| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Here is the Class Defense Bonus chart i'm working on. Any thoughts?
NOTE: of all the things I stink at, few compare to how badly I suck at HTML tables. If someone wants to help clean these up I'd be grateful.
` Lazlo `
Defense Bonus by Armor Type & Level
The LCM Ruleset uses a Defensive Bonus by Armor Type & Level system to determine AC. This system is based on the Armor Type allowed by the character class (adjusted for Archetypes) & character Level. The value of armor being physically worn translates directly to Armor Damage Reduction. Enhancement bonuses to armor add directly to its Armor DR value. Example: a 5th level rogue in + 2 studded leather armor would have AC 17 (plus misc bonuses) and an Armor DR 5 /-.
Armor DR stacks with other forms of DR such as that from a Barbarian or Fighter class ability, wearing Adamantine armor, etc. Under the LCM ruleset there are not as many options for DR enhancements as in a canon D20 game so the stack effect from multiple sources should not create the min/max issues it might in other settings.
Unlike the official version of the Class Defense variant rules, the LCM version rewards classes which are lightly armored because of the way Armor DR works under the LCM. In short, lightly armored foes are much harder to hit, but when hit they tend to be more seriously injured due to their lower hit points and lack of Armor DR. Heavily armored characters on the other hand, are hit much more frequently but suffer less from the injury due to higher HP and greater DR from their armors.
The Defense Bonus by Armor Type & Level is based on the HP per Class, and the Armor type per class / archetype. Armor categories are modified by any archetypes or feats which grant heavier armor proficiencies as it reflects the trade off the character is choosing to make. For classes whose Armor Type changes as they level (such as the Magus) adjust their chart at the appropriate levels.
UNDERSTANDING THE CHART:
Category A) Cloth wearers have the worse category as they are simply bad at physical combat.
Category B) Heavy Armor users rely on their Armor DR and higher HP to mitigate injury. These classes are less worried about avoiding the hit, and more capable of simply surviving it.
Category C) Medium Armor users, and those who tend to be “light / fast warrior” types like the barbarian, ranger or monk. NOTE: Monk is included here for balance reasons because of their class abilities which already enhance their AC.
Category D) Light Armor users, for those who have lower HP and exclusively use light armors. These classes are the opposite of warriors in that they rely on their ability not to get hit at all.
Table: Defense Bonus by Class & Level
1. Use column A for cloth wearers (mage, sorcerer, etc)
2. Use column B for heavy armor types (fighter, paladin, and cavalier).
3. Use column C for medium armor (barbarian, cleric, ranger, monk & druid).
4. Use column D for light armor (rogue, ninja, bard, etc)
Level--A--B--C--D
1st +2 +3 +4 +6
2nd +2 +3 +4 +6
3rd +3 +4 +5 +7
4th +3 +4 +5 +7
5th +3 +4 +5 +7
6th +4 +5 +6 +8
7th +4 +5 +6 +8
8th +4 +5 +6 +8
9th +5 +6 +7 +9
10th +5 +6 +7 +9
11th +5 +6 +7 +9
12th +6 +7 +8 +10
13th +6 +7 +8 +10
14th +6 +7 +8 +10
15th +7 +8 +9 +11
16th +7 +8 +9 +11
17th +7 +8 +9 +11
18th +8 +9 +10 +12
19th +8 +9 +10 +12
20th +8 +9 +10 +12
THE DEFENSE BONUS by CLASS & LEVEL
The defense bonus applies to Armor Class, and stacks with all other bonuses to AC, including the character’s shield bonus, dodge bonus, luck bonus, a Monk’s class bonus, and so forth.
Like bonuses from Dodge, a class defense bonus improves a character’s AC against touch attacks, but not against flat footed AC.
THE MULTICLASS DEFENSIVE BONUS
For a multiclass character, use the defense bonus associated with the heaviest armor type the character currently has equipped. For example, a 2nd-level Fighter has a defense bonus of +4. If the character currently has equipped. For example, Bob the 2nd Level Fighter gains a level of rogue (becoming a 2nd-level Fighter/1st-level rogue), and is wearing studded leather. His defense bonus increases to + 7 as if he were a 3rd level rogue. Should the character later don full plate armor his armor class would be + 4.
MONSTER DEFENSE BONUS
When calculating a monster’s defense bonus to AC divide their Natural Armor in half and compare that number to typical armors worn. Such as Natural Armor 10 would convert to Armor DR 5 / - or the equivalent of Chainmail (medium armor / Column C). Treat their level as equal to their HD.
