Armor and Shields Expanded

[Grail Quest]

Hello!

 

If you're not afraid of detailed writeups, have a browse here:

 

http://www.freewebs.com/d20elements/herosystem.htm

 

at my expanded Armor and Shield writeups.

 

Armor is not changed much, but it was prerequisite to writing up Shields differently.

 

Shields now use Force Walls so that someone can choose to either ignore the shield and cut through it, or try to bypass it (in which case the shield gives you a virtual DCV bonus).

 

Looking for feedback for correctness! I want armor and shields to play as they "should" be (e.g., you can shoot through a shield if you want to and aren't forced to face a DCV bonus on your target).

 

Don't bother telling me it's overly complicated in definition. If it plays just like armor and shields "should" in gameplay, no one will have to worry about what it looks like on paper beyond the DEF and Activation values.

[Curufea]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

I've done some armour rules too, just a mix of others and modified for my world

http://www.curufea.com/games/western/5e/armour.php

 

Hmm, maybe a comparison and incorporation might be worthwhile for me to do...

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

Looks good. I may swipe it, in whole or in part.

[Grail Quest]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

I've done some armour rules too, just a mix of others and modified for my world

http://www.curufea.com/games/western/5e/armour.php

 

Hmm, maybe a comparison and incorporation might be worthwhile for me to do...

 

Looks like some nice detail on your site, but can you provide a glossary or weblink for the location piece names? For example, I note a "habergeon" covers the same locations as a "coat", but what distinguishes them that they have a different name?

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

Nicely done.

 

Quite a bit of detail, as you mentioned.

 

I kinda like the way you do sheilds...so what happens when an attack exceeds the DEF of the Sheild? Is it completely destroyed (i.e. has "0" Body like a Force Wall)

[Grail Quest]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

Nicely done.

 

Quite a bit of detail, as you mentioned.

 

I kinda like the way you do sheilds...so what happens when an attack exceeds the DEF of the Sheild? Is it completely destroyed (i.e. has "0" Body like a Force Wall)

 

Hi!

 

The Trigger and Focus modifiers are meant to handle it.

E.g., You are carrying a wall shield, and a dragon breathes fiery doom on you. Your shield is DEF 8, but as a Durable Focus, it has a DEF of 56* with respect to whether it is damaged or not.

 

(* A DEF 8 Wall Shield with Opaque and +1-3/4 worth of Advantages is 138 AP, which is DEF 28 x2 = DEF 56.

I use Durable Focus because I normally house-rule with many things calculated off BP instead of AP--so in my game, the shield only has DEF 10x2 = DEF 20. Much more reasonable. One of the reasons why I use BP instead of AP, because focusing so much on AP blinds one to what else is going on in the power).

 

Case 1: Your shield survives.

In FX, maybe the heat is so intense that it just conducts right through your shield. Since your shield is not destroyed, just really really hot, you are hurt, but you can continue to hold up your shield for whatever protection it can still provide.

In game terms, the Force Wall is, technically, destroyed by any incoming attack worth 9+ BODY. But the Focus itself is not harmed unless the attack does 57+ BODY.

The Trigger portion of the power automatically and instantly resets the Force Wall. There is "no FX" to this. You just continue to hold up the shield.

Like the Riposte example in the book, the Trigger is bought so that it can handle an infinity of instances of this.

 

Case 2: Your shield is "broken".

In FX, maybe your shield just melts or burns up, and practically falls off your arm.

In game terms, an attack that does 57+ BODY will break not just the Force Wall, but the Focus. Since the Focus is broken, it loses its Force Wall power (it's only power), and hence the Trigger will not reset it.

 

Cheers

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

Okay I see.

 

So if an attack does more than 8 Body, the remaining damage hits the holder of the sheild, but doesn't not destroy the sheild...it would take 56 or more body for that. (wow, thats a lot. Like, a nuclear explosion, but thats a whole thread on its own)

[sbarron]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

This is an interesting idea, but seems like it might be very cumbersome in practice. Have you played using it to see how it works in "live" combat? What were the results? Did it make combat take a lot longer?

 

Do you allow character to buy levels to improve their shield activation roles? If I were going to use this system, I think I would.

