DHKnechtLLC

I would look at it this way: Plate Mail (or Armor Class altogether) makes it harder for someone to inflict damage on you, not simply just "harder to hit." Sure, we all use the terms "to hit" and "damage" to represent the rolls, but that's not what it truly means. Also, D&D involves hit points (tons of them at higher levels). These hit points aren't necessarily actual damage to the body, but represent the draw on the physical abilities of the combatant, including actual damage. Therefore, if you look at it the right way, a higher Armor Class given by Plate Mail means the "to hit" roll happens less, resulting in less "hit points" of damage over time. In that way, all other things being equal (Dex, etc.), a person with heavier armor will take longer to take down than that same person wearing no armor. Now, that being said, D&D is SIMPLE. That's its point. What you lose in reality is the complexity of how armor really works, how a "to hit" really works, etc. That's why most of us who like the complexity have gravitated away from D&D to much better systems, say, like ... Fantasy HERO.

One thing I've noticed about the HERO system is it that works great for a Champions campaign, but skills and development are a bit trickier for a Fantasy Hero game. In a level based system (like D&D or Rolemaster), characters start with a limited skill set and develop better skills (both combat and others) as they gain in levels. In FH, depending on how they spend their points, they can be the equivalent of 10th level fighters just starting out. It takes quite a bit of balancing and oversight by the GM to make sure this doesn't happen. Certainly we can all do that, but here's the question: Has anyone developed a limit system or leveling system for characters? I am currently working on something and playtesting it during a campaign, but would love to see what others have done. Basically, I have used the standard characteristic maxima as a hard limit -- no one can exceed them, even at double cost or more. From there, characters gain experience points similar to a D&D system and once they reach a break point (i.e., gain a "level"), the character gains additional FH points to increase character skills, combat levels, etc. Additionally, skill levels are limited based on their experience level (i.e., starting out, they have a max OCV/DCV of 8, and can develop only 2 levels of Combat skills, choosing 2 levels of full HtH or Ranged Combat, 2 Overall Levels, 1 level of a Limited Group and 1 Overall Level, or however they want to break it up). Also, once set, characteristics can only be adjusted later at certain level break points too. The leveling system I've set up graduates things based on the 20 levels most of us are familiar with in D&D, so that at 20th level, a character would be based about 900 points, with 10th level being about 350 points. Each level they gain, the limits of different things increase, but not every limit every level. In any event, without going into a full leveling description here, I'd love to know people's thoughts, if you've done something similar, or what you think of what I've described. Additionally, if you'd like to know all the rules I've set out, let me know and I can get those posted here (or in a different thread) for a more thorough analysis. Thanks!

Please keep it coming!