Armor Clarifications
We’ve started playing Blades with some friends and have had some rule debates on armor. I guess my questions are basically this:
Light armor costs 2 load, heavy armor costs 3 loads, correct?
Is armor supposed to be entirely used up after a single resist? Is it supposed to remain?
Right now I’m finding it really, really odd that heavy knights armor is blown away by a couple punches even, so I’m not entirely sure we’re doing it right.
Light armor is 2 load. Heavy armor is 3 additonal load, for 5 total. See page 88.
Armor also affects fictional positioning. If you’re wearing heavy armor, then some dude punching you probably has limited or zero effect. To hurt someone in heavy armor you need a plausible attack.
The GM sets the effect level of attacks. If you think that a couple punches should have no effect on heavy armor, then say that.
When a player chooses to expend an armor box, it’s used up until they have downtime.
The GM at the moment is under the impression that you declare the use of armor, and then the armor ceases to function entirely (only for the turn it was declared), and that ticking an armor box ticks both boxes (i.e. light armor takes 1 hit, heavy armor takes 1 hit as well); he’s also under the belief that heavy armor is declared retroactively like other things.
Is he reading things off or is that how it is supposed to go? It didn’t quite sound right.
The way we play, armor is almost always declared retroactively. But I’d definitely allow a player to say “I’m wearing heavy armor, so I think that should just be -1 effect level without actually expending the armor” and I’d say yes. If a player wants to spend 5 load just on armor, they deserve a lot of benefit. 5 Load is a lot.
In our game, usually Heavy Armor only comes up in pretty major fights, though, so it plays like this:
“I use my heavy armor to resist the gun shot”
“Ok, you take it right in the chest, but the armor absorbs most of the blow. The chest piece is badly dented and you have to rip it off to keep moving/breathing”
That’s our justification for why it’s one time use most of the time in a score.
If you wear heavy armor, you have two armor boxes. Ticking a box is (obviously) ticking ONE box, so you can do that twice.
In no way is “using armor” meant to tick two boxes at once.
Once an armor box is used, that box can’t be used again until it’s restored in downtime. You are still wearing the armor, so it counts for fictional positioning (and effect considerations).
Effectively our GM and his brother bought the game’s official Roll20 release with the nice sheets and stuff, but the question with the players (myself included) is what’s the difference between the armor boxes on the left (1 Heavy, 1 Special, 1 just Armor) and the Load boxes (2 boxes for Armor, 3 boxes for Heavy Armor)?
Reading this through (just so I can explain this) it sounds like when you take armor, it’s not expended automatically unless the harm is severe enough that it negates it? So if you were to say, declare you have heavy plate when someone hits you with a dagger, the heavy plate could reduce the harm and continue to function until something on it’s level damaged it?
When you say don’t tick two boxes at once, do you tick one box in the Load each time it’s damaged, or do you tick both of those off and then the actual armor is ticked somewhere else?
Again sorry for the serious confusion on this. We’re not new to RPGs but there was definitely a lot of thoughts on how armor was supposed to work.
Just to recap right now the GM is reading this as working as:
1) You are hit
2) You declare armor if the damage is too high and check two load boxes
3) The armor is spent and you don’t get a new one until next round unless you declare heavy armor and check three more load boxes
That seems.. off from what I’m reading.
Armor is explained on page 33 of the book.
When it says “mark an armor box” that refers to the armor boxes on the left of the sheet (Armor, Heavy, and Special).
Your character has boxes to mark Load. Normal armor is 2 Load. Heavy armor is +3 load (5 load total). Load boxes are not “armor boxes”.
Blades doesn’t have “rounds”, so I’m not sure where you’re getting that idea. Armor is spent until you have downtime.
So I guess my last question is basically if I understand it: When you are hit and declare armor, you only really check it off (and thus render it broken) if you take a hit that deals more damage than it might otherwise be able to handle, opposed to at the first damage you take?
There’s only one armor box for Armor and one for Heavy on the left; so basically you check the one armor box when something really notable hits it?
The way I understand it, and the way I currently run it, is that armor functions in two ways. Firstly, if a player declares that he is wearing armour this will affect effect and positioning of various rolls, this is the “Passive” Effect of armour and up to GMs discretion. The second is the “Active” Effect of armour, which is to ‘expend’ the armour by checking the appropriate armour box, allowing the player to demote or disregard damage once. Once the armour has been expended it provides no further benefit.
Armour’s passive effect is non-retroactive as it comes into play pre-roll, Armour’s active affect can be used retroactively. Please note that armour’s passive effects do not always apply and are not always positive.
A few examples of “Passive” armour effects.
Increased position: Light armour vs lower tier knife
Greatly Increased Position: Heavy armour vs lower tier sword
No effect: Light armour vs higher tier sword
Decreased Position: Heavy Armour vs equal tier mace/hammer
Greatly Decreased position: Swimming in heavy armour
As an aside, “Heavy” armour isn’t what one would generally consider heavy in other fantasy games, rather its heavy Scoundrel’s armour. Think less Full-plate with chainmail and padding and more metal Breastplate, bracers, shin guards, and a chain shirt.
And as a final bonus, for players out there, when the GM does bring out the enemy in full-plate who is impervious to your sword strikes, rather than grabbing a make shift club, inform your GM that you are performing Mordhau (Murder-stroke in english). This German fighting technique was often used by knights to counter armour and involves grabbing the blade with both hands and using the guard of the sword as a hammer. This technique, when performed correctly, is safe even when bare handed, though thick leather gloves provides some additional comfort and protection. Its rather brutal and effective, as well as making you look just a bit psychotic.