The D&D Corner (and other Pen & Paper - or virtual - RPGs!) <3

[Tawmis]

So ... I have a question about plate armour. *ahem*
When I started reading about history, some books (including the D&D 2nd Ed. DM Source Books) told me that plate armour is heavy. Really heavy. You need to be in incredibly good shape, kind of heavy.
But other books (and videos) have told me that knights, especially in the later middle ages (I'm thinking mid-1250s to mid-1500s) wore it in battle and managed to fight without much bother. Many knights were so buff that they could vault onto their horses in full armour.
How do you treat plate armour? Just wondering.

D&D has always required a specific strength to use certain armor it considers "heavy."
Chainmail requires your character have a STR of 13.
Splint and Plate require a STR of 15.

If the "average" joe is STR 9 (with 18 being the standard maximum), that would mean, to me, that armor such as plate would be considerably heavy.

Additionally, in 5e - there's a DON/DOFF (putting on/off) armor...
Heavy armor such as plate takes 10 minutes to put on and 5 minutes to take off.

If ONE round of combat (everyone - players & monsters, each getting their turn) is ONE minute (as it is game time, so a fight that lasts 10 rounds is 10 minutes game time) - that means someone who, perhaps gets attacked while sleeping (and thus their armor not on in the case for Plate), it'd take them 10 rounds to put their armor on. They're gonna be dead, probably, before that ever happens.

Another thing D&D does - if you have a DEX(terity) bonus which can be used (say you have a Dex of 18, which grants a +4 Dex bonus) - if you wear certain medium or heavy armor (Hide, Chain Shirt, Scale Shirt, Breast Plate, and Half Plate - you only get to use 2 of your Dex bonus).

So for example, if you had said +4 Dex Bonus and put on a Hide armor, which gives you AC 12, your AC is then only 14, rather than 16.

And some armor (heavy) nullifies ANY Dex bonus (such as Ringmail, Chainmail, Splint, and Plate). So you only get the base score of what that armor offers (14, 16, 17 and 18 respectively and no DEX bonus added), implying that the armor is so heavy you can not easily or deftly avoid something coming at you and just need to hope the armor takes the brunt (as in has high enough AC to avoid the hit).

[Tawmis]

For anyone who read my **Lord of the Rings 5e - Play By Post Summary** - Session 25 - https://sites.google.com/view/lordofthe ... nd-farmers

[Rath Darkblade]

So ... I have a question about plate armour. *ahem*
When I started reading about history, some books (including the D&D 2nd Ed. DM Source Books) told me that plate armour is heavy. Really heavy. You need to be in incredibly good shape, kind of heavy.
But other books (and videos) have told me that knights, especially in the later middle ages (I'm thinking mid-1250s to mid-1500s) wore it in battle and managed to fight without much bother. Many knights were so buff that they could vault onto their horses in full armour.
How do you treat plate armour? Just wondering.

D&D has always required a specific strength to use certain armor it considers "heavy."
Chainmail requires your character have a STR of 13.
Splint and Plate require a STR of 15.

If the "average" joe is STR 9 (with 18 being the standard maximum), that would mean, to me, that armor such as plate would be considerably heavy.

Additionally, in 5e - there's a DON/DOFF (putting on/off) armor...
Heavy armor such as plate takes 10 minutes to put on and 5 minutes to take off.

If ONE round of combat (everyone - players & monsters, each getting their turn) is ONE minute (as it is game time, so a fight that lasts 10 rounds is 10 minutes game time) - that means someone who, perhaps gets attacked while sleeping (and thus their armor not on in the case for Plate), it'd take them 10 rounds to put their armor on. They're gonna be dead, probably, before that ever happens.

Another thing D&D does - if you have a DEX(terity) bonus which can be used (say you have a Dex of 18, which grants a +4 Dex bonus) - if you wear certain medium or heavy armor (Hide, Chain Shirt, Scale Shirt, Breast Plate, and Half Plate - you only get to use 2 of your Dex bonus).

So for example, if you had said +4 Dex Bonus and put on a Hide armor, which gives you AC 12, your AC is then only 14, rather than 16.

