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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gorgoroth" data-source="post: 6049781" data-attributes="member: 6674889">...great threadClearly elaborating the pros + cons.What we know in DDN : -AC is the only stat, DR is probably out, unless in an optional module.-It appears as though heavy armor is broken, compared to Dex builds. +1 AC in no way compensates for all the other shortcomings of plate in an adventuring scenario.That said, here are the house rules I would implement in order to fix this, in order of simplicity and preference:1) Heavy armor gets +1 AC across the board, and/or the Max Dex bonus is increased in each category. This is necessary to offset the opportunity costs to split ability points into Str / Dex, heavy armor penalties of various kinds. Monsters getting +2 to hit from their current values would also highlight this new difference, making you very likely to want to not only get into heavy armor, but get into it early, and often.2) All armor gives extra HP, as the OP suggested. I think it's a simple way to add DR without slowing the table down. It seems wierd at first, until you realize it can elegantly get rid of the Armor repair issue. Why model repairing your armor in between battles or adventuring days? Just sew it up. If you want to prevent magic healing from healing your armor, just bring yourself up to your max unmodified HP and repair the rest during your next break. Maybe heavy armor takes more time to repair, if you have the tools. You can handwave that away or just RP it if you want. Perhaps masterwork versions give slightly more HP but the same AC. And magic could give both. Yay...finally another stat that can be used to balance the armors amongst the same AC values even. (even in Light armor variants too, for those that have the same AC but different costs or max dex bonuses)3) Add a well-balanced DR system as an optional module. This I hope is done, but I'm not holding my breath that it will be there or any good. And by good, I mean fast at the game table, adding a real benefit to wearing plate overall, and killing the Dex-Is-God-stat trope in D&D.I think that spells attacking AC provides a good rationale for armor increasing HP as a workable DR solution. And it incorporates built-in armor damage modelling (your armor is always the first thing to take the HP damage, so if you take off armor that has 0 hp you have the same HP as before, likewise for donning armor). If it's fully "broken", it just doesn't provide any HP bonus until it's repaired, which as I've said, can be done either with tools, magic armor mending spells or traits or feats or whatever you want. The way to "finish it off" would be to use the sunder maneuver to bring it below 0hp. Once that happens, the AC benefit is now also gone, and the armor is completely useless.I never liked the extra time it took to model Temp HP pools in 4e, but one HP pool is rather simpler, this is like "persistent temp hp". You can always calculate how many HP belongs to you or your armor's current level, by a mere subtraction. And in practice you would never have to do this, unless you remove armor. Granted, I'm not sure what you would do normally if you don armor while not at full "base HP", and then the armor takes damage and you remove it, do you die? This is a corner case that shouldn't happen that much. You could always avoid exploitation of this rule by stating you only get the HP bonus of armor tacked on if you don it while at full HP. Simple enough.</blockquote>

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