Chronicles of Neverwhere: Dhampir

The curse and the White had brought an increase of monsters and other creatures of the night. This increase has led to more interactions between the two. Most of these interactions are negative but some of them have led to the rise of the Dhampir. 

No one really knows exactly how they are created. It seems that every time a Dhampir is asked about their origin they tell a different story. Then again, maybe all of the the stories are correct and their are many paths to the Dhampir existence. 

Some of the stories around the tavern include:

• A pregnant female is fed on by a vampire and process alters their unborn baby
• A strange aspect of the animating force behind the vampires immortal existence allows them to occasionally father children
• In siring another vampire, the process gets interrupted or does not take as it and the process halts half way through
• A rare effect of the curse and instead of becoming twisted, the person transforms into something more sophisticated 
• An ancient blood rite left over from the days of the Titans
• A curse of the Gods for leading a violent life and taking innocent life

The fancy PDF* can be downloaded here

 *This was made possible with the input and amazing formatting skills of Vance A. His blog can be found here. I recommend giving it a read.

Detroit Suck City: Episode 2

The crew regrouped on the landing as Jiminy regained his sight. During this time, Parrot discussed a plan where he would run up the stairs and act like he was running for the rest of the crew because he was the only human looking. This would put Parrot in a position to help us from the rear in things went south. The plan was discussed and it was decided on that it would be a good idea.

The plan took action and the star children we encountered on the stairwell let Parrot pass as the rest of the crew were met with resistance. The few star children that tried to stop the rest of the crew on the stairs met with a swift end as the numbers were in the crew favors. This was regardless of the their attempts to blind as it seemed each one of the star children had that ability.

When the crew got to the top of the stairs they were met with a whole gathering of star children that were armed with black star maces. Parrot was able to run right past them and stood towards the back of the group trying to talk to them but all of the star children just starred blankly before attacking the rest of the crew.

The situation quickly became pure chaos as the crew started to slash, crush, and cross bolt their way through the star children's ranks. Between the sounds of melee, bright flashes were emitted by various star children in attempt to hinder the crew. Some of them were momentarily stunned but miraculously none of them ended up blind. After the star children's bodies started to hit the floor, what looked like an adult star person stepped away from the ranks raised up a rifle and took some shots, one of which went right through Jiminy's carapace and the other grazed Lladnar. It was this moment that Parrot jumped into action and was able to knock the rifle out of the star persons hands. Parrot found himself engaged with this star person who drew a long metal rod from his belt with copper wire around the end that started to him with electricity. A single strike from this rod left Parrot paralyzed on the floor.

Lladnar, Auron, Gren, and Jiminy were able to drop another star child each before loud squeaking was heard. The star adult sounded the retreat and the remaining star children all took off down the hallway. 

Three squeakers came running down the hall to try to take a bite out of the already battered crew. Jiminy decided to head the wall and escape through one of the gaping holes and crawl along the outside of bridge as the rest of the crew followed him with an intent to take up his lead and offer him cover. Gren turned around and charged the squeakers with his spines impaling a squeaker or two as Lladnar and Auron charged behind him.

With Grens help, Auron was able to cut a squeaker in twain and Lladmar kept another busy. It was then that Jiminy jumped through the wall behind the squeakers to flank them. With one powerful blow from his mace, he sent a squeaker out one of the openings in the bridge to a watery grave below. In this moment the remaining squeaker decided it was time to turn tale and vanished down the hallway.

The crew regroups and tries to rose Parrot but he is still out cold. The prop him up against the wall with Lladmar as a guard and the rest if them decide to cautiously explore down the hallway. The first couple rooms yielded nothing of interest except some dirty sleeping mats, clothes, and a few star maces. About halfway down the hallway a room was discovered that had a large wooden desk in it, a sleeping mat, a chest in the corner, and a large backpack like sack with a bigger sword resting against it. 

The desk held some papers, pens, and other objects that no one else knew about. There was a strange metal box discovered that Jiminy was able to mess with and open up. Nothing else was gleamed of its purpose. 

The sack on the ground produced some nicer clothes, chainmail, rations, a map of the surrounding areas, and various odd boubles.

