Maxondaerth
Squire
Okay, since I don't have marshall access here's a really rough draft of the kind of thing I'd like to see. Please feel free to comment/suggest/rip into part or all of it, just let's keep it polite and constructive. If you think it sucks, say so once and then butt out, let the rest of us have fun trying to make it work 
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Armour falls into four categories: Light, Medium, Heavy, and Plate. Each class gains one of these as a class benefit and is able to wear any armor of that type, plus any armor category lower down the scale than theirs. Each category has a maximum armor potential value for it's type, and as long as the wearer is wearing appropriate phys reps on at least 2/3 of the proscribed armor locations they count as "wearing armor". They may then equip an armor tag of value up to the max for that category.
Light: Up to ten points of armor. Armour may be made from canvas, quilted fabric, heavy velvet, light leather (5oz or lighter), or similar weight materials. Class feature of Scholar and Artisan.
Medium: Up to 15 points of armor. Armour may be made from heavy leather (6oz or heavier), studded light leather, leather scales, light ring mail leather. Class feature of Rogue and Adept.
Heavy: Up to 20 points of armor. Armour may be made from Curboiled leather, studded heavy leather, heavy ring mail, brigandine, and chain mail. Class features of Templar and Scout.
Plate: Up to 30 points of armor. Armour may be made from any gauge metal or minimum 3/8" thick plastic, however non-metallic plate MUST be painted and lacquered or covered over with leather in order to give it a better appearance than typical "pickle barrel plate". Only Fighters may wear plate armor.
*This form of armor system allows for much more creativity and affordability for people to get good gear for their characters. It also makes it so that their armor value is far more dependent on their IG economy and skills than it is on how much money they spent OOG to equip themselves. It also allows for variant materials for chain and plate without penalizing the player, reducing cost and increasing likelihood that someone will buy/make such armors.
Along with this implementation for armor rules, we introduce the following additional rules to augment it.
Armour proficiency (3 build for all classes): This skill may only be purchased once. With the purchase of this skill, the combatant is well versed in the ways of getting maximum protection from his armor. This person may now equip an armor tag worth 5 points above the category of armor they are wearing (must be capable of wearing that cat of armor to begin with). Armor may not exceed 30 points, but this skill will allow a fighter to wear Heavy armor for 25 points if they so choose (or cloth for 15 for that matter).
*This allows for people to take some added benefit from IG loot and skill. It also will encourage people to put more time/effort/money into the appearance of their armor since they’ll be able to gain some more benefit from that same type/suit down the road without having to upgrade/remake their armor after the first couple of levels of progress.
Remove Render, Improved Render, and Arcane Armor from the system and instead introduce the following ritual:
Augment Armor
General Aspect
Difficulty: Variable
The casting of this ritual upon a suit of armor will act to enhance that suit to a degree dependent on the level of the casting performed.
Level A: Difficulty 1, 3 reagents. Renders the armor indestructible, as per the Render ritual. Lasts for 1 year.
Level B: Difficulty 3, 4 reagents. Same as level A, plus increases the potential value of the suit of armor by one category. Thus, a suit of Light armor would have the potential armor value of a suit of Medium armor. If cast on plate armor, instead of increasing the value of the armor, each time the suit is refit (as per the “refit armor†rule allowed by blacksmithing) it will innately stop the first blow that lands on the wearer, as though a Magic Armor were cast upon the wearer. This stops the first legal weapon blow only, and cannot be used as a “smart defense†after the first hit. If the wearer also has a Magic Armor cast upon them already, then that is used first and the second blow would be stopped by the Enhanced Plate armor. Lasts for 1 year.
Level C: Difficulty 7, 6 reagents. Same as level B, but increases the value by 2 categories. If cast upon a suit of Heavy armor, then the suit gains the benefits as though it was a suit of Plate with Level B cast upon it. If cast upon Plate, then it gains the same innate Magic armor benefit as described in Level B, but stops the first 3 attacks instead of the first one. Lasts for 1 year.
Improved Augment Armor
General Aspect
Difficulty: Variable
This would be exactly like Augment armor, but the difficulty would be higher, reagent cost higher, and would last 5 years instead of one.
Greater Augment Armor
General aspect
Difficulty: 21
This would be exactly like Augment Armor Level C, but would be permanent and require a catalyst.
* This will discourage the practice of high-level chars ditching their armor in favor of Arcane Armor on their spirits/uber weapons and will keep people looking like their adventuring selves instead of a conclave of merchants in tunic and trousers but getting plate mail protection. The innate Magic Armor function of plate makes it so that plate wearers are cool, but prevents the problematic Threshold from forcing monster camp to send out monsters that are abusive to low level characters just to be able to affect the plate-wearers. It will not render Magic Armor the spell useless, since that is still far too handy for situational use against slays, eviscerates, and nasty carrier attacks (and the non-plate wearers will need em too).
