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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stalker0" data-source="post: 3892498" data-attributes="member: 5889">As I see it, there's a few ways to balance out armor.1) Give heavier armors some form of DR. However, the problem with DR is it effects weapons differently. A dagger is far more hindered than a greatsword. This works fine for reality, but dnd is not about reality, dnd tries to encourage as many different archetypes as possible. You have the greatsword wielding barbarian and the knife throwing rogue. Both should be viable, and more DR hinders one over the other.2) Give heavier armors some special manuevers. 4e has already mentioned that weapons gain certain abilities, why not armors? Perhaps heavy armor gains solid stance where you gain +1 AC if you don't move. Perhaps there's a sprint mechanic that light armor people can use but not heavy armor, etc.3) Readjust the armor numbers. Now people have already made the excellent point that if someone wants mobility, they will go all out. If they want protection, they will go all out. There are plenty of incentives in dnd to specialize. This is why medium armor is the redheaded stepchild in dnd.To fix this, you can't make the armors equal, you have to make medium armor BETTER. Medium armor should give almost as much protection as heavy, but suffer far fewer penalties to ACP and speed. Going heavy should be the option for those who want true AC mastery, but medium should be a common choice for many who want a balanced look.</blockquote>

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