by Bear with me please, because there's going to be a lot here. First things first, I'd like to direct everyone to the post I made along this vein on the other Gladius site, found here. That post got a lot of views, and no responses. I know this seems like needless complication, but Crafting adds an avenue of power (and if done correctly, roleplay) not available to characters who lack it. And I personally feel that current rules on how it should be handled are too vague. Some additional rules I'd like to add are:
1. Proper damage type sorting (Cutting, Bludgeoning, Piercing, Elemental, Sensory, Psychic). All of these are hinted at in various other rules, but never really clarified. So let's clarify them. The following list will be with the assumption that there isn't an extenuating factor (typically a jutsu, such as Chakra Flow) that alters them. If there isn't a type on this list, it can probably be factored into one that is (such as Crushing being Bludgeoning, but slowly).
-Swords, Knives, and Halberds can do both Piercing and Cutting damage unless otherwise specified.
-Whips, Staves, Clubs, Hammers, and all variations thereof can do Bludgeoning damage. Bokken-nata and Shinai, despite being Kenjutsu weapons, also do Bludgeoning damage.
-Projectiles can do Piercing damage unless otherwise specified.
-Axes can do Cutting damage. If you have an axe that can't cut, you have a hammer.
-Explosions can do any combination of damage types as long as the types and reasoning are specified in their design.
-Genjutsu-assisting objects generally do Psychic/Sensory damage.
-Special weapons crafted by PCs can do multiple types of damage, but which types must be specified and the designs should indicate their abilities. As a general rule, you should be able to predict what kind of damage a weapon inflicts by looking at it.
-Artifact weapons have or should have their damage types in their descriptions.
-If you don't know what kind of damage your character's weapon does, please ask.
2. Now on to the other major animal here, Armor (since mercifully, Engineering is no longer a thing):
Armor is crafted in pieces. Basically, any body part or pair of body parts can have its own assigned piece(s) of armor. I'm not going to go into detail on that, but as a general rule larger pieces of armor should require more materials. The other feature armor has that weapons do not is that the former can be made in layers. To that end, I think that any layer of armor that isn't crafted independently of another one should be considered destroyed with it and offer no additional protection from incoming attacks. More importantly:
-If your Con is significantly lower than your armor's durability, I feel that should be a factor. Likewise, perhaps it should have a cumulative weight and require a given level of Str to manage moving around in. I know this seems like a huge hassle, but there's a reason like 90% of ninja don't wear much more than say a vest and some wraps.
-Bludgeoning damage should have a superior effect on armor than Piercing or Cutting. In the case of "soft" armor such as cloth, uncured leather, or mail, this would translate to the wearer taking full or slightly reduced damage and the armor being largely unharmed. In the case of "hard" armor such as splint or plate, this would translate to the armor successfully protecting the wearer once per item hit, after which point it would either be bent out of shape and inflict a movement penalty or shattered and entirely useless. Certain materials like hard leather would be largely impervious to blunt damage unless it came from a significantly superior force.
-Cutting damage is extremely effective against un- or bio-armored targets. Cloth is about as good at stopping a blade as skin. Maybe less so if you're tough (have a high Con). Likewise, wood and leather are not especially good at stopping blades. Conversely, it is largely ineffectual against mineral and metal armors.
-Piercing damage is generally ineffective against armor of any kind, although it can ignore it entirely if the person directing it at you can find its gaps and aims for them. Maybe there should be a mechanic for that, like a Perception Analysis or something.
-Sensory and Psychic damage ignore Armor entirely. Because obviously. Except in instances where said Armor is closing off a given sense which is its own set of issues.
-Elemental damage is kind of a rock-paper-scissors thing when it comes to Armor. For the most part, a jutsu's description will probably give an idea for what type of physical damage it inflicts, however the Element itself will also have to be factored in sometimes:
Thermal damage is strong vs metal and mineral armor and weak vs cloth and leather armor. Wood doesn't affect it either way unless it catches fire.
Shock damage is strong vs metal armor and ignores cloth, but weak vs leather and wood armor.
Particle damage ignores armor or is at best slowed by it.
Fluids are generally ineffectual against armored targets up until they totally engulf them, in which case the situation is reversed.
-Materials generated by jutsu are expected to have Quality and Durability equivalent to their Rank unless otherwise specified.
3. Enhancements!
-Weapons should only enhance Strength and/or Coordination, and only when wielded and intact.
-Armor should only enhance Constitution and/or (maybe) Speed, and only when both items in a pair are worn if applicable.
-Either granting stat trades is up for debate, but given the boost limits and the availability of UAs, not recommended.
