Yea, I'm a dork. I know.

So, I've been doing some more work on my D&D 3E (3.5 is icky) revamping. A long time ago (I don't even know where to find it in here exactly) I posted my ideas for reworking the armor system to be more believable. After talking with Cal about how we both midly dislike the handling of Strength determining if you hit for melee attacks, I have decided to rework the basic combat system of D&D 3E. These are my notes (this is pretty much just for my own reference):

Currently the bonuses of strength are as follows:
-Increased Melee AB
-Increased Damage on Melee, and Composite Ranged Weapons
-Increased Carry Weight

Currently the bonuses of dexterity are as follows:
-Increased Ranged (and weapon finesse) AB (limited by armor?)
-Increased AC (limited by armor)
-Increased Reflex Saving Throws (also limited by armor I believe)

Ideas so far:
-All weapons AB will be based on Dexterity
-Melee and Composite Ranged weapons will still have damage increased with higher strength (normal ranged weapons will still deal no bonus damage from any stat)
-Dex-based AB bonus will not be limited by dexterity restrictions of armor worn
-Dex-based on AC bonus will remain as is (limited to a certain bonus depending on armor worn)
-Best implemented if also implementing my past armor concepts (lowering AC bonus of all armor and giving most armors an innate damage resistance of various types)

Notes:
-Currently "AC" represents both difficulty to hit the target, difficulty to hit a weak spot, and difficulty to bypass the strength of the armor itself. The new system proposed here would seperate difficulty to connect with a viable spot on the opponent from the ability to penetrate the armor on the enemy.
-It would discourage fighters from completely dumping on dex AND charisma to make them deal more damage, as they would hit a lot less.
-It is more realistic. An extremely strong person is not always going to hit the enemies. A dexterous and strong person is more effective than extremes in either, in most circumstances. This system would help to replicate that.

/End (for now)


Currently, the armor system works like this... every PC has a set base of 10 for their Armor Class... Your dexterity modifier (which has a max cap on it based on what type of armor you are wearing) is then factored in. Generally, the average human character would receive anywhere from a -1 to a +4 at character creation. The armor bonus is factored in (anywhere from +1 to +8, sans magical enhancements). Next comes shield bonuses (+1 to +3 or 4, sans magic). The only two categories left are natural (usually for monsters, but can be enhanced through amulets and such) and miscellaneous (bonuses based on size, or magical abilities such as a monks natural and wisdom-related bonuses).

Most of that makes sense as is... however, does it really make sense that a suit of armor would make it harder to hit you? The answer is no, it doesn't. Why in the name of anything holy would a plate of metal sitting on your chest make it harder to hit you there? It would make it harder to harm you in that instance... So, in order to reflect this idea, I think suit armors should ignore damage, or percents of damage, as opposed to increasing your AC. This would make hitting other PCs or strong NPCs more reasonable.


For example, a first level fighter PC would have an attack bonus (on average) of 4. Yet, she would have an armor class (when only decently equipped) of around 18-20 (not counting protective feats, etc). This means that, at first level, a fighter can easily achieve an armor class of 22. This means that a battle between two first-level fighters would take a long time to resolve considering there would be a 10% chance each round that they would actually hit one another. Note: The combat system involves rolling 1d20+(Attack Bonus) and matching or beating the defenders AC.


This new idea would also provide a slight "beef" to mages in general, in that their "normal" AC (though not their natural damage reduction anymore) would be closer to that of the other classes. This wouldn't make them at all capable in combat, because they would still be hurt very easily... but it would make them seem more viable. A mages magical robes which currently provide AC bonuses could still do so. In fact, magical armor could now have two branches involved. One would improve the natural damage reduction of suit armor... the other would be equivalent to the current magical enhancement and "magically" make you harder to hit (boosting your AC by the enhancement number).

For this system to work, the various armors would have to reflect what types of damage they can easily deal with. For a quick example:

---Chainmail is superior at stopping piercing and slashing attacks, but weak at defending bludgeoning.
---Leather armor is weak with slashing, moderate with piercing, but moderate-good at stopping bludgeoning damage.
---Studded Leather would then be slightly reinforced in the slashing resist, and about equal in piercing and bludgeoning.
---Plate Mail (to reflect it's cost, encumberance, etc) would then be excellent in stopping slashing damage, superior in stopping piercing damage, and moderate-good at dealing with bludgeoning (perhaps even superior in this field)

The list would continue, but I won't let it for now...not until I decide if this will all work. A few people and I will be doing some testing with the new system when we get on WebRPG... so we'll see. Perhaps a more suitable form would be (so that Plate Mail and other high class armors wouldn't ignore too much) that higher armors wouldn't be much higher in ignore than cheap ones...but would also provide a more modest bonus to AC... like, say, 2-4 (as opposed to Plate Mail's current bonus of 8). I think this would be reasonable...since it is hard to find a weak point to strike in plate mail (but not, necessarily, in leather, etc.)

More to come on these ideas later.