Armour and Weariness [Archive] - Wizards Community

Armour and Weariness [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Vahenir
11-09-05, 11:10 AM Okay.. so I'm designing weariness rules for a non-d20 game I'm creating (just a little side-hobby when I have time to work on it) and armour will make use of this. I figured it might be fun to post a bit of that for the d20 system.

Keep in mind that these rules do not take many aspects of the d20 system into account, including its warped sense of 'balance.' Feel free to try to 'balance' these rules, or do with them what you will. I'm just putting them here more as food for thought.

The concept of Weariness is just how it sounds. The more worn out you are, the less effective you become until you've had time to rest. Various things can make resisting weariness more difficult, such as spellcasting and fighting. Weariness checks may be called by the DM whenever he deems appropriate.

Appropriate circumstances include, but are not limited to; fighting, spellcasting, moving through excessively difficult terrain, etc.

Armour, rather than having a maximum Dexterity bonus, has a new value called 'Weariness Penalty.' This penalty is applied to any check to resist weariness.

The weariness penalty value of an armour is derived not only from its inherent weight, but also from other factors, such as the distribution of the armour's weight and the overall bulk of the armour.

For example, a mail hauberk has an equal Weariness Penalty to a plate harness. This is because while the plate harness is heavier and more cumbersome, the mail hauberk's weight is almost entirely held on the shoulders -- making it far less comfortable to wear.

The basic weariness rule is that characters are assumed to be capable of acting in a normal fashion for up to 20 hours. After 20 hours of normal activity characters must either take their normal allottment of rest (8 hours for a human) or begin making Weariness checks. A weariness check is a Constitution check. The DC in this circumstance is 5 and increases by 2 for every hour thereafter.

So if your character has not rested in 20 hours and is wearing, say, a gambeson (WP 1) he must make a Con check with a DC of 6 or become Tired.

The Weariness levels (beta stages still) are:

Tired: -1 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC.
Drained: -2 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC.
Fatigued: -3 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC.
Spent: -4 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC.
Exhausted: -5 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC.
Dying: -10 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC (reduced in HP as per RAW)
Dead: ...Dead.

An important thing to note is that continuously overworking yourself in any way can result in death. Also, extreme failure on a Weariness check can result in the loss of more than one 'level' of Weariness. Theoretically, a character can fall from exhausted to dead rather than just to dying. The penalties also make it so that getting more and more weary is extremely dangerous.

For each level of weariness you have been subjected to after Fatigued, you require an extra 4 hours of rest to recuperate -- 'healing' at a rate of one weariness level for every extra four hours.

For example, a character that is exhausted and only rests for 12 hours will be Spent upon awakening. But if that character rests for 16 hours they will be fully hale upon awakening. (This is an imperfect time table that will obviously be adjusted at some point).

Armour, thus, can make fighting and marching far more difficult. On the plus side, because a character's Dexterity is no longer restricted by his armour - armour is much more useful to all characters with a decent Con (low-Con characters will typically not be able to make their Weariness checks -- causing them to find it much more difficult to even fight in their armour, let alone wear it for prolonged periods of time as a high-Con character is capable of doing). Of course, this does not change any class abilities which require a character to be unarmoured, or requires a character not wear a particular type of armour.

Take this hypothetical situation as an example of the incomplete system at work (remember, this idea is currently more of a theory than any kind of balanced ruleset):

Adrenus: 1st level Fighter. 13 Con, 13 Dex. Plate armour (Weariness Penalty = 6)
Semni: 1st level Fighter. 10 Con, 15 Dex. No armour.

The characters are marching through a desert in mid-day. The heat and discomfort are excrutiating, but the characters do have sufficient water to not dehydrate. The DM calls for a weariness check with a DC of 2 (this check is being done within the first hour or so of the desert-march, which explains the DC being so low).

Semni makes his check easily enough. Adrenus, however, has to make a DC 8 due to the penalty of 6 imposed by his armour. Luckily he has a +1 bonus from his Con. Oops.. he rolled a 6. Even with his Con bonus Adrenus is just too hot in that suit. He is now tired.

Two hours later the DM calls for another weariness check with the same base DC. Semni again manages to just make it, rolling a 2.

Adrenus is in a much more difficult place. The DC is again 8 after being modified by his armour. Also, Adrenus is already tired, which imposes a -1 penalty to his Con check. We can consider this cancelled out by Adrenus's +1 Con, so he needs to roll an 8 or higher. Adrenus rolls a 10 -- he's doing okay.

Oh no.. a giant scorpion! The fighting is harsh, but this scorpion is tough to put down. The fighting drags on for more than 3 rounds under the hot desert sun. The DM calls for another weariness check -- DC 5 (2 for the environment and 3 for having to fight in it). Semni doesn't make it. He is now tired.