.Armour falls into four categories: Light, Medium, Heavy, and Plate. Each class gains one of these as a class benefit and is able to wear any armor of that type, plus any armor category lower down the scale than theirs. Each category has a maximum armor potential value for it's type, and as long as the wearer is wearing appropriate phys reps on at least 2/3 of the proscribed armor locations they count as "wearing armor". They may then equip an armor tag of value up to the max for that category.
Light: Up to ten points of armor. Armour may be made from canvas, quilted fabric, heavy velvet, light leather (5oz or lighter), or similar weight materials. Class feature of Scholar and Artisan.
Medium: Up to 15 points of armor. Armour may be made from heavy leather (6oz or heavier), studded light leather, leather scales, light ring mail leather. Class feature of Rogue and Adept.
Heavy: Up to 20 points of armor. Armour may be made from Curboiled leather, studded heavy leather, heavy ring mail, brigandine, and chain mail. Class features of Templar and Scout.
Plate: Up to 30 points of armor. Armour may be made from any gauge metal or minimum 3/8" thick plastic, however non-metallic plate MUST be painted and lacquered or covered over with leather in order to give it a better appearance than typical "pickle barrel plate". Only Fighters may wear plate armor.
*This form of armor system allows for much more creativity and affordability for people to get good gear for their characters. It also makes it so that their armor value is far more dependent on their IG economy and skills than it is on how much money they spent OOG to equip themselves. It also allows for variant materials for chain and plate without penalizing the player, reducing cost and increasing likelihood that someone will buy/make such armors.
Along with this implementation for armor rules, we introduce the following additional rules to augment it.
Armour proficiency (3 build for all classes): This skill may only be purchased once. With the purchase of this skill, the combatant is well versed in the ways of getting maximum protection from his armor. This person may now equip an armor tag worth 5 points above the category of armor they are wearing (must be capable of wearing that cat of armor to begin with). Armor may not exceed 30 points, but this skill will allow a fighter to wear Heavy armor for 25 points if they so choose (or cloth for 15 for that matter).
*This allows for people to take some added benefit from IG loot and skill. It also will encourage people to put more time/effort/money into the appearance of their armor since they’ll be able to gain some more benefit from that same type/suit down the road without having to upgrade/remake their armor after the first couple of levels of progress.
Remove Render, Improved Render, and Arcane Armor from the system and instead introduce the following ritual:
Augment Armor
General Aspect
Difficulty: Variable
The casting of this ritual upon a suit of armor will act to enhance that suit to a degree dependent on the level of the casting performed.
Level A: Difficulty 1, 3 reagents. Renders the armor indestructible, as per the Render ritual. Lasts for 1 year.
Level B: Difficulty 3, 4 reagents. Same as level A, plus increases the potential value of the suit of armor by one category. Thus, a suit of Light armor would have the potential armor value of a suit of Medium armor. If cast on plate armor, instead of increasing the value of the armor, each time the suit is refit (as per the “refit armor†rule allowed by blacksmithing) it will innately stop the first blow that lands on the wearer, as though a Magic Armor were cast upon the wearer. This stops the first legal weapon blow only, and cannot be used as a “smart defense†after the first hit. If the wearer also has a Magic Armor cast upon them already, then that is used first and the second blow would be stopped by the Enhanced Plate armor. Lasts for 1 year.
Level C: Difficulty 7, 6 reagents. Same as level B, but increases the value by 2 categories. If cast upon a suit of Heavy armor, then the suit gains the benefits as though it was a suit of Plate with Level B cast upon it. If cast upon Plate, then it gains the same innate Magic armor benefit as described in Level B, but stops the first 3 attacks instead of the first one. Lasts for 1 year.
Improved Augment Armor
General Aspect
Difficulty: Variable
This would be exactly like Augment armor, but the difficulty would be higher, reagent cost higher, and would last 5 years instead of one.
Greater Augment Armor
General aspect
Difficulty: 21
This would be exactly like Augment Armor Level C, but would be permanent and require a catalyst.
* This will discourage the practice of high-level chars ditching their armor in favor of Arcane Armor on their spirits/uber weapons and will keep people looking like their adventuring selves instead of a conclave of merchants in tunic and trousers but getting plate mail protection. The innate Magic Armor function of plate makes it so that plate wearers are cool, but prevents the problematic Threshold from forcing monster camp to send out monsters that are abusive to low level characters just to be able to affect the plate-wearers. It will not render Magic Armor the spell useless, since that is still far too handy for situational use against slays, eviscerates, and nasty carrier attacks (and the non-plate wearers will need em too).
