Armor and Combat Changes
proposed on 10-May-2024
These are some changes I'm considering in the current combat and armor rules of Laurels & Loot. In each of thte following sections, I'll outline what's there now, what I'm thinking of changing, and why. Opinions are welcome! Please either comment on this article below, or get in touch with me via the Cartyrion Discord (link below).
certain "special tactics" from weapon training allow for some immediate Injury assessment.
many magical attacks - especially fire and lightning based - cause Injuries immediately. The jury is still out on other "elemental" attacks.
falling damage is immediately assessed as Injuries
Stamina Points are also drained by casting spells. This replaces "spell slots" - you can cast spells as long as you have enough stamina remaining to do so. Each spell causes a dice-determined stamina drain, with dice type being determined by spell tier. (e.g. 1 point for cantrips; 1d4 for 1st and 2nd tier spells, up to 1d20 for highest tier spells.)
Ranged combat will cause immediate Injury Point damage to the target, but like spellcasting, will cause Stamina Drain to the source. Each ranged attack will require a damage roll (usually 1d6 or more), and a separate stamina drain roll (probably a 1d4). When you run out of Stamina, you can no longer make ranged attacks. (The attack that brings you to zero SP could either be an automatic miss, or it could be your last successful ranged attak; the jury is still out on this.
Magical attacks could either cause Stamina Drain or do direct Injury, depending on their nature. Fire, Lightning, and Cold, for example might do immediate Injury. Earth and Air effects might drain Stamina first. Some "mental" attacks may also affect Stamina instead of, or in addition to, some other specific effect.
The main intent of these changes is to eliminate the need to narratively explain away situations like "your arrow strikes the target... and makes it a bit more tired". While trading blows in melee can be narratively described as "striking and fending off strikes", with the "fending off" resulting in gradual exhaustion, that doesn't work for getting shot at by arrows... or magical missiles... or fireballs.
Wearing multiple components of armor accumulates total armor defense. A PC wearing a helmet, steel curiass, steel pauldron & cannons, and steel tasset & greaves has 5 Armor Points defense against injury. Adding a metal shield adds another 5.
Thus, as soon as a Level 1 adventurer can afford a few hundred gold pieces (e.g. after maybe one or two adventures?), they can easily face off against any level 2 opponent with almost guaranteed immunity against injury. (As long as the attacker doesn't crit/explode dice, they'll never do that much damage.)
There will be three "armor classes": Soft leather and padded gambesons will offer 1 point of protection; Chain mail will offer 2, and Plate Armor wiill offer 3 points. Small helms will offer 1; great helms will offer 2. Shields will offer significant protection with specifics determined by size and material of construction (i.e. hide vs wood vs metal).
Wearing different armor components will not affect the number of defense points, but will determine whether or not the armor bonus is applied depending on comparing the relative sizes of attacker and defender. Defenders that are of size classes larger than than their non-flying attackers can only apply armor if they have some sort of leg protection. Defenders that are of size smaller than their non-flying attackers can only apply helmet bonuses. When attackers and defenders are the same size, torso-covering armor is applicable.
Flying attackers will be impeded by helmets of ground-based defenders, or body armor of flying defenders; no size comparison is needed.
Shields can be employed as well against any attacker the same size or larger than the defender.
Also under consideration is whether wearing heavier armor (chain and/or plate) should actually cause a slight Stamina Drain on the wearer. Perhaps 1 SP per combat round for chain, and 2 for plate? Also, chain and plate are noisy; this could affect stealth. Having negatives associated with wearing "the best armor" will help with balance.
The intent here is to resolve both balance issues and narrative inconsistencies. The balance issue has to do with buying your way to invulnerability; this has already been mentioned. The narrative inconsistencies come from justifying why wearing a steel helmet or steel shoulder pads is any use against the 6 inch tall gremlin that's slashing at your achilles tendons!
One issue that's sort of unresolved is determining whether there's a value in retaining pauldron & cannon (arm armor), other than simple aesthetics. On the one hand, having separate tasset & greaves (leg armor) to defend against small attackers sort of requires that upper limb defense should also be a thing - but situationally, I'm not sure where it's different from the main torso protection. (Perhaps falling damage - or some defense against elemental damage - is worth considering?)
Damage Types, Stamina Drain, and Injury Points
Creatures (PCs, NPCs, and monsters) have both Stamina Points and Injury Points. Stamina Points represent combat effectiveness. Losing them doesn't represent actual wounds; rather it is the ability to continue employing full strength and maneuverability in a fight. Losing all Stamina Points makes a creature Exhausted: less effective and now prone to Injury. Injury Points represent actual wounds. They take much longer (and require greater attention) to heal. When Injuries start to mount, it's time to consider tactics like "running away".Current
Combat damage (piercing, slashing, bludgeoning) is first assessed against Stamina Points, and only when they drop to zero is damage assessed against Injury Points. There are exceptions, though, where damage can immediately cause injury:Stamina Points are also drained by casting spells. This replaces "spell slots" - you can cast spells as long as you have enough stamina remaining to do so. Each spell causes a dice-determined stamina drain, with dice type being determined by spell tier. (e.g. 1 point for cantrips; 1d4 for 1st and 2nd tier spells, up to 1d20 for highest tier spells.)