And some armor (heavy) nullifies ANY Dex bonus (such as Ringmail, Chainmail, Splint, and Plate). So you only get the base score of what that armor offers (14, 16, 17 and 18 respectively and no DEX bonus added), implying that the armor is so heavy you can not easily or deftly avoid something coming at you and just need to hope the armor takes the brunt (as in has high enough AC to avoid the hit).

I understand, but the point is, plate armour is not that heavy -- IF you know how to move in it. Take a look at this short film by Daniel Jaquet: it shows not only a knight’s range of motion in full armor, but also the exercises that one knight used as a training regimen to prepare for tournaments. It is seriously impressive. He has loads of endurance and stamina.



As for the 5e system of putting on armour (DON/DOFF) ... geez! Real plate armour has lots of flexible leather straps and rivets to keep it together. (Breastplates also has lots of leather straps). Putting it on or taking it off is a complicated process. Having someone else's help (e.g. a squire) speeds it up considerably.

How does that translate to D&D? Well, you could hire a squire (say, at 1 to 5 GPs a day) to help you. This halves the DON/DOFF time. What do you think?

As for a round of combat starting with people out of their armour ... isn't it possible to simply sleep in your armour? Problem solved (and people did this throughout history, too).

[Tawmis]

I understand, but the point is, plate armour is not that heavy -- IF you know how to move in it. Take a look at this short film by Daniel Jaquet: it shows not only a knight’s range of motion in full armor, but also the exercises that one knight used as a training regimen to prepare for tournaments. It is seriously impressive. He has loads of endurance and stamina.

As for the 5e system of putting on armour (DON/DOFF) ... geez! Real plate armour has lots of flexible leather straps and rivets to keep it together. (Breastplates also has lots of leather straps). Putting it on or taking it off is a complicated process. Having someone else's help (e.g. a squire) speeds it up considerably.

How does that translate to D&D? Well, you could hire a squire (say, at 1 to 5 GPs a day) to help you. This halves the DON/DOFF time. What do you think?

As for a round of combat starting with people out of their armour ... isn't it possible to simply sleep in your armour? Problem solved (and people did this throughout history, too).

According to google...

A full suit of medieval plate armor typically weighs between 40 and 60 pounds (\(1827\) kg), with some sets, like those for jousting, weighing more. This weight was distributed by the armor's design, and trained wearers could move effectively in it, much like modern soldiers with heavy gear. 

I would say, even on the low end of 40lbs... that is heavy. Doesn't mean you can't move in it. But if someone wearing plate mail is right next to someone just wearing leather armor, and they're both dodging one of those baseballs coming out of those auto pitchers - I am going to bet on the person in leather, probably having an easier time of dodging it while the person in plate, if they tried to dodge is either just going to take the hit, or have a higher probability of tripping.

As for the squire, it's actually an option (though that means protecting them). You could also have party members help DON/DOFF your armor, but then that's their action, just to reduce the time in 1/2.

And you can sleep in non heavy armor, but sleeping in heavy armor (in my rules) prevents the benefits of a long rest. So yes, it's possible, you just don't get to recover all your hit points like someone out of armor does, because there's no way you're sleeping comfortable in a full suit of armor.

[Tawmis]

Just posted Session 26 of my Lord of the Rings play by post... I am immensely enjoying it because there's been a lot of cool RP, since it's way more casual... however, a big combat scene is coming up... and these are the ones I dread, because there's no way to really speed up combat during play by post... but goblins don't have a lot of health... so the real threats are the Wargs and the Wight who are present... but the party has an ace up their sleeve should they want to use it...

If you're interested, check it out here - https://sites.google.com/view/lordofthe ... -and-fangs

[Tawmis]

My latest Lord of the Rings 5e play by post I run through another Discord server - latest turn.
https://sites.google.com/view/lordofthe ... -of-archet
And this Session ends with doing one of my infamous d100 Event Tables. Never done that through a play by post - so far, a few triggered - so I polled the two players in the game, and they're in for more! So I am happy to see it successful through a play by post too!

(I will share my event table thing here if anyone - I guess, that's just you Rath hahah, as I think you're the only person reading this thread, or posting in it, is curious to see it!)

