What is Wrong with Armor in D&D 5e? New Armor System Fix w/ Mr Rhexx

Summary

In this video, the host discusses enhancing Dungeons and Dragons gameplay with a new Kickstarter project, 'Alkane's Almanac of All Things.' They explore issues with traditional armor and weapons, introducing a modular expansion that offers customizable options, including a new weapon and armor system, different weapon properties, and reactive shield properties. The video also features a conversation with DND YouTuber Mr. Rex, discussing homebrew solutions to improve the game's mechanics and player experience.

Takeaways

• 🛡️ The video discusses an upgrade to the traditional Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) weapon and armor system through homebrew content to enhance gameplay.
• 📚 The creator has launched a Kickstarter for 'Alcan's Almanac of All Things,' a modular expansion for 5th edition D&D that introduces customizable options for the game, including a new weapon and armor system.
• 🔍 Mr. Rex, a prominent D&D YouTuber, is brought in for his insights on the underwhelming aspects of weapons and armor in D&D and how they can be improved.
• 🎖️ The video addresses the issue of limited options for armor in D&D, where players can quickly reach the best available armor and have no further progression or choices.
• 🤔 The discussion highlights the lack of feel of progression with armor in D&D, as opposed to leveling up and gaining new abilities.
• 🛠️ A new armor system is proposed with additional mechanics, including Evasion Class (EC) and Armor Reduction Value (AR), to provide more depth and strategy in combat.
• 💡 The introduction of different materials for armor and weapons adds variety and role-playing opportunities, allowing players to customize their gear with unique properties.
• 💸 The new system aims to make in-game money more relevant by providing more options for players to spend it on meaningful upgrades.
• 🔄 The video suggests that the new system can help balance the game by giving players a sense of being a 'tank' without making them invincible, thus maintaining the tension and strategy in combat.
• 🌐 The creator's Patreon offers early access to the new system in PDF form, with different tiers providing varying levels of content and customization options.
• 🔗 The Kickstarter and Patreon links are provided in the video description for those interested in supporting the project and gaining access to the new content.

Q & A

What is the main topic of discussion in the video script?

The main topic of discussion in the video script is the upgrade of weapons, armor, and shields in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), including the introduction of new homebrew systems and the exploration of issues with the current armor class mechanics.

What is 'Alcan's Almanac of All Things'?

'Alcan's Almanac of All Things' is a modular expansion for 5th edition D&D that the speaker has launched on Kickstarter. It aims to provide customizable options for players to tweak their D&D game, including new weapon and armor systems.

What issues does Mr. Rex, the DND YouTuber, have with the current state of weapons and armor in D&D?

Mr. Rex feels that weapons and armor in D&D are underwhelming and have issues that need fixing. He points out the lack of variety and progression in armor, the reliance on random rolls for upgrades, and the lack of feel of getting stronger as a character.

What is the new armor system proposed in the video script?

The new armor system proposed introduces two additional defensive stats: Evasion Class (EC) and Armor Reduction Value (AR). EC represents the ability to dodge an attack entirely, while AR is used to reduce the amount of damage taken when hit within the armor class range.

How does the Armor Reduction Value (AR) work in the new system?

In the new system, the Armor Reduction Value (AR) is calculated as the difference between the character's Armor Class (AC) and 10. This value is used to reduce the damage taken when an attack hits within the character's armor class range.

What is the significance of introducing different materials for armor and weapons in the game?

Introducing different materials for armor and weapons adds variety and customization options, allowing players to create unique items with specific properties. It also brings back the importance of money in the game, as different materials can have different costs.

How does the new system address the issue of players feeling underwhelmed by their armor upgrades?

The new system addresses this issue by providing a range of armor classes (EC to AC) and the ability to reduce damage taken through the AR value. This allows players to feel the impact of their armor choices and the progression of their character.

What is the role of the Patreon in relation to the new system discussed in the video script?

The Patreon supports the speaker's work and provides patrons with early access to new content, including the new armor system, weapon system, and other homebrew rules discussed in the video script.

What is the potential impact of the new system on the game's balance and player experience?

The new system aims to improve game balance by smoothing out damage taken and providing more options for character progression. It enhances the player experience by allowing for more strategic choices in armor and weapon selection.

How does the video script address concerns about the complexity of introducing new mechanics to D&D?

The video script acknowledges the potential complexity but argues that the new mechanics add depth to the game without overwhelming players. It suggests that players can choose how complex they want their game to be and that the new system offers a range of options to suit different preferences.

What is the Kickstarter mentioned in the video script, and how does it relate to the new armor system?

The Kickstarter mentioned in the video script is a crowdfunding campaign for 'Alcan's Almanac of All Things,' which includes the new armor system as part of its comprehensive expansion of D&D. The campaign aims to compile various homebrew systems into a hardcover book.

Outlines

00:00

🛡️ Dungeons & Dragons Armor and Weapon Upgrades

The speaker introduces an upgrade to the weapons, armor, and shields in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), mentioning a new Kickstarter campaign for 'Alkane's Almanac of All Things,' a 5th edition expansion. The almanac offers customizable options for D&D, such as a new weapon and armor system with various properties, materials, and actions for martial classes. The speaker also discusses the importance of addressing issues with armor class in D&D and introduces Mr. Rex, a prominent D&D YouTuber, who has critiqued the current state of weapons and armor in the game.

