Armor-Lite Playtest World (Pulp Fantasy)

[KeyIXTheHermit]

We've been playing C&C with most of the rules changes dictated by the setting. But the one thing I've wanted to do was have a world akin to the world of John Carter, or Beastmaster, or Savage Sword of Conan. A world inspired by Frazetta art and pulp fantasy.

The big bugaboo is armor. You just don't see it on the heroes of these worlds, but C&C pretty much requires it. Even if you can only have +2 or so, that's still 10% more defense than you would have had without it.

But I just got a CKG, and it's just chock full of goodies, and now it's given me an idea! I discussed it with my wife, and she liked it, so I talked to my other players (actually, just one of the two, but they're married), and he/they liked it, too. So, we're going to get together and playtest it next week! We wanted to do it this week, but we couldn't get together. But plans are made, so by next week we'll have tried it.

Here's the plan:

I got the idea from the section on Damage Reduction in the CKG. I took the basic idea and added a bit to it. What we're going to do is, AC for Player Characters will be equal to 10 + BtH + Dex Bonus + Misc Factors. That's right, BtH will be used to hit AND as defense. As a character grows in skill, their ability to defend will grow, as well. Right now I'm thinking that Defensive BtH will have a maximum value of 10, however. Still, unless you're a Fighter, it will take a long time for many characters to reach that level.

The beauty is that now Rogues, Wizards, etc., can now have defense abilities without resorting to magic. How well they defend will be a factor of how well they fight.

Now, if they still want to wear armor, then they can only wear armors permitted by the PHB. But worn armor will have a number of hit points equal to the AC x 10, and will take a number of hits per round equal to the AC of the armor (in other words, following the Damage Reduction rules exactly as written).

One other note, however. The AC of worn armor will also act as a penalty to the character's AC. So a +4 chain shirt will reduce the defense AC by four points... but it will protect for four points of damage each round. So, it's a trade off... either wear no armor and be able to nimbly avoid attacks, or be armored and get hit more often, but your armor will absorb some of the damage.

What about Monsters? Again, the CKG answered that for me: it makes a good point that monsters aren't characters and don't necessarily get all of the benefits that characters get. So, for the sake of simplicity, monsters will still use the standard rules as written. They won't get "absorbing armor" or have an AC based on their hit dice. Only players will get the benefit of defensive abilities that improve and the opportunity to have armor that absorbs damage (which they may choose not to wear, since the armor only absorbs a certain number of hits per round, not per attack; it might be more prudent to have the higher AC than the lower AC with armor).

The one question that begs to be answered: What about hit points? The high level of hit points are assumed to be how higher level characters are defending better. Are you going to reduce the number of hit points PC's have, because now they defend better?

Answer: Well, sorta. I run a pretty violent game, and to keep characters alive I've been giving Max HP at each level. I figure with this new rule, it would be more fair to roll the hit points. Max hit points and an increasing defense score does seem a bit much.

Anyway, we're due to playtest it with some sample combats next weekend, so I'll let you know how it goes! I'm hyped, excited, and hopeful. If it works, this will allow me to use C&C to make a world much closer to what I've been imagining.

[Captain_K]

Really cool idea. Keep us posted for how it turns out. Shields, tell us how you will run shields too. Put some thought into them. To me, the shield is a category unto itself, similar to but separate from suits of armor... think about it.

Good luck!

[KeyIXTheHermit]

Really cool idea. Keep us posted for how it turns out. Shields, tell us how you will run shields too. Put some thought into them. To me, the shield is a category unto itself, similar to but separate from suits of armor... think about it.

Good luck!

Good morning, Captain! Thanks for the thumbs up!

Shields are an issue, yes. I've discussed them with the Missus, but it will probably take some actual playtesting to figure out how to work them. It could go either way.

Since the kernel of the idea came from the CKG, I'm using that as my starting point, and the book says, "Shields increase both AC and absorb damage." So, I figure we'll start there. As you've doubtless already considered, shields inherently break the system: if you factor in their size as a penalty to AC, then they have to work to absorb damage. However, that leads to somewhat illogical gameplay, as shields usually work by the attacking weapon being caused to miss the opponent.

I figure we'll start with what the book says, and start with the shield not increasing the AC penalty. If the attack still hits, then the shield may be used to absorb 1 additional point in the round, although that does add to the damage that will make the shield non-functional. If the player chooses, the attack may be considered to have missed the shield, thus losing the 1 point of protection, but keeping the shield from being damaged.

Position, number of enemies, etc., may be factored in, depending on how tactical we're being. For just starting playtesting, my goal is to keep it fast and light.

Although I can't get the other players together until next week, the Missus and I are considering trying it out ourselves, maybe with the kiddo. I'm pretty hyped to try it out.

[Captain_K]

PLEASE start with the KISS principal... ONLY work the barest of systems, get it fast and moving easily then and only then add detail, math and book keeping... I am fully aware this is the pot warning the kettle about carbon black.. but anything too slow and detailed in PLAY or Maintenance will simply not be used.. so keep it simple.

[Captain_K]

Cool weapon types of mundane and magical nature as well as natural weapons could by pass or get around armor absorption by whole or by half. Ex magical touch or ghost touch would by pass as might a flail or bill hook..

[KeyIXTheHermit]

PLEASE start with the KISS principal... ONLY work the barest of systems, get it fast and moving easily then and only then add detail, math and book keeping... I am fully aware this is the pot warning the kettle about carbon black.. but anything too slow and detailed in PLAY or Maintenance will simply not be used.. so keep it simple.

Couldn't agree more! Definitely going to start with the basics and add to it a little at a time. We've all played enough by now to have the basics down with the RAW, but this will be very new, so I plan on starting fresh.

Shields are also going to be something we'll work up to slowly. To start, I'm not even going to have them. Once we get the hang of how things work, then I'll start adding in additional complications. I do hope we can make an assessment within one single evening, though.