Pregen Defenses

[Khaim]

The armor spread from the PHB states,"Hide armor can bind and slightly hinder your precision, but it's light enough that it doesn't affect your speed."

Obviously I've missed some stuff- where is this information?

 

[Lurker59]

Here's the specific one on armor:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benimoto/2307597095/sizes/o/

Not much in the way of crunch but it would be a little odd for fluff to indicate some sort of penalty when none actually existed.

 

[small pumpkin man]

Here's the specific one on armor:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benimoto/2307597095/sizes/o/

Not much in the way of crunch but it would be a little odd for fluff to indicate some sort of penalty when none actually existed.

Wouldn't be the first time.

 

[ArmoredSaint]

From what I can see on the pregen sheet, the Halfling gains no bonuses or penalties for being small. None!

He doesn't seem to be gaining any bonus to hit (I assume a Shortsword is a prof 3 weapon), no bonuses to his defences, no bonuses to skills... Apparently being small now just means you're small

That's not going to make the simulationists happy.

Halflings are also not as small as they used to be. Why should they get an AC bonus?

 

[med stud]

From what I can see on the pregen sheet, the Halfling gains no bonuses or penalties for being small. None!

He doesn't seem to be gaining any bonus to hit (I assume a Shortsword is a prof 3 weapon), no bonuses to his defences, no bonuses to skills... Apparently being small now just means you're small

That's not going to make the simulationists happy.

Realistic mechanisms for being 3½ ft tall would be very harsh on the halflings . Since the size bonuses weren't very realistic, you might as well drop them.

 

[bagginswagon]

Small Peoples get Lost in a Crowd

Halflings are also not as small as they used to be. Why should they get an AC bonus?

That's true. Halflings are now Three-quarterlings, but are still considered 'small' as seen on the paladin character sheet and the spread on halflings in Dragon #362/3. It looks like they get access to the feat 'Lost in the Crowd' which gives them +2 AC iff they're adjacent two larger foes. I would HR that applied to friends AND foes for tactical flexibility - it's a whole feat for what they used to get all the time for free. And they're still 'small' for the weapons they use as pumpkin man mentioned above.

Additionally is size just flavor now? Asside from 'reach' which seems more tailored per creature now, how does size impact the game except for how many squares something takes up? It may be just another one of those things that really doesn't matter once you're up and running, but it seemed to make sense when a giant would have a little harder time hitting a halfling based on size...

 

[Michele Carter]

Apparently wizards are the only casters who CAN'T wear leather right off the bat. I guess the question is whether it's worth a feat to get an extra 2 AC for your wizard, who shouldn't be getting hit by melee in the first place...

It's definitely an individual choice. My wizard took a lot of Close range spells that put her in melee range, so the feat was a good expenditure for her. For a wizard who prefers more long-range "point and shoot" spells, it might not be as necessary. Feats help you tweak your character in the direction you want them to go, and I love that.