Proposed
Melee combat will continue to use the current approach: first stamina is drained by incoming damage, then injuries are assessed. Special attack maneuvers can still apply Injury damage immediately. The "pierce/slash/bludgeon" damage types will go away and be replaced by a single "physical" damage type.Ranged combat will cause immediate Injury Point damage to the target, but like spellcasting, will cause Stamina Drain to the source. Each ranged attack will require a damage roll (usually 1d6 or more), and a separate stamina drain roll (probably a 1d4). When you run out of Stamina, you can no longer make ranged attacks. (The attack that brings you to zero SP could either be an automatic miss, or it could be your last successful ranged attak; the jury is still out on this.
Magical attacks could either cause Stamina Drain or do direct Injury, depending on their nature. Fire, Lightning, and Cold, for example might do immediate Injury. Earth and Air effects might drain Stamina first. Some "mental" attacks may also affect Stamina instead of, or in addition to, some other specific effect.
The main intent of these changes is to eliminate the need to narratively explain away situations like "your arrow strikes the target... and makes it a bit more tired". While trading blows in melee can be narratively described as "striking and fending off strikes", with the "fending off" resulting in gradual exhaustion, that doesn't work for getting shot at by arrows... or magical missiles... or fireballs.
Types of Armor (Armor Class)
Currently, "armor" is kind of a mess. It's complicated, but the biggest problem is that even low level characters can effectively buy their way to invulnerability. Perhaps not for their first adventure, but very soon after the "loot" starts rolling in, and once they feel that attacks can't reach them, combat is no longer challenging.Current
There are different materials: leather, chain, and plate, and there are different armor components (helmet, breastplate, pauldron & cannon, tasset & greaves, as well as shields. Each type has separate values identifying effectiveness against Stamina Drain and Injury Points.Wearing multiple components of armor accumulates total armor defense. A PC wearing a helmet, steel curiass, steel pauldron & cannons, and steel tasset & greaves has 5 Armor Points defense against injury. Adding a metal shield adds another 5.
Thus, as soon as a Level 1 adventurer can afford a few hundred gold pieces (e.g. after maybe one or two adventures?), they can easily face off against any level 2 opponent with almost guaranteed immunity against injury. (As long as the attacker doesn't crit/explode dice, they'll never do that much damage.)
Proposed
Armor and Shields will no longer have any effect at all in staving off Stamina Drain; their sole purpose will be to mitigate Injuries.There will be three "armor classes": Soft leather and padded gambesons will offer 1 point of protection; Chain mail will offer 2, and Plate Armor wiill offer 3 points. Small helms will offer 1; great helms will offer 2. Shields will offer significant protection with specifics determined by size and material of construction (i.e. hide vs wood vs metal).
Wearing different armor components will not affect the number of defense points, but will determine whether or not the armor bonus is applied depending on comparing the relative sizes of attacker and defender. Defenders that are of size classes larger than than their non-flying attackers can only apply armor if they have some sort of leg protection. Defenders that are of size smaller than their non-flying attackers can only apply helmet bonuses. When attackers and defenders are the same size, torso-covering armor is applicable.
Flying attackers will be impeded by helmets of ground-based defenders, or body armor of flying defenders; no size comparison is needed.
Shields can be employed as well against any attacker the same size or larger than the defender.
Also under consideration is whether wearing heavier armor (chain and/or plate) should actually cause a slight Stamina Drain on the wearer. Perhaps 1 SP per combat round for chain, and 2 for plate? Also, chain and plate are noisy; this could affect stealth. Having negatives associated with wearing "the best armor" will help with balance.
The intent here is to resolve both balance issues and narrative inconsistencies. The balance issue has to do with buying your way to invulnerability; this has already been mentioned. The narrative inconsistencies come from justifying why wearing a steel helmet or steel shoulder pads is any use against the 6 inch tall gremlin that's slashing at your achilles tendons!
One issue that's sort of unresolved is determining whether there's a value in retaining pauldron & cannon (arm armor), other than simple aesthetics. On the one hand, having separate tasset & greaves (leg armor) to defend against small attackers sort of requires that upper limb defense should also be a thing - but situationally, I'm not sure where it's different from the main torso protection. (Perhaps falling damage - or some defense against elemental damage - is worth considering?)
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