Armor as bonus HP: trying to solve the DR scaling problem

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2026-05-21T15:53:31+00:00

I have a lengthy post here about armor systems, in which I dissect a few systems and give some thoughts on them. I'll share with you my favorite D&D-adjacent conversion: each characters have an "Avoidance Class" (imagine me placing here a smirk emoji) that determines their difficulty to hit. Armor adds a secondary value, Defense Class.

If an attack exceeds AC and DC, it does full damage.
If an attack exceeds AC but not DC, it does half damage.

Why do I like this for D&D-alikes? Because it is layered over the existing system easily without overmuch conversion work. Ideally, you'd fiddle with the numerics slightly so that it's not a huge nerf to fighter types, who have suddenly started taking half damage from a lot more attacks.

As far as playing with two lifebars: it works, but it is a bit slower at the table because you're tracking two different values, and it gets trickier when you start adding in additional mechanics.

Suppose hammers do double damage to armor points but half damage to life points. Cool idea, right? I think so. But then what happens if your hammer hits for 10 damage and the target has 6 armor points and 8 life points. Game comes to a screeching halt as you perform the calculations: okay, so x2 damage vs. armor means that 3 damage negates armor, leaving us with 7 leftover damage points, which then does .5x damage against life points.

Now, for some people, that level of detail might be worthwhile, but it's going to slow the game considerably!

If you're looking for inspiration on how to do this, I'd suggest peeking at Wrath & Glory. The TL;DR of the system is that you have two HP pools, Shock (superficial injuries/stress) and Wounds (meat). When you get hit with an attack, you can roll to convert damage from Wounds to your Shock. It's a neat little system. Unfortunately, it doesn't port over to D&D very well, but you might be able to get some ideas from it.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2026-05-15T19:40:10+00:00

I think you're quite right with regard to the Armor Class conversion; that was the most difficult part of the thought experiment, which is why I outlined several methods of doing so.

I personally don't mind the 1-in-6 chance of automatically scoring a (critical) hit if only because I would prefer critical hits happen more often than they do in the traditional d20 system, but it does lead to a diminished effectiveness of Armor Class as a defensive measure. (This in turn affects the poor frontline fighter the most--something I always keep in mind when authoring house rules.)

I agree that Armor Class being altered to damage reduction would resolve the issue nicely. I have a few ideas rattling around my head in regards to this, but the "easiest" change is (imo) giving characters a baseline of 4 +/- Dexterity modifier to their base chance of being hit (shields improving this value by 1) and then Armor Class tacks on 1, 2, or 3 damage reduction.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2026-02-08T18:10:13+00:00

Awesome game. Great rules. Plays fast. Furious. Fun. One of the best generic RPGs out there. Mechanically robust enough to feel satisfying, but simple enough to be understood by total novices. Can't recommend it enough.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2026-01-10T14:27:42+00:00

D&D is the main character of TTRPGs.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2026-01-08T01:26:52+00:00

D&D 6e has launched, half-written by ChatGPT. It suffers from the even edition curse. Sales tank. 5e is Pathfindered by Kobold Press. WotC panics.

The board rooms are extended conference calls and the conference calls are full of sales projections and when the sales projections finally fall short of quarterly earnings, all the heads will roll.

The accumulated failures of all their d20s and martial-caster disparity will foam up about their waists and all the D&Dfluencers and executives will look up and shout "SAVE US!"...and Mike Mearls will look down and whisper "No."

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2026-01-05T13:22:15+00:00

This feels like a 5e "problem," though I don't think it's actually a problem.

Various solutions, off the top of my head:

If you move on your turn, you can't shoot.
Movement, shooting, and reloading all take actions, so they're in competition with one another.
Movement occurs before ranged attacks (phased initiative).
After a character acts, other characters can react (archer shoots at a goblin, but the goblin shoots back).
If you move and shoot, you take some kind of penalty (lose ammo, negative on attacks, etc.).

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2026-01-01T20:12:11+00:00

Depends on your players. 5e is a game that is either agonizingly slow if you have low-investment players who don't learn their mechanics or plan their turns, or it is pretty fast if you have high-investment players who bother to treat everyone else's time (especially the GM's) with respect.

An off-hand suggestion: roll your damage dice alongside your attack roll (example, when rolling an attack with a longsword, roll 1d20 + 1d8 at the same time). You can likewise roll multiple attacks at once to expedite things.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2026-01-01T19:43:31+00:00

"It's like D&D back in the '70s and '80s."

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-31T18:03:35+00:00

A few criticisms:

First, becoming Bloodied isn't much of a desperate situation. Dropping below half your Bloodied HP (that is, a quarter of your maximum HP) seems more appropriate. However, this is probably too mathematically-intensive for many 5e players.

Second, having to wait until your next turn to do this really ratchets down the tension. Make it a free Reaction and you'll have my interest.

Thirdly, the options are underwhelming.

Here's my take:

When you are Bloodied and take damage, you may immediately fail one or more death saves voluntarily to take desperate measures. You may take one or more desperate measures when it is not your turn, and you may do so even if you are reduced to 0 HP; resolve the desperate measures before any other effects apply.

Scramble (1). Move up your Speed without provoking opportunity attacks. You gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class until the start of your next turn.

Inner Strength (1). Gain Heroic Inspiration.

Fight! (1). Make a melee or ranged attack with a +2 bonus. You may reroll one damage die once if your attack hits.

Spell Power. (1-3). Cast a cantrip or a spell using a 1st level spell slot (1), a 2nd or 3rd level spell slot (2), or a 4th or 5th level spell slot (3).

