Post/Author/DateTime	Post
E_Vernon 04-01-07, 11:51 AM	I've never liked the idea of how armor and clothing works in D&D. So half-plate doesn't come with a helmet, but what if the PC has a helmet he likes and he wants to wear it? No armor bonus or what? Or what if you find the guantlets for full plate, but the leggings for spint mail. How many times do you find a full, usable set of armor? Oh, and don't forget the ever perfect chain shirt. Hello, you have a helmet and armor protecting your chest. Your arms, legs, and everything not head and chest is open for attacks. How does that add just as much protection as a suit of scale mail. And then clothing. What dictates clothing being warm enough or breezy enough. And what about clothing getting wet in the snow. So you have a cold weather outfit and you get a +5 circumstance bonus to your Fortitude saves against exposure. But how hard is it to fit the wool coat on under your armor? And what if you each step into the snow soaks your nice thick pants? Another thing I want is for meals to have an actual effect. Are there any rules on starvation? What if the PCs go a whole day without breakfast or lunch and only eat at dinner. Aren't they going to be tired and maybe even a bit grumpy during the day? You have a steel sword. But, the only time it gets damaged is when someone actually aims for it. What happens when you swing that sword against platemail? Ouch! And how many hits can your armor actually deflect before it starts giving in? So you kill a deer. How many does it serve? A lot. But how long does the meat last? Do you even have salt to preserve it? Ouch. And weapons. I have a greatsword. Sweet. My buddy has a shortsword. Not as sweet. Why? Because I can do more damage and swing it just as fast. And I don't even get tired from weilding it, man I'm good. Conclusion: I want the characters to mean more just by what they have. Weapons, armor, and equipment is so generic and basic. Where's the fun in customization until magic items? None. Just buy the greatsword and the chain shirt and we're good to go. I want characters to think in a more roleplay-oriented way when equipping themselves. However, the only way I see this possible is by adding more statistics. Any ideas? Do any sources already exist with these things mapped out?
Elthbert 04-01-07, 12:17 PM	Well back in second edition they had a optional rule for armour points, each type of armour had a certian number of points before it was useless. As I remember the armour only took damage when the characeter did, sort of representing the blows that penetrated the armour as ones that acutally damaged it. This sysstem was in the 2nd edition arms and equipment guide --- it also had a peicemeal armour system. 1st edition had weapon modifiers to hit based on what armour they were attacking. Frankly I think this was themost realistic set method of doing it. It certianly explianed why certian weapons which might be statistically inferior would ever be carried by anyone. They also had weapon speed and room required to use as part of the weapon statistics. A 1st edition players handbook shouldn't be too hard to come by. Now I have done rea martial training with swords and such since 1994 and I can tell you using what D&D calls a great sword ( Which in history was called a long sword) is no harder than using a swort sword, in fact I get more tired, and tired faster, using a a single sword and buckler than a two hander. Remember, in real life, a Great (long) Sword is really only about 4 pounds( sometimes less), an arming sword is 3lbs and the twohander has 2 hands weilding it. All of that said, I don't like the you never get tired rule either. So in my campaigns, after a number of rounds of continuous combat equal to your constitution score ( not modifier) you must make con checks every round( DC 12 modified for enviornment) or take minuses. After they fail the first check they stay at those penalties for a number of rounds equal to thier con score then they make checks agian. I start at a-1 to everything, then go the fatigued/exhausted route. This is only for continuous combat, a pitched battle with armies has lots of chances for rest so don't think it completely renders large scale battles impossible. Edit: y the way swords don't take much damage hitting things like armor edge on edge contact between two swords onthe other hand will ruin a sword fast. Still I charge a blanket matainance cost for the equipment my players have--- it doesn't have to be much , but it should be there
unfortunate_crow 04-01-07, 12:17 PM	You don't need to add stats to promote a more role-play oriented outlook as far as equipment is concerned. Perhaps a better idea would be to lay off on the rules a little and go with the flow. Don't force your players to gimp themselves because of your own (not even neccessarily shared) opinion of how things should be. Back in the old days, there weren't rules for everything. There still doesn't need to be. There don't need to be rules on how many people a dead elk can serve. Make a judgement call and come up with something yourself that sounds reasonable. For our group, a dead boar only fed us for 3-4 days. There was certainly enough meat for more, but we were travelling and had no way to preserve it. The weather was cold, so we packed it in ice when not on the move, and that bought us the extra days.