Balance Perspective: (5e's) Heavy Armor Master feat

[The Dodr Dragon]

I was getting into 5e after moving from 3.5e, realizing the differences, good and bad, and was looking into the Heavy Armor master feat when I couldn't really understand how the wording was meant to function. I then saw some posts around with a lot of RAI differences and a couple threads about the balance of this Heavy Armor Master feat, being out of wack and stuff, here on giantitp.

I want to give situational and balance perspective to this feat, to you, and to re-look at it's wording and functionality, and then make a whole (slightly) new version of the feat that serves the players, and DM's that have it in their games, more enjoyably, realistically and balancedly.

These are the relevant topicals for the Heavy Armor Master feat.

1) This feat's efficiency is heavily determined by the specifics of any singular encounter more so than the character that possesses the feat. Which is good for balance in and of it'self. Reasoning?: Does not work versus any magic (or to benefit any threats asking for ability-saves) and is extremely more potent for multiple-attacks via either a singular opponent like a TWF or Rapid Firing ranged character -or, simply a pack of smaller enemies with little attacks. It's a feat that specializes in taking on the many instead of the BBEG himself. He's the swarm-killer but also really wants more mileage for his 1-to-2 ability score loss and heavy-armor requirement by taking this feat.

2) It has some RAW vs. RAI differences as to whether it effects all mundane-attacks or only mundane "weapons" held by creatures. It seems that all mundane attacks (or 99% thereof) makes a lot more logical sense in and of it'self and to be the fair-er answer, and I believe that gains it the lead in the argument personally.

3) It is really useless if common enemies have magical attacks and has this feat basically function as DR 3/Magic.

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So, how can a function so strong as Damage Reduction(DR), with as much of an investment, be balanced for later levels without getting out of hand is the goal in mind. I believe I have accumulated a strong answer -at least for my own view of the gamespace for this feat.:

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Homebrew'ed Heavy Armor Master:

"Pristine defensive maneuvers resists against all but the most Impactful of physical insecurities to one's personal safety in those demanding bouts of martial prowess."

This feat does not apply when you are not wearing Heavy Armor. You must be proficient in Heavy Armor to take this feat.

Lower the hit-point damage this character takes from every and all attacks that deal Bludgeoning, Piercing and/or Slashing damage by your proficiency bonus for your character level.

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Gain Damage Reduction equal to your Proficiency Bonus against almost all martial, damaging attacks.

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Dev Note: The wording of the original feat almost sounds confused, and this homebrew takes the feat down the road of "non-magic damage" being transformed to "non-spell-ish-damage". Or in other words, the breadth of physical-attack threats that an armor piece normally applies for, applies for the resistances here thereof.

[Talamare]

Just saying

Historically... Yes Bludgeoning Weapons were used to 'counter' Heavily Armored Foes...

but it wasn't because it was especially effective... It was because it more or less was the only thing that did anything at all... (other than piercing into joints)

If anything then Standard Heavy Armor should just be DR/Non-Physical... and Heavy Armor Master should be DR/Non-Physical+Bludgeoning...
but that's excess of course, and DnD isn't balanced on a DR system...


My point is...
DR/Non-Physical is enough of a weakness, You don't need to reduce them from 3/13 to 2/13.

Overall, I think it's a good change.

[Lalliman]

Terribly clunky, I wouldn't use it. I suppose adding a layer of complexity is appealing to people who enjoy 3.5, but I always advocate for simplicity over simulationism. I just rule that it reduces BPS damage by your proficiency bonus, period. HAM is, in my experience, considered trash after early level, so the buff seems justified. Admittedly I've never played or run a game where the proficiency bonus is higher than 4, so I can't vouch for the balance at high level.

[The Dodr Dragon]

You guys might be right. Perhaps have the Damage Reduction apply for all BPS damage. I do think the drop of one DR at early levels sounds balanced in my eyes for the trade off to work against magically buffed weapons and to scale for higher character levels. I changed the original post to make it simpler xd.

[Composer99]

The feat's text seems quite clear and unambiguous to me, especially since when you go through the monsters, their attacks are invariably either "weapon attacks" (even when they're "natural" weapons such as claws and bites) or "spell attacks".

That said, personally for the RAW feat, I'd reword it to "damage that you take from nonmagical weapon attacks" to remove even the possibility of ambiguity (because then it matches the exact term used in monster statblocks), or to "damage that you take from nonmagical manufactured weapons" if you meant it to apply only to... well, to manufactured weapons instead of "natural" ones.

I'd consider rewording:

This feat does not apply when you are not wearing Heavy Armor. You must be proficient in Heavy Armor to take this feat.

Lower the hit-point damage this character takes from every and all attacks that deal Bludgeoning, Piercing and/or Slashing damage by your proficiency bonus for your character level.

to


Heavy Armor Master
Prerequisite: Proficiency with heavy armor

[Insert flavor text and Strength score increase (maybe) stuff here.]

While you are wearing heavy armor, bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage that you take from weapon attacks is reduced by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus.


(*) Remove "from weapon attacks" if you want other sources of such damage (such as spikes on a trap, spell effects, and the like) to be affected by this feat as well; if you want weapon and spell attacks but not other effects to be affected by the feat, just make it "from weapon or spell attacks" or "from attacks".

(I don't know if you mean to have the feat continue to increase the Strength score of whomever takes it by 1 or not.)