I’ve been kicking around an idea for a character who uses heavy armor, like Artus the Armored from the RPG cover.
However, I wonder, is it really worth it?
From the looks of it armor is not very important in the Mouse Guard world. (Artus being the minority. 1/52 to be exact.)
So I leave it to you who inhabit this generous forum.
What do you think?
when we play tested a bit (non story driven conflicts… well unless the guard can teleport around the territories) we had one mouse in light armour and one in heavy
both times the light armoured mouse succeeded his +1D roll
and the heavy armoured mouse had same benefit to the teams dis at light armoured if light succeeded, but had a much bigger penalty
HOWEVER…
The heavy armoured mouse felt justified, “my mouse would wear armour and just deal with the consequences! both my parents are armorers, its my natural talent, and I apprenticed under a armourer during my time at lockhaven”
First time id seen my group think of the RP side before the dice
Hmmm… I wonder though, at what point does RP takes a hit from actual in-game physics?
What about a heavy armored mouse trying to cross the thin ice of a frozen creek? Or crafting a leaf boat to float a river? Or even trekking over quicksand?
What should a GM do about that?
Given that a full suit of heavy armor only adds about 40-60 lbs to a full-grown human male, I’m not expecting that the extra 1/8 of an ounce or so of armor on a mouse is going to sink your typical leaf boat if it could handle the mouse in the first place. It’ll just ride a bit lower in the water. The light vs. heavy of the armor is relative to the mice themselves.
Good point Voice. Sometimes I catch myself thinking that these are humanoid (in size) mice.
Just make sure you smack em with
Clumsy
-1D to Maneuver tests.
-1D to Scout or Nature for sneaking or hiding.
Heavy
-1D to Health tests to resist fatigue.
hard to sneek about when you’re clinking and clanking, or stay hidden when you’re shiney (DAMN CROWS!!!)
So I’ve been working out my character design for our new campaign. Which by the way, we are looking for players right now! DM me for a spot on the patrol.
He is an armored clad (heavy armor) tenderpaw from Lockhaven.
Belief is “Might makes right!”
His Traits are Bold (1) and Stubborn (1)
Instinct “Always stand in the path of evil!”
Opinions and constructive criticism greatly appreciated.
+1 Ob for the extra weight.
Isn’t the weight of an entire patrol only +1 Ob vs. the single-mouse boat? The armor isn’t that heavy.
If he’s making a single mouse boat, it’s a bit steep, but that’s an issue with the granularity…
If he’s making a boat for the whole team, an additional +1 Ob covers all of them IMO.
"Stubborn (1) & "“Might makes right!” PERFECT! put him in situations where he must remove his armor or he cant fight as per a "might"ier mouse (his mentor etc…)
or in order to prove his MIGHT, he must be BOLD and take only his weapon against <insert creature> and shed his armour fighting his “stubborness”
and if he plays the “NO i wont remove it” - stubborness, have someone beat him (his mentor again?) and TELL him (might is right) that he will do it
also a big crowd is always nice for a bit of mousey peer preasure
That was kind of my point. +1 Ob gives you a boat which will handle an entire patrol of mice. A simple suit of armor, even heavy armor, shouldn’t add the same difficulty as an entire patrol. The penalty for the armor which balances it against the benefit it brings, comes from the exhaustion factor for the mouse wearing it.
I guess I’ve never heard o a game that imposes those penalties for PC’s? Is that even covered in the book?
Has a GM run across something like this?
“Armor may be worn in fights. It offers a degree
of protection for your mouse, but it is also
heavy and cumbersome. To gain the benefit of
armor, it must be worn at all times. You can’t
just throw it on right before a fight. Armor worn
during the previous Turn imposes a penalty to
recover from the Tired condition. If you don’t
want to suffer the penalty, you have to keep your
armor off for the whole Turn.”
from the book,
i like it, as its very un mouselike to wear a suit of armor so there should be penalties, i dont think they are too harsh, as with all the rule book, based on general “well… yeah it would be like that” you wear heavy armour all day, its more tiring for your mouse
hell if anything it makes the GM’s job easier, +1 to “beat the crap out of them”-ness
Lots of systems apply a penalty of this sort to characters who wear armor. D&D (prior to 4e) has a variety of penalties associated with armor, ranging from skill-check penalties to movement penalties, to spell-failure chances and more (as does every system based on D&D). Armor is heavy, and hinders the wearer in a variety of ways. It’s generally considered worth it because it also helps keep the wearer alive.