Dragon Armor

[Shicato]

I've recently started running a game wherein one of the PC's starts with a very slightly modified version of the Air Dragon armor and within two sessions it's already created such an imbalance that I've had to tell him to get rid of it, which he's more than happy to do.  The question is, what do people feel about the Dragon Armors?  Are they just too damn powerful even as artifact 5 or is there some sort of balance to them/ can they be easily toned down enough to be balanced?


Cheers

 

[Haku1]

dragon armours aren't particullarly nasty... they're effective war machines... but don't forget that they have to be mainteined... that every hour in them is more work needed to be done to repair them.


No... what's more nasty is the obsidian sheath in Ruins of Rathess or the Player's Guide. It boosts your streth to 8 or gives you +3 strength if you're over 5 dots naturally. This is on top of its decent armour stats. And no, it doesn't need to be repaired/maintained at all. And it counts as made of 5MM for things that would nuke non 5 MM armour.

 

[Jakk Bey]

Then either you need to present them with some challenges that deal with someone else's support elements, or give them challenges that don't require the use of a fella in big ass support armor.


Your boy isn't going to be able to justify wearing the stuff to state functions. He won't be able to justify walking around in the stuff behind his own lines.  If he's essentially living in the stuff--then hit him with the maintenence penalty. Every 50 hours of use--and fighting and flying count double--and every hour spent to protect the wearer from divinations cost double for maintenance.  Forget about maintenance and you're losing one power at random for every 10 hours you don't get it cracked open and taken care of.


Characters in a game get access to a fantastic armored half-track, that's fantastic. It doesn't mean that they can take the thing out for a spin around Miami looking for bad guys.  Same principle.


Yes, you allowed the character to invest in a big ass piece of fairly powerful hardware. Now come up with stories where he HAS to use it, or discovers that sometimes you need to be a bit more stealthy than that--yes, the armor has that spiffy camo mode, but sometimes you need to be seen as something else, other than a brute squad.  Rolling in with the pinnacle of military hardware is NOT coming in under radar.


Stories that have a more political bend will counteract the tendency to climb into the mecha-suit at the drop of a hat.  It's the same dilemma as the fella who tries to live in his super-heavy plate armor. Great in a fight, not so great when you're trying to fix dinner in camp, schmooze a guard, or get a little action from the camp followers.  Use those moments to advance your plot, not just for the idea of counter-acting the powerful artifiact, but because if the plot is going to be advanced in the field, then you're already ignoring opportunities to deepen your plot.

 

[Shicato]

I'll be perfectly honest I hadn't bothered to look into the maintaince issue but I'm going to do so now.  I knew it had maintaince but I forgot how stringent those requirements were.  I'll have a look at the book when I get home but I suspect my player went well over those limits.


I know what you're saying about the whole armor not suitable for certain occasions and I do use those against him, but I also have to consider the fact that my players enjoy a combat heavy game and if one player dominates that too much then it's not enjoyable for the group as a whole.  i hope that the maintaince issues will fix this, but somehow I doubt it.


To be honest the armor by itself wouldn't destroy the game balance it's more an issue of the player munchikining himself out.  But I do feel that the Dragon Armor is just too powerful for what it does.


If anyone has access to the books could you let me know what the maintainence requirements of dragon armor are as I'm currently at work.

 

[Silence In Daylight]

If only one character has access to the Dragon Armor line (and your campaign is combat-heavy), then certainly, there's high potential for imbalance--maintenance or no maintence. As written, the armors in BWB are underpowered with regards to their artifact rating. If that's what the rest of your party has access to, then the Dragon Armor guy has a defensive leg up.


 Still, this isn't too far off a campaign where one character has better combat capabilities than the rest of the group. One possibility is to build the antagonists accordingly--one bruiser to take on the Dragon Armor, and the rest of the enemy that will challenge but not overwhelm the rest of the group. Stuff like that. Making comparable armor available to the rest of the party (or bennies for unarmored individuals) is an alternative.


 Maintenance, as a mechanic, does not really weaken any given artifact; it's an excuse for the ST to introduce complications. If your character's really abusing the armor-at-all-times mentality, an occasional  attack while the armorer's working on the armor may straighten the guy out. Not too often, or you'll get 'Why-did-you-give-me-this-if-you're-not-going-to-let-me-use-it' syndrome real fast.

 

[Jakk Bey]

If your players are really combat heavy, then you have a perfect opportunity for the character to use his toy--and the biggest, baddest, meanest mofos in the valley are gunning straight for the guy with the target on his chest. The rest of the characters can deal with other issues--such as folks who are attempting to flank them, let the Dragon Armor character take all the spotlight while they steal, kidnap, or otherwise take care of business. You let the character use the armor as it's intended to be used--heavy cavalry.  


Do tanks lessen the need for infantry on the battlefield? Nope. Because you need ground troops to occupy an area.  Armor can help secure an area, but it has a role in a battle, and just because armor shows up, it doesn't mean that infantry is useless.  Same with your Dragon Armor character. He has a role to play, and use that.  A bridge needs taking down--your boy is perfect for it, while the other characters sneak across and get the supplies and intel neccessary.  Ambush a heavy infantry battalion with the armor, while another character takes out the commander, who is busy responding to the big ass thingie in the front of them.


Task the armor properly, and it's not unbalancing at all--it's an opportunity  to tell some neat military stories. You try to use it like it's just another suit of armor, then you might find it out of place. Use the stuff for the role that it's intended.