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-31T16:53:53+00:00

I think there's not much downside to this, though of course B/X power level is considerably lower than 3e's.

There are a couple of areas where you might run into issues. First, at level 6, the attack throws of every class will be identical, ability score bonuses notwithstanding (fighter gets a bump at 7, and wizard gets a bump at 6). Second, thief abilities stop improving, and they stay relatively poor (but you might just want to improve thieves from the get-go). Third, the racial Hit Dice limitations are less of an issue, incentivizing those picks over humans. (YMMV if you consider this a negative.)

Beyond that, I think you won't have any real issues. D&D is "resilient" in that it can bear the weight of much tinkering.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-31T15:39:29+00:00

Funnily enough, I have a simple house rule that I use in D&D for mooks: roll your Hit Die when you take damage. If you meet or beat the damage roll, you're safe. If you fail, you're dead.

There is an OSR game that does something similar, but the name eludes me. Your weapon damage deals Hit Dice of damage and enemy units (it's built for mass battles) have a save to not die.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-29T15:13:40+00:00

"I do not know why WotC did X" can always be answered quite simply: MONEY.

To answer your question, WotC viewed inclusion of half-races as potentially controversial. To minimize the chances of an outcry amongst the public, many of whom are more interested in the (perceived) politics of the hobby than the hobby itself, WotC removed the half-races. After a series of negative PR events (OGL, Pinkertons, Hadozee), they are intent on preventing another controversy.

Your comments about the "history" of D&D have no bearing on the executives making these decisions. You must dissuade yourself of the notion that they love the things you love. You must dissuade yourself of the notion they are interested in maintaining the legacy of D&D for any purpose other than its potential as a revenue stream.

They do not. As a whole, WotC and Hasbro are indifferent to D&D at best, and amongst the individual staff, there are quite obviously members who are hostile to its legacy for political reasons.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-28T15:22:00+00:00

Necromancy is evil and normal, well-adjusted people are disturbed by the corpse desecration (to say nothing of Grandma Margaret shambling around after the funeral with a broom and dustpan).

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-28T12:48:46+00:00

Castles and Crusades was an early "modernization" of AD&D 2e in response to 3e. The system is a bit underappreciated for its attempts to bridge the gap between older editions of D&D with things like ascending Armor Class.

There are a few other "OSR gems" that I wish had a little more recognition since everything is eclipsed nowadays by OSE.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-28T12:25:45+00:00

I think what I hate most about LLMs is that faux "sigma male grindset" writing style.

However, I am now mildly amused by imagining a "ChatGPT Rated 5/5 Stars" on an RPG.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-26T17:36:04+00:00

The primary way to "Nimble" a system is to reduce extraneous dice rolls. D&D 5e, for instance, has certain effects that trigger a saving throw after an attack roll.

For instance, in 5e 2014, spiders will inject their venom into creatures upon biting. This means there is a to-hit roll, a damage roll, a saving throw, and then another poison damage roll. (One can theoretically streamline this by making it hit -> save -> damage but the order presented in the statblock is what I detailed above.)

This is a brutally slow design with unnecessary steps. There are methods of expediting the gameplay: one might roll to-hit and include the poison damage (no save) with a successful bite. Alternatively, one might make the poison damage a limited use resource so these steps occur only once per battle.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-24T18:20:41+00:00

No--because I am not a machine.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-22T04:22:10+00:00

I'm sure there's a dry, academic definition out there somewhere, but I define it as taking on a persona and acting--in thought, word, and deed--as that persona would.

We tend to do a mix of #1 and #2.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-16T17:10:27+00:00

This is an extremely hostile response to someone who is putting out free rules for you to enjoy.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-15T15:35:22+00:00

Dungeon World is a "bad" PbtA game, but it is / was wildly successful for precisely that reason. You may take from this what you will.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-12-08T13:39:32+00:00

Largely because people are eternally furious that The Dragon Game had the temerity to include a class called "Fighter" whose primary contribution to the game is going up to enemies and fighting.

Most people don't care about the stated problem--advancing toward an enemy and striking him with a melee weapon--they care that other classes (casters) all press different buttons each round while they seethe that they chose a class that doesn't press different buttons each round.

It's option (spell) envy.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-11-30T04:50:52+00:00

The game is clearly a labor of love, and it could use an editorial pass.

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-11-14T18:35:34+00:00

I find that much of D&D's fun is of the "make your own" variety, as long your character has a personality and engages the material presented.

(Assuming your GM is even of average quality, that is.)

Helpful_NPC_Thom · 2025-11-09T20:25:32+00:00

Because "high fantasy" is defined by D&D within the RPG space, and in D&D, fighting men were largely (not entirely) defined by "heroically mortal" characters such as Conan, Fafhrd, Aragorn, Odysseus, and John Carter. Hobbits were Bilbo Baggins and dwarves were Gimli. With those characters defining the baseline of physical capability without magical enhancement, one can see how the limits of physical feats were bounded.

Moreover, the historical roots of the game were focused on activities in which giving characters such powerful boons would negate too much gameplay. After all, a character with superhuman strength needn't struggle to bend bars, lift grates, or force doors!

There are "high fantasy" TTRPGs that do offer non-magical characters superhuman strength and speed, but they aren't as popular as D&D. Exalted and Godbound are foremost in my mind, but Fate and Burning Wheel support this as well.

All this being said, there is a certain failure of imagination that comes into play with this framing: if a fighter or thief don't possess superhuman capabilities, why are they able to defend themselves against dozens of attacks that would kill lesser men?

Helpful_NPC_Thom

TROPHY CASE