[Tawmis]

So this was fun! I had created a d100 chart; and each round the two players had to roll 1d100 to see what even triggered during this large scale war, and the idea was originally to reach 100 Morale (though when I did the Morale table, I did it with the same mind set of when I usually have 4 to 6 players), so we reduced it down to 50 Morale during the game; but then a troll showed up (rolled on the table) and I made an agreement we would need to go to 75 if they wanted to fight the troll. They agreed, and it made for an epic moment.

I then took those randomly rolled events, and in my recap to try and write it in a more "story format" did so - finding ways to tie the events in logically/story wise. I didn't go through EVERY event that triggered, I did go through MOST and I even did it in the order they were rolled, which was a fun challenge to do.

https://sites.google.com/view/lordofthe ... et-part-ii

The page has the event table AND the rolls that were rolled (on the side) so you can match it along with the story pretty much.

[Tawmis]

In Session 29, the Company pursues William (the Barrow-Wight) and fights against a hoard of Giant Spiders, including its 'Queen'...
https://sites.google.com/view/lordofthe ... f-chetwood

And just wrapped up Session 30 - which has the Company investigated corrupted lands in Crickhollow... this one was one of my favorites so far, because of the insane amount of NPCs and how much I loved writing them...

https://sites.google.com/view/lordofthe ... e-nameless

[Tawmis]

Session 31 - the Company is headed to Rivendell... but the trek is not easy...
https://sites.google.com/view/lordofthe ... r-eastward

[Tawmis]

Ran that game for 10 people (for Sam's birthday, who is a friend and co-worker) - and it was a **huge** success! 100% return and play again factor! And several even donated to my patreon! lol

Was pretty wild - wasn't sure how it was going to turn out... so many factors against me... lol
- I have major social anxiety lol
- Six of the 10 people didn't know me, and obviously me not knowing them (which makes it hard to know what kind of adventure they're looking for)....
- Six of those people had never played D&D before...
- Two of them had only played two brief one shots with me... other two had played a few D&D games with me... but like, probably, over 5 years ago!

But it was wild... we started around 5pm... around 7... I asked if they'd wanted to stop... they didn't.
I asked around 10pm if they wanted to stop... they didn't...
Finally saw it reaching near midnight, and they completed the quest...
And they were totally amazed. lol

I suck at everything in life, but being a DM, is at least, one thing I think I can be good at. lol

Here's the session notes from that...
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... session-03

[Rath Darkblade]

Congrats, Tawm! Sheesh, 5pm to midnight is a huuuuuge undertaking. I hope no-one had work the next day.

I have a question about D&D clerics: when they pray to a deity, what form of words does the prayer take? *curious* Is there a standard, or do people improvise?

I'm asking because in the story I'm currently writing, my Viking is praying to Thor ... and he is using archaic "old" English, all "thee" and "thou" etc. I looked up how to use these properly, of course!

I'm using this because I think it sounds good, and adds an extra layer of drama; the Vikings had no 'holy book', but relied on oral tradition and sacrifice, so I'm more or less improvising the words, and trying to inject passion into them, to make them sound more convincing. But I wonder if this is detracting from the story, since - unfortunately - one beta reader commented that it sounds tiresome. His comment: "Your character never says this in real life, so why would he when he prays?"

What's your view?

[Tawmis]

I have a question about D&D clerics: when they pray to a deity, what form of words does the prayer take? *curious* Is there a standard, or do people improvise?
I'm asking because in the story I'm currently writing, my Viking is praying to Thor ... and he is using archaic "old" English, all "thee" and "thou" etc. I looked up how to use these properly, of course!
I'm using this because I think it sounds good, and adds an extra layer of drama; the Vikings had no 'holy book', but relied on oral tradition and sacrifice, so I'm more or less improvising the words, and trying to inject passion into them, to make them sound more convincing. But I wonder if this is detracting from the story, since - unfortunately - one beta reader commented that it sounds tiresome. His comment: "Your character never says this in real life, so why would he when he prays?"
What's your view?

It - in terms of what form of prayer - it really depends on the player. And sometimes, the mood.

Sometimes, players will go into detail, as to what the prayer might entail. Sometimes, they just say, "I head to my deity's church and pray" and leave it at that.