05:01

🎯 Addressing Armor Class Limitations in D&D

The conversation between the speaker and Mr. Rex delves into the limitations of the armor class system in D&D. They discuss the lack of progression and variety in armor options, especially for classes like rogues, and the impact on the RPG experience. Mr. Rex highlights the issue of armor class being the sole determinant of defense, which leads to a lack of strategic depth and player agency in combat. The discussion also touches on the disparity in damage taken by characters regardless of their armor type.

10:03

🤔 Expanding Armor Options and Mechanics

The speaker and Mr. Rex explore potential solutions to the armor class issues, suggesting the introduction of various materials for armor construction to increase options and player engagement. They discuss the benefits of having multiple defensive stats, such as an evasion class and armor reduction value, to add more depth to combat and character customization. The idea is to make armor feel more impactful and to allow for a more nuanced combat experience.

15:04

📚 Introducing a New Armor System with Alkane's Almanac

The speaker provides an overview of a new armor system being introduced in Alkane's Almanac, which includes an evasion class (EC) and an armor reduction value (AR). This system aims to create a more dynamic combat experience by allowing characters to dodge attacks entirely, reduce damage taken when hit, and feel the impact of their armor choices. The system also addresses the issue of high-AC characters feeling invulnerable and provides a more satisfying progression for martial classes.

20:05

💥 Balancing Armor and Damage in D&D Combat

The discussion continues with the speaker and Mr. Rex examining the balance between armor and damage in D&D. They consider the implications of the new armor system on gameplay, particularly how it affects the feel of wearing heavy armor and the tactical choices available to players. The system is designed to allow for high damage reduction at lower levels, while still ensuring that players take some damage at higher levels, maintaining a sense of challenge and realism in combat.

25:06

🌟 Enhancing D&D with Homebrew Solutions

The speaker and Mr. Rex talk about the benefits of homebrew solutions in enhancing the D&D experience. They discuss the importance of not overcomplicating the game while still adding depth and customization options. The conversation covers the potential for adding glancing blows and the flexibility of the new armor system to be adapted to different playstyles and campaign needs.

30:07

🎉 Collaborating on Homebrew Content with Mr. Rex

In the final part of the script, the speaker expresses gratitude to Mr. Rex for the collaboration and discusses the homebrew content they've explored together. They mention the upcoming Kickstarter for Alkane's Almanac and the availability of the new armor system on the speaker's Patreon. The speaker also encourages viewers to check out Mr. Rex's channel and support the collaborative efforts in enhancing D&D gameplay.

Keywords

💡Homebrew

Homebrew in the context of tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) refers to custom content created by players or Dungeon Masters (DMs) that is not part of the official game material. In this video, the term is used to describe the creation of new rules and systems for weapons, armor, and other game mechanics. The video discusses how these homebrews can enhance the D&D experience by providing more options and customization.

💡Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform where creators can raise funds for their projects by offering rewards to backers. In this video, the creator mentions launching a Kickstarter campaign for 'Alkane's Almanac of All Things,' a modular expansion for D&D. This project aims to provide customizable options for the game, and the Kickstarter is a way to fund its production and offer early access to backers.

💡Armor Class (AC)

Armor Class in D&D is a numerical value that represents how difficult it is for an opponent to hit a character with an attack. A higher AC means the character is better protected. The video discusses issues with the current AC system in D&D and proposes a new system that includes multiple defensive stats to add more depth and strategy to combat.

💡Evasion Class (EC)

Evasion Class is a new concept introduced in the video as part of a revised armor system. It represents a character's ability to completely evade an attack. The EC is calculated differently based on the character's equipment and dexterity, and it works in conjunction with the traditional Armor Class to determine the outcome of an attack.

💡Armor Reduction Value (AR)

Armor Reduction Value is another new mechanic discussed in the video. It represents the amount of damage that is reduced when an attack hits a character within their Armor Class range. This mechanic adds an additional layer of complexity to the combat system, allowing for more strategic decisions about armor and its effectiveness.

💡Mithril

Mithril is a fictional metal in fantasy settings, known for its light weight and superior strength. In the video, it is mentioned as one of the materials that can be used to create armor, adding a layer of customization and role-playing opportunity. The use of mithril in armor could affect its weight and movement capabilities, enhancing the gameplay experience.

💡Glancing Blow

A glancing blow is a concept where an attack hits a character but deals less damage than a full hit. In the video, it is suggested as a mechanic that could be incorporated into the new armor system, allowing for a more nuanced combat experience. For example, if a character has an Armor Class of 18 and is hit with a roll of 18, they might only take half damage.

💡Dungeon Master (DM)

A Dungeon Master is the game master in D&D who guides the players through the story, controls non-player characters, and describes the world. The video discusses how the new armor system would affect the DM's role in combat, making it more engaging and strategic by providing more options for how attacks interact with characters' defenses.

💡Patrons

In the context of this video, patrons refer to supporters who contribute financially to the creator's work, often through platforms like Patreon. The creator mentions different tiers of patronage, each offering access to different levels of content, such as PDFs of new game rules and systems. This model allows the creator to fund their projects and provide exclusive content to their supporters.

💡Martial Classes

Martial classes in D&D are character classes that focus on physical combat, such as fighters, paladins, and barbarians. The video discusses how the new armor and weapon systems would affect martial classes, potentially changing how they are played and perceived in the game. The goal is to make these classes feel more distinct and rewarding to play.

