. Maybe a feat that doubles AC from light armor or making weapons more in line with this type of campaign. (Although being more dex-based will make finesse weapons more used in this aspect).

Why does the poll close in 6 months?

 

[Laurefindel]

AC not dependant on ability scores (or armor type). Dex and Str mostly become used for attacks and saves.

Swashbucklers have high Dex for acrobatics and finesse weapons and good Dex saves, which could be more frequent in such a setting. Conditions in general might have more important role to play.

Armor would act as a saving throw against many such conditions, or a protection vs critical hits, or act as a death save cushion, or could even be the in-game mechanics equivalent to cure wounds and healing word if magic is tempered with.

 

[Unwise]

Simply redefine what each type of armour is. Image search The Musketeers TV series. It has great examples of different levels of armour.
The light armour = a heavy tunic and maybe some ceremonial pauldrons.
Medium = Leather breastplate and maybe vambraces
Heavy = Plate breastplate and maybe a pauldron or vambrace.

In the pic below, you see light, heavy and medium armour. This is from an episode where they are actually in a full-blown war I think. That is not how they normally get around. If Porthos's armour is considered Full Plate. Then you maintain both the genre and mechanics.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I had sort of similar problem with my stone age/early bronze age setting. Armour use would be less common, but I didn't want to eliminate the armour completely. So I redid the armour system. There only two categories of armour light and heavy. Classes normally proficient with light armour are not proficient in any armour and classes normally proficient in medium armour are proficient in light armour. Heavy armour users remain proficient in heavy armour. ACs are not exactly the same than normally, but close enough. It is a small buff for classes that normally use no armour, but I removed mage armour spell to compensate.

Armour​

Name	Cost		Armour Class (AC)	Mobility		Stealth & Acrobatics	Weight
No Armour
No armour	—		10 + ½ proficiency bonus + dex modifier	—		—	—
Unarmoured Defence Feature	—		10 + proficiency bonus + dex modifier	—		—	—
Light Armour
Leather armour	50 sp		12 + ½ proficiency bonus + dex modifier (max 2)	—		—	10
Composite armour	200 sp		13 + ½ proficiency bonus + dex modifier (max 2)	—		Disadvantage	30
Heavy Armour
Scale armour	350 sp		15 + ½ proficiency bonus	—		Disadvantage	50
War panoply	1500 sp		16 + ½ proficiency bonus	-5		Disadvantage	70
Shield
Shield	20 sp		+2	—		—	6

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Does the game actually need heavy armor? Half plate is pretty good.

 

[Minigiant]

No changes. If someone wants a strenght build, let them - there is always one or two in those setting anyway. Heavy armor will be harder to find perhaps. The burly PC might have a hard time when the acrobatics challenges are there though - or they might just smash their way through!

Itwould be okay if it were 1 PC. Butif your group has 4+ PC, you caneasilyhave 2-3 people with "inappropriate outside aesthetics

Simply redefine what each type of armour is. Image search The Musketeers TV series. It has great examples of different levels of armour.
The light armour = a heavy tunic and maybe some ceremonial pauldrons.
Medium = Leather breastplate and maybe vambraces
Heavy = Plate breastplate and maybe a pauldron or vambrace.

In the pic below, you see light, heavy and medium armour. This is from an episode where they are actually in a full-blown war I think. That is not how they normally get around. If Porthos's armour is considered Full Plate. Then you maintain both the genre and mechanics.

So you remane the heavy armors to half armors and mediumarmors become leather?

Leather Breastplate
Leather Half Plate
Half Ring
Half Chain
Half Splint
Metal Half plate