Issue 4 - Armor! (Part 2)

An Ongoing Examination of Armor Systems in Old Fantasy RPGs, the OSR and Beyond

Hi folks, welcome back.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about armor in TTRPGs¹, and mentioned that the subject has always been a keen area of interest for me, and I expected to write more on it in the future. Note that I’m not talking generally here, about armor in all RPGS, but rather about a subset that I defined in Issue 3. Basically:

…select medieval fantasy RPGs that lean towards grounded or believable combat.

(If you need a little more context, breeze through the beginning of my last blog post and then return here if you’re interested in the companion piece. Also, I know that parenthetical references can be seen to be a sign of poor writing, especially when footnotes are in play, but you know what? I like them. In some ways it’s like breaking the fourth wall with the reader. Hello reader! Here, check out some cool art!)

Two Norman knights having at it — by Florian, from Maison Trencavel.

So. I then went on to break down abstract vs. simulationist approaches to modeling armor in these types of games, and wondered why so few games model heavily armored, hard-to-injure combatants wearing down over time. That is, foes wearing western medieval heavy mail or plate armor, especially of the bespoke sort intended for single combat, tourneys, and war. There are plenty of videos showing people running, cartwheeling, diving and rolling in modern equivalents, but there’s little question that wearing 35-65 pounds of armor and a great helm isn’t an impediment to mobility and a factor in how quickly the fighter becomes winded, then exhausted. Many games actually limit movement based on the type of armor worn, and it’s not uncommon to see athletics, fighting, and even perception checks affected negatively by the weight and type of armor.

In any case, today I’m musing about how to model that exhaustion in abstract games — ideally in a simple but engaging way. I should note, as I’ve thought this through a bit, I’ve come to the conclusion that I probably won’t use any of these ideas, since I prefer my lighter games to be just that… lighter. Still, I think it’s an interesting thought exercise, so read on if you’re willing — let’s see where this takes us.

MY AIM

What am I trying to model here? If you read the first post in this Armor! series and at least glanced at the video clips I used as references, you might know that I am looking for this:

• Making combat deadlier as it goes on, as the foes become exhausted. Costly mistakes are amplified, and can result in a single blow ending things.

• Modeling the skill, fitness, and staying power of the combatant. Certainly some knights, if we use them as a bit of a catch-all for the kind of combat I’m talking about, have more endurance in battle than others.

But you might not yet suspect I also want to steer well clear of these specific things:

• Penalties on to-hit rolls or damage dealt because the attacker is exhausted. The last thing I want to do is extend combat and make it drag on, make it even more of a slog than it is in some games. Two foes chipping away at each other, unable to hit or damage the other — that’s not on the menu.

• Any kind of resource management. Endurance points in Hero / Champions, Stun Points in ICRPG’s Vigilante City — I don’t want to be ticking down an endurance meter as we go, or spending action points or the like from a dwindling pool. Here again we end up with the risk of less interesting things happening as the fight goes on, and I’ll have none of that.

With that said, let’s lay out some cornerstones that capture this — let’s lay out some principles to work from.

PRINCIPLES

So to get where I want to go with this, I think we’re looking at the following three key concepts:

Principle 1: Fitness and Skill Matter

Fitter, more skilled combatants should fare better at these grueling fights, and have more staying power. This might be a skill roll, an attribute check, or a rating that is derived from such things.

Principle 2: Protection Worsens

Armor Class, Defense, Armor Rating, AC — whatever you call it — should worsen as the fight drags on and more and more openings are presented by the increasingly tired and desperate combatants. It should perhaps worsen incrementally, but in the interest of ease of play and not tracking too many fiddly bits, I’m thinking that it’s best modeled as a downgrade that happens once or twice in a combat. Oh, and for those systems that instead model damage resistance — commonly referred to these days as “soak” — those values should come down as well.

Principle 3: Mistakes Are Costly

Injuries, when they happen, should be more grievous. This might be additional damage that is added to any successful hit, or an overall increase in the likelihood and even magnitude of critical hits.

