The Fundamental Flaw in Traditional Armor Design#

Most game designers fall into a dangerous trap when creating armor systems. They look at weapons—with their active abilities, special attacks, and tactical options—and try to apply the same design philosophy to defensive gear. This approach fundamentally misunderstands what armor represents in both gameplay and narrative terms.

Weapons are active tools. Players consciously choose when to swing a sword, pull a trigger, or cast a spell. These are deliberate, moment-to-moment decisions that define combat encounters. Armor, by contrast, is inherently passive. Just like the clothes on your back, you don’t actively think about your armor until something happens to it—when an enemy’s blade strikes, when acid splashes across your chest, or when you’re trying to sneak past guards in full plate mail.

Throughout the day, how often do you think about the shirt that you’re wearing? Probably very rarely. It is passive.

Adding active abilities to armor—special defensive maneuvers, triggered resistances, or activated shields—creates cognitive overload. Players already manage their weapons, abilities, and positioning. Forcing them to remember armor-specific active abilities leads to forgotten mechanics and clunky gameplay. It’s the equivalent of having a flower on your shirt that sprays water: amusing perhaps, but ultimately unnatural and forgettable.

Redefining Interesting Through Passive Design#

If we can’t make armor interesting through active abilities, where does that leave us? The answer lies in understanding what makes clothing choices meaningful in real life. When you select an outfit, you’re making trade-offs based on multiple factors: comfort versus style, warmth versus mobility, professional appearance versus casual comfort.

Consider how weather influences your clothing choices. You might grab a heavy sweater for a cold morning, while your friend opts for a lighter shirt, knowing the afternoon will warm up. Neither choice is objectively superior—they reflect different priorities and risk tolerances. This same principle should guide armor design in games.

The Two-Number Solution#

Traditional armor systems often rely on a single defensive value: Armor Class, damage reduction, or soak value. This creates a linear progression where higher numbers are always better, leading to predictable optimization paths and eliminating meaningful choice.

The solution involves introducing multiple defensive statistics that create genuine trade-offs. In the game Ethereal, armor features two key values: Fortification and Soak. Fortification determines how many hits your armor can absorb before losing effectiveness, while Soak indicates how much damage gets reduced per hit.

This creates meaningful decisions:

• High Fortification, Low Soak: Consistent minor damage reduction across many attacks
• Low Fortification, High Soak: Excellent protection against devastating blows, but limited durability
• Balanced options: Middle-ground choices for versatile protection

Since each character class starts with different base Fortification values, players must decide whether to amplify their strengths or shore up weaknesses—a far more interesting choice than simply selecting the highest number available.

Beyond Combat: Armor as Identity#

Implementation Without Complexity#

The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity. Once players select their armor during character creation or equipment upgrades, all benefits apply passively. There’s no need to track activated abilities or remember conditional bonuses. The armor becomes part of the character’s identity, influencing their capabilities without demanding constant attention.

Players only actively consider their armor choice when:

• Creating or leveling their character
• Finding new equipment
• Preparing for specific challenges

This mirrors real-world clothing decisions—you think carefully when shopping or dressing for special occasions, but otherwise, your clothes simply do their job.

Balancing Through Meaningful Trade-offs#

From a design perspective, multiple armor attributes provide excellent balancing tools. If heavy armor dominates despite movement penalties, add social benefits to lighter options. If everyone gravitates toward balanced builds, introduce specialized scenarios that reward extreme choices.

The goal isn’t perfect mathematical balance but meaningful differentiation. Each armor type should enable different playstyles and character concepts:

• The heavily armored guardian who can barely run but stands unshakeable against torrents of attacks
• The socially adept investigator whose fine clothing opens doors that strength never could
• The blessed warrior whose faith-enhanced armor protects body and soul alike

Key Takeaways#

• Armor should be passive, not active: Adding triggered abilities to armor creates unnecessary complexity and goes against its fundamental nature
• Multiple defensive statistics create meaningful choices: Simple “higher is better” systems eliminate player agency
• Non-combat benefits define character identity: Armor should influence social encounters, exploration, and narrative scenes
• Simplicity enhances enjoyment: Passive benefits that don’t require constant tracking lead to smoother gameplay
• Trade-offs trump optimization: No single “best” choice should exist—different situations should favor different armor types

The Path Forward#

The next time you design an armor system, resist the urge to copy weapon design principles. Instead, think about that morning ritual of choosing clothes. What factors influence those decisions? How can those translate into meaningful gameplay choices that enhance both mechanical depth and narrative expression?

Remember that armor tells a story about who characters are, not just how much damage they can absorb. A character’s choice between the blessed robes that guard against madness and the military gear that stops blades speaks volumes about their priorities, fears, and self-image. That’s where truly interesting armor design begins.

By treating armor as the passive, identity-defining element it should be—rather than trying to force it into an active role it was never meant to play—we can create systems that enhance both tactical depth and roleplaying opportunities. The result is armor that players remember not for its special abilities, but for how it shaped their character’s journey through the world.

Related Topics#

• TTRPG weapon design philosophy
• Character progression systems
• Social mechanics in tabletop games
• Equipment slots and encumbrance
• Damage reduction versus armor class
• Character identity through equipment
• Non-combat gameplay systems
• Balancing player choices
• Madness and sanity mechanics
• Investigation-focused RPG design