More "pulp" like armor
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- themightyeroc
- Deft-Handed Cutpurse
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More "pulp" like armor
In my DCC world there is no Platemail, I struck it from the rulebook. The best you can get is a Breastplate, for which I use the Half-Plate stats.
Now in the Pulpy appendix N world, there are many instances of the Hero using nothing more than a shield or even a helm and shield. I'm not a real numbery rulesy kinda guy, and I want a way to make having a shield be a bit more worth it than a measly +1AC bonus.
So I was thinking that maybe if you are wearing armor then shields work as written. However if you choose to forego armor and just use a shield then the AC bonus should be more?!?!? But how much more ? And should you have maybe a D3 fumble die if using just a shield? or none at all.
All in all, I would like for a player who wants to run around in fur underwear with a shield not have to feel like a chump as he goes up in level. What is a simple quick way to handle this?
any thoughts, ideas, or house rules already in use for this kind of thing?
Now in the Pulpy appendix N world, there are many instances of the Hero using nothing more than a shield or even a helm and shield. I'm not a real numbery rulesy kinda guy, and I want a way to make having a shield be a bit more worth it than a measly +1AC bonus.
So I was thinking that maybe if you are wearing armor then shields work as written. However if you choose to forego armor and just use a shield then the AC bonus should be more?!?!? But how much more ? And should you have maybe a D3 fumble die if using just a shield? or none at all.
All in all, I would like for a player who wants to run around in fur underwear with a shield not have to feel like a chump as he goes up in level. What is a simple quick way to handle this?
any thoughts, ideas, or house rules already in use for this kind of thing?
Ah well, who wants to live forever? DIE!
worldoferoc.blogspot.com
worldoferoc.blogspot.com
Re: More "pulp" like armor
Someone (I forget who) posted that they allow non-armored warriors to use their agility as their AC, so an 18 Agi warrior would have AC 18, possibly 19 (or more) if they were using a shield. I'm not sure if the Agi bonus would factor into that or not (I probably wouldn't).
I actually really like the idea of using base AC as Agi... except it kinda sucks for less than 10 Agi, especially if you factor in the negative modifiers (another reason I wouldn't).
But you could get around that by doing something different with armor: either damage reduction, or damage absorption ("soak"). Easiest would be something like the following:
Padded -1
Leather -2
Studded Leather -3
Hide -4
Scale -5
Chain -6
Banded -7
Half Plate -8
Full Plate -9
Shield -1
from each hit. That would make armored characters pretty hard to kill though with regular ol' weapons or small monsters. So perhaps a better way to approach it would be to do something like this:
Padded -1d2
Leather -1d3
Studded Leather -1d4
Hide -2d2
Scale -1d5
Chain -1d6
Banded -2d3
Half Plate -1d8
Full Plate -2d4
Shield -1d3
from each hit. You still get some good usefulness out of armor, but it's a bit more variable and now it is possible (though difficult; unless backstabbing / burning luck) to kill someone wearing full plate and a shield with a dagger.
I actually really like the idea of using base AC as Agi... except it kinda sucks for less than 10 Agi, especially if you factor in the negative modifiers (another reason I wouldn't).
But you could get around that by doing something different with armor: either damage reduction, or damage absorption ("soak"). Easiest would be something like the following:
Padded -1
Leather -2
Studded Leather -3
Hide -4
Scale -5
Chain -6
Banded -7
Half Plate -8
Full Plate -9
Shield -1
from each hit. That would make armored characters pretty hard to kill though with regular ol' weapons or small monsters. So perhaps a better way to approach it would be to do something like this:
Padded -1d2
Leather -1d3
Studded Leather -1d4
Hide -2d2
Scale -1d5
Chain -1d6
Banded -2d3
Half Plate -1d8
Full Plate -2d4
Shield -1d3
from each hit. You still get some good usefulness out of armor, but it's a bit more variable and now it is possible (though difficult; unless backstabbing / burning luck) to kill someone wearing full plate and a shield with a dagger.
Re: More "pulp" like armor
Damage absorption for the shield would be a good idea. Also the Shield and Helmet rules in CRAWL! may be a good base line to expand into a limited armor system.
- themightyeroc
- Deft-Handed Cutpurse
- Posts: 194
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:40 pm
- Location: West Palm Beach, Fl
Re: More "pulp" like armor
Thanks for the ideas. I'm staying away from the reduction/soak thing, as I don't really want to "change" the armor charts or anything.
Floating the Agility as AC idea in my head though. I agree no Agi bonus is added to AC if you use it that way. Also thinking that if you choose to go armorless and only use a shield, then shields have a new subset of stats:
Buckler +1AC
Wooden Shield +3AC
Metal shield +4AC
and you can do the "shields will be shattered" thing as well.....
still thinking....