Adrenus is even worse off. His DC after armour considerations is 11. Further, he has that -1 penalty from being tired that offsets his Con bonus. Disaster strikes.. Adrenus rolls a 1. He failed by 10. This constitutes a loss of two weariness levels rather than one. Adrenus is now fatigued.

If the battle goes on too much longer.. Adrenus can expect that he might die before finishing this desert march. These two friends better find an Oasis or pitch a tent post haste.

Of course.. this is an extreme example. The finalized version of these rules won't require so many checks, or at least failure won't be so severe. But it gives a good idea of how the system will work.

There it is. I hope it wasn't too confusing.
Vahenir
11-10-05, 01:18 PM Didn't strike anyone's interest, huh? Ah well.
Watchman
11-10-05, 04:22 PM Eh, probably an unnecessarily complicated way to do it (or, as I like to express it, "climbing up a tree butt first"). Just integrate it into the main encumberance and fatigue rules (whatever those now are) in some sensible manner and everybody will be happier.
Vahenir
11-10-05, 04:47 PM It probably does seem more complicated than it is. Gotta remember that it's designed for a non-d20 game system and in that system it will be fully integrated with the rules and will have a lot of changes to reflect not depending on the d20 rules. This version is just something I changed around to fit d20 as a curiosity, not as a functional ruleset. I was just curious what people thought of the idea overall, rather than the admittedly poor implementation.
Watchman
11-10-05, 05:06 PM Eh, when I take a closer look at it what you initially posted pretty much is a fatigue system although at the moment too focused on armour...

Instead of getting too tangled up in armour and all, I would recommend a more vague approach - what the GM judges to be hot and heavy (like all but the lightest armour) to wear is going to make you miserable over time, not even checks involved.

Personally I like the GURPS system in this thing. Certain activities consume fatigue points (FPs; these days counted off the equivalent of Constitution) over time, period. Factors such as heat, heavy load, difficult ground, or overly hot garments will increase the rate. Coversely assorted things - resting and eating to regain energy, for example - regenerate them. Four advantages - Very Unfit, Unfit, (baseline), Fit and Very Fit affect the rate, halving or doubling them as appropriate. For example compared to the baseline Very Fit loses FPs at half the rate, and regenerates at double the rate - and naturally it's vice versa for Very Unfit.

