Re: Rangers and Paladins Supplement
Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 10:24 am
That's actually kinda nifty. I'll playtest it if you like.
I like adding the attack bonus because it is consistent with the idea that it's probably harder to hit a person with greater experience than someone who is new to combat, although that's not what swashbuckler means. I would think an unarmored swashbuckler would be better served by doubling his dex bonus and adding 1/2 their attack bonus. That way you avoid the idea that strong and hardy, but non-agile, fighters can be good swashbucklers.Solomoriah wrote:One of the supplementary rules I've been musing over for Combat Options is this one:
Unarmored Combat
Characters who, for whatever reason, engage in combat while wearing no armor whatsoever have a base Armor Class of 11, plus Dexterity bonus, plus the character's normal Attack Bonus. Use of a shield is allowed (to those characters who may use shields normally), as are magical protection items which are not otherwise properly armor (such as rings or cloaks of protection). This improved base Armor Class only applies to opponents the character is aware of and whose location is at least approximately known, as it is not possible to defend effectively against attackers you do not know about. This is sometimes called the "Swashbuckler Option."
Both these methods have some merit. If I were to do something similar, I think I would assign a new Stat called Defensive Bonus, so that I could separate the Attack Bonus from it. That way, I can assign a class better defense than offense... for instance, the standard Fighter might have the best Attack Bonus progression, but perhaps in a Swashbuckling genre the Rogue/Thief has the best Defense Bonus progression. Certain sub-classes would likewise be better to have slightly different such progressions, a Ranger-ish outdoorsy guy might be just mediocre at such defensive fighting (primarily using bow which is not meant for fencing), but a Gladiator (or duelist as they are referenced sometimes) might be excellent at this sort of style of combat.Hywaywolf wrote:I like adding the attack bonus because it is consistent with the idea that it's probably harder to hit a person with greater experience than someone who is new to combat, although that's not what swashbuckler means. I would think an unarmored swashbuckler would be better served by doubling his dex bonus and adding 1/2 their attack bonus. That way you avoid the idea that strong and hardy, but non-agile, fighters can be good swashbucklers.Solomoriah wrote:One of the supplementary rules I've been musing over for Combat Options is this one:
Unarmored Combat
Characters who, for whatever reason, engage in combat while wearing no armor whatsoever have a base Armor Class of 11, plus Dexterity bonus, plus the character's normal Attack Bonus. Use of a shield is allowed (to those characters who may use shields normally), as are magical protection items which are not otherwise properly armor (such as rings or cloaks of protection). This improved base Armor Class only applies to opponents the character is aware of and whose location is at least approximately known, as it is not possible to defend effectively against attackers you do not know about. This is sometimes called the "Swashbuckler Option."
This is the behind the scenes stuff... no reason to actually show this other than a table (just like the combat table or even folded into the table itself as an extra column). This is all just duplication of what is already in the rules, just applying differently.Solomoriah wrote:NOW my head hurts.