Author Topic: Concept check: Shields with built-in DR mechanic  (Read 7360 times)

Offline Samwise

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Re: Concept check: Shields with built-in DR mechanic
« Reply #20 on: July 23, 2016, 03:10:59 AM »
Because I'm not looking at how they are used in real life. I'm using a video game as a reference point.

And what reference point is the video game using?

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Because you've taken the Tower Shield itself and given it different abilities that are worse than what you are suggesting for the heavy shield. IE, this line:

So?

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Because that defeats the point of fixing them.

How?
It heavily improves the use of shields in the system at the "cost" of renaming a couple of items (buckler/light/heavy/extreme shields) and deleting/heavily altering one now superfluous item (tower shield).

I tell you what . . .
If you are really THAT attached to the term "tower shield", then go ahead and keep it.
Heck, you can even let it give cover, however silly I find that to be, and rather redundant with the rest of the improvements I suggested.
And because I don't really like doing it that way, you can know that it is thoroughly unrealistic, and purely video game inspired.
There - FIXED!

Offline Sinfire Titan

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Re: Concept check: Shields with built-in DR mechanic
« Reply #21 on: July 23, 2016, 03:55:38 AM »
And what reference point is the video game using?

Are you seriously trying to tell me that shields in Dark Souls are realistic? Shields were there as a means of defending against attacks until you figure out how invulnerability frames work, and even then shields become a backup defense for when your primary defense is rolling through the attack (due to the afore-mentioned invulnerability frames).

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And because I don't really like doing it that way, you can know that it is thoroughly unrealistic, and purely video game inspired.
There - FIXED!

Now you're just being childish. First and foremost, this is about a game to begin with. D&D at it's heart is a game, not a simulation of reality. Dozens of mechanics in it are holdovers from the origins of D&D: Elves being immune to a Ghoul's paralyzing touch, for example, stems from Chainmail (The first game Gygax developed).

I don't care if anything I write is unrealistic so long as it is interesting and balanced. Shields are one small part of a more complex equipment overhaul that would remove one of the bigger breaking points of D&D: The WBL and how it can be so readily abused.[
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Offline Kethrian

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Re: Concept check: Shields with built-in DR mechanic
« Reply #22 on: July 23, 2016, 09:09:37 PM »
If you want an idea to work with that has a bit of the Dark Souls feel, I have a suggestion.

If you give up 1 attack, you reduce all incoming damage until the start of your next turn equal to the shield's AC bonus + your BAB.  For instance, if you have a +2 heavy shield (4 AC) and BAB +12, you could make a full attack and take your first 2 attacks as normal (not getting any damage reduction from your shield if you trigger a readied action or AoO, for instance), then give up your 3rd attack to give yourself 16 'protection' until the start of your next turn.  Or, you could set it so that iterative penalties on the attack given up reduce the 'protection' too, so in the above example, it would only provide 6 'protection' unless you gave up your 1st attack to get 16.
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Offline Sinfire Titan

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Re: Concept check: Shields with built-in DR mechanic
« Reply #23 on: July 23, 2016, 10:33:12 PM »
If you want an idea to work with that has a bit of the Dark Souls feel, I have a suggestion.

If you give up 1 attack, you reduce all incoming damage until the start of your next turn equal to the shield's AC bonus + your BAB.  For instance, if you have a +2 heavy shield (4 AC) and BAB +12, you could make a full attack and take your first 2 attacks as normal (not getting any damage reduction from your shield if you trigger a readied action or AoO, for instance), then give up your 3rd attack to give yourself 16 'protection' until the start of your next turn.  Or, you could set it so that iterative penalties on the attack given up reduce the 'protection' too, so in the above example, it would only provide 6 'protection' unless you gave up your 1st attack to get 16.

A decent idea. Perhaps having it as a special type of Full Attack action would work, to keep it from causing issues with TWFing.
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Offline Kethrian

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Re: Concept check: Shields with built-in DR mechanic
« Reply #24 on: July 23, 2016, 10:52:10 PM »
I'd suggest that the shield has to be in hand, not just a floating animated one, in order to block.  And if you're trying to 2-wp fight with a buckler, you lose all your off-hand attacks when you want to block.
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Offline Kethrian

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Re: Concept check: Shields with built-in DR mechanic
« Reply #25 on: September 10, 2016, 09:53:34 PM »
I don't know if you ever worked more on the rules for this, but I just re-read the first post's points, especially the part about having a bypass system.  Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind for that is simply flanking.  Either both flankers ignore the shield's damage absorbance or the defender has to choose only one to apply it to.
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