Defense Bonuses in 3.5

[wayfare]

My group is gearing up for a 3.5 game, and we are thinking of implementing defense bonuses a'la d20 modern, then using the Unearthed Arcana version of armor (seen here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/armorAsDamageReduction.htm ).

The other thing we are considering is not implementing the defense bonuses, but giving all armor a DR value. Enhancement bonuses to armor would apply to both DR and AC bonus

Are these options balanced? Will they work in an otherwise standard 3.5 game?

[Drelua]

It seems balanced to me, especially since all the classes that rely on armour other than cleric are fairly sub-optimal. I'd be fine with giving armour DR equal to it's AC bonus if the two people in my group that actually play casters had the slightest idea how to optimize.

I'd also recommend doing what Pathfinder did; increasing the AC bonus of medium and heavy armour by 1. It always used to bug me that a breastplate is so rarely better than a chain shirt. Even with a +3 DEX mod, the extra speed might be worth lowering your AC by one.

[IdleMuse]

I've played a longish campaign of the Game of Thrones d20 system, which uses, as it's only fairly major change from D&D, DR based armour. Even with extremely low hit points, (1-3+con bonus per level), combat becomes very dull as people swing at each other and fail to do any damage whatsoever. This would probably be different with magic, but I fail to see how it would be any better; all it does is make magic the ONLY way of dealing significant damage. It just makes casters even more unbalanced.

I wouldn't suggest using this system; the D&D 3.5 AC system is fairly good as it is.

[DeltaEmil]

I've played a longish campaign of the Game of Thrones d20 system, which uses, as it's only fairly major change from D&D, DR based armour. Even with extremely low hit points, (1-3+con bonus per level), combat becomes very dull as people swing at each other and fail to do any damage whatsoever.The DR granted by the armor-as-damage reduction-system is pitifully low. Every melee or ranged hit can easily deal 20-50 damage, and that's without magic enhancements.

Of course, for characters without sources of extra damage like Sneak Attack or Skirmish, it makes Power Attack even more important than it is (but only by a very small bit), but that's nothing new in D&D 3.5.

[wayfare]

Thanks for the input! After some discussion, we've decided to ditch defense bonuses and instead go with a modified armor system. The modifications come in two parts -- first, armor falls into categories, not specific armor types.

For example, a suit of medium armor could be a breastplate or rhino hide or a suite of living scales. Description of armor is mostly fluff -- what matters is the category the armor falls into.

Second, DR is a component of armor. Deflection bonuses increase AC, while enhancement bonuses increase DR. Materials may also increase DR or AC.

For those of you interested, here is what we came up with



Cloth Armor
Clothing, Heavy Robes, Riding Leathers, Biker Jacket
AC: +0
DR: +0
Max Dex: Any
Spell Failure: 0
Speed Penalty: 0
Weight: Negligible

Very Light Armor
Hardened Leather, Studded Leather, Very Fine Chain Shirt
AC: +1
DR: +1
Max Dex: +10
Spell Failure: 0
Speed Penalty: 0
Weight: 4-6 lbs

Light Armor
Chain Shirt, Light Hide, Reinforced Riding Leathers
AC: +2
DR: +1
Max Dex: +8
Spell Failure: 5%
Speed Penalty: 0
Weight: 5-10 lbs

Medium Armor
Buff Jacket, Hide, Leather-and-Mail
AC: +4
DR: +2
Max Dex: +6
Spell Failure: 10%
Speed Penalty: -5 feet
Weight: 15-20 lbs

Medium-Heavy Armor
Breastplate, Chainmail Suit, Elephant Hide, Scale Armor
AC: +6
DR: +3
Max Dex: +4
Spell Failure: 15%
Speed Penalty: -5 feet
Weight: 30-40 lbs

Heavy Armor
Banded Mail, Chain Swathing, Plate Armor
AC: +8
DR: +4
Max Dex: +2
Spell Failure: 25%
Speed Penalty: -10 feet
Weight: 35-45 lbs

Massive Armor
Full Plate Armor, Other Ridiculous Really Big Armor Types
AC: +10
DR: +5
Max Dex: 0
Spell Failure: 35%
Speed Penalty: -10 feet
Weight: 40-50 lbs

Armor check is conspicuously absent. We figured it was best to give it the old heave-ho to go easy on melee types. Once again, thanks for the help! Any further input would be appreciated!