 

I'll have to let this idea simmer for a while. It seems like it might be really cool...

[Grail Quest]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

This is an interesting idea, but seems like it might be very cumbersome in practice. Have you played using it to see how it works in "live" combat? What were the results? Did it make combat take a lot longer?

 

Do you allow character to buy levels to improve their shield activation roles? If I were going to use this system, I think I would.

 

I'll have to let this idea simmer for a while. It seems like it might be really cool...

 

It does look complicated on paper, but just think of how a shield should work, and don't worry about it. There shouldn't be any rules nitty-gritty with this shield writeup--that's the intent of it anyway. If you make calls fairly strictly based on the FX (and shouldn't all games be that way?), it'll all work out without having to interpret any of the modifiers on paper.

 

Except the Focus DEF. It's really a whole other thread about why we shouldn't always use AP to calculate things like Area, Focus DEF, END Cost, etc... This is just one example. The power has a stack of Limitations, and it's clearly in a low-powered setting. Yet if we adhere too strictly to the rules, it'll take a nuke to demolish the shield.

And good thing it costs no END to use!!

 

*

 

As for skill levels to improve the Shield Activation... My instinct is no, and to use the Hit Location coverage optional rule--that is, let the shield automatically cover a certain range of Hit Locations. There are tradeoffs. On the one hand, the defender is assured of coverage where he really wants it on the random Hit Location result. On the other hand, the attacker is assured of hitting a non-covered location if he accepts an OCV penalty (which, if you look at it a different way, translates into a better Activation for the shield).

 

Additionally, if the defender wants to protect his head/face, he's also "blinded" to what the attacker in that arc is doing--remember, the shield is opaque unless you buy a modern see-through plastic riot shield.

 

Existing skill levels already help by either putting them toward Block, or putting them toward DCV.

[Cantriped]

Re: Armor and Shields Expanded

 

Very very nice, this is great work man, just what I've been looking for I think, since I am planning on using the Hit Location rules though I'll have to add in a table of my own creation, I actually set up a table with the Percentage weights for armor based on Hit Location. all you have to do to use it is sum the %s of the Hit Locations covered and multiply that by the weight of a full suit of a given suit of armor, The table itself, alonge with an Example is given below. Granted in my case its largly nessessary because I'm imposing a Dex Roll+DCV penalty to wearing armor in addition to normal encumberance penalties. mainly to keep "thief" and "Mage" type characters from running around in full plate just cuz its got Better Def and almost no restrictions on its use, or at least make em think twice before doing so.

 

Total % of Armor Weight By Hit Location

Hit Location Covered % Of Armor Weight

3 (Head) .5

4 (Head) 1.4

5 (Head) 2.8

6 (Hands) 4.6

7 (Arms) 6.9

8 (Arms) 9.7

9 (Shoulders) 11.6

10 (Chest) 12.5

11 (Chest) 12.5

12 (Stomach) 11.6

13 (Vitals) 9.7

14 (Thighs) 6.9

15 (Legs) 4.6

16 (Legs) 2.8

17 (Feet) 1.4

18 (Feet) .5

Example: Kiaus has decided for some strange reason to wear the Full Helm that he found after killing a few Do-gooders. The Full Helm provides 8 DEF to Hit Locations 3, 4, and 5 (all the Head locations). A Full suit of DEF 8 Armor would normally weigh 40 kg, so Kaius’ player checks the Table above and sees that Hit Locations 3, 4, and 5 have listed % of .5, 1.4, and 2.8 respectively, so he sums these up (.5+1.4+2.8=4.7), and Multiplies 40*4.7% (or 40 * 0.047 on a Calculater), and Gets 1.88 kg.

 

EDIT: Ok, this isn't just great, its Awesome! All Hail the King of Optional Armor Rules

[Grail Quest]

Revision

 

Update:

 

The Limited Arc of Coverage and Planar limitations for Shields has been revised to be consistent with the parallel Limitations on Vehicles.

 

The article has been changed to my full suite of House Rules. Navigate down to Chapter 4 (Equipment) for the specific article mentioned in this thread.

 

Here's the link again: http://www.freewebs.com/d20elements/herosystem.htm

 

Thanks to all who've given their feedback!