As Auron and Gren tried to open the chest in the corner and failed, Jiminy came over feeling confident with his luck with the metal box to be able to open the chest. Jiminy was successful and inside the chest currency was found, a few grenades were found, some rations, and a strange metal cylinder with a button on top. Jiminy knew what the grenades were and kept those along with the metal cylinder. Auron pocketed the currency and Gren took the rations. On the way out of the room Gren grabbed the big sword and gave it to Lladmar but during the return walk moans of pain were noticed and the crew set out to investigate farther down the hall. Lladmar pulled up the rear carrying the unconscious Parrot. 

The crew found themselves on the other side of the bridge with the stairwell rounding down, a room to the left, and a room to the right in the corner. The room ended up being a kitchen of sorts and Lladmar decided to take up guard at the stairwell as the party entered the room in the right hand hand corner. Upon entering the room they discovered it was full of things they have never seen before and a naked man was on the table, moaning in pain, attached to various wires and a large tub coming from a metallic sack in the ceiling that led into the naked mans chest. 

Auron wanted to kill whoever was on the table as he explained the Star people were obviously turning this person into one of them and to be honest, the person looked behind saving. It would be a mercy Auron pointed out. The rest of the crew talked him down and during this conversation the person on the table started to stir and moan for help. Jiminy and Gren helped unhook him from the wiring and rubes as carefully as they could and then sat him up. 

The naked man introduced himself and Wilhelm and he was sent on a mission to acquire new technology for his people. Wilhelm went on to explain how during his travels he was ambushed by the star people and that was the last thing he remembered. Wilhelm started to ask about his clothes and gear. Gren said he saw some stuff that looked like it could fit him and ran off to get the sack that was found in one of the other rooms. When Gren returned, the crew helped him get dressed but Wilhelm was to week to walk. It was quickly decided that they needed to get off of the bridge and make camp on land just in case the squeakers or star people came back. The crew helped Wilhem up and acted as support as the exited the room. Llandmar was told to ransack the kitchen and the room, then to follow quickly behind. 

Down the stairs the crew went with Lladmar trailing with Parrot. They shortly ran right into a group of heavily armed and armored Hoopers that were coming up the stairs with large sacks. Both sides were surprised to see each other but Wilhelm and Jiminy took the conversation lead and the Hoopers explained they are traders and were coming to sell their usual supplies to the star people which they did not like very much but business was business. After some unsucessful haggling that left the Hoopers very annoyed, Auron paid them their full asking price (for some sacks of grain, carrots, and rations) and some additional coins for information about the land beyond the bridge. The Hoopers only explained that is more dangerous at night and how we should stay away from the red light. The hoopers also suggested we camp here tonight and set off in the morning. 

The crew decided to take up resident in the lab with the table and set an alternating watch. IT was during this time that Wilhelm noticed the two handed sword that Llandnar was carrying and explained how that was his. After some arguing back and forth Llandnar reluctantly cave up the sword and went to find his old one. Then the crew settled in for the night and ate very well. 

 

It is just another day in Detroit Suck City...

Detroit Suck City: Episode 1

You're no hero.

You're a wasteland wanderer:

a mutant, 

a seeker,

a robot killer,

a stoic shaman guarding forgotten ancient sciences.

You seek triumph and technology,

winning it with mutations and magic, 

soaked in the radiation and quantum fields of the altered, the savage, the semi-intelligent, and the artificially intelligent. 

The crew fares from Zlugtown a grungy little shanty town of mutant animals (with a few humanoids). The island has a massive old gravel pit, rail yard, and warehouses. Half of it is a radioactive wasteland where a stray tactical nuke landed. It is tribal and barely tech 1 bordering on pre-historical. Nice place to grow up though.

The entire crew is called in front of the town leadership to investigate a glowing red light that has been seen from across the waters in the mainland. These individuals were called on because they were outcasts in a world of outcasts. They had no family, no town responsibilities, and no official duties to speak of. All of the characters took the mission to earn their own fame within their community but each had their own personal reasons for doing this as well.

The crew decided to to head out at first light so everyone could spend the night getting sleep, preparing, and saying whatever goodbyes they felt like. The first light of day had hooves, feet, and paws hitting the broken pavement of the bridge and all seemed quite until they came to a section of the bridge that was covered in vegetation. Auron got really nervous and started to ask and look around for a way around the vegetation as he insisted that he would not go anywhere near those plants. It was then that Jiminy told everyone that he went on a scouting missing a few days before and those plants are alive and have the ability to shoot spines.

