Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 5903981" data-attributes="member: 53980">It was a rhetorical question in response to [MENTION=882]Chris_Nightwing[/MENTION] 's idea (that wearing armor could make one a priority target, and thus "tanking" could be achieved by those means).Based on my experience with such a system, it wouldn't work. There are two possibilities:1. The DR from armor outweighs the AC reduction.2. The DR from armor does not outweigh the AC reduction. (In other words, it is less than or equivalent to the AC reduction.)In the first case, armor is certainly worth wearing, but it won't make the fighter a priority target (because the DR is so high that it's better to simply attack an unarmored opponent). You do get some wonkyness, however, in that armor somehow makes a fighter more vulnerable to attack riders (like poisons, or pushes).In the second case, armor isn't worth wearing, and becomes a stylistic choice (at best). After all, it's silly to wear armor that doesn't make you less vulnerable. Any player who can do the math simply won't wear armor, while those who can't figure it out fall into the design trap. Because even if it breaks even on paper, AC protects you from effects that DR doesn't (such as poison).That isn't to say that it's a bad idea (at least in the first case), but rather that it won't help a fighter be a "tank".In order to be a "tank", the fighter needs specialized "tanking" mechanics. As an example, marking, which exists specifically for the purpose of allowing defenders to "tank". I realize that not everyone likes marking, but it's just an existent example. You could just as easily create a mechanic that allows fighters to intercept blows intended for their allies.Heck, offer the fighter a dozen different "tanking" feats to pick from, so that he can choose whether he's the type of fighter who stops foes in their tracks, leaps in front of allies to intercept blows, or isn't interested in protecting anyone at all.I don't believe that there's a roundabout path to achieving the goal of a fighter who can "tank". IMO, the issue needs to be addressed directly, using mechanics specifically for that purpose. I believe that anything less will inevitably fall short and leave players who want to play a defending fighter unsatisfied.</blockquote>

Verification