4.0 Think Tank: Armor [Archive] - Wizards Community

4.0 Think Tank: Armor [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Zepherdragon
06-14-06, 03:09 AM In spite of all the numbers that will follow in this post, the end product will be one value for DR for any given set of armor. It's going to sound complicated but that's only because I'm actually explaining how I got the DR for each set of armor. The bolded text is the heading and then the conclusion, the other stuff is the rational behind it.

#1 Surface area of the humanoid and armor piece protection
To start off I calculated the % of surface area each body part represented. The break down goes as follows: Head (anything that your hair on your head covers) 3.5%, face 3.5%, neck 1.8%, shoulders 5.3%, chest/back 17.1%, waist (pretty much anything your underwear covers) 6.7%, thighs 24.3 %, shins 13.3%, feet 5.3%, biceps 7.7%, forearms 7.1%, hands 3.8%. It should equal to very close to 100% (some of the values where in the thousandths). Measurements are for a 6'1 150 lb athletic male but not necessarily representative of all humanoids in D&D. It is however fairly average for the body sizes of half-orcs to elves. I then took the % of the most protected areas on the body. For example the inner part of the arms and legs aren't highly protected because they isn't easily exposed to attacks. This changes the percentages to more rounded and manageable numbers. Head 5%, Neck (not included for armor purposes), Face 5%, Shoulders 5%, Chest 25%, Waist 10%, Thighs 20%, Shins 10%, Feet 5%, Forearms 5%, Biceps 5%, Hands 5%.

#2- Armor is a bi-layer system.
When making any set of armor, there is a layer of soft material between you and the metal like cloth or leather. The first layer is fairly negligible if made of common cotton or cow hide, but D&D is a fantasy world, and leather can be as tough as steel if a DM allows. I'm also hoping to be educated some more by RL armor smiths and this subject still open for debate. Pretty much there is an under layer and an outer layer to armors.

#3- Steel is twice as hard as iron.
This part wasn't easy to come up with even though it seems cut and dry. First I had to figure how much force it took to penetrate 3/16 of an inch of plate iron, steel, mithral, adamantine, etc. Given the standard weapon damage of a dagger in the PHB 1d4, the most force the average strength humanoid can get is 4 points of damage. I figured that a dagger's blade is about 3/16 thick on average from cutting edge to middle of the dagger. I would figure, not much physical evidence to back it up but since I can make the rules, a dagger wielded by a creature with a str score of 10 cannot piece plate armor of the same metal, however, a larger weapon such as a short sword, can(short sword deals 6 max damage). Thus the DR of a piece of plate iron is 5 points of damage.

#4- The law of averages.
This law makes sure that in spite of the complex rational of the Armor system, there will be only one value given for DR in the end. If plate iron armor is worn head to toe, there is 100% coverage and no matter where the defender is struck (baring critical hits), the armor will protect the defender from 5 points of damage. If the defender is missing 20% of its protection the DR is reduced by 20%. The law of averages kicks in here. Granted the armor will defend the wearer from 5 points of damage 80% of the time, but there are places where it will protect 0 points of damage. If 100 attacks are made against the defender, 20 will land in the unprotected portion of the defender. To keep things simple I'm overlooking the fact that feet are rarely the target of attack and that some areas of the body are far more prone to being struck than others. Incorporating this would greatly complicate combat. Doing the math, you can figure the DR granted by iron for every 10% of coverage the armor provides. 5DR/10 = .5 points of DR per 10% of coverage.
All pre-made armor templates follow the same stats as below

For one layer of protection

Material DR per 10% of armor coverage
Cloth .05
Treated Leather .1
Iron .5
Steel 1
Mithral 1
Adamantine 2
Monolith 4
Black Dragon Scale 3.6
Remember...
Head = 5%
Face = 5%
Shoulder= 5%
Chest= 25%
Waist= 10%
Thigh= 20%
Shin= 10%
Feet= 5%
Bicep= 5%
Forearm= 5%
Hands= 5%

Thus...
Full plate of Steel with Leather interior = 11DR
1 point for full coverage 100% leather on the 1st layer, and 10 points for the steel being 100% of the 2nd layer.
Iron Breastplate = 25% coverage * .5 = 1.5Dr rounded up to 2DR.