The crew was able to to discover a path down the side of the bridge onto the support beams and beyond. This path was obvious made as it consisted of chunks of wood, scrap metal, and wire all attached together to make a foot path along the underside of this bridge. Everyone was careful but despite a healthy dose of paranoia for the unknown (as no one ever left the island before) the crew was ambushed by four squeakers (which are mutated ferrets)!

The battle was fought behind and in front of the flanked crew as Jimeny took the lead at the front of the party and Auron took the lead at the back of the party. This was because the walkway was very thin and only in a few places could they stand should to shoulder. The squeakers attacked ferociously and inflicted some heavy wounds on Jiminy and Auron caught a few teeth. During the class, Parrot ended up shooting Ladmar in the back with his crossbow. At this point, the crew was considering retreat but then a high pitched squeaking was heard over the sounds of melee and the squeakers ran off, vanishing down the bridge.  

The crew pressed on and as they passed under the section of the bridge where the vegetation started they noticed all kinds of roots and plant matter was hanging down from the ceiling. Auron quickened his pace and kept looking up for any signs of movement as he forgot about the threat of the squeakers. They then came to a collapsed area were Jiminy easily jumped to the platform on the other side. The rest of the crew side climbed the crisscross lattice work to the other side. This platform shortly led to the control tower of the bridge with a door.

Auron led the way and a short way inside down on an makeshift floor discovered what appeared to be a mother squeaker with a litter of pups. The mother just started at Auron and company before Auron suffered a lapse in tactical judgement and told his friends to close their eyes. Once their eyes were closed Auron unleashed a bright flash from his eyes that illuminated the whole tower and blinded the squeakers. 

Parrot noticed a girl looking down at them from a few floors and announced it to the rest of the party. The mystery girl quickly started to run up the stairs and Jiminy sprang into action, leaping a few stories to catch the girl on a landed. As soon as he landed, he barely had time to notice she had a very rough tattoo of a black star over her face before he was blinded by a flash and the girl knocked Jiminy over the head. This blow to the caused Jiminy to fall back down the stairs to the next land and gave the mystery girl a chance to escape. 

The rest of the crew rushed to Jiminys aid.

It is just another day in Detroit Suck City...

Detroit Suck City: Episode 0

About a month ago I was invited to play in a Gamma World Second Edition game online from someone who I had experience gaming with before (an previous online GM). I snapped at the chance because it sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun and lets face it, its Gamma World. Shenanigans is almost a requirement. So, the group was recruited and characters were made. I have to say, we are one hell of a motley crew.

INTRODUCING ZLUG FORCE 1

 Left to Right: Ladnar the Bullman, Wilhem the "PSH", Gren the porcupine bear, Jiminy the cricket, Parrot the human, and Auron the panda man.

Ladnar the bullman: Despite being nearly blind as a bat, Lladnar is a big happy bull-like being. He firmly believes that he has a mission To Do Good (TM), he just doesn't really know what that is. He has survived in the Pits by being bigger and appearing grumpier than everyone else. He also did a stint as a gate guard were he acquired his sword and crossbow. His previous employer hasn't realized this yet.

Wilhem the "PSH": Is part of a only human community and acts as a technology finder. Due to an unforate serious of events, his fates have become intertwined with the rest of us.

Gren the Porcupine Bear: Small,scrawny and skinny for a bear. Good with tools. Slow moving for a bear since human hands make 4 legged walking uncomfortable. Grew up around humans. This small stature bearman bears back is covered with long, sharp, porcupine like spines.

- CAUSE OF DEATH: Gren was Gunned down by AK-47 wielding giant crabs during episode 3.

Jiminy the Cricket: Jiminy is one of a litter of a dozen muto-crickets, most of which did not survive. I cannot speak definitely on this but rumor has it he survived by eating his siblings.

 - CAUSE OF DEATH: Jiminy was a victim of friendly fire in Episode 8 as Auron fired the strange pistol he acquired which turned out to be a mini rocket launcher and poor Jiminy was to close to ground zero.

