Starfinder Suggestions / Rules / Homebrew


General Discussion

The Exchange

It's a bit early, but I want to have this (temporarily) up till we get the real shebang.


I think I've said this in another thread here but I'm really hoping that the Revised Action Economy from Pathfinder Unchained is built in from the very beginning. I wrote about why I think it's just overall better and I really think that it's the metric system of Pathfinder where it's just better and easier to use and make real equivalencies but conversion is awkward and painful which reveals just how messed up the previous system is.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I would like to see a DR AC bonus combo.

A given suit of armor gives you a certain amount of coverage which improves your Defense. It would also soak some damage depending on the material.

Defense DC = 10 + Dex modifier. The DC required to make a touch attack.

Armor DC = 10 + Dex modifier + Armor modifier. The DC required to inflict full damage (overcome armor DR).

Armor DR kicks in when you lose to Defense but not Armor. For example, if your Defense is 13 and your Armor is 20, attack rolls between 13 and 20 inclusive trigger your DR. Attack rolls of 12 or less are total misses, and attack rolls of 21 or higher defeat or bypass your armor. Standard PF is either miss for zero damage or hit for normal or crit.

Coverage works this way:

Light infantry armor, hoplite armor, athletic pads, chain shirt or breastplate, scout armor: coverage is limited to joints and vital areas. Armor bonus might get up to +2 or +3.

Medium infantry armor, security armor, banded mail, chanmail suits, and half-plate cover more of your body and leave few vulnerabilities. Armor bonus could go up to +6 or +7.

Heavy infantry armor, full plate, combat armor, bomb squad armor: cover almost everything with well-fitted reinforced joints. Armor bonus could go up to +9 or +10.

Finally there is a special class of sealed armor, which can include modern powered armor, mecha, diving suits, hazmat suits, and the like. There are no vulnerabilities of any kind; the suit is airtight and watertight. Armor bonus is considered infinite, meaning the armor's DR always applies. Sealed armor's infinite bonus only lasts so long, though. A successful sunder attempt can break the seal and create a vulnerability, dropping the Armor bonus to +10, allowing the DR to be bypassed by future attacks.

As usual, armors of any type can be enhanced with magic to further support its intended use. Combat armor will typically be Fortified or have some power which enhances melee attack or defense. Environmental suits might have Energy Resistance, Poison-Resistant, or some form of anti-pathogen power.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Hardness. Better than DR, and more appropriate when you've got a big ceramic shell around you anyways. SOME deflection (AC), some hardness, and a bit of absorption from its own HP(you do have to *punch through* it in many cases)

Remember that even DR/- (anything else basically doesn't work for anything but monsters designed to be a threat to lower level non-adventurers) is inapplicable to a wide variety of damage methods (including lasers), and that in pathfinder the way it scaled it was often a dangerously inconsequential ability compared to the damage output of appropriate-CR enemies at any given level.

Sure you had DR 4/- on your level 16 barbarian, but you have 229HP and that CR 16 dragon is hitting you for 21+14+14+5+6+19=79 after DR; you'll die from a third full attack if it gets to do so, whether you had the DR or not.

Community / Forums / Starfinder / Starfinder General Discussion / Starfinder Suggestions / Rules / Homebrew All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Starfinder General Discussion