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Message: <blockquote data-quote="big dummy" data-source="post: 2896580" data-attributes="member: 41052">Any time you introduce any new elements to the game in any way you are facing a potential trade off between added complexity and added immersion and or nuance (in terms of giving the players more options in a gamist sense).The scenario you describe would be too complicated to implement in terms of that tradeoff.  IMO if you want armor piercing weapons you just assume all armor is handled the same way.  After all, a military pick or an awl -pike is going to punch through leather just the same as it could punch through mail or plate-- any difference in resistance would be reflected in the quality of the armor (i.e. is it 2 point armor or 10 point).  So the same, say +4 bonus could be applied to any attack.This is no more complicated than say, a magic sword with +4 vs some type of monster, or a Rangers favored enemy bonus, or a Weapon Specialization bonus.It also incidentally helps fighters weilding non-magical weapons gain an edge against monsters with a lot of Natural armor.Further nuance than that on the armor issue I would only reccomend for a computer game (where it could take place invisibly behind the scenes) or possibly with some expert players.All of the changes which I would consider viable for a typical D&D game would have to balance well in the tradeoff between simplicity and game-enhacncement.They may not, but it might be nice to have an option of being able to get an armor piercing dagger (i.e. a roundel for example, or even a stiletto) It might be more fun if a sword got a reach advantage but a dagger worked better in grapple.  Or a spear got a reach advantage over a sword but wasn't as good for defending.And I think a lot of players would appreciate access to weapons like staves which could potentially help them keep dangerous enemies at bay through a defensive combat bonus.Adding a Reach bous and a Defense bonus would hardly impact game play in any way at all, certianly no more than masterwork and magical weapons do.  It would not mean a return to 1E D&D in any way.  It would enhance the options and make the choice of weapons more of a strategic, and interesting choices that just didn't happen to rely on magic.Similarly, IF you are using armor as damage reduction as many people already are, an armor piercing bonus for certain weapons wouldn't add much complexity at all.There are actually a lot of simple things you can do to enhance combat and magic without disrupting the flow or balance of the game.BD</blockquote>

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