Armor
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:40 pm
An armory (one which features only armor, not arms) has been placed on Brewery Row near the blacksmith and mine. This armory is temporary for testing purposes (as is most of the town, honestly). All types of armor are available and cost 1 riln.
A different piece of armor must be bought for different body parts (a helm, gloves, leg greaves, etc.). Some armor types don't have a piece for each body part (there are no chainmail boots, for instance). The targetable body areas are:
Head
Eyes
Neck
Chest
Back
Abdomen
Arms
Hands
Legs
Feet
All types of torso armor cover the chest, back and abdomen. Some types of headgear cover the eyes (i.e. a visored helm), some don't (i.e. a leather cap). This will be noted in the shop description when you inquire about the item.
Different armor types reduce damage types by different amounts. Most of the heavy armors will render you immune to slash and rake damage. The heavier the armor, the more difficult it is to overcome the Armor Use check. Currently, this only effects combat. Each combat roll (both offensive and defensive) will have an Armor Use skill check for each piece of worn armor. Each failed armor check roll will cause your AAR or TDR to go down by a percentage. Heavier armors have higher skill checks.
Armor Use skill goes up for each attack you make where you succeed all your armor checks, as long as your target is a decent challenge for you. Thus, you should start out with only one or a few pieces of light armor, giving yourself fewer chances at failing armor checks and thus a greater chance at skilling up. As your Armor Use skill increases you'll have less chance of failing armor checks and can start putting on more (and heavier) pieces of armor with less risk.
Armor takes damage on each hit to the location it is protecting (provided any damage is actually done). The state of your armor will be noted when you use the LOOK (person/self) or INVENTORY verbs (to be expanded). If it is in anything but good shape, you will see a description in parentheses, such as: a pair of leather vambraces (battered). Once the armor is damaged beyond its maximum durability (varying by armor type - plate lasts longer than leather), it will become useless and fall apart. There is no way currently to repair armor, though that is in the works. For now, just buy a new piece of armor when an old one breaks - they only cost 1 riln at the moment.
The templar Aelwyn should be sought out for Armor Use training.
This is all that armor currently does, mechanically. Eventually, heavier armors will receive more penalties, such as swimming, climbing, stealth and so on. The plan is to make the heavier armors be extremely effective and negating damage, but also extremely encumbering so that you'll only be wearing them into battle, and will likely have to remove them for other activities. There will also likely be a penalty to many magical actions for heavier armors. Don't get used to swimming or sneaking around in plate - it will be virtually impossible once more coding is done. You'll be a combat powerhouse in full plate armor, but won't be able to do much more than swing weapons.
All that said, I do plan on high-capacity lockers and other storage systems (homes!) to facilitate players owning multiple articles of armor for differing situations. Break out your plate armor to fend off an invasion, switch to your leather armor for a stealth mission. Stuff like that.
So, go buy some armor and test it out.
A different piece of armor must be bought for different body parts (a helm, gloves, leg greaves, etc.). Some armor types don't have a piece for each body part (there are no chainmail boots, for instance). The targetable body areas are:
Head
Eyes
Neck
Chest
Back
Abdomen
Arms
Hands
Legs
Feet
All types of torso armor cover the chest, back and abdomen. Some types of headgear cover the eyes (i.e. a visored helm), some don't (i.e. a leather cap). This will be noted in the shop description when you inquire about the item.
Different armor types reduce damage types by different amounts. Most of the heavy armors will render you immune to slash and rake damage. The heavier the armor, the more difficult it is to overcome the Armor Use check. Currently, this only effects combat. Each combat roll (both offensive and defensive) will have an Armor Use skill check for each piece of worn armor. Each failed armor check roll will cause your AAR or TDR to go down by a percentage. Heavier armors have higher skill checks.
Armor Use skill goes up for each attack you make where you succeed all your armor checks, as long as your target is a decent challenge for you. Thus, you should start out with only one or a few pieces of light armor, giving yourself fewer chances at failing armor checks and thus a greater chance at skilling up. As your Armor Use skill increases you'll have less chance of failing armor checks and can start putting on more (and heavier) pieces of armor with less risk.
Armor takes damage on each hit to the location it is protecting (provided any damage is actually done). The state of your armor will be noted when you use the LOOK (person/self) or INVENTORY verbs (to be expanded). If it is in anything but good shape, you will see a description in parentheses, such as: a pair of leather vambraces (battered). Once the armor is damaged beyond its maximum durability (varying by armor type - plate lasts longer than leather), it will become useless and fall apart. There is no way currently to repair armor, though that is in the works. For now, just buy a new piece of armor when an old one breaks - they only cost 1 riln at the moment.
The templar Aelwyn should be sought out for Armor Use training.
This is all that armor currently does, mechanically. Eventually, heavier armors will receive more penalties, such as swimming, climbing, stealth and so on. The plan is to make the heavier armors be extremely effective and negating damage, but also extremely encumbering so that you'll only be wearing them into battle, and will likely have to remove them for other activities. There will also likely be a penalty to many magical actions for heavier armors. Don't get used to swimming or sneaking around in plate - it will be virtually impossible once more coding is done. You'll be a combat powerhouse in full plate armor, but won't be able to do much more than swing weapons.
All that said, I do plan on high-capacity lockers and other storage systems (homes!) to facilitate players owning multiple articles of armor for differing situations. Break out your plate armor to fend off an invasion, switch to your leather armor for a stealth mission. Stuff like that.
So, go buy some armor and test it out.