Quote from KinaJardine >>

Proposal for new armour/damage homebrew rules for this game:

Armour:
Because the way D&D handles armour is kind of based on old assumptions ABOUT armour and frankly doesn't do a good job of representing the protection it gives, here are the changes I'm making.
Armour, in addition to adding to your AC, also absorbs damage upon being hit UNLESS it is by an attacker who has advantage on you or your opponent lands a crit. The amount of damage it absorbs is dependent on the kind of armour you're wearing. Light armours absorb 2 damage, medium armour absorbs 3, heavy armour (Besides hide, hide absorbs 3) absorbs 4.
Armour can even absorb magic damage, so long as the damage can be described as 'force', like magic missile. Armour can also absorb damage from fire, acid, or cold damage, but only ONCE. Armour that's been damaged by acid, burning, or frost, can no longer absorb damage and must be repaired, though unless the armour is completely destroyed, it still offers the AC bonus. If you make a save vs a spell, your armour will absorb the damage as normal and will NOT require mending.
ANY class can wear light armour without restrictions of any kind, so that means monks can wear studded leather armour and benefit from the damage absorption without losing their unarmoured movement/defense perk. The idea that wearing 13 pounds of protection would slow a martial artist--or anyone, for that matter--down at all is ridiculous.
Monsters who are described as wearing 'scraps' of armour or incomplete armour sets get no damage reduction. They must be in full, well-maintained armour to get damage absorption benefits from their armour.
Added Special: Upon grappling an armoured opponent, a second athletics check may allow an attacker to attempt to rip off a key piece of armour, such as the helmet or arm guards or grieves. While not ruining the whole set, it does create a much more prominent weak spot to attack which negates the damage absorption. This INCLUDES magic armour unless it is enchanted in such a way to prevent its forced removal.
The tradeoff, however, is that if you're traveling while carrying more than 3/4 your total carrying ability in weight, after 8 hours, you will need to make a constitution saving throw against exhaustion, and exhaustion can only be removed after a long rest, so constantly wearing heavy armour will probably drain all but the strongest adventurers.

Yes, this is mostly stuff I need to take into consideration, but I feel like keeping track of this sort of thing helps with the immersion. Rest is important, and starvation should be a real threat. I don't think of D&D as a video game where your character never gets tired or hungry.

Taking damage(revised--AKA, the Boromir rule):
Your HP basically represents damage your character can shrug off or 'imperfect hits'. Upon being reduced to 0 HP or less, your character does NOT fall unconscious. Instead, they are put into a 'desperation' state because now, they have taken a major wound and need to get help. Their will to live has kicked in, resulting in all further attacks upon them receiving automatic disadvantage as the character is more naturally defensive, though any offensive actions the character takes will not have any bonuses as they will no longer be able to muster their full strength, though if they roll a nat 20, instead of doing an extra damage die, they do x2 total damage instead. They can also still use any special abilities they have, but they no longer get proficiency or ability score bonuses in their wounded state until they raise their HP to over 0. Any spells cast require passing an INT or WIS check (your choice) against their current HP negative to maintain their concentration (so --8 HP requires a DC check of 8 to cast a spell) or be cast at half strength.
Until they are reduced to negative HP equal to their max, they are still standing. Every additional wound they take after being reduced to negative HP will require a CON saving throw equal to their current HP negative. Failing the save or being reduced to over their max HP negative will cause the character to finally collapse from shock and require death saving throws.

Players CANNOT BE KILLED OUTRIGHT by damage alone. If a level 1 thief is unlucky and gets critted by an orc to over their max HP in negatives, they go down but can still make death saving throws. A player taken down by damage will always have a chance to survive. Players can only be instantly killed by being finished off with a coup de grace while they're helpless or by failing a save to an instant kill spell or ability.

Healing damage:
Players always have a chance to be saved from death but players who go beyond their HP max in negative damage and make their saving throws cannot regain consciousness again until they reach 0 HP; so while they may no longer need to make death saving throws, they will still be down. If a player is healed while they're making death saving throws, they automatically succeed and will be unconscious but stable, but they will need more healing to fully revive. A character with a medicine proficiency can fully stabilize an unconscious victim using a healer's kit if they manage to make a medicine skill check greater than the current negative HP of the victim, so a healer with a +7 proficiency in medicine has a fair chance of eliminating all negative damage of a victim who made their death saving throws even at -18 HP. If the victim is healed for any MORE damage afterwards, they will be conscious again and able to fight.
Non-magical healing CAN be done in combat, but the healer will need to be covered for 1D4 turns to treat the wounds of a victim either conscious or unconscious. If a healer is able to apply treatment successfully, all negative damage will be relieved and the patient will be brought to 0 HP. While being treated, a negative-HP character who is still standing doesn't need to make any more saving throws.