Parrot the "Human": Parrot was born to a normal couple of mutants - Blue Max, his father, had blue skin and was able to alter his size at will, Think Lizzy, his mother, was physically a normal human, but had a bunch of mental powers. Right after birth, as a newborn, Parrot didn't cry as normal babies, but he did imitate the sound of everyone and everything he could hear. That got on his parents nerves even more than any newborn should - so they plugged his ears, so that he didn't unconsciously imitate any and all sounds he heard and ruin everyone's nerves. His parroting ability earned him his name - Parrot. During his childhood he spent a lot of time with the other children of the settlement, where he got beaten up regularly due to his tendency to imitate their speech - this time deliberately, just to provoke them. Those regular beatings brought to light his regenerative mutation powers. He healed almost as quickly as he got beaten up. Despite this rough childhood he kept his cheerful nature and good spirits. After years of regular beatings, he simply "knew" when things will get rough. He was never to be surprised of any kind of attack. Not that this did do him any good, as he was still beaten up most of the time, but he now kept seeing this coming. After puberty set in, he suddenly knew how to get back at those bullies: he could think those bastards' heads to bleed from their nose. His mental blast power manifested and he was given a bit of training by other mental mutated folks to use it in a more controlled fashion by mental blasting some wild animals that were somewhat edible. Interestingly, on such hunting forays Parrot was often attacked by wildlife that usually avoids human(oids). Apparently, after a few weeks without getting beaten up, he subconsciously attracted aggressive animals - and he had no way to shut this trouble-magnet trait down. Parrot was always fascinated by the ancient an enigmatic technology of the folks of Old. So he joined the tribe's tinkerers a bit in trying to figure out how some artefacts might work. He showed some aptitude in this kind of work, but he didn't keep interested long enough to become a crafter himself. Recently declared "mature" by the tribe's elders he had to join a "colorful" group on a dangerous mission beyond the river.

Auron the Panda Man: Auron (the panda man) grew up in Zlugtown but has never taken to kindly to authority or taken life to seriously. He spent a good amount of time fighting in the pits for fame and money before getting bored and basically becoming a bouncer for the more seedier locations on the island.

He is very direct and does not sugar coat situations or what he wants. His personality is like his sword - short on nuance, long on badass.

  - CAUSE OF DEATH: Auron fought hard on the turret of the tank but after blowing off one of the legs of the mount of the Cat Lord, Auron was felled by the mounts teeth and a laser sword to the face during Episode 9.

 

Huey the Mutated Master of Clean (met in Episode 4): Huey is from up north in a collection of warring villages called Ootik. Hugh is from the Village housed in a giant building. It is know as Sam's Club, named after the weapon of choice of the Warlord that founded the village. They constantly raided their rival walled village called "The Walls" or "Wall Market" across the river. "Wee Hughie" (a name that drove him to rage) was too weak to wield a club and be part of the Clubmen raiders, and too small to be part of the Sam's Guard that guarded the village, so he took off as soon as he could. Soon after he joined up a Masters of Kaleen who appreciated his unmarred PSH-ness. (most of the fiercest raider for both the Wallies and the Clubmen were mutants, who sneered at his weak "degenerate" unmutated stock. )

Hughie doesn't remember much from the time with the Masters or the StarChildren, but he does remember the beatdowns and mocking tones of the mutant raiders...and he is itching for payback.

 

Kamanja the saved PSH (met in episode 8): Kamanja is a tribal member of the Red Death. He was captured by the Star Children when his band was moving through the area. Seeing what the Star Children do with their captives has ignited a thirst for vengeance in the young man's heart.

