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Quick Question: Armor first? Or Weaponry? in lists...

Started by Koltar, April 21, 2010, 12:55:07 AM

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Koltar

When you are looking through a new game book or resource do you prefer armor or weapons to be listed first?

What order makes more sense?

Armor, then Weapons

-OR-

Weapons, then Armor ?

I am in the middle of designing and organizing something gaming-related.


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jadrax

I think I always look at the available weapons when picking up a book, while armour I typically only look at after I have bought it.

winkingbishop

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Koltar

Okay.

My original thinking on this was : First you have the character, then the character puts on Armor or clothing then grabs weapons.

Try to remember all of the "Let's suit up !" or "Gear up!" scenes from movies and Television shows.

The consensus over 3 or 4 forums seems to be weapons first, then armor .


- Ed C.
The return of \'You can\'t take the Sky From me!\'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUn-eN8mkDw&feature=rec-fresh+div

This is what a really cool FANTASY RPG should be like :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-WnjVUBDbs

Still here, still alive, at least Seven years now...

winkingbishop

Quote from: Koltar;375410Okay.
My original thinking on this was : First you have the character, then the character puts on Armor or clothing then grabs weapons.

Which would be fine, if you were getting dressed for the day.  But I think you're talking about equipping a character.  Weapons first because -

  • It's conventional.

  • Situation and people may vary, but I find a character's weapon choice more illustrative than their armor choice.  Most of the time I'm going to choose my weapon, which will then inform my armor choice.
"I presume, my boy, you are the keeper of this oracular pig." -The Horned King

Friar Othos - [Ptolus/AD&D pbp]

Phantom Black

I like weapons first, then armor.
Why?
Because i'm used to this and because it makes more sense to put the "active" gear first, in this case: Weapons.

IMHO also because most folks choose weapons first, armor second, not vice versa.
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Werekoala

Also, in most sci-fi settings, once you get to a big enough weapon, armor doesn't really matter anymore, and it tends to quickly go from "plink, plink, ya can't penetrate" to "smoking crater". GURPS is a perfect example.

Therefore, weapons take priority over armor.
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Monster Manuel

Quote from: Phantom Black;375462I like weapons first, then armor.
Why?
Because i'm used to this and because it makes more sense to put the "active" gear first, in this case: Weapons.

IMHO also because most folks choose weapons first, armor second, not vice versa.

This is what I was going to say- if you're going to separate them, I'd say weapons first.

Weapons are active, and grab attention. Armor, though necessary in most genres, is passive, and many people find it less interesting. Shields, on the other hand, can sometimes bridge the gap; I'm thinking of a spartan shield in particular.
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Narf the Mouse

I'd put it that weapons, as the active component, provide a necessary benchmark. To illustrate:
QuoteCloth Armour 1
Leather Armour 2
Chain Mail 3
Scale Mail 4
Plate Mail 6
Now, you can easily tell the relative worths of the armours and you can probably guess that the average weapon does something like 1d6...But you don't actually have a scale yet. Add in something like
QuotePointy Stick 1d10
Or
QuoteGreatsword 1d2
...Obviously, these are extreme examples. But weapons give you something you need to understand armour: The *Scale* of the game. If it's a Wuxia game where weapons are powerful, then you look at the armour and it's considerably weaker - Well, then, probably, most of your defense will come from other things. On the other hand, if it's GrimDark, then the game designer is sending a pretty clear message of "PC death, early and often".

Or at least, my reasoning. I have not published any RPGs, after all.
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Spinachcat

The order of anything in a RPG should reflect the goals of the game design and the play experience promised by the setting.  AKA, what do you want the players to focus on?    The more prominent the section, the more importance it should have to the gameworld.

Benoist

Weapons first, then Armor.

Makes more sense. You get to know what tools to use kill stuff, and THEN you can make sense of the protection values for Armor.