RPG Armor Sucks - Here's How To Fix It

Storyline

• No game storyline is discussed. The video is a design/realism critique of how armor systems work in tabletop RPGs.

Gameplay / Design Highlights (Main Points)

Criticized Armor Approaches in Common RPGs

• “Armor makes you harder to hit” (e.g., classic D&D framing) is argued to be:
  • unrealistic, and
  • mechanically problematic.
• “Armor is fixed HP / point soak that depletes to zero” is compared to vehicle/mechanical armor rather than living bodies wearing armor.

Why the “All-or-Nothing” Model Is Wrong

Real armor typically:

• Doesn’t disappear after a few hits.
• Doesn’t become completely ineffective at a specific damage threshold.
• Reduces and transforms damage rather than turning it off completely.

Core Suggestion: Armor Should Convert Damage Types

• For melee/fantasy armor:
  • Armor should prevent penetration wounds (slashing/stabbing/holes).
  • Instead, armor should produce impact / bludgeoning effects.
• Armor should reduce harm in quantity and quality, not to zero:
  • Swords/clubs can still hurt.
  • They may still injure or incapacitate,
  • but they do so differently via absorbed/transferred force.

Ranged Armor Caveats

• Traditional armor may be penetrated by arrows/crossbows depending on projectile energy/velocity.
• As a result, ranged threats can bypass armor more often than melee.
• Modern body armor (e.g., Kevlar/ceramic plates) is framed as converting penetration into impact:
  • dents and broken ribs rather than holes,
  • with effectiveness degrading—but not vanishing quickly.

Armor Should Degrade Gradually, Not Evaporate

• Some systems allow special cases (e.g., ceramic trauma plates can fracture).
• But the critique targets models where armor is effectively “X points worth, then nothing.”
• Proposed degradation examples:
  • Armor stops a certain amount of damage for the first few hits, then stops less as it breaks down.
  • Armor might never drop to zero—some protective value persists.

Quantifying Realism Using Physics/Scale

The speaker suggests approximating armor effectiveness using:

• Sword swing mechanics:
  • blade mass,
  • swing arc,
  • impact energy.
• Ballistics tables:
  • bullet mass,
  • velocity/energy.

Scale argument:

• High-velocity firearms deliver far more energy than low-velocity rounds.
• Even if game “damage” numbers don’t scale perfectly with real physics, the outcomes should still differ meaningfully.

Key Strategies / Rule-Tuning Ideas Proposed

Reframe Armor as Continuous Protection

Treat armor as:

• Always present as a factor (not binary).
• A damage reducer + damage transformer (e.g., slash → blunt/impact).
• Gradually degrading, rather than consumable-to-zero.

Universal Degradation Templates (Conceptual)

• Stop more at first, then stop less:
  • Armor stops X points early,
  • then stops slightly less later,
  • never instantly to zero.
• Replace/repair mechanics:
  • In longer fights (or via scenario rules), armor could be repaired instead of simply discarded.

Sci-Fi / Energy Weapon Exception (Mentioned)

• A “vaporization” argument for lasers is mentioned as a possible exception.
• However, it’s framed as uncommon in typical games and would require system-specific handling.

Tips / Takeaways for RPG Designers

• Aim for armor behavior that is:
  • Not completely effective or completely ineffective.
  • Not consumed all at once.
  • Physically grounded:
    • protection depends on penetration vs impact,
    • and on projectile energy/velocity.
• Be mindful of pacing:
  • Realism math can bog down play,
  • but gradual degradation rules can be simplified without killing speed.
• Publishable idea:
  • The host offers to create a quick-and-dirty universal armor degradation method adaptable to different damage scales.

Gamers / Sources Featured (Mentioned at the End)

Gamers / Creators

• No specific gamers are named as players or content creators.

Sources / Brands Mentioned

• Ars Magica / Atlas Artisan
  • The speaker references “Artesarian” and an older published resource with historical sword info and ballistics-table-style data (exact title unclear).
• Traveller (game system)
• Cyberpunk (setting/system)