9 of 12, the mentally unstable android: 9 of 12 remembers was designed to work in a cryogenic lab to freeze the wealthy prior to the apocalypse. As a result, can freeze objects and people or warm them back to life. His pyro abilities were regulated to warm people slowly, but due to damage to his sensory systems he only burn or freeze them now. Then the dark times came where there was to many people to freeze. Then one day, people stopped coming to be frozen the human staff went away. 9 of 12 eventually gave up and went into stasis himself.
    9 of 12 must have been damaged in the ruins of the facility because he had trouble understanding his situation and realized that he could no long put out fires, but only start them. Though, the person that saved him said he could be fixed if 9 of 12 could be of help. After years of offering his help, 9 of 12 was tied down to a table and “fixed” for years. Countless experiments left him frustrated and broken. 9 of 12’s only hope and the only reason he sees any good left in anything was the help of Ren, who is a 7-year-old girl. When the master was away Ren would talk to 9 of 12, clean him up, and try to fix whatever injuries were left form the latest experiment.
    One day, the master was extremely frustrated at a failed attempt to completely control 9 of 12 like a puppet and attacked to end his experiment once and for all. Ren, jumped in the way and got hurt. This enraged 9 of 12 to such a degree that he was able to break his bonds and finally kill the master who was supposed to be his friend and help him. Since that moment, 9 of 12 has taken care of and protected Ren as she is his constant companion that helps navigate the world.
    9 of 12 has attempted many times to settle down and try to live a peaceful life but his malfunctions have got him, and Ren kicked out of multiple settlements. In between these peaceful times he has ran afoul of savvy scrappers and some star children who truly understand what he is and know that 9 of 12 had a rare power source. Due to his intelligence, he seeks out all knowledge of the old world so no one can ever learn the truth about him in the hopes him and Ren can live a peaceful life.

    9 of 12 appears has a very tall and muscular figure that wears oversized blue pants, a ragged 5xl Metallica sweatshirt, a ring mail shirt, and a wide brimmed cowboy hat. On his back is a large metal wire and wicker basket that has some supplies and a built-in seat for Ren so she can be carried everywhere and look over his shoulder. His belt sports various pouches, and a waterskin. Some of 9 of 12’s clothes hide the true extent of the experimentations he survived. His right leg is completely armored and robotic and ends in a three toed metal claw where his foot would be. The sweatshirt covers his left arm is also completely armored and robotic but ends in a large wicked claw. 9 of 12 tries to use his hat and hoodie to cover up the right side of his face that possesses a metal plate and a red robotic eye.

 

 

Review: Star Dogs - Referee's Handbook

I have already talked about the Star Dogs - Player's Handbook in depth here. Per conversations with the author, the Players Guide was created as a vehicle for the Referee's Handbook and for his smooth ship combat rules. The opening page of the books states;

"The Star Dogs Referee's Guide is a collection of tools, tables, and generators for referees running a science fiction tabletop roleplaying campaign. While it has been written for Star Dogs, it is system neutral and can be used with any Science Fiction tabletop rule set."

As a disclaimer, I was provided a cope for review purposes.

Presentation: The cover is full and the interior is presented in clean double columns. The interior art is sparse, black and white, and has a distressed look like the cover. It really matches the feel for the game. The book itself is organized with a table of contents and everything you roll on is very easy to understand.

I am going to deviate from my usual review formula and use the tools and tables and roll up some awesomeness.

Planet Generation

• Landscape: Decaying meat mounds, ever pushed skyward from an ever growing flesh core
• Atmosphere: Fire, Flames, and burning
• Planet Population: Free Humans (Dominate Population)

Space Station Generation 

• Population (Dominant): Alien Civilization 
• Key Purpose: Restaurant Center 
• Atmosphere: Endless Charms hang from ropes and string
• This also has tables to randomize the map and to stock various rooms

NPC Generator

• Expertise: Vat Farming
• Modus Operandi: Works through impressive technology
• Appearance: Flower or generally vegetative tattoos
• NPC Want: Find immediate relief to severe pain

Alien Species Generator

• Basic Form: Bull
• Form Manifestation: Bloody, fleshy, inside out with organs on display
• Armor Technology Level: Medium Armor (+4AC)
• Weapon Technology Level: Modern melee weapons
• Communication Method: Via comlog on the data plane
• Special Ability: Psionics and thought power
• Culture: Two factions have recently formed in the species, there is simmering tension that often erupts into open violence 
• Want: Protect some technology recently discovered/uncovered

Final Thoughts: I only used the Referee's Handbook to roll up a handful examples. There are tables and information for creating cultures, space sectors, mission generator, dangerous sectors, impressive technology, advanced combat, random space encounter, spacecraft generator, and a nebula generator. This book is really dripping with inspiration and I think it could be used for different genres as well. I think this is worth picking up for the inspiration alone.

You can acquire the pdf here and the physical copy here.

Product Highlight: Skew Dice

I came across these dice completely by accident one day and they are really something great. These dice are from The Dice Lab and the Lab was kind enough to send me some pairs of their skewed d6's for review and to pass out at my demos. The red set has already found a new home.

