Super Simple Armor

[mrpopstar]

From a purely mechanical perspective, how does this look?

[table="width: 650"]
[tr]
[td]Armor[/td]
[td]Armor Class (AC)[/td]
[td]Strength[/td]
[td]Stealth[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Light armor[/td]
[td]11 + Dex modifier[/td]
[td]--[/td]
[td]Disadvantage[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Light armor, masterwork[/td]
[td]12 + Dex modifier[/td]
[td]--[/td]
[td]--[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Medium armor[/td]
[td]14 + Dex modifier (max 2)[/td]
[td]--[/td]
[td]Disadvantage[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Medium armor, masterwork[/td]
[td]15 + Dex modifier (max 2)[/td]
[td]--[/td]
[td]--[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Heavy armor[/td]
[td]16[/td]
[td]Str 13[/td]
[td]Disadvantage[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Heavy armor, masterwork[/td]
[td]18[/td]
[td]Str 15[/td]
[td]Disadvantage[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Shield[/td]
[td]+2[/td]
[td]--[/td]
[td]--[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]​

Seeking thoughts on numbers, balance, crunch, etc. Have I broken anything? Fixed anything?



Design goal: Reduce the armor table to its most basic elements.

 

[GlassJaw]

What are your design goals? Why do you want to simply armor?

 

[The Crimson Binome]

It sounds about right. If you used these rules, instead of the ones in the book, the game would not suffer significantly for it.

It does raise the question of why anyone would buy plate armor, if scale armor was just as effective and also cheaper (or easier to make), but I'm sure you have a reasonable answer for that.

 

[mrpopstar]

What are your design goals? Why do you want to simply armor?

I added my design goals to my OP.

 

[CubicsRube]

Sounds good, since really, that's the kind of armor that peo0lengp for anyway. So i dont see the value of slightly poorer armors except as an interim.

You can then add fluff as you want, for example medium could be lamellar or chain shirt. Heavy could be scale or plate or whatever.

 

[mrpopstar]

That sounds about right.

Yeah?



I felt like a Dex modifier max on light made sense. Is the Strength modifier requirement for medium armor sensible?

 

[mrpopstar]

Sounds good, since really, that's the kind of armor that peo0lengp for anyway. So i dont see the value of slightly poorer armors except as an interim.

You can then add fluff as you want, for example medium could be lamellar or chain shirt. Heavy could be scale or plate or whatever.

That's how I see it. Cost and weight can be the differentiators.

 

[mrpopstar]

It sounds about right. If you used these rules, instead of the ones in the book, the game would not suffer significantly for it.

It does raise the question of why anyone would buy plate armor, if scale armor was just as effective and also cheaper (or easier to make), but I'm sure you have a reasonable answer for that.

I feel like armor types are aesthetic choices more than anything. You wear scale because it's cultural or what have you. That's story stuff, not mechanics stuff (too me).

 

[Smarmot]

I don't see the point. 5e armour is already pretty simple.

This will give heavy armour users annoyingly high armour class at first level.

The strength requirement for medium armour would strain medium armor classes, especially those that are not martial focussed.

 

[jaelis]

Rogues will be a little sad about the light armor rule, they just lose a point of AC. Same for melee-oriented bards, I suppose.