Worthwhile Banded Mail

Started by Egon the Monkey, October 25, 2010, 01:19:31 PM

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Egon the Monkey

In EfU, generally it's a truth that the worse a bit of equipment is as a base item, the cooler the bonuses you can expect to find on powerful drops. For example some of the amazing daggers, clubs, leathers.

However, Banded/Splint mail is the poor 6AC cousin to all other armors, being used only by PCs who haven't got round to half/full plate. There's one or two good sorts, the 9 lb super-light set and the +2 vs most Player Races set, but nothing you'd really want to stick with. That's kind of odd, as 6/1 armor drops on quests up to the 4-10 range, where players are almost guaranteed to have halfplate by then. Result is, you end up with gear that DMs spend time designing only to see used once in a blue moon when a PC bothers to haul one back.

I'd suggest specifically a few good bandmails that players would want. You'd end up trading AC for much improved skills or light weight.

Ideas:
Sailor's Plate
6/1 AC

This light cuirass was designed by clerics of Valkur as a form of heavy armor that it would not be suicidal to wear in ship to ship combat against pirates.
+5 Tumble
+1 AC vs Evil
+1 AC vs Chaotic
-2 Cold saves
80% of original weight

Netherese Spellsword's Bands, Lesser.
6/1 AC
This ancient set of bandmail combrises mithril strips, chainmail, and large gaps which appear to deflect blows by force of will. It looks to have been designed for arcanely-skilled guards, and is almost as easy to cast in as clothing.

-40% Arcane Spell Failure (so overall 5% fail chance)
+5 Spellcraft
OUB: Bard, Wizard, Sorcerer
Weight Reduction: 40% of original weight

Duelist's Splintmail
6/1 AC
This tournament mail is designed to absorb rather than deflect blows, relying on the user's skill more than heavy plate to prevent injury.
Damage Immunity: 10% Immunity, Piercing
Damage Immunity: 10% Immunity, Slashing
Damage Immunity: 10% Immunity, Bludgeoning
+5 Parry
+2 Discipline
-1 Mind Affecting saves
Only Useable By: Fighter
//OOC: Only use if you are a pure Fighter.

Garem

I support the concept of this suggestion.

It is simply unfortunate that armor is grouped so simply into three categories: light, medium, and heavy. Although there is some incentive to use leather over studded/hide (no penalty on skills for leather) and slightly less for mediums (chain shirt allows higher max AC at 4/4=8 than 5/2=7; only if you can boost Dex to 18, of course), there isn't any incentive for users of heavy armor to use anything less than full plate except for cost and weight.

Then again, we're talking about a 2 point AC difference between full plate and banded mail. At high-end EfU play, while +2 is still significant, even the weakest AC boosting potion gives +3 AC.

I don't really have any solution to make the weaker heavy armors more appealing (and I'd prefer to do so without making full plate worse, which seems like a cop-out solution). I just wish that they were, somehow.

Nihm

Having some damage resistance on the 6 AC armors seems like a good idea.

GoblinSapper

On Ravenloft, some beautiful genius broke the Dex cap on all armors, so any armor can reach 9 ac assuming your dex is high enough. In laymens terms, instead of being 1/8, 2/6, 3/4, 4/4, 5/2, 6/1, 7/1, 8/1: armor AC's became 1/8, 2/7, 3/6, 4/5, 5/4, 6/3, 7/2, 8/1. One of the few things I miss about that server, it made so many different builds viable.
 
This required a Hakpak I believe though.
 
PS: Dmg resistance on Bandedmail doesn't really make any sense. The Banded in the loot tables does what it can to make up for the difference with special stats (Grey's Banded, anyone?)

Egon the Monkey

The solution I was thinking would be to introduce a lot of Banded Mail with lowered Armor Check penalties or bonuses that'd be attractive to specific sorts of characters. If it was Heavy Armor you could reach a reasonable Tumble, H/MS or Parry rank in, it'd compare favourably to Halfplate for specialist builds. It'd be the "chainshirt" of the Heavy Armors.

@Garem: For many builds, the lighter armors in a category are far superior to because of the lower Check Penalty which helps you be generally unaffected by needing 5 or 10 current ranks for Tumble AC. If you're using lighter armor, it's generally because you have tumble and/or stealth, so Check is important.  The reason most PCs use leather over hide is the max DEX bonus. Since you can Mage Armor them both up to 4 AC, you're better to pick the one you can get more DEX AC out of.

As it is, Banded is as hard to move in (AC and spellfail) and heavy as Half Plate but for some reason with a lower AC. There's some with good stats but there's little point in taking them over half plate even with the stats. Myron Grey's a case in point. That's one of the best chainshirts or chainmail around, but a relatively lousy heavy armor except for a Cleric for whom bonus Disc and Conc will be more valuable.

Drakill Tannan

Half and full plate should always have more AC, therefore they must always be better than banded mail for direct combat. However, nothing stops DMs from creating banded mails that are good for other kinds of things than just direct combat. Resisting spells or elemental damage, for instance, traps and the linke.

xXCrystal_Rose

Always love seeing spellsword type equipment :)

Drakill Tannan

Mithral banded mail IMO

kanrath

if they could would be nice to see chain shirts properly put into their correct armor weight category of Light armor, as its supposed to be.

Currently I'm wearing a set of medium that is great if yer willing to drop having a ton of enchantments. its 5ac +1 allowing anyone with 14 dex to have 8 armor with +2 lore.

Thomas_Not_very_wise


Kinslayer988

I Kinslayer988 support this message.

Here are some other suggestions for armor:

An anybody can use breastplate/banded mail
Blood Warrior's Banded Mail:

Once this armor could have been gleaming in the sunlight, but now it is lesser to it's previous state. After many years of warfare the blood of opponents seemed to have soaked into the cloth and leathers as well as dirty the now rusted bandings. Despite this the armor is of masterwork creation.
Discipline +3
40% weight reduction
Tumble +6
Blood rage 10 charges
Bull Strength 5 charges

Scaled Splintmail

The armor has been brutally crafted, however strong. Spikes mass all over the armor that has been made using reptile scales. Shells of other creatures have been mounted as the platings. Despite all this the armor has been designed to let one walk smoothly in the wilds. Despite the armors craft it's scales fit poorly in any indoor area or cityscape.
((Can only be used in the wilds, not usable in cities))
Tumble +4
Damage vulnerability: Fire
Discipline -3
Hide +6
Move Silent +4
Camfoflague 5 charges
<SkillFocuspwn> no property developers among men only brothers

Giselle123

Samurai are famous for wearing impressive splint mail; but this armour is much more useful at turning aside blades than it is at stopping smashing or pointed attacks.

An elite banded mail with significant bonus vs slashing weapons might provide just the niche that's being requested.

Players then have a choice then between high vs slashing AC or solid all round AC of fitted plate.