 

Even those these dice look wonky they are just as fair as cubes because of math and geometry (that is the short answer). Their website states that, "Skew Dice are based on the trigonal trapezohedron. (A cube is a special case of a trigonal trapezohedron.) We distorted the faces in such a way that they remained flat and are congruent (each one has the same size and shape). In addition, the distorted polyhedron is an isohedron, meaning that the symmetry group of the polyhedron is transitive on the faces. Despite their bizarre appearance, this means that Skew Dice are just as fair as regular dice". 

I have had these dice for a few days and they are tactility pleasing to handle and they are a lot of fun to roll. I have spent a few hours rolling them with some normal square d6's and I have noticed two main things. The first thing is that they are just as random or "fair" as the squares. Though the second thing I noticed is even more important because these Skew Dice are just more satisfying to roll.

This is the first time I am highlighting a product and I am surprised at how much I like these dice. Yes they look cool and different but I was not expecting them to be so satisfying to roll and handle. I would recommend these dice to anyone who needs some new dice and even if you don't, do yourself a favor and pick up a pair just for the experience of it. Plus, I always enjoy pulling something out of my dice bag that catches peoples attention and is different. 

The Skew d6's come in the following colors:

• White
• Black
• Green
• Blue
• Red
• Green
• Translucent Amber

Skew dice are also available in d8s and d12s. The Dice Lab have a few range of dice the focus on fairness with numbering order and shapes. All thanks to math and geometry.

• Main Web Site
• Online Store
• Places to Buy
• The Press Room

Make Mithril Great Again

So, with finally getting my hands on Old School Essentials I have been thinking about armor a lot. Not how to calculate armor (each group should decide what is right for them) but the effects of armor. Though, to give the different types of calculations a nod and out of the way (I have a feeling someone is going to ask me why I did not mention it) I will discuss them briefly below:

Attack Matrix (descending): If you want to look up the results of an attack roll on a table then this is for you. Though personally, I feel it slows down combat and is more work on the GM.

Ascending Armor: Armor adds values to a base AC of 10 (sometimes 12) and the new total becomes the opponents to hit target number. This can speed up combat and ease the load on the GM.

A quick note - in the more modern games, AC scores can soar in the mid to high 20s and into the 30s at early levels.

THAC0 (descending): If you want to subtract descending AC from a THAC0 score then more power to you. It is funny, I remember THAC0 being a lot more complicated then it actually is. After revisiting THAC0 I realized that it is pretty simple (and I do not know why I have been so terrified of it) and seems to speed up combat and ease the strain on the GM.

I think for a long time the effects of armor have been stagnant and have remained making a character harder to hit. This style works well and depending on how it is implemented and controls by the rules of whatever game is being played or the GM it comes with its own positives and negatives. I just think armor can and should be a lot more dynamic and interesting. With that being said, I am going to explore some alternatives that I have come across and enjoy. 

Ascending Armor Values*: I cannot have a list without mentioning this as it is the most common. I think for this method to be the most effective it should be simplified (have very few options as far as choices go because a lot of the armor bloat out there is just aesthetics and to fill in some perceived need for in between bonuses) and there should be a ceiling limit of a max armor rating of 20 or the equivalent in Descending. Descending armor values/calculations and THAC0 are already simplified/have maximums and do not need mentioning here.

• Unarmored being AC 10 (Using Old School Essentials for these values): Leather +2 (12), Chainmail/Scalemail +4 (14), Platemail +6 (16), Shield (+1). Dexterity modifiers add to armor rating. 
• Unarmored being AC 12 (I have only seen this in Lamentations of the Flame Princess): Leather +2 (14), Chainmail/Scalemail +4 (16), Plate +6 (18), Shield +1 vs. melee and +2 vs. range. Dexterity Modifiers add to armor rating.

Damage Reduction*: This has been an alternate rule that has been around for awhile. Depending on how it was implemented it worked well or fell short for various reasons. I am going to use the most recent iteration of this rule from Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition as inspiration because it uses a combo of slightly increased AC and damage reduction. This makes it more streamlined so classes do not need ascending dodge bonuses or something along those lines. I would also add that all attacks always do a minimum of 1 point of damage regardless of Damage Reduction. 

