I agree! Heck I can't even rest properly with just my ski boots on after a half-day's worth of moguls, let alone a full suit of armor! So yeah, if the group is on the campaign trail and they have to be battle-ready at any moment, then yes, I would say it is fine to sleep in their suit of armor. When they are on R&R...not likely.
Wearing armor and resting
- Thread starter DGG
- Start date
I agree! Heck I can't even rest properly with just my ski boots on after a half-day's worth of moguls, let alone a full suit of armor! So yeah, if the group is on the campaign trail and they have to be battle-ready at any moment, then yes, I would say it is fine to sleep in their suit of armor. When they are on R&R...not likely.
AbdulAlhazred
Legend
I think it would be interesting to have an encounter or two with the PCs being unarmored. It would change the balance a bit in the party and might lead to some interesting tactics. The enemy just needs to be designed with that in mind. I wouldn't throw the same sort of encounter at a party under those conditions I would when they are all fully prepared.
There could also be 'incentives' for PCs not to wander around every town decked out in their full battle gear. Certainly if I were in charge of guarding a town I'd be pretty suspicious of a bunch of unknown people wandering in out of the wilderness and entering town like a small army! More civilized areas might even have laws against carrying weapons and wearing armor inside the city walls, etc. It might even be advantageous for characters in an urban setting to focus less on heavy armor and more on other forms of defense, take proficiencies with weapons like daggers and other light blades which would be more appropriate to wearing or concealing in town, etc.
In any case, I'm pretty sure I have no intention of starting to penalize PCs for resting in armor, except maybe in a specific setting like crossing a desert or jungle or something like that were they might want to take special preparations.
There could also be 'incentives' for PCs not to wander around every town decked out in their full battle gear. Certainly if I were in charge of guarding a town I'd be pretty suspicious of a bunch of unknown people wandering in out of the wilderness and entering town like a small army! More civilized areas might even have laws against carrying weapons and wearing armor inside the city walls, etc. It might even be advantageous for characters in an urban setting to focus less on heavy armor and more on other forms of defense, take proficiencies with weapons like daggers and other light blades which would be more appropriate to wearing or concealing in town, etc.
In any case, I'm pretty sure I have no intention of starting to penalize PCs for resting in armor, except maybe in a specific setting like crossing a desert or jungle or something like that were they might want to take special preparations.
Storminator
First Post
Somehow we got it into our heads that you need to be trained in Endurance to wear heavy armor during an extended rest. As the only PC with heavy armor and without Endurance, I did a big fight (I play a STR cleric) without armor.
Losing 6 points of AC was a huge hindrance, and most of my healing went to myself. It's entirely possible that our warlock died because I couldn't hold down a flank of the battle and couldn't heal.
I thought the battle was fun, tho I was less aggressive and less effective. But now I feel gypped!
There is no such rule!PS
AbdulAlhazred
Legend
Somehow we got it into our heads that you need to be trained in Endurance to wear heavy armor during an extended rest. As the only PC with heavy armor and without Endurance, I did a big fight (I play a STR cleric) without armor.
Losing 6 points of AC was a huge hindrance, and most of my healing went to myself. It's entirely possible that our warlock died because I couldn't hold down a flank of the battle and couldn't heal.
I thought the battle was fun, tho I was less aggressive and less effective. But now I feel gypped!
PS
Mmm, sounds like a house rule. I guess in a real 'gritty' style of campaign it might be an interesting one. Generally that level of detail is a bit too much for most groups to bother with. Plus it would sure put a heavy premium on Endurance. The skill could possibly use a bit of a boost since it usually only ends up being handy in skill challenges or rare situations, but it would definitely be a mandatory for heavy armor people if it was the only safe way to get a night's sleep...
Doctor Proctor
First Post
Yeah, it's not fun. My group is currently playing in KotS and the rest of them decided we needed to take a rest inside the dungeon. The DM said we had to remove our armor, which I didn't really like...but that's what he wanted.
An hour into our rest a patrol comes along and we have to prepare for combat. Thanks to the Eladrin in our party, he gave us a one round warning, which allowed me to at least put on my shield.
