Armor as DR...magical increases? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Armor as DR...magical increases? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
theotherdraxen
10-10-06, 03:58 PM I've taken the Armor as DR variant in Unearthed Arcana and stripped it of it's AC bonuses, replacing them wit a base defense bonus equal to one-half your base attack bonus.

The problem is that the damage reduction provided by armor maxes out a 4 (or 5 if you include mountain plate). This fails to keep up with the massive damage dealt by magic weapons (many of which can increase their damage by 1d6 at a +1 price bonus). I know there are energy resistances for armor, but I don't want my players to have to play a luck game by choosing energy types for their armor.

So I thought a fair +1 price bonus to armor would be and extra DR 2. That means that a +5 suit of mountain plate offers DR 15/-.

With the BDB system, characters will generally get hit more often than normal (as armor now provides nothing, and the maximum bonus replacing it is a +10, the protective quality of a +2 suit of full plate, or non-magical mountain plate). I hope the exchange will be less damage.

Does it sound about balanced?

BTW: I don't actually have Races of Stone, so my stats might be off, but I'm pretty sure that Mountain Plate offers AC +10, which is DR5/- by the armor as DR rules.
Xeviat-DM
10-10-06, 05:25 PM If you increase the cost of magic armor to enhancement squared x 2,000 instead of x 1,000 as it is now, I could see having each +1 enhancement grant +1 AC and +1 DR, but not +2. I understand that +2 DR is closer to +1 AC than +1 DR is, but magic weapons only add +1 to hit and +1 to damage, so they'd counter each other nicely.

The only problem is that this is going to make armor enhancements cost more, and thus be worth less. One other fix would be to change the fortification property, the invulnerability property, or both:

Fortification is changed to a +1 armor enhancement that grants 2/- DR. The only problem is that this does not compare to the DR granting enhancements out of Complete Warrior, but one could argue that these are not balanced.
theotherdraxen
10-10-06, 07:31 PM What if the armor enhancement cost was kept the same, but the DR extra provided was +1 for each +1 bonus? That way, to counter a +1 weapon enhancement (worth 2,000 gp), you would need a +1 shield (1,000 gp) and a +1 suit of armor (1,000 gp)? If players want DR against those elemental and energy attacks given off by weapons, then they will have to guess when making the armor (they're not price bonuses anyway, so they are a little easier to obtain when compared to what they offer). Plus, there are other sources of magic that can grant extra DR against a specific attack if they need.

Besided, I think I was being a little unfair in robbing the flaming sword of it's edge. D&D favors hits over misses (and who would prefer it the other way?).
rydi123
10-11-06, 02:45 AM yeah, i too think each +1 counting as 1 DR makes the most sense.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
theotherdraxen 10-10-06, 03:58 PM	I've taken the Armor as DR variant in Unearthed Arcana and stripped it of it's AC bonuses, replacing them wit a base defense bonus equal to one-half your base attack bonus. The problem is that the damage reduction provided by armor maxes out a 4 (or 5 if you include mountain plate). This fails to keep up with the massive damage dealt by magic weapons (many of which can increase their damage by 1d6 at a +1 price bonus). I know there are energy resistances for armor, but I don't want my players to have to play a luck game by choosing energy types for their armor. So I thought a fair +1 price bonus to armor would be and extra DR 2. That means that a +5 suit of mountain plate offers DR 15/-. With the BDB system, characters will generally get hit more often than normal (as armor now provides nothing, and the maximum bonus replacing it is a +10, the protective quality of a +2 suit of full plate, or non-magical mountain plate). I hope the exchange will be less damage. Does it sound about balanced? BTW: I don't actually have Races of Stone, so my stats might be off, but I'm pretty sure that Mountain Plate offers AC +10, which is DR5/- by the armor as DR rules.
Xeviat-DM 10-10-06, 05:25 PM	If you increase the cost of magic armor to enhancement squared x 2,000 instead of x 1,000 as it is now, I could see having each +1 enhancement grant +1 AC and +1 DR, but not +2. I understand that +2 DR is closer to +1 AC than +1 DR is, but magic weapons only add +1 to hit and +1 to damage, so they'd counter each other nicely. The only problem is that this is going to make armor enhancements cost more, and thus be worth less. One other fix would be to change the fortification property, the invulnerability property, or both: Fortification is changed to a +1 armor enhancement that grants 2/- DR. The only problem is that this does not compare to the DR granting enhancements out of Complete Warrior, but one could argue that these are not balanced.
theotherdraxen 10-10-06, 07:31 PM	What if the armor enhancement cost was kept the same, but the DR extra provided was +1 for each +1 bonus? That way, to counter a +1 weapon enhancement (worth 2,000 gp), you would need a +1 shield (1,000 gp) and a +1 suit of armor (1,000 gp)? If players want DR against those elemental and energy attacks given off by weapons, then they will have to guess when making the armor (they're not price bonuses anyway, so they are a little easier to obtain when compared to what they offer). Plus, there are other sources of magic that can grant extra DR against a specific attack if they need. Besided, I think I was being a little unfair in robbing the flaming sword of it's edge. D&D favors hits over misses (and who would prefer it the other way?).
rydi123 10-11-06, 02:45 AM	yeah, i too think each +1 counting as 1 DR makes the most sense.