Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2021 22:36:17 GMT -6
Platemail only reduces an opponent's chance to hit you by 10%, so I don't see any real reason to make it more expensive in OD&D. Essentially, each increment of AC costs 7.5 or 10 GP: AC 8 (shield) = 10 GP (1 increment of AC for 10 GP) AC 7 (leather) = 15 GP (equal to 2 increments of AC, each 7.5 GP) AC 5 (chain) = 30 GP (equal to 4 increments of AC, each 7.5 GP) AC 3 (plate) = 50 GP (equal to 6 increment ofs AC, 4 at 7.5 GP, 2 at 10 GP each) Folks get hung up on the "Plate" aspect when it's really just a name for "AC 3". I've been toying with the idea of tying the effectiveness of shields to the body armor worn - the heavier your body armor, the more redundant "overkill" the shield is and the less it contributes, but with light or no armor then a shield is the single biggest improvement you can make to your defenses. Something like the following: AC 9 - no armor AC 8 - helmet only AC 7 - leather AC 6 - shield AC 5 - mail AC 4 - leather & shield AC 3 - mail & shield, or plate mail AC 2 - plate mail & shield AC 1 - full plate (if available) In full plate, a shield provides no additional defensive benefit unless it's a magical shield, in which case only its "pluses" apply. I'd also attach movement speed reductions to armor classes rather than to specific armor types; a shield may not weigh as much as a coat of mail, but carrying it is much less convenient and you have to keep from banging it against things so I think it should be at least as encumbering. I might put the lines as 9" movement for AC 6 or better, and 6" movement for AC 3 or better. Also, rather than using a hit location rule for not wearing helmets, just have failure to wear a helmet be a 1 point penalty to armor class. I'm also inclined to let magic-users wear helmets, since I like wizards with cool headdresses or skull helmets or whatnot, and the extra point of armor class might just help them a little bit to survive the low levels. Incidentally, I think the idea of "non-protective" helmets mentioned in the description of the Helm of Reading Magic and Languages is nonsense and just a relic of the fact that Gary Gygax's preferred playing style involved giving out magic items like candy with one hand, but with the other hand breaking, stealing, or otherwise taking them away. That is an interesting variant, while I am not in favor of nerfing shields, I see a lot of good in this re-imagining of AC. I really like AC 8 - helmet only. I have always assumed that all armor includes a helmet, but having a helmet only slot is pretty cool.
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Post by Desparil on Aug 16, 2021 6:06:40 GMT -6
The intent is the opposite of nerfing shields. If you look closely, shields provide their "by the book" defense when paired with plate mail, but provide multiple points of protection if anything lighter than plate is worn - mail & shield is AC 3 instead of AC 4, for example. But glad you liked the helmet idea! I assume that all armor includes a helmet as well, but the 1 point reduction for not having one could come into play for listening at doors, or as a strategy to improve mobility - with my suggested scheme for determining movement speed, a man in plate mail without a shield, or chainmail with a shield, could improve his movement to 9" by removing his helmet. Presumably the extra movement would be made possible by the increased awareness of one's surroundings with unobstructed vision and hearing.
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aramis
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Post by aramis on Aug 17, 2021 20:33:35 GMT -6
From my limited experience as an SCA Heavy and decades of SCA Fence, and 20 years marshalling fights: D&D sorely underrates the heater or round shields...
Amongst the knights I've seen, more than 90% of hits are against the shield.
the 5% get-through difference is not a good reflection of the heater. 15% (as Desparil's houserule) is a much more accurate. No helm probably should be more like -2, rather than Desparil's -1.
The default 1-H swung weapon strike is typically fired from over the sword-shoulder. It's usually aimed at head or shoulder/upper-arm. Assuming right handed, the weapon arcs counter-clockwise into the target, usually at the shield. A 2-3 inch shield move will move the hit to the shield and/or deflect it upwards over the head. (I'll expand this later.)
If the weapon is stopped by the shield, a gravity drop and then lift us used to return to ready; if it is defelcted over the head, it's usually brought around oneself back to the ready.
Short swings from blades/hafts upright in front can be quite effective, and recover back to same by rebound, but are lower power. (Sir Georg with an axe simulator was able to force me back and lever my lead foot off the ground with such a short strike; the pivot point was my back heel.
With two right-handers or two left-handers, the most common hits will be head and knee; with shapes other than heater or kite, in the typical 2-3½' wide, the thigh is also common.
Throwing low is doable, but not as easy a shot.
So, helms probably should be -2, or negate the shield if a shield but no helmet, as the shield drives many a solid shoulder hit into a glancing headshot.
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