I think, in terms of writing, if you're going to detail what is being said, it should be relevant to the story, and not detailed just to detail.

[Rath Darkblade]

I have a question about D&D clerics: when they pray to a deity, what form of words does the prayer take? *curious* Is there a standard, or do people improvise?
I'm asking because in the story I'm currently writing, my Viking is praying to Thor ... and he is using archaic "old" English, all "thee" and "thou" etc. I looked up how to use these properly, of course!
I'm using this because I think it sounds good, and adds an extra layer of drama; the Vikings had no 'holy book', but relied on oral tradition and sacrifice, so I'm more or less improvising the words, and trying to inject passion into them, to make them sound more convincing. But I wonder if this is detracting from the story, since - unfortunately - one beta reader commented that it sounds tiresome. His comment: "Your character never says this in real life, so why would he when he prays?"
What's your view?

It - in terms of what form of prayer - it really depends on the player. And sometimes, the mood.

Sometimes, players will go into detail, as to what the prayer might entail. Sometimes, they just say, "I head to my deity's church and pray" and leave it at that.

I think, in terms of writing, if you're going to detail what is being said, it should be relevant to the story, and not detailed just to detail.

Hmm. As for that, the 'prayer' being recited is definitely relevant to the story, and not there just for its own sake!

Spoiler:
1. My MC (Main Character) starts off being a proud devotee of Thor, the Norse God of Thunder and Protector of Mankind. Whenever she prays to him, she does it in a temple of Thor, or with a statue of him. She makes offerings and prays for strength in battle.
2. Unfortunately, Thor never answers or gives her anything.
3. After three or four scenes like this, my MC starts losing hope. Why is Thor not answering? Is it her fault? Doesn't he care? Etc. In short, she is experiencing a crisis of faith, ending with "Thor has abandoned me!" etc.
4. In the wilds, with another person's encouragement, she lights a fire and prays again. No offerings, no statue -- just her and Thor.
5. This time, she catches Thor's attention ... but the consequences might not be what she is looking for!

So my question is this: in every-day language and talking with others, my MC uses words like "I", "you", "my", "your" etc. But when praying, she uses "thee", "thou", "thine" etc. - for instance, "Hearken unto me, O Thor, and hear me, in thy mercy! For thou are the strongest, and full in valor and truth..." And so on.

Is this too much? I agree that this is different to every-day speech, but prayer often is. What do you think?

[Tawmis]

Spoiler:
1. My MC (Main Character) starts off being a proud devotee of Thor, the Norse God of Thunder and Protector of Mankind. Whenever she prays to him, she does it in a temple of Thor, or with a statue of him. She makes offerings and prays for strength in battle.
2. Unfortunately, Thor never answers or gives her anything.
3. After three or four scenes like this, my MC starts losing hope. Why is Thor not answering? Is it her fault? Doesn't he care? Etc. In short, she is experiencing a crisis of faith, ending with "Thor has abandoned me!" etc.
4. In the wilds, with another person's encouragement, she lights a fire and prays again. No offerings, no statue -- just her and Thor.
5. This time, she catches Thor's attention ... but the consequences might not be what she is looking for!
So my question is this: in every-day language and talking with others, my MC uses words like "I", "you", "my", "your" etc. But when praying, she uses "thee", "thou", "thine" etc. - for instance, "Hearken unto me, O Thor, and hear me, in thy mercy! For thou are the strongest, and full in valor and truth..." And so on.
Is this too much? I agree that this is different to every-day speech, but prayer often is. What do you think?

So - the problem is - the thee, thou, harken, etc., keep it true to the time period.

However, a lot of your general audience will struggle through it.

So you could always disclose, in the beginning, "The following story is translated from the Norwegian dialect to the common tongue...."

So for example, a show I absolutely love is Vikings, and never once do they speak in thees and thous... it's just common English (though with an accent). So that might make things easier for the reader.

[Rath Darkblade]

That's fair. I've done loads and loads of research into the Viking world, so it's possible that to me, all the 'thee's and 'thou's etc. sound like second nature ... and I forgot that to people without that background, these things might not make sense.

Thanks, Tawm!