Highlights

Introduction of a new Kickstarter project, 'Alkane's Almanac of All Things', which is a modular expansion for 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons.

The Kickstarter offers customizable options for weapons, armor, and shields in D&D, aiming to enhance the game experience.

Discussion on the underwhelming nature of weapons and armor in traditional D&D as critiqued by Mr. Rex, a prominent D&D YouTuber.

The problem of limited options in armor class and the reliance on random rolls or Dungeon Master's discretion for upgrades.

The lack of progression in armor as characters level up, with players often reaching a final armor that cannot be improved.

The idea that RPGs should allow players to feel stronger and have more options, which is currently lacking in D&D's armor system.

The introduction of a new armor system with multiple defensive stats, including Evasion Class (EC) and Armor Reduction Value (AR).

Evasion Class represents the ability to dodge attacks entirely, working in tandem with traditional Armor Class.

Armor Reduction Value allows for damage reduction when an attack is successful but not a critical hit.

The new system aims to make combat feel more gritty and realistic, with a more gradual wear down of health in battles.

The potential for adding variety to armor through different materials, such as mithril or adamantine, which can affect armor properties.

The economic impact of introducing new materials for armor, making money more meaningful in the game.

The concept of crafting and salvaging materials from monsters for armor, adding a new layer of role-playing and strategy.

The balance between making the game more complex with new mechanics and maintaining simplicity for ease of play.

The possibility of using glancing blows as a mechanic to further enhance the armor system, allowing for half damage in certain situations.

The Kickstarter's goal to compile all these new systems into a comprehensive book, offering a complete overhaul of D&D's combat mechanics.

The availability of the new armor system and other mechanics in a PDF for immediate access through Patreon, with tiers offering different levels of content.

The collaboration with Mr. Rex to refine and discuss the new armor system, highlighting the importance of community feedback in homebrew development.