Floating the Agility as AC idea in my head though. I agree no Agi bonus is added to AC if you use it that way. Also thinking that if you choose to go armorless and only use a shield, then shields have a new subset of stats:
Buckler +1AC
Wooden Shield +3AC
Metal shield +4AC
and you can do the "shields will be shattered" thing as well.....
still thinking....
Ah well, who wants to live forever? DIE!
worldoferoc.blogspot.com
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- Raven_Crowking
- Cold-Hearted Immortal
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Re: More "pulp" like armor
An easy houserule: A Warrior who foregoes a Mighty Deed may add his Deed Die roll to his AC (until the next roll), so long as he is wearing Light Armour or less.
SoBH pbp:
Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
Re: More "pulp" like armor
Deed die for armor option... I like it.
Re: More "pulp" like armor
There's a deed that gives you and possibly allies +AC. But you have to succeed on a deed roll...
- Raven_Crowking
- Cold-Hearted Immortal
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Re: More "pulp" like armor
Sure.beermotor wrote:There's a deed that gives you and possibly allies +AC. But you have to succeed on a deed roll...
But, if your goal is to have lightly armoured Warriors, and you don't think that the Fumble tables offer enough balance for a better AC, then using the Deed Die in this way makes an okay houserule. It is easy, and it takes away opportunity in exchange for a bonus. Moreover, when that Warrior wants to perform a Deed, he must make himself more vulnerable to do so.
Nor should the houserule be allowed to extend protection to allies; that should require an actual Deed.
(Mind you, I'm happy with the system as written on this, thus far, but if I wanted to give Warriors a bonus to AC, I would want to take something away to achieve it. Ye Olde Faustian Bargain. So, you get to choose between a Deed or better AC. If you choose the Deed, you might get something better than good AC, but the Deed might fail. A Deed Die roll that would have failed as a Deed is only a +1 or +2 boost to AC until high levels, and so isn't that big a deal.)
SoBH pbp:
Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
Re: More "pulp" like armor
Yeah... I don't dislike your solution. I'm going to play through an entire campaign before I make any changes to the AC system. But if I were to change it RIGHT NOW, I'd probably go with the Agi-as-AC idea and make armor soak, perhaps apply the armor check penalty in some form, perhaps nerfed slightly (which is based on weight/encumbrance, after all), to the Agi-as-AC model... that way a 16 Agi Warrior in Plate mail isn't basically indestructible.
- finarvyn
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Re: More "pulp" like armor
In my current game I'm trying a little twist to this.beermotor wrote:Someone (I forget who) posted that they allow non-armored warriors to use their agility as their AC...
I wanted a low-armor swashbuckler-style world but also wanted to decrease the lethality, so I allowed characters in armor to add their reflex bonus and characters without armor to add the reflex bonus twice. This has really encouraged my players to avoid armor use.
I haven't played enough sessions to decide if this "breaks" the balance or not. So far it doesn't seem to bad...
Marv / Finarvyn
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"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
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DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015; OD&D player since 1975
"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
-- Dave Arneson
"Misinterpreting the rules is a shared memory for many of us"
-- Joseph Goodman
Re: More "pulp" like armor
here is what i came up with.themightyeroc wrote:In my DCC world there is no Platemail, I struck it from the rulebook. The best you can get is a Breastplate, for which I use the Half-Plate stats.
Now in the Pulpy appendix N world, there are many instances of the Hero using nothing more than a shield or even a helm and shield. I'm not a real numbery rulesy kinda guy, and I want a way to make having a shield be a bit more worth it than a measly +1AC bonus.
So I was thinking that maybe if you are wearing armor then shields work as written. However if you choose to forego armor and just use a shield then the AC bonus should be more?!?!? But how much more ? And should you have maybe a D3 fumble die if using just a shield? or none at all.
All in all, I would like for a player who wants to run around in fur underwear with a shield not have to feel like a chump as he goes up in level. What is a simple quick way to handle this?
any thoughts, ideas, or house rules already in use for this kind of thing?
plate armor is +5 ac with a -5 action penalty
half plate is +4/-4
chain and scale are both +3, but, chain is -3 while scale (the cruder version of chain) is -4
hardened leather and hides are both +2 hardened leather is -2 while hides (the cruder version of hardened leather) is -3
soft leather and padded armor are both +1 again the penalty is -1/-2
shields add +2/-1
helms add +1/-1 and by helm i mean serious head protection, not a skull cap of leather.
i'm also contemplating adding the luck bonus (good or bad) to ac as well.
now a "pulpy" fighter in soft leather, shield and helm starts with ac14 before any agility/luck/deed bonus.
Re: More "pulp" like armor
Another option is to change the armor classes of monsters to be no better than the armor available in your campaign.
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