If the creature possesses no Class Levels but is listed as wearing specific armor, treat them as having class proficiency with the armor listed and their HD as their level, unless their description indicates a Natural Armor bonus higher. In which case base AC / DR accordingly.
If a creature possess Class Levels, use their armor proficiency per normal to determine their Defensive Bonus.
ARMOR AS DAMAGE REDUCTION
Under the LCM Ruleset this conversion is much more simple than in other systems, with the equipment Armor bonus to AC translating directly to Armor DR on a one for one basis. This includes Enhancement bonuses (if any) on the armor. Example: + 2 Chainmail (AC 5) becomes Armor DR 7/-
STACKING DAMAGE REDUCTION
Armor DR X / - stacks with other forms damage reduction. Armor DR under the LCM is relatively common, as is DR from class features (Barbarian, Fighter, etc) however DR from other sources is much more rare.
SHIELDS
Under the LCM Ruleset Shields continue to add to a characters AC.
NATURAL ARMOR
A creature’s AC bonus from natural armor is converted to Armor DR at 50%. For example: A mature adult red dragon has a natural armor bonus of +24, this gives it Armor DR 12/-. A frost giant has a +9 natural armor bonus, so it gains Armor DR 4/- from natural armor.
The Effective Worth of Class Defense + Armor DR
Under the LCM combat system attacks tend to hit more often, but do less damage to armored combatants. Lightly armored combatants will be hit less commonly than heavily armored ones. Both of these statements are fortunate due to the lower levels of magic in the world at large. In all cases non armor wearing classes like the mage and sorcerer should REALLY avoid getting hit in combat as they have the worse class AC bonus, no DR to speak of, and the fewest HP. Multiclassing for these characters is a viable option as it allows the character access to armor training.
For example: A 3rd level goblin warrior not be much of a threat to a 3rd level human fighter wearing splint mail (Armor DR 7 / -). The fighters Armor DR is more than enough to entirely negate the damage dealt by an average hit. On the other hand, there are still plenty of things the fighter is vulnerable to such as fire, poisons, drowning, critical hits, called shots, CMD attacks (bullrush, trip, etc) and thus should avoid becoming too confident in the goblin’s inability to be a viable threat.
Er, what's the purpose of this? What are you trying to accomplish? How would this make the game better?
Looks to me like another black eye given to the Heavy Armor Fighter.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I ran one campaign with my own variant on this years ago. Everything received a dodge bonus equal to 1/2 it's BAB that didn't stack with armor. I did not continue the practice, because basically the result was that combat took longer, and I had to recalculate every monster's AC. The bonus makes sense, but I don't feel it added to enough to the gaming experience.
Looks to me like another black eye given to the Heavy Armor Fighter.
Under this system the fighter does not get the "black eye". The fact that they are using heavy armors means they get a fairly significant Armor Dr / - which is described above.
I'd also point out this is used in a low magic campaign with few magic items, few spellcasters, and a level cap around mid level. Meaning then there are no hordes of level 20 demons and arch-lichs running around. This also means that a heavy armored knight is one of the toughest figures in the campaign world, at low to mid levels.
@Ciaran Barnes Honestly I'm wondering the same. Has this variant corrected for a flaw in the core D20 system (I believe it does) or has it simply added an additional layer of complexity (which I know it also does)? I'm definitely pleased by the finished product with this concept, but it's compatibility with already published materials would require obvious conversion prior to use.
Er, what's the purpose of this? What are you trying to accomplish? How would this make the game better?
Here is the basic concept: light armor is harder to hit, but wounds are more sever. Heavy armor is in fact an easier target, but one which is harder to injure.
These two ideas also stack with HP (higher for Fighter, lower for Rogues, etc) and Ref Saves (harder to hit rogues, easier to hit Fighters, etc).
It all points to the same thing: Some classes (Rogue) are harder to hit. They rely on their better AC / Saves because they simply cant take the damage (lower HP, lower Armor DR / -). Other classes are easier to hit (Fighter), but they are designed to better shake off such an injury (better Armor DR / -, & better HP), while still having some training which improves AC even when not wearing any armor.
In this regards my system is MORE forgiving than a typical D20 RAW game, it allows for a heavy armor user to shrug off upwards of 10 pts of damage, depending on armor and bonuses, for each hit. In many cases this will mean no damage is taken at all.
How does this make things "better"? Well that is pretty subjective, if the points I've already make haven't answered that, the chances are good it might simply not be the right variant for you.