Next, let’s explore these principles in context and see how they might take shape in a few different TTRPGs.

Same artist — Florian with from Maison Trencavel, where prints of this and other work are available.

MUCKING ABOUT WITH SPECIFIC SYSTEMS

Note that I’m going to try and showcase or feature a number of ideas here — I’m not going for pure consistency or like-for-like across systems, I’m trying to explore the edges of this concept and shine a light in some dark, musty corners.

B/X, OSE, and Beyond the Wall

Fitness and Skill Matter: Fight normally for three rounds. At the start of Round 4, and every three rounds beyond that (rounds 4, 7, 10, 13, etc.), pass a CON Ability Check or become Winded. If you are already Winded, become Exhausted. Once Exhausted, cease making these checks. One turn of rest will see Exhaustion reduced to being Winded, another will remove the Winded status.

Protection Worsens: When Winded, a combatant’s AC is worsened by 2. When Exhausted, their armor and shield do not affect their AC.

Mistakes are Costly: Beginning on Round 1, add the Combat Round number as damage to any blow that lands — e.g. in Round 1 all damage is at +1, in Round 5 it’s all at +5. This caps at +6, and is brought to you care of 13th Age, where this mechanic is called the “Escalation Die.” (There I believe it’s used in the to-hit roll, not for damage.)

White Box Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game (WBFMAG)

Fitness and Skill Matter: Fight normally for three rounds. At the start of Round 4, and every three rounds beyond that (rounds 4, 7, 10, 13, etc.) roll a d6. On a 5 or 6, you fight on without becoming Weary. If you fail, become Winded, and if already Winded, become Exhausted. Once Exhausted, cease making these checks. One turn of rest will see Exhaustion turn to being Winded, another will remove the Winded status. Add your CON bonus to this d6 check. Fighters also enjoy a bonus: +1 at levels 1-5, and +2 at levels 6-10. (Meaning a 6th level Fighter with +1 from CON will succeed 5 in 6 times, failing only on a 1. Beware the experienced knight who goes to the gym.)

Protection Worsens: When Winded, the AC bonus from your armor is halved. (Round towards an unarmored AC.) When Exhausted, neither your armor nor your shield affect your AC.

Mistakes are Costly: If a foe exceeds your unaltered / base AC with an attack while you are Winded, suffer double damage from the attack. If you are Exhausted, suffer triple damage from the same.

Example: Sir Glop (AC10) wears plate mail (+6) and carries a shield (+1). His AAC² is 17. When he is Weary that drops to 14, and to 10 when he’s Exhausted.

The Black Hack 1e

Fitness and Skill Matter: At the beginning of the fight, establish a usage die (the “Exhaustion Die”) to represent how much time has passed and energy has been spent by each combatant. Typically, start with Ud8. Roll that die each combat round, including the first, shrinking it to the next die size down as usual on a result of 1-2. When the Ud4 shrinks, both combatants have to pass CON checks each round or become Exhausted.

Protection Worsens: When Exhausted, any unused Armor Points³ vanish.

Mistakes are Costly: At the beginning of the fight, establish a reverse-usage die to represent the growing danger of making a misstep as the fight wears on. Start with a Ud4, and grow the die if the top two numbers are rolled. d4 grows on 3-4, d6 grows on 5-6, d8 grows on 7-8, etc. Roll that “Risk Die” each round, growing it as described, but also adding its result to any damage scored by either side.

Example: Sir Glop is wearing Plate & Mail (8 Armor Points) and has a Large Shield (4 Armor Points). When he’s Exhausted, those Armor Points are no longer available to him in this combat. And each round the Risk Die is rolled…

• Round 1: Ud4 comes up 3, grows to Ud6. No blows are struck.

• Round 2: Ud6 comes up 2, stays a Ud6. Glop lands a blow and deals +2 damage.

• Round 3: Ud6 comes up 4, stays a Ud6 but also adds +4 to damage struck by Glop’s opponent during a successful attack.

