No heavy armor?

[Calmar]

I am toying with the idea of excluding heavy armor from my game to give the setting a style similar to the earlier middle ages, rather than the early renaissance of standard D&D. Would this be severely disadvantaging fighters and paladins?

I've decided to give clerics only medium armor proficiency as class feature, in any case.

[jagadaishio]

Just use the Armor as DR and Class Defense Bonus variants. You can find them in the SRD. They should discourage most people from using heavy armor.

[Woodsman]

Just use the Armor as DR and Class Defense Bonus variants. You can find them in the SRD. They should discourage most people from using heavy armor.

The latter discourages people from wearing any. At all.

[Count Platypus]

The Wheel of Time game actually has a good system for that. AC progression based on class, as well as the fighter types get armor compatability, which lets them stack armor and class AC.

[Sanguine]

The Wheel of Time game actually has a good system for that. AC progression based on class, as well as the fighter types get armor compatability, which lets them stack armor and class AC.

One of the few good things about the system. *Mutters to self about madness system sucking and Aes Sedai prc not progressing channeling as I walk off*

[Calmar]

So simply using only light and medium armor wouldn't work?

[Omegonthesane]

What balance the game has assumes heavy armour is an option for fighters, and (for some reason) that tank fighters will take that option. You'd need something to compensate them for not being able to tank with items.

[Woodsman]

You could always throw in the "Dragonscale husk" variant from Dragon Magic, which replaces heavy armor.

Just a thought.

[Roderick_BR]

Just use the Armor as DR and Class Defense Bonus variants. You can find them in the SRD. They should discourage most people from using heavy armor.
I second that. To make armor not fully uncompatible, do it like this: You can use a base defense bonus no bigger than twice the Max Dex Bonus from each armor. So, players can choose if they want better AC (being lighter and more able to dodge), or wear some armor, gaining more endurance to direct attacks (with the DR bonus).

[Yora]

I am toying with the idea of excluding heavy armor from my game to give the setting a style similar to the earlier middle ages, rather than the early renaissance of standard D&D. Would this be severely disadvantaging fighters and paladins?

I've decided to give clerics only medium armor proficiency as class feature, in any case.
Sure. I did that.

Kicked out half-plate and full-plate. But improving the AC-bonus of shields by 1 is probably a good idea.