Better than checking against some score IMHO. The way physical exercise affects people isn't AFAIK very random after all...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Vahenir 11-09-05, 11:10 AM	Okay.. so I'm designing weariness rules for a non-d20 game I'm creating (just a little side-hobby when I have time to work on it) and armour will make use of this. I figured it might be fun to post a bit of that for the d20 system. Keep in mind that these rules do not take many aspects of the d20 system into account, including its warped sense of 'balance.' Feel free to try to 'balance' these rules, or do with them what you will. I'm just putting them here more as food for thought. The concept of Weariness is just how it sounds. The more worn out you are, the less effective you become until you've had time to rest. Various things can make resisting weariness more difficult, such as spellcasting and fighting. Weariness checks may be called by the DM whenever he deems appropriate. Appropriate circumstances include, but are not limited to; fighting, spellcasting, moving through excessively difficult terrain, etc. Armour, rather than having a maximum Dexterity bonus, has a new value called 'Weariness Penalty.' This penalty is applied to any check to resist weariness. The weariness penalty value of an armour is derived not only from its inherent weight, but also from other factors, such as the distribution of the armour's weight and the overall bulk of the armour. For example, a mail hauberk has an equal Weariness Penalty to a plate harness. This is because while the plate harness is heavier and more cumbersome, the mail hauberk's weight is almost entirely held on the shoulders -- making it far less comfortable to wear. The basic weariness rule is that characters are assumed to be capable of acting in a normal fashion for up to 20 hours. After 20 hours of normal activity characters must either take their normal allottment of rest (8 hours for a human) or begin making Weariness checks. A weariness check is a Constitution check. The DC in this circumstance is 5 and increases by 2 for every hour thereafter. So if your character has not rested in 20 hours and is wearing, say, a gambeson (WP 1) he must make a Con check with a DC of 6 or become Tired. The Weariness levels (beta stages still) are: Tired: -1 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC. Drained: -2 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC. Fatigued: -3 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC. Spent: -4 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC. Exhausted: -5 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC. Dying: -10 penalty to all checks, saves, attacks, and AC (reduced in HP as per RAW) Dead: ...Dead. An important thing to note is that continuously overworking yourself in any way can result in death. Also, extreme failure on a Weariness check can result in the loss of more than one 'level' of Weariness. Theoretically, a character can fall from exhausted to dead rather than just to dying. The penalties also make it so that getting more and more weary is extremely dangerous. For each level of weariness you have been subjected to after Fatigued, you require an extra 4 hours of rest to recuperate -- 'healing' at a rate of one weariness level for every extra four hours. For example, a character that is exhausted and only rests for 12 hours will be Spent upon awakening. But if that character rests for 16 hours they will be fully hale upon awakening. (This is an imperfect time table that will obviously be adjusted at some point). Armour, thus, can make fighting and marching far more difficult. On the plus side, because a character's Dexterity is no longer restricted by his armour - armour is much more useful to all characters with a decent Con (low-Con characters will typically not be able to make their Weariness checks -- causing them to find it much more difficult to even fight in their armour, let alone wear it for prolonged periods of time as a high-Con character is capable of doing). Of course, this does not change any class abilities which require a character to be unarmoured, or requires a character not wear a particular type of armour. Take this hypothetical situation as an example of the incomplete system at work (remember, this idea is currently more of a theory than any kind of balanced ruleset): Adrenus: 1st level Fighter. 13 Con, 13 Dex. Plate armour (Weariness Penalty = 6) Semni: 1st level Fighter. 10 Con, 15 Dex. No armour. The characters are marching through a desert in mid-day. The heat and discomfort are excrutiating, but the characters do have sufficient water to not dehydrate. The DM calls for a weariness check with a DC of 2 (this check is being done within the first hour or so of the desert-march, which explains the DC being so low). Semni makes his check easily enough. Adrenus, however, has to make a DC 8 due to the penalty of 6 imposed by his armour. Luckily he has a +1 bonus from his Con. Oops.. he rolled a 6. Even with his Con bonus Adrenus is just too hot in that suit. He is now tired. Two hours later the DM calls for another weariness check with the same base DC. Semni again manages to just make it, rolling a 2. Adrenus is in a much more difficult place. The DC is again 8 after being modified by his armour. Also, Adrenus is already tired, which imposes a -1 penalty to his Con check. We can consider this cancelled out by Adrenus's +1 Con, so he needs to roll an 8 or higher. Adrenus rolls a 10 -- he's doing okay. Oh no.. a giant scorpion! The fighting is harsh, but this scorpion is tough to put down. The fighting drags on for more than 3 rounds under the hot desert sun. The DM calls for another weariness check -- DC 5 (2 for the environment and 3 for having to fight in it). Semni doesn't make it. He is now tired. Adrenus is even worse off. His DC after armour considerations is 11. Further, he has that -1 penalty from being tired that offsets his Con bonus. Disaster strikes.. Adrenus rolls a 1. He failed by 10. This constitutes a loss of two weariness levels rather than one. Adrenus is now fatigued. If the battle goes on too much longer.. Adrenus can expect that he might die before finishing this desert march. These two friends better find an Oasis or pitch a tent post haste. Of course.. this is an extreme example. The finalized version of these rules won't require so many checks, or at least failure won't be so severe. But it gives a good idea of how the system will work. There it is. I hope it wasn't too confusing.
Vahenir 11-10-05, 01:18 PM	Didn't strike anyone's interest, huh? Ah well.
Watchman 11-10-05, 04:22 PM	Eh, probably an unnecessarily complicated way to do it (or, as I like to express it, "climbing up a tree butt first"). Just integrate it into the main encumberance and fatigue rules (whatever those now are) in some sensible manner and everybody will be happier.
Vahenir 11-10-05, 04:47 PM	It probably does seem more complicated than it is. Gotta remember that it's designed for a non-d20 game system and in that system it will be fully integrated with the rules and will have a lot of changes to reflect not depending on the d20 rules. This version is just something I changed around to fit d20 as a curiosity, not as a functional ruleset. I was just curious what people thought of the idea overall, rather than the admittedly poor implementation.
Watchman 11-10-05, 05:06 PM	Eh, when I take a closer look at it what you initially posted pretty much is a fatigue system although at the moment too focused on armour... Instead of getting too tangled up in armour and all, I would recommend a more vague approach - what the GM judges to be hot and heavy (like all but the lightest armour) to wear is going to make you miserable over time, not even checks involved. Personally I like the GURPS system in this thing. Certain activities consume fatigue points (FPs; these days counted off the equivalent of Constitution) over time, period. Factors such as heat, heavy load, difficult ground, or overly hot garments will increase the rate. Coversely assorted things - resting and eating to regain energy, for example - regenerate them. Four advantages - Very Unfit, Unfit, (baseline), Fit and Very Fit affect the rate, halving or doubling them as appropriate. For example compared to the baseline Very Fit loses FPs at half the rate, and regenerates at double the rate - and naturally it's vice versa for Very Unfit. Better than checking against some score IMHO. The way physical exercise affects people isn't AFAIK very random after all...