Should those without proficiency (i.e.spellcasters) be more restricted in using armor?

[Gamer1066]

Hi all,

I posted comments on BGG, but I thought I'd summarize my points and bring them over here too to expand the discussion:

PACG is a great game, I'm really enjoying it.

One vexing question I have is why can those heros without proficiency (i.e. wizards and druids especially) use armor (like half-plate) that they find during a scenario without much restriction? I know they can't keep armor between scenarios, but it seems this weakens armor proficiency quite a bit.

I thought Mike provided an excellant explaination for fighters acquiring and using spells during a scenario (they are like one use scrolls, etc.). And the cards for spells nicely restrict how useful the cards are for non-spell casters. Same goes for weapons. I think some further restrictions on the armor cards could make the game more interesting (and a bit harder).

With input I received so far on BGG, my proposed House Rule would amend armor cards along the following lines (no need to change any rules, just cards.)

I'll provide half-plate as an example:

Half-plate
Traits
 Heavy armor
 Elite
 Check to acquire: Constitution/Fortitude 4
Powers
 If you are proficient with heavy armor, recharge this card to reduce Combat damage dealt to you by 3. Otherwise, recharge this card to reduce Combat damage dealt to you by 1.
 If you are proficient with heavy armors, bury this card to reduce all damage dealt to you to 0. Otherwise, banish this card to reduce all damage dealt to you by 2.

Similar amendments would be made to light armor, shields and other heavy armor cards (if Mike and others think this is a good idea). This would make light armor or heavy armor proficiency much more meaningful in the game. I'm open for input on the utility or usefulness of these changes to the armor cards.

I think this house rule would make make things more interesting for spellcasters (the armor and other defensive spells becomes more imporant, perhaps). I've also seen some others complaining about PACG being too easy. Perhaps some type of armor restriction for all those spellcasters (like the penalities for using weapons when you aren't proficient) would be a helpful addition and could make the game a bit harder.

[yoda8myhead]

Another option, and one I tried out with Ezren to see how it worked, is to apply a penalty on checks to refresh spells during the round following playing an armor card. This signifies the extra difficulty of casting a spell while "wearing" armor, and works similarly to the spell failure chance mechanic in the PFRPG. It's by no means a perfect system, and not one I used for more than a solo session to see how it worked, but it was a neat experiment.

[Dave Riley]

Seems like not being allowed to keep armors between scenarios (and having to banish them to use their primary useful power: stopping all damage of any time) is punishment enough. People who complain about the game being easy aren't saying armor is too good, they're probably never getting to a point where you need armor because it's easy to juice your rolls and never fail checks (at least in the early APs). Until AP3 we basically never took damage that wasn't compulsory pre/post encounter stuff.

If this needs a thematic fix, why not that wizards can use crossbows -- or is that okay in the Pathfinder RPG ruleset? :D If you're concerning yourself with balance more than theme, Amulet of Life or the Medallion are way better than just about any current armor because they block all damage of any type and can be recharged.

[3Doubloons]

Armour is without a doubt the rarest card type in the game. The odds of a caster ending up with one are extremely low, especially if the characters that can have armour congregate to the places where it spawns because they want a shot at it.

Dave Riley wrote:

If this needs a thematic fix, why not that wizards can use crossbows -- or is that okay in the Pathfinder RPG ruleset?

Wizards are proficient in a small number of weapons, including light and heavy crossbows. Everyone else except summoners, druids and monks are proficient in simple weapons (including crossbows)