• Leather: AC Bonus +1(11) + Dex, DR 1
• Chainmail/Scalemail: AC Bonus +2(13) + Dex (Max 2), DR 2
• Plate: AC Bonus +5(15), DR 4
• Shields: Provide AC bonus as normal. I really like how the shields function in Lamentations of a Flame Princess.

There are games the already use an armor as damage reduction mechanic but the armor does not increase difficulty to hit as the system in question has different ways to deal with being hit. In games like Into the Odd/Electric Bastionland, the damage reduction functions as 1/2/3 (this would work with other rules light games as well).

*Standard House Rule: I always have a house rule where shields and helmets can be sundered to completely ignore the effects of an successful hit. The player can declare this after the attack roll is made but before damage is calculated.

For the next couple of options armor does not affect difficult to hit. These options have been taken from games that possess their own rules regarding attacks and defense. So, to use these options with other games I am taking a page from Dungeons and Dragons 5e and going to use the proficiency bonus as a dodge bonus.

20 Levels of Progression

Level 1-4: +2

Level 5-8: +3

Level 9-12: +4

Level 13-16: +5

Level 17-10: +6

10 Levels of Progression

Level 1-2: +2

Level 3-4: +3

Level 5-6: +4

Level  7-8: +5

Level 9-10: +6

2nd Wind: I came across this system in Barons of Braunstein and I think it is pure genius. The armor your characters wear is more about aesthetics then anything else as it all functions the same way. Upon a killing blow you don't die as the armor has protected you from what would have been a mortal or dismembering blow and you stay in the fight with additional hit points or wounds. I believe the rules say they revert to 10% of their Luck (this result usually in a 1 Luck). As written, this would allow the character to take one more hit before the possibility of death which I think is a cinematic bummer. So, it games that uses a wound/luck system, I would have them recover with 2/3 wounds and for HP, I would say 12.

Shields in this system add an additional 3 wounds that damage gets subtracted from first. After a shield has been used up, it needs to be repaired.

If you do not want to go the repair route, it is possible to go the rest route. Which means, after armor is used (such as a shield) it cannot be used again with any effectiveness without resting.

Armor Pool of HP/Wounds: I have seen this covered in The Black Hack 1e and a few other places. Each type of armor proves an additional pool of wounds or hit points that damage is subtracted from first. After use, armor needs to be repaired or a rest needs to be taken. The amount of pool the armor provides really depends on the damage out of the system. I would probably start with something along the lines of 3/6/9 and scale from there for hit points. Systems that use wounds can easily be set at a 1/2/3 with shields adding +1.

Armor that Completely Ignores Hits: I have never seen this before except in The Black Hack 2nd Edition. Each level of armor provides an armor die equal to the AV bonus, which usually runes 1-4 while Shields and Helmets add +1AV respectfully. These armor dice represented by d6s. The player can choose to completely ignore a hit and remove one AV from their pool. Once an armor is missing all of its AVs, then the armor does not provide any more protection until it is repaired. During a rest, the player rolls a d6 for each armor die that was used and each roll above the armors AV the armor recovers one armor die. AV's do not stack except for the bonus of s helm and shield. If the player rolls on or below the AV the armor dice or permanently broken and will eventually lead to the armor being useless. I think this system has wiggle room for various adjustments and the armor dice is a cool physical representation at the table that makes it easy to keep track of.

Armor Saves: This takes inspiration from War Games and from the early games of Arneson and the other twin city gamers.This style of armor represents an all or nothing type of situation. So light armor would be 5+ on d6, medium armor 4+ on a d6, and heavy armor 3+ on a d6. On a successful attack, the player rolls an armor save. Shields could offer a re-roll (limited) or addition wounds/hit points.

What about magical armor? Well, I think actually magic armor should do more then just add bonuses.
It should do something interesting because the +1 bonus to whatever can easily be from some really well made armor. This helps reduce the magic item arms race in a lot of games.

As far as Mithril goes;

Mithril is a rare substance with possible magical properties that can be found in forgotten places of the Earth. It is very difficult to work with and can only be forged into small basic shapes. Mithril chainmail or scalemail weighs a little more then a tunic spun from cotton or wool. It is thin enough to be worn underneath clothes. It also provides a second effect and the next round they recover x HP/Wounds/etc. If this type of armor system is already being used, then it would add additional HP/Wounds/etc.