-If anybody presents good arguments in favor of other stats, they're welcome. But as a general rule, equipment should only benefit one of the five physical stats (Strength, Constitution, Speed, Coordination, or Perception).
1. Proper damage type sorting (Cutting, Bludgeoning, Piercing, Elemental, Sensory, Psychic). All of these are hinted at in various other rules, but never really clarified. So let's clarify them. The following list will be with the assumption that there isn't an extenuating factor (typically a jutsu, such as Chakra Flow) that alters them. If there isn't a type on this list, it can probably be factored into one that is (such as Crushing being Bludgeoning, but slowly).
-Swords, Knives, and Halberds can do both Piercing and Cutting damage unless otherwise specified.
-Whips, Staves, Clubs, Hammers, and all variations thereof can do Bludgeoning damage. Bokken-nata and Shinai, despite being Kenjutsu weapons, also do Bludgeoning damage.
-Projectiles can do Piercing damage unless otherwise specified.
-Axes can do Cutting damage. If you have an axe that can't cut, you have a hammer.
-Explosions can do any combination of damage types as long as the types and reasoning are specified in their design.
-Genjutsu-assisting objects generally do Psychic/Sensory damage.
-Special weapons crafted by PCs can do multiple types of damage, but which types must be specified and the designs should indicate their abilities. As a general rule, you should be able to predict what kind of damage a weapon inflicts by looking at it.
-Artifact weapons have or should have their damage types in their descriptions.
-If you don't know what kind of damage your character's weapon does, please ask.
2. Now on to the other major animal here, Armor (since mercifully, Engineering is no longer a thing):
Armor is crafted in pieces. Basically, any body part or pair of body parts can have its own assigned piece(s) of armor. I'm not going to go into detail on that, but as a general rule larger pieces of armor should require more materials. The other feature armor has that weapons do not is that the former can be made in layers. To that end, I think that any layer of armor that isn't crafted independently of another one should be considered destroyed with it and offer no additional protection from incoming attacks. More importantly:
-If your Con is significantly lower than your armor's durability, I feel that should be a factor. Likewise, perhaps it should have a cumulative weight and require a given level of Str to manage moving around in. I know this seems like a huge hassle, but there's a reason like 90% of ninja don't wear much more than say a vest and some wraps.
-Bludgeoning damage should have a superior effect on armor than Piercing or Cutting. In the case of "soft" armor such as cloth, uncured leather, or mail, this would translate to the wearer taking full or slightly reduced damage and the armor being largely unharmed. In the case of "hard" armor such as splint or plate, this would translate to the armor successfully protecting the wearer once per item hit, after which point it would either be bent out of shape and inflict a movement penalty or shattered and entirely useless. Certain materials like hard leather would be largely impervious to blunt damage unless it came from a significantly superior force.
-Cutting damage is extremely effective against un- or bio-armored targets. Cloth is about as good at stopping a blade as skin. Maybe less so if you're tough (have a high Con). Likewise, wood and leather are not especially good at stopping blades. Conversely, it is largely ineffectual against mineral and metal armors.
-Piercing damage is generally ineffective against armor of any kind, although it can ignore it entirely if the person directing it at you can find its gaps and aims for them. Maybe there should be a mechanic for that, like a Perception Analysis or something.
-Sensory and Psychic damage ignore Armor entirely. Because obviously. Except in instances where said Armor is closing off a given sense which is its own set of issues.
-Elemental damage is kind of a rock-paper-scissors thing when it comes to Armor. For the most part, a jutsu's description will probably give an idea for what type of physical damage it inflicts, however the Element itself will also have to be factored in sometimes:
Thermal damage is strong vs metal and mineral armor and weak vs cloth and leather armor. Wood doesn't affect it either way unless it catches fire.
Shock damage is strong vs metal armor and ignores cloth, but weak vs leather and wood armor.
Particle damage ignores armor or is at best slowed by it.
Fluids are generally ineffectual against armored targets up until they totally engulf them, in which case the situation is reversed.
-Materials generated by jutsu are expected to have Quality and Durability equivalent to their Rank unless otherwise specified.
3. Enhancements!
-Weapons should only enhance Strength and/or Coordination, and only when wielded and intact.
-Armor should only enhance Constitution and/or (maybe) Speed, and only when both items in a pair are worn if applicable.
-Either granting stat trades is up for debate, but given the boost limits and the availability of UAs, not recommended.
-If anybody presents good arguments in favor of other stats, they're welcome. But as a general rule, equipment should only benefit one of the five physical stats (Strength, Constitution, Speed, Coordination, or Perception).