Armor penalties are based on weight. -1 penalty to str based skills and Dex modifier to AC for every 5lbs the armor weighs. For each point of strength modifier a creature has, the penalty is reduced by 1. Thus if a creature has a 15 strength, and wearing 30 lbs of armor, -6 penalty, creatures Dex modifier to AC is instead reduced by -4. This means there is no Max Dex allowed, but a penalty to AC based on weight which can be offset by strength.
*Question* Should the penalty be -1 for every 10 lbs or more instead? What about being encumbered? Should the weight, if it exceeds the creatures Dex modifier, increase its ability to be hit such as granting a
-x modifier to dexterity?********

Armor Styles-
1/2 thickness: half the weight/ half the DR provided
1/2 coverage: half the weight/ half the DR provided
2x Thickness: 2x the weight/ 2x the DR provided (note that the Dex penalty to AC is very steep.
Chain Style/Splint Style/Scale style/Banded Style: ***Need help here, I honestly don't know the significant advantages and disadvantages of these armor styles***

Custom armor can be made using the above systems to suit your idea of what your PC looks like without worrying about arbitrary penalties. Of course in a Core Rule book of 4.0, DRs will be given for Chain Mail, Full plate mail, leather armor, etc.
Johannixx
06-14-06, 03:19 AM I would not go for the 'total coverage equals more DR' route. Armor will stop damage no matter where it sits, but having more coverage won't let it stop more damage, it only means it'll stop damage more often. I would have the armor set the DR, and the coverage set the chance that it will apply to any given hit.
Zepherdragon
06-14-06, 03:48 AM I would not go for the 'total coverage equals more DR' route. Armor will stop damage no matter where it sits, but having more coverage won't let it stop more damage, it only means it'll stop damage more often. I would have the armor set the DR, and the coverage set the chance that it will apply to any given hit.

I totaly agree, but it adds another step in the combat system that will not be welcome by new players. Thats why I use the Law of Averages.

100 hits on a person wearing full iron plate armor that provides 5 DR. No matter where the defender is struck, that armor will prevent 5 points of damage.