Transcripts

we are upgrading weapons armor and

shields here with some of the best

homebrews that have ever done but that's

for you to decide and

this is perfect timing because i just

launched my brand new kickstarter

alkanes almanac of all things it's a

modular expansion of 5th edition that

gives you customizable options to help

you tweak your dungeons and dragons game

like a brand new weapon and armor system

different weapon properties different

actions that marshall classes can take

besides just

attacking twice different materials that

all these things are made out of

reactive shield properties to be able to

play like a tank all of that's gonna be

going in the book and i have a full pdf

of that system which is basically

a sneak peek of alexander's almanac that

you can get access to right now but i'm

gonna talk about how you can get your

hands on all that stuff later and all

the links will be of course down in the

description but

weapons and armor are a huge part of

dungeons and dragons and for this i'm

bringing in

one of the biggest dnd youtubers mr rex

he's been a huge inspiration to me and

he is one of the best resources

on youtube for dnd lore a lot of that

lore stuff has came from him he has a

lot of other great videos too so make

sure you go check him out but recently

he released a rant video about how

weapons and armor are a little

underwhelming

in dungeons and dragons and has some

issues that need to be fixed and just so

happens i've been working on

just that system for the last half a

year or so

and i reached out and here we go we got

mr rex here you made a video man

on weapons and armor and i do not

normally make homebrew videos so it

definitely

popped up on my radar i had to see it

and as soon as i saw it we're

so much on the same page with some stuff

i had to reach out to

and here we are yeah thank you thank you

for bringing me over i feel like this is

a struggle that perhaps many of us dms

kind of go through and

maybe we don't understand exactly where

the problems come but there is uh

there's an issue

that i think needs to be solved right i

think a lot of times there's so many

other things people homebrew and i've

made plenty of other homebrew videos

that

i never tackled armor class because i

feel like armor class engine it's not a

huge glaring problem a lot of people are

totally fine with armor classic

especially if you've played the game a

while

it makes sense certain armor classes

there are certain difficulties of

monster okay

armor class 14 armor class 16 and you

get a good feel for it

but there are some problems that just

start flaring up so what was your

biggest problem

with armor i dude honestly there are

actually many issues that i think

might look like they stem from different

locations but they all simultaneously

kind of converge

they root at the armor problem so again

many issues

one of the biggest issues i think has to

come actually from the fact that

um i always come back to the idea of an

rpg

what makes an rpg and rpg and what makes

it interesting and fun

i think there are two things

primordially one is levels you need a

level up system in an rpg is typically

one of the main things that uh

yes a progression something that starts

you here

and then answer there and levels are a

big part of that but the other thing is

feel that yourself getting stronger

having more options having more things

you can do yeah for sure

and then the other thing would be armor

but that is the one thing that

like i feel like it is the levels that

are the biggest weakness

the biggest weakness of dnd is that if

you're a rogue

you can only purchase a studded leather

armor for 45 gold pieces and you're done

right there's nothing else that you can

do you won in game done

it's final armor achieved nothing else

that you can do

you have to expect for dylan master to

drop you something that you can then

right so otherwise you're done and you

went into that in your video about how

like you have to rely on random roll

tables you have to rely on your dungeon

master you have to rely on things that

you shouldn't have to rely on as the

core

part of the game so yes limited options

of choice and different things you have

three

shows choices of default armor that

don't have much variety

and there is an obviously clear best one

with no extra spice to it and i

mentioned this on the video but i also

want to say this here because this is

like the most hilarious part of the

problem

is that even if you do get that magical

armor plus one or whatever right but it

happens to not be studded leather and

instead it's just a potted armor

it's not even going to be an upgrade for

you even though it is magical and even

though it is going to be more expensive

it's a plus one magic item but actually

no the 45

all right i'm good i'm good i feel good

already know for sure

for sure and i think i never even

realized

after watching your video i was like you

know what yeah there's there are

solutions here that can be done because

if if you think about an armor class

it's a hit or miss like you either get

hit or you don't get hit and that's

that's obvious and that's

simple and fifth edition is very simple

i get it but there's just

in for such a big capacity for such a

big part of the game

combat of your armor health hit points

all that kind of stuff

to be able to have it be just a hit or

miss it's real swingy

and can be real you can have an armor

class of like 18

or 20 and still get hit every time and

then that feels bad and you don't feel

like this tank that your class fantasy

is that you want to have

because the the dungeon master rolled

really well and they just

hit you every time so you might as well

had an armor class of 10. and it feels

bad for both sides too because

if the monsters if the monsters are

missing all the time then it's at the

end you feel bad and if the monsters are

hitting all the time then the player

feels bad

yeah yep yep and then you lose that that

wear down that grittiness of combat

where you're just like

you know round after round it's just uh

both sides are getting whittled down

instead of this like boom boom like

these chunks are being taken out

everybody then it's over out of nowhere

so yeah yeah you know what i realized

by the way i've been playing a cleric a

healing cleric recently on one of my

adventures and then i realized that i

really wanted to use prayer of healing

and just do this massive aoe healing

but then i just started realizing that i

just never get to use it because what

happens is one character is about to die

and then everyone else is full hp it's

literally what happens because they

dodged all their attacks that they came

at them and he this one person hasn't

so you're overhealing it's a waste yeah

yeah i totally see that and then another

thing

that made me think about from this when

i started brainstorming that you sent me

down this rabbit hole of thought about

the problems with armor is uh a cloth

wearing

or light armor even wearing a

caster of some kind it takes the same

amount of damage

from a said hit from a monster as

the huge heavily armored shield wearing

paladin or whatever

it i know the dice are going to change

but if you you would take

46 plus 10 or whatever it is both of

those characters are taking that damage

and it's the same assuming they got hit

and this goes back to i think

armor like one of the biggest issues is

that armor only has one stat

and that is ac so when you only have the

one stat and there's sort of no in

between uh you

do end up with these problems and as a

dungeon master there's not things you

can tweak and change because there's

only one thing

you can tweak and change and it's it's

very limiting in that way too

for sure for sure and if you do tweak it

too

far to one side then it gets absolutely

