Level Up (A5E) Removing medium armor and adding strength to all armors as minimum ratings.

[Horwath]

Nah. Simpler is not always better.
If anything we should add more medium armors.
Furs, Banded, "gladiator armor"

The survey stats people want more not less.

and here is not less.

12 armors in PHB, 12 armors here.

but in PHB after 3rd level, you only have 4 armors.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

12 armors in PHB, 12 armors here.

but in PHB after 3rd level, you only have 4 armors.

Oh, great. Now there's only a 1/12 chance that the magic armor I find will be useful for me; and if it's useful to me now, then it will stop being useful if my Strength ever goes up.

There are better ways to diversify armor than to customize everything based on your exact stat modifier. I mean, this is supposed to be an advanced product. We could bring back AC differences based on damage type, or something.

 

[Horwath]

Oh, great. Now there's only a 1/12 chance that the magic armor I find will be useful for me; and if it's useful to me now, then it will stop being useful if my Strength ever goes up.

There are better ways to diversify armor than to customize everything based on your exact stat modifier. I mean, this is supposed to be an advanced product. We could bring back AC differences based on damage type, or something.

what should we do?

Go back to 3.5e where you only had chain shirt and full plate, and everything in between is complete rubbish?

 

[Minigiant]

and here is not less.

12 armors in PHB, 12 armors here.

but in PHB after 3rd level, you only have 4 armors.

Well I was saying add more armors.

Medium is the good place as it has 2 variables Base AC and Stealth Penalty.
But it you want more emphasis on Strength, just add more armors with different Str req.

Armor	AC	Strength
Ring	14
Wood	15	11
Chain Mail	16	13
Splint	17	15
Laminar	17	13
Bronze Plate	18	17
Steel Plate	18	15
Heavy Plate	19	17

 

[Lanefan]

Oh, great. Now there's only a 1/12 chance that the magic armor I find will be useful for me; and if it's useful to me now, then it will stop being useful if my Strength ever goes up.

Why would lighter armour ever become less useful if your Strength goes up?

Magic leather that gives AC 15 and cold resistance is going to work exactly the same if your Strength is 11 or 17, right?

I prefer when there's more than just two or three armour choices. That said, IME characters (due to their players) almost always end up in the heaviest armour their class etc. allows, meaning there's design space to improve light and medium armours to make them more attractive to the front-liners.

 

[Horwath]

Well I was saying add more armors.

Medium is the good place as it has 2 variables Base AC and Stealth Penalty.
But it you want more emphasis on Strength, just add more armors with different Str req.

Armor	AC	Strength
Ring	14
Wood	15	11
Chain Mail	16	13
Splint	17	15
Laminar	17	13
Bronze Plate	18	17
Steel Plate	18	15
Heavy Plate	19	17

Damn. I forgot to add that there is no armor proficiency. Only strength matter.

So heavy armor category is just representing no dex modifier to AC and a stealth penalty.

also I hate odd scores used for anything

 

[tetrasodium]

It feels weird that an average strengthed person couldn't wear the most basic light armour without penalty. I don't think wearing a leather coat should drop your speed by a third.

Do you need a light armour that's only for characters with 20 strength? What does that even look like? Is it like, if you have 20 STR you treat a breastplate as light, otherwise it is heavy?

Medium armour has a place for characters who are not heavily invested in either STR or Dex, and is a useful distinction for handing out proficiencies.

From reading @Horwath's post I'm not seeing anything to suggest that there might not "the most basic light armour" with a strength req of 10 or even less, he even mentions a heavy armor in the 8-20 min range
. It looks like he just filled in values that fit what we already have.


Characters who are not "heavily invested in either STR or Dex" are probably invested in something else. Maybe they are wearing that kundarak made set of warded adventurer's clothes that need strength 3 & give a tiny bit of AC alone with some neat adventuring features like a swim speed & 5ft featherfall that grants a bonus to saves against falling. Why does someone who does not heavily invest either STR or Dex need a class of armor between the light armor stuff used by dexy types like rogue & heavy armors used by crunchy types like this guy

The last couple posts when I started writing this post annoyed me so I thought about throwing together an example, but starfinder already does that by providing a great example of how complex removing a class of armor that has a foot in each pool allows. There is still armors that are at the low end of heavy & high end of light at each item level but now there is more designspace to explore within light & heavy armor

Spoiler: for example

Light Armor

Medium armor does not exist.
Heavy Armor

Spoiler: What the heck is item level?

Those upgrade slots are basically a spot to plug a type of magic item into

 

[Lanefan]

Well I was saying add more armors.

Medium is the good place as it has 2 variables Base AC and Stealth Penalty.
But it you want more emphasis on Strength, just add more armors with different Str req.

Armor	AC	Strength
Ring	14
Wood	15	11
Chain Mail	16	13
Splint	17	15
Laminar	17	13
Bronze Plate	18	17
Steel Plate	18	15
Heavy Plate	19	17

I'd also throw a maximum-Dexterity-allowed number onto some of those. Say, max 18 for Wood and Laminar, max 17 for Splint and Steel Plate, max 16 for Bronze Plate and Heavy Plate. (thus, a character with Dex 18 wearing Heavy Plate would function in all ways as if Dex 16, as that's all the armour will allow)

This forces a choice between going Strength-primary or Dexterity-primary.

 

[Horwath]

I'd also throw a maximum-Dexterity-allowed number onto some of those. Say, max 18 for Wood and Laminar, max 17 for Splint and Steel Plate, max 16 for Bronze Plate and Heavy Plate. (thus, a character with Dex 18 wearing Heavy Plate would function in all ways as if Dex 16, as that's all the armour will allow)

This forces a choice between going Strength-primary or Dexterity-primary.

I was thinking about 3.5e max dex score for each armor, but is not in the spirit of 5E.
But it should be...
and dex penalty should affect AC of heavy armor.

 

[Stalker0]

I don't mind dropping or keeping medium armor, but I do think its high time we get away from a variety of armors with differing ACs. It never works, players are always choosing the best armors to get their AC.

So I'm good with more static AC armors, and then use secondary qualities to make the armors distinct and interesting.