Thoughts on armor (B&S)

 I'm not satisfied with the armor defense mechanism I laid out in the previous post.  It is too complex.  Simple is good.  That was not simple.  So, what are my options?

• Armor makes you harder to hit, like D&D.  That's been done to death.  It is simple, but I don't like it.  One, it's completely unrealistic. (In a game with dungeons full of random monsters and piles of gold coins sitting around.)  Second, I already have a skill die and a tool die at work in the to-hit system, in addition to the roll-high-under d20.  That's three dice per side, without considering (dis)advantage adding to the count.  I only have so many sets of dice to play with.
  
  
• Armor is a fixed value that subtracts from the die roll.  I don't like this because it makes heavy armor completely knife proof.  I also have as a design goal minimizing the math applied to the dice.  There's enough math happening on the character sheet.  And I really don't like the feeling of a successful roll being cancelled by a negative modifier.  Nobody like that.  Blame the dice, not the game, for your misfortune.
  
  
• Armor is a random value that subtracts from the damage.  That's better, but I still want to minimize the math.  And subtraction is just slower than addition for some reason.
  
  
• What I have currently - armor causing disadvantage to the damage die.  It's clunky and may require more dice than I'm really comfortable with.
  
  
• Armor reduces the size of your damage die.  This has real possibilities, but may require a bit more thinking than I really want to handle a die roll.  I know I've seen this mechanic somewhere, but I can't remember where.
  
  
• I'm sure there are other possibilities, but these are what first came to mind.

So, what to do?  I like the opposed rolls, as long as they don't over-complicate the game and slow it down.  Rolling two dice is almost as fast as rolling one, as long as there is no math involved.  And it does occasionally allow a dagger to get through plate armor.  I know - if the weapon die is higher, you take the full value.  If the armor is equal or higher, you take nothing.  That works - but it's still unsatisfying.  After feeling the high of a successful to-hit, I really want to see the payoff of dealing some damage.  And there is no way of dealing a single point of damage to a target in armor.

Howe about this - if the armor wins (or ties), the weapon still does one point of damage.  Getting pounded on hurts and bruises, and that is wearying.  I like it!  A successful to-hit always does some damage.

Now, what values to use for the armor?  I'm currently leaning towards having leather armor (thick hide or fur) being the baseline.  Anything more than that will have a larger and larger die type.  So here is the chart (Edited 3/6/2021):

• Bare skin:  Roll damage with advantage.  It's dangerous out there in the dungeon, and people are soft and squishy.
• Padded/cloth:  No sane person ever wore this into battle if he had any other choice.  It's what you wear under your armor.  But it does keep you from being more easily injured.
• Leather:  d2(d4), burden 1.
• Chain shirt:  d4(d6), burden 2.  It's good, but leaves a lot exposed.
• Mail:  d6(d8), burden 3.  It covers the entire body in three main pieces (chausse (pants with feet, like some pajamas), hauberk (long shirt), and coif (hood)), except the face.  Walking on mail had to be an interesting experience.  Every armor type better than this is basically adding more on top.
• Brigandine:  d8(d10), burden 4.  Relatively inexpensive and looks good.  Scale is the similar, but with small plates on the outside instead of larger plates on the inside.  And you look like a fish.
• Laminar:  d10, burden 5(4).  Looks great on Roman soldiers (lorica segmentata).
• Plate:  d12, burden 6(5).  In reality, plate weighs less.  But it isn't all that flexible, and there has to be some sort of in-game drawback.

If you aren't wearing a solid metal helmet, your armor is at disadvantage.

Armor must compare to weapons.

dagger=d4 (light)

sword=d6 (medium)

long sword=d8 (medium used 2 handed)

great sword=d10 (heavy, 2 handed)

halberd=d12 (polearm, 2 handed)

Should damage use the 'exploding dice' mechanic?  If you roll the maximum value on your die, you roll another, and subtract one from the total.  Repeat if you keep rolling high, you cheater.  (I've seen a single d6 do 21 points of damage this way.)