broken you're either always getting hit

or you have a player that figured out

how to do some crazy youtube build a

reddit build that they researched and

they have

they have 26 armor or something and

you're like okay well uh

what do i do i've been asked that

question multiple times about

characters with stupid high armor class

like what do you do just hit them with

spells all the time but then

that's you know i guess that's a

solution but

but the thing is like you also as a

player you really shouldn't feel bad

about

wanting to maximize your character which

is completely another point too

right it should feel good as a dungeon

master to give your players

magical armors it should feel good as a

player to want to maximize

one stat over others because right hey

that's what an artifact the style you're

going for i really want to be a tank

you're playing a role and you don't want

to feel like i really want like

i know they really want to have more

armor class but i don't feel like it's

good

and then that's that doesn't feel good

either so you want to be able to let

your players

embrace their play style and yeah dive

into it all the way for sure for sure so

now then we've ran we've ranted and

beat armor class into the ground uh but

how are we going to fix this thing dude

how

how would you fix this thing the first

thing that i think

um that we talked about before of fixing

this thing is

introducing more options of materials or

things you could

make the armor out of which

automatically just opens up so many

doors

yeah i mean the biggest advantage of

having multiple um i guess variations of

materials

is again the first point that i kind of

came back to here was

uh a big factor is money actually i

haven't talked about this at all like i

thought i did

money because this is another issue

completely there is nothing to spend

money on unless you're talking about

magical items which are not even

supposed to be an integral part of the

game like the game was

literally designed to not be like third

edition where magic is necessary it's

not supposed to be necessary and so

a lot of times you end up with a lot of

money and nothing to spend it on and

when you have different materials

becomes meaningless and so that whole

part of the game is now gone and

and that would be the case safe if

you're a heavy armor user at least

as a heavy armor user you have plate

armor which costs fifteen hundred

dollars

which is great yeah right but uh if you

start adding mithril or adamantine or

any other kind of material you want to

make your arm out of silver suddenly the

options

expand compound money kind of becomes

more integral more important again and

again it also adds a lot of options

off what you just said there is that

maybe maybe the best set of armor maybe

you shouldn't go a map maybe you

shouldn't take the 1500 set

armor maybe you downgrade the armor a

little bit but then upgrade the material

because you want a certain type of

property that the material that mithral

gives oh it's lighter

it doesn't it lets me move better or

whatever and then you can downgrade your

armor class

and upgrade the material for these

certain things and now you're

customizing you know i mean so that's

i i love that idea and you know what

that comes down to again

role play is playing your role

customizing your character and making

your barbarian different than another

person's barbarian which is

i think the goal is what it is yeah well

and it's like okay so

do i want to have that heavy armor class

okay i will i will save up even more for

more armor class and i will take the

material that gives me even more armor

class or whatever

um and and go that route or do i go the

other

and this again like you said opens up

for that choice that you want which is

why

in this big this big pdf that i make uh

that i made in this

whole thing i have like i think like 15

or more different types of materials i

got dragon bone

uh chitin like bug like bug armor

all that kind of stuff to try and give

players options to be able to hit all

those play styles

yeah and and you know what that also

kind of just adds to

how fun it would be and this is again

another thing that's missing because you

see i keep coming back to this

there are a lot of things about doing

and dragons that you could consider

issues that you might think stem from

different sources but really it all

comes down to one source which is armor

um or it could be solved by one which is

armor so

you're entering into like another

territory which is like salvage and

monsters

how fun would it be if you can go to a

dragon take some dragon scales and use

it for your armor having an actual

system that allows for that right

right right and what's what's so funny

and this is this uh

naturally brought it to this is that i

ha i think this whole big thing i've

been tackling together

that you you caught me during this whole

thing is i have

um the the big huge book that i'm doing

um al cantor's almanac of all things i

have the

the all those are tied together you have

the weapons and the armor that are made

of certain things and then there's a

crafting system they have to make all

those things to be able to build

your own custom things so that you can

have a kite and sword and

a dragon bone art but now i gotta go

find like that's a whole mission now and

you're tying the whole game together

the role play and the combat to go get

those things go hunt them down

find those creatures salvage them and

come back i'm feeling i'm feeling a

skyrim vibe here and that's a good thing

and that is a good thing yes yes yes get

the whole set collect the whole set of

armor and everything oh yeah for sure

love it love it so now

we've talked about materials but let's

get into some nitty-gritty mechanics we

talked about how there's only

one single mechanic to defense armor

class that's literally it so

what if we increase that and add some

more variables there so i'm going to

take a

timeout all right so here is my brand

new

super simple breakdown of what this new

armor system is all about i want to get

you guys up to speed so you can easily

follow along with all the stuff we're

about to go over

and basically i'm just adding two more

defensive stats the first is evasion

class or ec and the second is armor

reduction value or ar evasion class

represents your ability to evade a hit

entirely

armor class as we already know it rules

as written represents your armor

being hit which is where armor reduction

value comes in to actually reduce the

amount of damage that you take so how

does all this stuff work

evasion class is a single number that

works exactly like the rules as written

armor class works right now let's say

you have an evasion class of 14. if you

get attacked and the attack roll is

lower than 14

you dodge the attack if it's higher you

get hit how simple is that it's

literally

just like armor class but you calculate

it in a different way

and it works together with armor class

here's a table right here that shows you

how you actually calculate your ec for

those super nimble people in light armor

or no armor

it is 10 plus your dexterity modifier

which is represents your unarmored

armor class and then for medium armor it

is 10

plus your dexterity modifier max of 2

again normal standard for medium armor

and

for the for the heavy boys that heavy

armor class is just a flat 10. don't

worry shields will help that out

here in just a second that is your

evasion class super simple you also have

your armor class which you already know

how to calculate that is completely

unchanged but now

your armor class is represented by two

numbers this gives you a

range to your armor class of an ec to an

ac

so let's keep this example going and say

we have an ec of 14

and an ac of 17. that is your armor

range

any roll any attack rule made against

