Armor System Revamp

As time has gone on with the RP we have seen how armor can make a major difference in combat. However the armor system was put in back when the average damage being done was far higher then it is now. As such, those few who can wear plate mail easily are so well protected that in some battles GMs have to choose between damage that will harm someone in plate, or damage that won't take out everyone else in one or two hits.

There has also been requests for new armor types in the RP, but it is hard to add them in without making this problem worse. This includes Bracers, Shields and so forth. This leaves us several options on how to proceed and that will be the poll for November.

I'd like people's opinions on how they'd like to see armor revamped in the RP, or if they even want it at all.


Option 1: Keep armor as is, which would mean armor has two different values dependent on chest armor or full body. Shields and bracers have no armor benefit.

Option 2: Increased requirements to wear higher tier armors. While this means less people can wear it, I feel the problem would still remain.

Option 3: Increased penalties for heavier armor. Including race restrictions, added stat or movement penalties, and so forth. This may not fix the problem as much as turn people off of the armor.

Option 4: Increased weaknesses. Make it so most armor types are stronger or weaker vs one type of damage ( Blunt, Slashing, Piercing ) to make them more varied. Alternatively, metal armor could cause increased damage from some magics..

Option 5: Critical Hits damage armor. this could be anything from less protection vs the damage type that caused the critical hit, to reduced armor in general, until the armor has been fixed in town.While the most realistic option, could make keeping track of damage a bit more complicated for some.

Option 6: Have armor value affected by piece of equipment worn. Plate chest, leather hat, studded sleeves.... create your own style! The problem with this option however is it has the potential to cause mathematical nightmares.

Option 7: Other. Give an idea below!

Coming from a D&D background, we had to devise a system like option 4 to keep people from piling on plate or something similar with high AC. It's like... Sure, normal arrows and slashing/cutting weapons won't do much, but a blunt club/mace or a morningstar is going to absolutely ruin your day (and your armor).

Which kinda leads into option 5 as well. While it could be more complicated, it makes sense that critical strikes would affect the armor's ability to protect. After all, it just absorbed a massive hit and protected the user from the brunt of the damage. But could it do so a second time with the same effectiveness? Proooobably not.

Could even combine the two... Perhaps an armor with a certain physical or elemental weakness is more prone to critical strikes.

But that's my two cents. Option 4 and 5.