Armor and Shields

Matt Miller

Players tend to forget penalties, so all numbers were bonuses, with no "maluses", so rather than -3 to +3, we had 0-7. Given that players could always default to 'bare hands' at +0, all weapons had to provide a better bonus than that, so our range was only +1..+7. But the 'big numbers' made weapon very difficult to balance, so in the final list, the numbers were much compressed, even as it made weapons much more similar to one another than I would have preferred.

Rob Hicks 0 to +3 is what we ended up with for skill bonuses. +3 ended up being rare.Ultimately, for simulation, we ended up doing Jake's method of multiplying the damage of a weapon at a specific die result by the probability that such a result would happen and summing them for average damage. That let us calculate relative bonuses for two opposing dice rolls and two opposing bonuses. (What if your opponent has a shield? For example.)

Keith J Davies Ah, shields are easy. I think. "Shields must be splintered!" rules: sacrifice your shield to prevent a hit. Done.

Or, since armor is a function of coverage (die size: d8 means it applies half the time, d12 means it applies 2/3 the time) and quality (leather is 1 die, steel plate is 3 dice), a shield might simply count as another die of armor (or, more likely, give you new options in the fight; as far as I'm concerned a shield is actually a weapon, specialized to defensive purposes).

Rob Hicks  Matt Miller always pushed for shields as a piece of armor, while I always pushed for shields to be treated as a weapon. My logic to justify my stance was to buy a padded shield and attempt to beat him with it. tongue emoticon

Matt Miller My reply was to build a viking shield, and then Rob attempt to beat me around it....which left only my head and legs uncovered, demonstrating that the Greek hoplite gear (Helmet, shield, greaves) is (1v1) astonishingly effective.

Matt Miller I had forgotten the wrinkle of different defense numbers.

Keith J Davies In previous efforts, I've found that it often is beneficial to treat a shield as weapon specialized for defense...it let me collapse a surprising amount of mechanics.

Matt Miller Yeah, the combination of armor+shield can form a near-wall. Which, while realistic...isn't that enjoyable for gameplay. Armor mechanics are a head-ache all their own.