I vote for combining ASF and ACP.
Reason:
ASF is defined as the "bulkiness" of the armor hindering the movements of the mage.
ACP is the SAME definition BUT effecting other areas (mainly skills).
In combining those two stats, the rules are just getting one bit lighter.
If you take a look at the ACP and ASF of most armors (at least in the PHB) you can see that those values can be approximated through a -5% multiplier and adding +5%:
F.e: Hide Armor ACP -3 x (-5%) = 15% + 5% = 20%
While this doesnt actually fit for every armor, the basical formula (in translating a -1 ACP to a 5% ASF does work, since those are the same fractions compared from a d20 (-1 = 1/20) to a d100 (5% = 1/20))
My proposal would be: Instead of rolling a d% everytime to check ASF, just role a d20 and add the ACP. If the result is 0 or less, the spell fails.
If I remember correctly, I just used the ACP as they were, which allowed arcane casters to use padded and leather armor without ASF which was actually quite nice (wizards had to buy the light armor proficiency of course - I gave for free to 1st level sorcerers, thou)
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I like the thought of making this a Spellcraft check for arcane casters. I'd posted some thoughts on this over at the Alpha 1 boards, which I'll go back and dig up when I have a chance. Basically, it worked out something like:
ASF DC = 15 + spell level
Any armor check penalty would apply to the caster's Spellcraft check to successfully cast the spell.
I haven't had a chance to actually try it out yet, but this or something similar seems better to me than the existing flat % chance to lose the spell. Also, higher-level casters with more ranks in Spellcraft would have an easier time casting their lower-level spells than their higher-level spells, which is (to me) more appealing than the flat % chance for all spells regardless of level, etc.
I like the thought of making this a Spellcraft check for arcane casters. I'd posted some thoughts on this over at the Alpha 1 boards, which I'll go back and dig up when I have a chance. Basically, it worked out something like:
ASF DC = 15 + spell level
Any armor check penalty would apply to the caster's Spellcraft check to successfully cast the spell.
So how would you take into account the different spell failure for armor? I do think it is much harder to cast a spell while wearing full plate than it would be for a caster in Leather Armor.
Honestly it has always bugged me when a wizard/Soc cast while wearing armor, maybe it a left over from when I played first edition and armor prevent the wizard from casting.
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So how would you take into account the different spell failure for armor? I do think it is much harder to cast a spell while wearing full plate than it would be for a caster in Leather Armor.
The armor's check penalty would apply to the caster's Spellcraft roll to beat the ASF DC, so for example casting spells in studded leather would give you a -1 to Spellcraft checks made to overcome ASF whereas casting in banded mail would give you a -6 to your Spellcraft roll.
If you look at the ASF % values given in the armor table, it seems there is (at 10% ASF and above) a direct relation between armor check penalty value and ASF % value so this wouldn't (I think?) be much of a stretch. It would definitely change how ASF works (as a higher Spellcraft modifier would help you beat ASF vs. a flat % ASF currently) but if you could find the right balance I'd prefer this anyway :)