you below this number

you dodge entirely you take no damage

from it like rules is written

anything above this number that rolls

higher than your armor class

fully hits you you take full damage all

that is very standard but now here's the

best part

if you get hit in the middle of that

armor range you have been hit but your

armor took the hit a little bit took off

some of that damage and this is where

that final stack comes in

of armor reduction value you got hit in

your armor range 14 15 16 17. you got

hit

with your armor and it reduces it by

your armor reduction value so then the

only thing left to know is what your

armor reduction value is which is the

easiest formula of all

it's your ac minus 10. that's it so for

that ecac

armor range of 14 to 17 your armor class

is 17. so 17 minus 10 whoa

super hard math there seven so anytime

someone hits you

in that armor class range you're gonna

subtract seven from it every time

if they roll below it they miss they

deal no damage if they roll above it

they hit

they deal full damage but this range is

where the armor reduction value comes in

and if your armor class goes up that's

totally fine your armor reduction value

would go up with it because you've had

an ac of 19 you have an armor reduction

value

of nine and you have armor wearers out

there if you're worried about an ec of

10 and it never changes

shields actually increase your ec and ac

so if you have a plus two shield

both of those numbers go up by two and

this gets into the feel of what it feels

like

to wear heavy armor you're going to get

hit more often but you have

such a high armor reduction value from

all that armor

a lot of those hits that you get hit for

you might actually reduce to zero how

cool is that this is just one of the

systems i have

and my kickstarter is just now releasing

alkanes almanac of all things it's going

on

literally right now go go check it out

after this video is over

me and mr x about to break down all the

different stuff here and talk about this

armor class and if you're too anxious

and you want to get your hands on this

full pdf there is a full pdf right now

of all of this armor system i'm talking

about a weapon system including martial

actions

weapon passive properties for all the

different types of weapons so it

actually feels

different to wield different weapons how

crazy is that

different armors feel different as well

you can make all of them out of

different material

there's like over 15 different types of

material that you can use like comment

and share this video around because if

it does well i'll do a follow-up video

about that weapon

system and shield system and some of the

mechanics of how all that stuff works in

the big picture

of how to really take your combat

especially for marshals to the next

level so again all those links will be

down in the description you can check

them out for yourself

now let's get back to the mr rex

breakdown okay so they're

up to date now rex uh we got this

because that mechanics all those types

of things of these

this this armor class range system came

from a lot the inspiration from watching

your video you're just riffing and

talking about how

what if you had a range and i had a

glancing blow mechanic that had an armor

class

range and you dealt half damage whenever

you got hit in that range

i used it for monsters applying it to

players though and there's a lot of

really cool stuff that you have

when there's a number that you can dodge

and not get hit at all there's a number

where you get hit but it gets reduced by

your armor

action what a crazy concept damage being

reduced

by armor and then obviously if you fully

get hit you take full damage but

um that was a super awesome idea that so

thank you for the inspiration to take

that and run with it i'm glad we're

talking about it now

yeah of course i mean i you know parts

of it are not necessarily new right it's

like we used to do

magic resistances uh back in the olden

days in this way we're used to have like

magic you used to have fire resistance

10 and so you would deduct right

10 you know or whatever from the demos

that you would take so there's something

similar but of course trying to

adapt it into fifth edition um right

sort of requires a remake of the system

in a way

which is great because fifth edition is

a very modular system because it is so

simple

the way it is constructed it allows for

all kinds of modifications which i am

really happy about

right and it allows and so many times i

have so many different homebrews

i don't use them all the same time i

always keep saying that but

find the sections of the game that

really you love the most and then

it's okay to make them a little bit more

complex if it makes it more fun and it

makes it more engaging and it gives you

more choice to be able to do all these

things we're talking about

so it gives a super different play style

for that heavy armor wielder to keep

reducing that damage from these big

blows

and we talked earlier about that a

player that gets hit all the time well

if the dungeon master happens to roll

high i mean it's not

that bad because that heavy armor wear

is going to still reduce that damage and

feel

like a tank yeah so damage reduction as

a system is very interesting because

if done right the idea would be that it

wouldn't necessarily

increase the damage that people would

take at the beginning of the game at

least not for the players which is

crucial

you cannot be taking any more damage as

it is because people are

very likely to die early game

however it does solve a lot of issues

that players were having sort of mid

to late game where right you again just

end up with players maybe two characters

that are just dead

and then the other three characters are

basically full hp and it kind of

helps smooth out the damage a little bit

sort of

all throughout which is what you would

be expecting being able to figure out

when the damage is coming

see it coming and not feel like you're

helpless because you're gonna die

anyways from the

right well and it gives also the the

uniqueness of having even just the

second stat of the evasion class

right if someone a tank would have a

low evasion class and a high armor class

so there's a big range that they're

reducing

their damage in but then you have

someone like a rogue or even like a monk

tank type situation

where you could have a really high

evasion class in a you know an okay

armor class but they'd be really close

together

and there'd be a lot of times where they

take no damage which is that whole

dodging part and that feels

like dodging instead of the default

rules as written that everything is

technically either a dodge or a full-on

hit you know

and the other thing is that it actually

like a system like this

doesn't necessarily punish you for just

stacking as much armor as possible oh my

gosh

yes yes yes yeah which is incredible as

a dungeon master

if you start hitting armor on your

players you don't feel like you're just

missing and wasting your time you don't

feel like your monster has just been

made completely useless instead all that

damage sort of goes through the armor

which makes the player feel good because

they have been stacking armor

and you get some damage in which of

course is essentially what you want

would you want to be taxing your players

as they proceed with the dungeon which

is that part about we we talked about

earlier

in our rant phase of oh no the players

too much armor oh no oh no but that's

fine

have 26 armor if you had 26 armor you

would be reducing

26-10 you'd be reducing it by 16 so

these big hits you're taking that's

that's that's you could take those big

hits and still be fine and that's a

super creative build to be able to get

that armor

and have that you know reward you and

