systems with Armor as DR: thoughts on Defense penalty?

[ValhallaGH]

Here's the setup:

You are creating a ruleset for a cinematic, high-action, swashbuckling game.

Each class has a Defense bonus that increases with level advancement.
The Vitality/Wound Point system will be used.
Armor will be treated as DR.

Design Goal: You want to lessen the reliance on armor, or at least make players think twice about wearing very heavy armor.

Why penalize Defense? Speed penalties are a huge drawback to heavier armors and are an already accepted part of the game. Simply ramp them up a bit.

For example, say medium armor slows you down to 2/3 your speed and heavy armor slows you down to 1/3. Sure, full-plate gives great protection but stomping along at 10 feet per round (or 5 for small characters) is absolutely not worth while.

And honestly, max dex already penalizes defenses when wearing armor.


A different route is the SAGA method, where you gain either an armor bonus to defense or a class bonus to defense. One of the classes has a talent tree for the few Star Wars characters who are good in their armor (and that style can be powerful) but that's a mechanic that is easily not brought over; everyone else avoids armor like a plague after level 4.

 

[AscentStudios]

Here's the setup:

You are creating a ruleset for a cinematic, high-action, swashbuckling game.

Each class has a Defense bonus that increases with level advancement.
The Vitality/Wound Point system will be used.
Armor will be treated as DR.

Design Goal: You want to lessen the reliance on armor, or at least make players think twice about wearing very heavy armor.

Option: How do you feel about armor giving a penalty to Defense, perhaps equal to its Armor Check Penalty?

Take a look at Spycraft 2.0 - Defense penalties and ACP are 2 different stats...

 

[barsoomcore]

I adjusted all Max Dex penalties downwards. So an armour that normally has a Mex Dex of +2 now has a Max Dex of +1, etc. That impacts Defense straight up without requiring any rules changes.

 

[GlassJaw]

I've been working on adapting the Dodge/Parry rules from Conan to Grim Tales. Here's how I think I'll handle armor:

Armor	       DR	Max Dex	ACP
Light armor			
Padded	        1	8	0
Leather	        1d3	6	0
Studded leather	1d4	5	-1
Chain shirt	1d4+1	4	-2
Medium armor			
Hide	        1d4	4	-3
Scale mail	1d4+1	3	-4
Chainmail	1d4+2	2	-5
Breastplate	1d4+2	3	-4
Heavy armor			
Splint mail	1d4+3	0	-7
Banded mail	1d4+3	1	-6
Half-plate	1d4+4	0	-7
Full plate	1d4+5	1	-6

The Armor Check Penalty will apply to Dodge defense. Dodge defense is Dex-based. It can be used for melee but is required to defense against ranged attacks. The Fast Hero is the only class with "good" Dodge defense.

Parry defense is Strength-based and can only be used for melee defense. The Strong Hero is the only class with good Parry defense.

I think this system will encourage lighter armor in general but won't penalize those players that want a "tank" build (Strong Hero with low Dex).

Also, heavy armor will generally be extremely rare and expensive in the "world" so that will definitely be a controller as well.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Rather than tackle armor, why not give a bonus to stunts, swashbuckling moves and "cool movie scene actions" when someone is in light or no armor? Or better yet - more actions for less armor....

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I use Class Defense Bonus with Armor as DR, with characters using only the better of the two. There's a feat that allows characters to use both, and I use the Heavy Armor Optimization feat chain from Races of Stone and Armor Specialization from Player's Handbook II.

So, armor isn't necessary, it has built-in penalties, but it's an effective style for someone who wants to invest in it.