User:Proton/Next advanced DR armor

Mechanics

Under this system, the AC gained from armor is based on the body coverage of the armor, and instead of avoiding attacks entirely, the portion of your AC granted by armor directly reduces incoming damage.

Armor Class is separated into dodge AC, which is 10 + your Dexterity's contribution to AC (limited by medium armor, or negated by heavy armor), shield AC, which includes any increases from a shield, and armor AC, which includes any increases from armor (but not from a shield). When an attack roll is made, the result is compared against all three ACs to determine the final result:

• If the result is less than your dodge AC, you avoid the attack entirely.
• If the result is less than your shield AC, the attack's damage is reduced by the shield's damage reduction value.
• If the result is less than your armor AC, the attack's damage is reduced by the armor's damage reduction value.

Shield reduction and armor reduction stack when the attack roll is less than both shield AC and armor AC. If an attack's damage is ever reduced to zero, it's considered a miss, as if it rolled under your dodge AC.

Visual aid:

Base 10

Dex (+3)

Shield

Base 10

Dex (+3)

Shield

Armor (Cuirass)

Base 10

Dex (+2)

Shield

Armor (Hauberk)

Base 10

Shield

Armor (Suit)

Shield Design

Shields are the simplest; if you're holding a shield, your shield AC is 3 + your dodge AC. All shields weigh 6 pounds regardless of the material, with cost and damage reduction varying by material:

Material	Damage Reduction	Cost
Steel	12	10 gp
Bronze	9	7 gp
Wood	7	5 gp
Soft metal	7	Varies

The cost of a soft metal shield depends on the value of the metal. A shield made of solid gold could be worth several hundred gold pieces beyond its basic material value.

Armor Design

Armor is classified into cuirasses, hauberks, and suits. A cuirass covers the torso only; a hauberk adds protection for the head, shoulders, upper arms, and upper legs; a suit covers the body entirely. Each of these can be reinforced, adding 50% to both cost and weight. A cuirass gains a helmet, bracers, and leg guards; a hauberk gains a skirt, gauntlets, and arm and leg guards; a suit gains fluting, specialized joint protection, and thicker layers of metal (leather gains bits of metal, padded cloth gains bits of leather).

Type	Dodge AC	Dexterity Bonus	Armor AC
Cuirass	10	Full	14
Hauberk	10	Max +2	17
Suit	10	None	20
Reinforced	—	—	+2

Whether your Dexterity modifier applies to your dodge AC and armor AC depends on the armor type, as usual. Light armor applies your full modifier to both dodge AC and armor AC; medium armor applies your modifier, with a maximum of +2, to both; heavy armor doesn't use your modifier at all for either.

Damage Reduction

The actual protection of armor depends on both its material and the style of construction.

Material	Damage Reduction	Weight Multiplier
Steel	12	×1
Bronze	9	×1
Wood	7	×1
Soft metal	7	×1
Padded cloth	5	×1/4

Construction style modifiers to be determined.