you still would have to you know

uh spells and have to do all the things

that you'd have to normally do but at

least

you don't feel like you you can't let

them play the way they want

and so you know again we go back to

making sure that we're fixing

the areas that are problematic and then

not necessarily touching the areas that

are not because

it is okay to be able to completely

dodge attacks and that's part of the

system too right you

put so much armor on yourself that if a

bug bear attacks you and deals 14 damage

if you're super armored up then you can

just block it and that feels good but

then if you're fighting against a giant

i mean

think about it logically right imagine

an actual hill giant which is literally

just like maybe six or seven times your

size

and then strikes you with this enormous

club like i'm sorry dude

but like you're not like something has

to bleed through you can't just block

all of that it just doesn't make any

sense it's not a yes or a no so you're

gonna have those areas where you like

barely moved and they hit your shoulder

as it like boom like

turns you around to the side for sure

and that can also inspire the

the dungeon master's description of all

the stuff of what kind of hit was it if

it was a

miss a hit but it reduced or a full-on

hit you know what i'm saying

dude trying to describe how a purple

worm bit you and you took no damage like

right you nope nope not nothing you

can't the biggest complaint that i've

heard from this that i've

whenever i've pitched this idea or

people like oh well what about this

is whenever you they forget about you

can still get

fully hit if they roll higher than your

armor class you still take

full on damage right and oh but there's

so many times in the game

and the second complaint i hear is

there's so many times in the game where

they hit your armor class and your armor

class reduction

is so much that it actually reduces it

down to zero and it's like oh it might

as well just have been armor class

i i think that's totally fine if you

have an armor class

you know 17 to or sorry 12 to 17 or

something like that

in your armor reduction would then be

seven if you get hit for six damage

that's technically a zero which is

technically them you know you actually

completely deflecting it with your armor

they hit your armor and did nothing to

you

that's part of the description that we

just talked about that's part of

they actually in compared to rules is

written they missed you

and that's that brings the you know

power back to the heavy armor class

that's getting hit all the time oh no

and that's that's what happens because

what it means is that you're a tank and

you've been building tanki and now you

get to deflect the damage that's the

whole point of it in fact this

is meant to just based on how the system

is working if you basically do ac minus

10 what's going to happen is

for the majority of the beginning of the

game you're going to end up dodging or

i guess deflecting i don't know what the

word would be you'll be deflecting

everything

and that's intended maybe one damage

would bleep through but that's actually

even better right because those heavy

armor classes they are they

their their ec is 10 right i guess 12 if

you have a shield

but you're going to get hit a lot even

at lower levels and if you

are constantly getting hit and you're

not reducing the damage yes then they

would they would die early on

but it's designed to make it zero and

then as the player

they feel awesome because they're like

nope because the dungeon master is

saying they dealt damage to you and

you're like ah

no it's zero and like that is you are

feeling

like a tank the mechanics are helping

you to feel something

like that's huge to me yeah and now mid

game to late game i mean you're gonna

take damage because it's gonna be very

unlikely that

you might be able to reach oh maybe like

a 10 or 12 damage reduction if you're

kind of working at it

really specifically going for it right

yeah if you're specifically going for it

you'll be able to deflect a lot of

damage but

once you start entering into sort of

like the mid to late game

you're going to take bleed off damn i

don't know how to call it

damage but some damage is going to bleed

off to you and that's intended that's

part of the system you you need to be

taking some damage here and there

uh yeah for it to kind of you're not

just never taking damage and then always

taking damage

huge hits no hits yeah yeah so in

general i mean like realistically

this is above the damage overall not

just against the players but the players

are also going to be doing more damage

so

uh considering it's the same thing on

both sides yes

yes yes yeah so this is something to

keep in mind um of course increasing the

hp of the monsters is that something

that you can do

uh as a dungeon master uh you just need

to be cognizant about the fact that

players mid to late game are going to be

they can be more damage but that's

perfectly fine

that's a good thing that's a buff i

think that's a that's a per in my

opinion in my eyes that's a buff to this

that's a that's a pro of the system is

that because

you know players get over 100 health 150

health or something crazy like

many people get to play at the high

levels level 13 14 15. so many people

don't realize that actually short rests

very quickly start becoming useless

unless you're a warlock or something

like that that benefits martial arrests

people don't tend to take them very much

because the healer has infinite spell

slots

um you got potions of the wazoo and i

can't find the

it's very unlikely that people will be

at 70 hp overall

all of them to the point where a short

rest will be beneficial for people to

spend their hit die on so

this kind of benefits that in a lot of

ways allowing for more short rest to

actually happen and have this mechanic

of the game actually be used because

it's right

and if your players are this like godly

status to where you have you have to

crank up the damage on your monster so

much

add in all these extra home brews adding

extra dice to the monsters

and you're having to like dial up the

damage meter for these things

and then we're back to the same problem

we talked about the beginning where

you're either hitting them for a ton

every time or you're not hitting them

and it becomes even more swingy

compounding the problem instead of

having this smooth uh i forget how

how you phrase it this is like a nice it

smooths that curve and spikes it smooths

out those spikes

of all the damage and stuff so yeah i

love it now i i know that a lot of

people

uh get particularly scared off when

there's entire remix i'm sure actually

your audience probably loves homebrews

so like i don't know i guess i'm talking

to the wrong audience on this one but i

know that there are people that kind of

get scared off of

essentially like fundamental remakes of

the system right or get too complicated

too many

yeah it's fifth edition it's fifth

edition you know and so yeah for sure

but there is this very interesting

because you mentioned a little bit about

it before the idea of a glancing blow

and we haven't really brought it up on

the video here

uh but it basically is the idea that if

you get hit at a very specific ac so if

you have 18 ac and you get hit at 18

or perhaps there's like a different

range but the idea is that if you get

hit in this very precise

like you know point uh you basically

just take half damage

it's the idea of having like an

in-between between taking damage not

taking damage now

a glancing blow might or might not work

in a system that is already kind of

working with an ar system because it

might just be something tacked on that

might not be

necessarily necessary but what i like

about this system is that it does

basically allow for a rough patch of a