100 hits on a person wearing 80% full iron plate armor that provides 5 DR where the armor covers but 0 points where it doesn't. If a weapon deals 6 points of damage on average per attack 20 of the attacks will deal 6 points of damage to the defender (20 * 6 = 120 pts of damage). 80 of the attacks will be reduced to deal 1 point of damage for a total of 80 damage. If the total damage possible is 600 points of damage (100 * 6) 480 is absorbed by the armor. 120 of 600 damage is 1/5 or 20%. 20% of 5 is 4. So the average DR of only wearing 80% of the armor is 4 points of damage per attack. Also you can simply use the table and it's just the same.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Zepherdragon 06-14-06, 03:09 AM	In spite of all the numbers that will follow in this post, the end product will be one value for DR for any given set of armor. It's going to sound complicated but that's only because I'm actually explaining how I got the DR for each set of armor. The bolded text is the heading and then the conclusion, the other stuff is the rational behind it. #1 Surface area of the humanoid and armor piece protection To start off I calculated the % of surface area each body part represented. The break down goes as follows: Head (anything that your hair on your head covers) 3.5%, face 3.5%, neck 1.8%, shoulders 5.3%, chest/back 17.1%, waist (pretty much anything your underwear covers) 6.7%, thighs 24.3 %, shins 13.3%, feet 5.3%, biceps 7.7%, forearms 7.1%, hands 3.8%. It should equal to very close to 100% (some of the values where in the thousandths). Measurements are for a 6'1 150 lb athletic male but not necessarily representative of all humanoids in D&D. It is however fairly average for the body sizes of half-orcs to elves. I then took the % of the most protected areas on the body. For example the inner part of the arms and legs aren't highly protected because they isn't easily exposed to attacks. This changes the percentages to more rounded and manageable numbers. Head 5%, Neck (not included for armor purposes), Face 5%, Shoulders 5%, Chest 25%, Waist 10%, Thighs 20%, Shins 10%, Feet 5%, Forearms 5%, Biceps 5%, Hands 5%. #2- Armor is a bi-layer system. When making any set of armor, there is a layer of soft material between you and the metal like cloth or leather. The first layer is fairly negligible if made of common cotton or cow hide, but D&D is a fantasy world, and leather can be as tough as steel if a DM allows. I'm also hoping to be educated some more by RL armor smiths and this subject still open for debate. Pretty much there is an under layer and an outer layer to armors. #3- Steel is twice as hard as iron. This part wasn't easy to come up with even though it seems cut and dry. First I had to figure how much force it took to penetrate 3/16 of an inch of plate iron, steel, mithral, adamantine, etc. Given the standard weapon damage of a dagger in the PHB 1d4, the most force the average strength humanoid can get is 4 points of damage. I figured that a dagger's blade is about 3/16 thick on average from cutting edge to middle of the dagger. I would figure, not much physical evidence to back it up but since I can make the rules, a dagger wielded by a creature with a str score of 10 cannot piece plate armor of the same metal, however, a larger weapon such as a short sword, can(short sword deals 6 max damage). Thus the DR of a piece of plate iron is 5 points of damage. #4- The law of averages. This law makes sure that in spite of the complex rational of the Armor system, there will be only one value given for DR in the end. If plate iron armor is worn head to toe, there is 100% coverage and no matter where the defender is struck (baring critical hits), the armor will protect the defender from 5 points of damage. If the defender is missing 20% of its protection the DR is reduced by 20%. The law of averages kicks in here. Granted the armor will defend the wearer from 5 points of damage 80% of the time, but there are places where it will protect 0 points of damage. If 100 attacks are made against the defender, 20 will land in the unprotected portion of the defender. To keep things simple I'm overlooking the fact that feet are rarely the target of attack and that some areas of the body are far more prone to being struck than others. Incorporating this would greatly complicate combat. Doing the math, you can figure the DR granted by iron for every 10% of coverage the armor provides. 5DR/10 = .5 points of DR per 10% of coverage. All pre-made armor templates follow the same stats as below For one layer of protection Material DR per 10% of armor coverage Cloth .05 Treated Leather .1 Iron .5 Steel 1 Mithral 1 Adamantine 2 Monolith 4 Black Dragon Scale 3.6 Remember... Head = 5% Face = 5% Shoulder= 5% Chest= 25% Waist= 10% Thigh= 20% Shin= 10% Feet= 5% Bicep= 5% Forearm= 5% Hands= 5% Thus... Full plate of Steel with Leather interior = 11DR 1 point for full coverage 100% leather on the 1st layer, and 10 points for the steel being 100% of the 2nd layer. Iron Breastplate = 25% coverage * .5 = 1.5Dr rounded up to 2DR. Armor penalties are based on weight. -1 penalty to str based skills and Dex modifier to AC for every 5lbs the armor weighs. For each point of strength modifier a creature has, the penalty is reduced by 1. Thus if a creature has a 15 strength, and wearing 30 lbs of armor, -6 penalty, creatures Dex modifier to AC is instead reduced by -4. This means there is no Max Dex allowed, but a penalty to AC based on weight which can be offset by strength. Question Should the penalty be -1 for every 10 lbs or more instead? What about being encumbered? Should the weight, if it exceeds the creatures Dex modifier, increase its ability to be hit such as granting a -x modifier to dexterity?****** Armor Styles- 1/2 thickness: half the weight/ half the DR provided 1/2 coverage: half the weight/ half the DR provided 2x Thickness: 2x the weight/ 2x the DR provided (note that the Dex penalty to AC is very steep. Chain Style/Splint Style/Scale style/Banded Style: Need help here, I honestly don't know the significant advantages and disadvantages of these armor styles** Custom armor can be made using the above systems to suit your idea of what your PC looks like without worrying about arbitrary penalties. Of course in a Core Rule book of 4.0, DRs will be given for Chain Mail, Full plate mail, leather armor, etc.
Johannixx 06-14-06, 03:19 AM	I would not go for the 'total coverage equals more DR' route. Armor will stop damage no matter where it sits, but having more coverage won't let it stop more damage, it only means it'll stop damage more often. I would have the armor set the DR, and the coverage set the chance that it will apply to any given hit.
Zepherdragon 06-14-06, 03:48 AM	I would not go for the 'total coverage equals more DR' route. Armor will stop damage no matter where it sits, but having more coverage won't let it stop more damage, it only means it'll stop damage more often. I would have the armor set the DR, and the coverage set the chance that it will apply to any given hit. I totaly agree, but it adds another step in the combat system that will not be welcome by new players. Thats why I use the Law of Averages. 100 hits on a person wearing full iron plate armor that provides 5 DR. No matter where the defender is struck, that armor will prevent 5 points of damage. 100 hits on a person wearing 80% full iron plate armor that provides 5 DR where the armor covers but 0 points where it doesn't. If a weapon deals 6 points of damage on average per attack 20 of the attacks will deal 6 points of damage to the defender (20 * 6 = 120 pts of damage). 80 of the attacks will be reduced to deal 1 point of damage for a total of 80 damage. If the total damage possible is 600 points of damage (100 * 6) 480 is absorbed by the armor. 120 of 600 damage is 1/5 or 20%. 20% of 5 is 4. So the average DR of only wearing 80% of the armor is 4 points of damage per attack. Also you can simply use the table and it's just the same.