Monster ability scores and swarm combat:
Monsters will no longer get inexplicable bonuses to attack and damage despite having abysmal ability scores. Goblins and kobolds, for instance, will no longer get +5 to hit and +2 to damage despite having 8 STR. They will have to play by the same rules as PC's.
To offset this, however, players may encounter enemies in greater numbers... but to prevent 2ed and 3.5ed dice-roll slogfests, 'weak' enemies or enemies 1 size level smaller than PC's that rely on numbers to bring down opponents will group up in pairs or up to 4 to attack, but their combined efforts count as their turn. Each additional partner grants +2 to hit and damage, and a fourth attacker adds advantage.
For instance, if 2 kobolds were to attack the same PC, they would THEN get +2 to hit and +2 to damage but will only roll ONCE. 3 get +4 to hit and damage, and 4 still get +4 to hit and damage but ALSO gives the group advantage to hit, which they would likely need in order to do any significant damage to a heavily armoured PC.
The downside to swarming for the monsters is that when it's the player's turn to attack, any attacks they make on 'swarming' enemies may damage 1D4 of them simultaneously due to their close proximity to each other.

 Edited.

((I have, uh, mixed feelings about most of this.  To be frank, it feels like homebrew for the sake of homebrew.

Giving everyone light armor proficiency and DR 2/- makes me feel stupid for picking a race with armor proficiency.  As a spellcaster with MM, it is now useless against any creature with armor, as each missile is a separate instance of damage.  Without specific additional wording, if I roll a 1 on the d4, a creature in padded armor gets to negate the spell entirely when the whole point of the spell is reliability.  Remember, force damage isn't bludgeoning damage.  It's usually the closest thing we can get to 'pure energy'.   Gravitational effects, planar rifts, and utter annihilation.  And everyone gets armor now.

The point about monsters following the same rules as players feels a little off, too.  Goblins and Kobolds have +4 to hit. +2 Dex, +2 proficiency.  Regardless, monsters shouldn't be built like players - they have different resources, challenges, and considerations.  Buffing PC armor and dropping monster attacks seems like a formula for really long, grindy combats.

I get the intention behind the 'Boromir' rule, but honestly it's just another heap of mechanics that go against the grain of accessibility in this edition.

Obviously you're the DM and I can be outvoted by the party anyway, but I really wish I knew more about this before submitting the character I did.))

((It's just a proposal. If you want to keep going with the homebrew rules that existed before, by all means, your feelings about it matter.

Bear in mind though, that the VAST majority of average baddies out there are NOT wearing full suits of armour. They're usually described as 'scavenged' or 'cobbled together', so they would NOT get the damage soak. In order to get the full benefit, they'd have to be a unique opponent who probably is supposed to be a more apparent threat, and even then, you could easily fire bolt his armour first and his damage soak would be gone. It wouldn't render your spellcasting invalid, you'd just have to use it appropriately against a properly armoured opponent and not some untrained rabble. As for you picking a race with armour proficiency, it must means you get to have medium armour proficiency. After all, even the medium armour is NOT actually heavy. A chain shirt is pretty comfortable and extremely easy to move in, so I don't see why you couldn't just bump up your proficiency to the next weight class.

Also, the idea that your average low-level grunt has proficiency is kind of laughable. I mean, the monster manual gives a BADGER proficiency. Proficiency in WHAT? Is there a badger class? No, monsters, unless they are part of a military organization that gave extensive formal training, don't get weapon proficiencies. Your average garden variety goblin in ramshackle armour is no better at stabbing than an average citizen. Proficiencies shouldn't just be given to every monster automatically, for crying out loud. In order for them to be a threat, they should have to rely on numbers to be a threat to trained adventurers. Combining enemy attacks together and allowing them to be hit simultaneously SHOULD also alleviate the combat grind. Admittedly I haven't done a HUGE amount of testing on this mechanic, but in the simulations I've run, it doesn't take any longer for combat to resolve and it feels less like low-level characters all have to dogpile on a single enemy to take them down until they get to level 3 with the rules as-is.

Everyone is free to weigh in on the changes. I'm just trying to make the game feel a little less like a video game and more believable.))

Quote from KinaJardine >>

((Also, the idea that your average low-level grunt has proficiency is kind of laughable. I mean, the monster manual gives a BADGER proficiency. Proficiency in WHAT? Is there a badger class? No, monsters, unless they are part of a military organization that gave extensive formal training, don't get weapon proficiencies. Your average garden variety goblin in ramshackle armour is no better at stabbing than an average citizen. Proficiencies shouldn't just be given to every monster automatically, for crying out loud. In order for them to be a threat, they should have to rely on numbers to be a threat to trained adventurers. ))

I mean, it's not my idea, it's literally a core mechanic of the game.  Even 0 Challenge creatures get +2 to weapons they are familiar with because, yes, a badger knows how to bite and claw things.  Formal martial training is reflecting in things like Fighting Styles, Extra Attack, and the superiority of martial weapons over simple.