solution

in the case that you don't have the

ability

or maybe the willpower to basically

enact an entire new system

and so because i know that a lot of

people like to keep sometimes things

simple well and with glancing blows i

think the the original i have an entire

little quick video about glancing blows

but you already you hit the nail on the

head with it

is i use glancing blows all the time

especially for monsters i love the

feeling of monsters and actually i'm so

glad you brought this up

because i had a dragon and i wanted to

give this dragon 25 armor but i was like

man

that's just i mean that feels real bad

again the same problem as my players

would miss it all the time

that feels terrible for them even if it

should be hard for them to deal damage

to it so what i did is i gave the dragon

a glancing blow armor class of 20 to 25

so if they rolled a 20 to 25 they dealt

half

damage to it anything above 25 hits

anything below 20

misses right and that felt amazing and

this is the same type of concept in

in involving it into this armor system

of giving that that range however big or

wide it is you know because you can use

that rules as written i use that rules

as written all the time for players

where

they have an armored class of 15 and

that is the only you know if they roll a

15 it's half damage

that's great but you could totally

expand it to this and it'd be really

really simple for sure

yeah you can add very interesting ranges

so for example if you have an armored

class of 15 you can say that

13 14 is glancing blow yeah without any

special effects so like sneak attack

doesn't count

like that uh and then 15 to 16 is a

glancing blow

with the extra effects so sneak at that

counts and all these different things

yeah and have a little plus or minus two

then yeah

yeah so if you have a range of glancing

blow like that you could like basically

also play the game just like that and it

effectively solves a lot of the issues

that we've talked about today

except for the money issue which is in

my opinion

like and again the i guess the upgrade

the upgrading your armor from one point

to another which is a big part of the

rpg oh those two but that's the

beautiful part though

is you can choose to have the easy

mechanics like you just said have the

easy mechanics of this and i

love that plus two minus twos thing that

you just talked about um

have it have choose a simple mechanic

system but then

just use that full blown that's why i

put uh the the armor upgrades and stuff

in a different section of the the pdf i

have

is the is to have that whole thing and

all that access

rules as written you can use whatever

armor system you want and throw in those

options and it's always going to be

a win so there are many ways to solve

the problem it's just how many problems

you want to fix

it's basically what it comes down to how

complex do you want to make it yeah and

another thing

speaking of complex that i wanted to

talk about is

um you uh of adding whenever you add in

more mechanics yes

it does make it more complicated like

we've been talking about but

if you just have ar or just have um ac

then like you said there's only one

scale you can tweak and change but if

you have

an evasion class which gives you an

armor range and you have an armor

reduction

that reduces the damage you now have

three different things that you can

start to play around with mechanically

in the armor options you give people in

the monsters that you have in the item

upgrades you have in the feats and bonus

perks that you give

to your players to let them be able to

customize that window even more

yep so it's about striking the balance

of how complicated you want to make it

how simple you want to make it and

finding that nice sweet spot where you

feel like there's a lot of depth

without the complications so thanks man

for coming i'm glad that you i got in

here to be able to talk shop with you

about some home brew

get in your head about all the armor

class stuff thank you for the

inspiration

of of just even watching that video

diving into solving some problems with

armor that feel really good to me and

i'm

super excited to um test these out and

try and push the limits of this thing

yeah no problem man thank you so much

for inviting me over this was a lot of

fun i love talking about

the philosophy of donors and dragons and

the way mechanics work so

this was a blast for me the video that

sounded good you want to get your hands

on some of that stuff right now there's

a bunch of different links down in the

description the first one you're going

to see

is for the kickstarter it's the huge

overall thing hardcover book only time

i'm doing it

it's a it has a lot more than even just

this this is all the stuff i've been

working on

for years putting all into one book this

is just the tip of the iceberg

with this system we've been talking

about here but if you're too impatient

to wait for the kickstarter to go

i have them available in a pdf right now

over on my patreon tier one patrons get

access to new rules

new conditions for combat a complete

weapon system overhaul with all those

different passives

for each different weapon type that i

talked about tier two patrons get

this armor system and a lot different

more there's actually even more

different ways to calculate your armor

armor reduction value there's two other

systems i have

that make it a little more simple it's a

it scales with your level and another

one is just half damage so

there you go and there's a reactive

shield system in there too that

completely overworked as well

and there's a ton of magic items and

tier three patrons get all that plus

a marshall attack upgrade system with

the different special attacks

for every single different type of

weapon huge sweeping cleave attacks

quick lunging attacks a ton of different

stuff there's so much in this pdf this

is the biggest one i've ever done

there are special materials that you can

make out of all of these different types

of items

weapons armor shields each to have

different properties based on the

different materials there's bug

chitin armor coral armor crystal armor

jade mithril

there's so much more and like mr rex and

i already talked about these options

just having them

at the table give your players something

to chase after or save up gold for but

as always patrons get pdfs

every single month and if you're late to

the party and if you already missed the

june step because they're only there for

one month at a time

this pdf will be up available on the

website right now in the description too

and i want to give a huge thank you

to mr x he has been a huge inspiration

of mine i've watched his youtube videos

for years

before i started my own youtube channel

i've learned so

much from him about the lore of this

game so to be able to work with him and

just talk with him

and have this little this little

homebrew chat with him

was crazy he's honestly a great dude and

so genuine to talk with and he just

wanted to help me i did not think

a 700 000 plus subscriber person would

be so

engaged and interested in working with

me on some stuff and collaborating in

this way so it was absolutely crazy

and he actually is going to be starting

up to some homebrew stuff here coming up

soon so stay tuned to his channel

seriously please go check out his

channel i know we're a fraction of the

size of him but i would love to have

the dungeon crew go show him some love

and don't forget the kickstarter is

literally happening right now this is

the first full video of them releasing

for so go check that out that would help

out a ton i'm trying to make some big

moves and this kickstarter is the

biggest thing i've done yet

putting literally everything i have into

it so until next time

stay creative and think outside that box

peace