I play a Fighter and normally, I have a 21 AC. It's 10+1 for half level, +7 for Scale, +1 Enhancement and +2 Shield. Without armor, I had a 14 AC (I had a 12 DEX which at least gave me a small bump). This equates to almost an auto-hit. Our Cleric burned Priest's Shield, which bumped me to a 16, and mean that now they hit on like a 6 or 7.
Initially, I did my best to try and hold the door into the room, but after a round I was already bloodied and close to dead. I had to shift+move so that I could move to the back of the room and hide behind the Wizard. There was nothing "fun" or "interesting" about the encounter...in fact, we were pretty close to a TPK. The only thing that saved us was the fact that pretty much everyone burned through their dailies to help us survive. After that, we donned armor, exited the Keep and camped outside.
Honestly, if that's the way it's going to be from now on, I might insist on always sleeping in town since I was constantly worried that another "patrol" might come outside the Keep.
The additional problem is that right now we're only at level 2, so only about half the party even has magic armor. At higher levels though, when everyone is wearing stuff like +3 or higher, a significant portion of your AC is now coming from your enhancement bonus...something you don't get when not wearing your armor. So a level 30 PC in +6 Godplate? He'll be -20 AC for the encounter when out of his armor. That IS pretty much a scenario where the enemies will hit on anything other than a 1.
Ah! So far I haven't seen any town laws of that variety
IE “No swords! No bows! Leave your weapons here!”
My player's use to hate that because they though that for sure I was going to ambush them with something whilst they were "nakid". We're playing DnD 4th's default game setting which is pretty much the outskirts of civilization so there is no such rule in any of the border towns.
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Hey! That's practically the exact situation my group is in! We're playing KotS at the moment and the group wanted to rest in the dungeon's 2nd level. My group is 3rd level now and there are 7 of them. They were jumped twice! Had they not been wearing armor, they would have been dead for sure. After the second interruption the group opted to rest in a more secluded area on the first dungeon level (they had already cleared out the entire complex of that portion of the dungeon). I played through each of the watch's turns just to add suspense but I think my guys would have mutinied if I had them jumped a third time.
AbdulAlhazred
Legend
Well, it seems like DM cruelty to me, lol. I said it might be INTERESTING to have an encounter where the party isn't all armed up, not that the DM should spring a full equal level attack on the party! I LONG ago gave up the idea of having wandering monsters floating around that are much beyond easy type encounters. More likely you'd run into some vermin or a minor ooze or something like that. Maybe a weak monster patrol (some minions and maybe 1 or 2 level-1 brutes or something).
I did have an encounter scenario in a town several months back where a couple of party members ended up getting into a pitched battle with a thief while they were less than well prepared. It was pretty interesting, but the enemy was definitely not as powerful as the PCs. It still made them improvise a little bit though, and they seemed to enjoy it.
Nytmare
David Jose
Tournament armors were frequently made soley for protection, almost completely sacrificing mobility. Their only concern was that the person inside of them felt as little as possible if and when they got hit and fell to the ground. They were not made for people who needed to get back up and run around for a couple of hours on a battlefield.
Again, it is possible that the books I read were tainted by myths and misconceptions, but to me it makes more sense that people got that little taste of knowledge and mistakenly assumed that it was the only thing to know.
Again, it is possible that the books I read were tainted by myths and misconceptions, but to me it makes more sense that people got that little taste of knowledge and mistakenly assumed that it was the only thing to know.
Doctor Proctor
First Post
No, I don't think that's a misconception. Tournie armor had all sorts of extras built into it, like a lance rest and sometimes even a mount for a shield. They were, as you pointed out, to ensure that there was no possibility of damage to the jouster. They didn't want to see someone die because of a accident, it was all just supposed to be fun.
That was not combat armor though. So yes, I think you're right that perhaps people looked at the tournie armor and assumed that all armor functioned like that, and thus perpetuated this myth.
(Note: This was a myth that I subscribed to until recently. Also, there is the myth of the swords being MUCH heavier than they actually are... In truth, the technology and artistry put in some of the medieval arms is truly astounding.)
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