If realism is your goal, more power to you, but I think I might have trouble fitting in with my space pirate who shoots magic with his brain. XD

I was gonna move this to the group OOC thread but I guess we don't have one. 

((Yeah, I think I'll scrap the rule changes for now until I've done some more simulations.))

Quote from KinaJardine >>

Jules thinks for a moment.
"There's an armourer in town, a half-dwarf named Anya. She has very reasonable prices, though for 200 gold... hmmm... how heavy were you thinking?" he asks. "You could probably get a good cuiass with gambesson or scale mail, something that could be fitted and adjusted without losing too much time. Anya's fast, but not a miracle worker." he states.

 Repost

Faerieth curls up her nose at mention of the armor. "I... don't need anything in particular now... though I need to... start looking for something very specific for later."

Chroma releases a long, winded sigh, curls of smoke-like frost permeating her exhalation. "Armor infringes on my primary method of defense, which is evading attacks. I suggest we return to town in the morning and report our findings. I don't think we are in any shape to venture further into the wilderness." 

Jules shakes the heavy back pack of supplies he brought at Faereith's statement.
"Try me, I've got lots of stuff here, and if I don't have it, I can help you get it." he states. "You would NOT believe the gossip going around Phlan about you four. The fact you brought the lights back in your first day, some people think you've been brought by the power of the Pool itself to bring Phlan back to prosperity. Even I'm starting to believe the rumours." Jules says.
At Chroma's words, he looks curious.
"Why would you need armour? Aren't you... and him... part dragon? As in, mostly invulnerable?" he asks, pointing to Krinix as well, clearly ignorant of dragonborn physiology.

(How did Jules hear word of what we've done? Hasn't he been with us? Just wondering in case I messed up chronologically somewhere!)

"I... need the feather of a bird, a tuft of hair from a beast, and the tail of a fish all to be encased within a gilded acorn," Faerieth says.

((After the group brought the lights back on in the city, Jules went back to report their deed to the city council, so he missed what happened in the tunnel and he saw first hand how people have been freaking out over having light at night. He left around the time he saw that there was a maintenance tunnel because he figured he could make it back before anything happened. He was wrong :3 ))

Jules blinks several times at the request.
"That's an unusual grocery list." he says.
"Actually... there IS someone you might be able to talk to. Odd fellow, good natured, but strange tastes." he says, after giving it some thought.
"I'm assuming it's for some kind of potion or elixir and not some bizarre dietary need you have, because if it is, you're going to need to give me some time to prepare that for you if my cooking isn't to your liking." he remarks.

Qiran listens to everyone's requests.  Anya, it is.  He does not bother Jules with the specifics of his further requests - the blacksmith would be the right person to hear it.  His ears also prick up as Krinix inquires about what sounded to him like spell components.  He had an idea for a few spells, but was also in need of a few components, himself.

"Well, I am glad the people are heartened by our progress, but I think we still have much to do."

Jules nods.
"Plenty left doing, certainly. These tunnels you described, for instance, I'll have to ask Harken if he knows anything about them in the old city archives that might give some sort of clue when or why they were built and how far they stretch. We may need to send some additional people through them to be certain they're not harbouring any more survivors from the invasion." he says.
"From my readings, I seem to recall something about these grubs you encountered. Something that sounded very similar happened decades ago, when the old city council tried to leverage Sanharen to come to the bargaining table. I don't remember the specifics, but back then, the grubs were burrowing into the awakened trees and making them go mad. I suppose they found softer homes under the city instead and preferred burrowing into flesh."

Faerieth shudders at the idea of the grubs burrowing into the trees, "How... barbaric..." she thinks for a few moments, "I'd... like to meet her..."

Jules makes a face.
"Well, if you're going in to see her, I'll happily stay a safe distance back. I believe Harken and Jarvo probably told you about Sanharen, but she doesn't have much love for humans. Not that I can blame her too much. I mean, it was pretty underhanded of the administration back then to try and use something so sudden and out of control as a means to try and make her give up more wooded areas in exchange for getting rid of the ...." Jules trails off.
"Wait... now that I think about it, I don't recall exactly seeing a subjugation order for the trees infected by the rot grubs. It's possible the parties dispatched just fell the trees and left them there rather than purging them with fire. That would have let them... just burrow... hmm." Jules thinks and pulls his mouth to one side.
"That was a long time ago, but I'm starting to see why she has problems trusting the word of a human."

"I'm... not human," Faerieth points out.

Krinix looks up from his spellbook to say,

"None of us are human. But we are probably close enough, in her book."

Krinix is also really curious as to what Faerieth may want with such unusual items.

Jules regards Krinix's words thoughtfully.

"I'm not so sure about that. I mean, until Phlan was liberated, I don't think ANYONE from the Moonsea had ever laid eyes on a dragonborn or a gith or a ..." he looks at Faerieth for a moment.
"I'm sorry, what species are you again?" he asks.