The Black Hack 2e

Fitness and Skill Matter: For the first three rounds of combat, each combatant makes a CON test at Advantage; for the next three, that roll is made normally. For round 7 and beyond, make that test at Disadvantage. Failure results in the combatant becoming Fatigued. Once Fatigued, there’s no need to keep rolling.

Protection Worsens: When Fatigued, any unused Armor Dice vanish.

Mistakes are Costly: Each round, starting with the first, a combatant deals Ongoing Damage to their foe. That is, they deal their level in damage each round. This is considered separate from any damage dealt through usual means, and can be absorbed by Armor Dice if the target so desires.

Into the Odd, Electric Bastionland, Cairn and Other Mark of the Odd Games

Author’s note — there’s not a ton to do here. The vicious combat in the Into the Odd-style RPGs already has a number of these ideas baked in.

Fitness and Skill Matter: After Round 3, each round a combatant must pass a STR save or put a Fatigue marker in their inventory. When the inventory slots are all filled, Hit Protection drops to 0. (Note that dropping a heavy weapon or shield might be an attractive strategy here.) After that, if another STR save is failed, the combatant becomes Exhausted.

Protection Worsens: An Exhausted combatant’s Armor value goes down by 1.

Mistakes are Costly: The foe of an Exhausted combatant sees their attacks Enhanced, dealing d12 damage each round.

Dungeon Crawl Classics

Fitness and Skill Matter: Fight normally for three rounds. At the start of Round 4, and every three rounds beyond that (rounds 4, 7, 10, 13, etc.), pass a FORT save or become Winded. If you are already Winded, become Exhausted. Once Exhausted, cease making these checks. One turn of rest will see Exhaustion turn to being Winded, another will remove the Winded status.

Protection Worsens: When Winded, your AC worsens by 2. When Exhausted, your armor and shield do not affect your AC.

Mistakes are Costly: When Winded, increase the die size of your foe’s Action Die by +1d. When Exhausted, increase your fumble die by +1d, and also increase your foe’s critical hits die by +1d.

Shadowdark

Fitness and Skill Matter: Fight normally for three rounds. At the start of Round 4, and every three rounds beyond that (rounds 4, 7, 10, 13, etc.), pass a CON check vs. DC12 or become Winded. If you are already Winded, become Exhausted. Once Exhausted, cease making these checks. Fighters make these checks at Advantage. One turn of rest will see Exhaustion turn to being Winded, another will remove the Winded status.

Protection Worsens: When Winded, your AC bonuses from armor and shield are halved. When Exhausted, your armor and shield bonuses do not affect your AC.

Mistakes are Costly: When wielding a Mastered Weapon, Fighters deal their weapon damage to a single Winded or Exhausted opponent each round. This automatically hits, and is based on the Fray and Shock damage mechanics seen in more than a few of Kevin Crawford’s games.⁴

Barbarians of Lemuria

Oh, sweet and lovely Barbarians of Lemuria, how I love thee. Erm, ahem — excuse me. On with the thing… I’ll get into a deeper dive on this game soon enough.

Fitness and Skill Matter: Fight normally for three rounds. At the start of Round 4, and every three rounds beyond that (rounds 4, 7, 10, 13, etc.), make a Strength-based Task Roll or become Winded. If you are already Winded, become Exhausted. Once Exhausted, cease making these checks. Careers should factor into these Task Rolls, and certain Traits (boons and flaws) might offer Bonus or Penalty dice for the 2d6 roll. One turn of rest will see Exhaustion turn to being Winded, another will remove the Winded status.

Protection Worsens: When Winded, your Defense and armor’s protection are both at -1; when Exhausted, your Defense and armor’s protection is at -2. Additionally, any Agility or Initiative penalties are doubled.

Mistakes are Costly: If your foe strikes you when you are Exhausted, they may make a single follow-up attack.

Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells

Fitness and Skill Matter: Fight normally for three rounds. At the start of Round 4, and every three rounds beyond that (rounds 4, 7, 10, 13, etc.), pass a Physique Attribute Test or become Winded. If you are already Winded, become Exhausted. Once Exhausted, cease making these checks. One turn of rest will see Exhaustion turn to being Winded, another will remove the Winded status.

Protection Worsens: When Winded, your armor’s protection is rated one level lower; when Exhausted, your armor’s protection rates two levels lower. That is, normally Plate Armor or Full Mail is rated at -2d, which means damage dice are stepped down by two dice, say from d8 to d6 and then d4. When Winded, Heavy Armor would only rate a -1d; when Exhausted, merely a -1 pip on the normal damage roll.

(It’s worth pointing out that SS&SS has pretty interesting armor mechanics that deftly avoid an issue many games with soak mechanics grapple with: can an attack deal zero damage? I’m surprised it hasn’t been copied more or expanded upon further in the OSR.)

Mistakes are Costly: Your foe steps up their damage die when you are Winded, twice if you are Exhausted. If the GM is leery of introducing a d20 damage die, instead this could max out at d12, with Advantage.

Fate and Cortex Prime

Right — I suspect few people are as interested in this shite as I am, so time to cut this short. Just some quick parting shots regarding a couple of my favorite systems that lean in a more narrative direction.

Fate: easy-as to model this stuff in in Fate. Just apply a “Threat of Exhaustion” Aspect to the scene with an increasing Difficulty as the rounds go by, and have the two combatants have to Overcome that Aspect from time to time. If they fail or tie, they could be affected by Aspects, Consequences and Boosts that are not in their favor, and would also have to consider succeeding at minor or major cost, etc. There’s a lot that can change here depending on whether you’re playing Fate Core, Condensed, or Accelerated… and even then there are a bunch of different ways people like to model armor in Fate games.

I’ll also mention her that similar overall logic could be used in 2d20 games and other systems that have so much Fate DNA in them. In the case of 2d20, leverage Traits and Truths to model being tired, exploiting openings and such and there you go.

Cortex Prime: modeling this kind of thing in Cortex is even more dependent on the build that’s been deployed, but off the top of my head I would look at leveraging Conditions (if your foe has Exhausted d8, you’re adding that to your pool each time), and Resources that only become available once that Condition is true — modeling being able to press the attack when you see your foe tiring, weakening.

WRAPPING UP

Got a bit repetitive with my approach across different games I think, but hey. Digging deeper on this subject, you could explore some pretty fertile ground in the following areas, depending on the system in question:

• Lowered Luck scores or an increase in both critical hit and fumble ranges as the combatants get tired

• Sacrifice / lose pieces of armor or a favor (and the resulting protection) permanently as the contest wears on

• Advantage / Disadvantage or superior positioning if your foe is winded and you are not

• Risk losing a weapon or getting knocked down when tired

• The presumption here has been that the two foes are similarly armored... but if one is in lighter armor, they may have an advantage in terms of how long they can last before they become Winded or Exhausted.

In closing I’ll just say that I intend to look a little more carefully at armor systems that model damage resistance in the future, but it might be a while before I turn my pen back in this direction. Oh — and if I do get around to a Mythic Bastionland review, some of these topics will come up again as Chris McDowall tackles them in some interesting ways in his new game.

As usual, please comment if you feel like I’ve missed a trick or you otherwise have something to add to the conversation.

Ciao for now.

Break camp, mount up and ride off!

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1. Table Top Roleplaying Games. Most anyone reading this most certainly knows that, but I don’t love dropping acronym bombs without explanation in case there’s the rare soul who finds their way here accidently or through some oblique or unusual pathway. For those few, know that “TTRPG” is often used to describe pen-and-paper games like Dungeons & Dragons, rather than the console and computer RPGs that are now so popular.

2. Ascending Armor Class. Hugs and kisses, Jimbo!

3. Armor Points are basically another pool of HP in TBH 1e, which refresh between combats.

4. See Scarlet Heroes or Worlds Without Number, for example.