eg if all the soldiers in full plate in one army have the same armor, by the time you'd fought three or four you might realize there's a gap at the neck you can get a dagger into at such and such an angle...
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The problem you hit in most games is that if the target is defined by its armor type, then any armor piercing relegates it to vanilla/boring Less so when the armor type requires at least once decision The decision doesn’t even have to be “interesting,” just not automatic
mar 17, 2025, 2:17 am • 2 0 • view
Does the collar gap (tm) require an attack from behind? Or a successful grapple followed by a high stakes crit attempt with some backfire mechanic ? That’s INTERESTING. Does it just reduce the armor or improve the crit chance? Less interesting (worse case degenerates to un-armored encounter)
mar 17, 2025, 2:21 am • 4 0 • view
I’m articulating this poorly but I always feel that fun/interesting is when the game gives you enough rope to hang yourself. Like “ah, we see you’ve gotten the hang of these guys. Here’s a new tool that can 1HKO them, but requires you - player - to arrange it perfectly, or you will be punished”
mar 17, 2025, 2:24 am • 3 0 • view
yeah i really do think it has to become an interesting choice, rather than a flat bonus or using a rote action to activate a bonus! that's really the question.
mar 17, 2025, 7:10 pm • 2 0 • view
and often if the learned technique / new tool transforms the encounter into something new and interesting, rather than trivializing it, that works well. adding a layer which is in conversation with other mechanics.
mar 17, 2025, 7:17 pm • 2 0 • view
Happens in a fair few other games in terms of Bestiary doings, ie defeat enough of X to understand it better in various ways, also getting bonus crit or damage or whatnot against them.
mar 17, 2025, 3:14 pm • 1 0 • view
always go for the armpits!
mar 17, 2025, 2:36 am • 3 0 • view
Back of the knees, legs, face too. At least if I remember my harness fighting right. Straight up and under the armour is pretty timeless and terminal.
mar 19, 2025, 9:30 am • 1 0 • view
i'm not very far down that research rabbit hole but i've done some studying, and i gather that another interesting option with plate is you can foul someone's joints to impede mobility, then go in with a dagger or similar for a killing blow.
mar 19, 2025, 6:16 pm • 2 0 • view
Kinda missed a step in their. Grapple, wrestle, take to ground and sit on them, then dagger work. Or get a friend to do that for you. Only fair fight is a fight you walk away from.
mar 19, 2025, 7:45 pm • 1 0 • view