No Head Protection

If a character chooses to wear no head protection at all, he suffers no Vision or Hearing check penalties.

However, the character has one hindrance, if you're using the optional hit location rules from the Combat Rules chapter.

If a character is wearing no head protection, an attacker can make a Called Shot against his head and thereby ignore the character's AC benefits from armor. (All bonuses from shields, high Dexterity scores, and magical items still count, however.) Since this is a very difficult shot (a total –8 to attack rolls, remember), this doesn't do the attacker much good, unless the victim is otherwise heavily armored.

Example: Halway the archer has two possible targets, Territor and Bosque, two brutal guards. Territor is wearing leather armor and no headgear; this puts him at AC 8, and with his Dexterity bonus he's AC 6. Bosque is wearing full plate +2, no headgear, and body shield; this puts him at AC –2.

Halway, after all modifiers for range, his Dexterity, and other factors, is THAC0 16. (He's a 6th-level warrior, with a Dexterity of 16, and is firing at Medium Range.)

If he shoots at Territor, AC 6, he needs only a (16–6) 10 or better to hit him. If he shoots at Territor's unprotected head, the shot becomes much harder; he's shooting at AC 8 (AC 10, –2 for Territor's Dexterity), and so would normlly need a (16–8) 8; but with the –8 to attack rolls for a head shot, he's back to a roll of 16 or better. It's easier for him to hit Territor with a normal, non-specific shot.

If he shoots at Bosque, AC –2, he needs to roll an (16–{–2}) 18 or better to hit him. If he shoots at Bosque's unprotected head, the shot becomes somewhat easier; he's shooting at AC 9 (AC 10, modified by Bosque's shield), and so would normally need a (16–9) 7; with the –8 to attack rolls for a head shot, he's up to a roll of 15 or better. This makes it slightly easier to hit Bosque, and may give him the special effects of the head location shot if he succeeds, so that's the shot he attempts.

The lower (better) a target's AC is, the better an option it is to try a head shot, if his head is unprotected and the rest of his body is armored. Characters interested in this option should calculate the math of both shots and compare the results, if they know all the relative ACs and modifiers; if they don't, they should ask the DM, in general terms, if it's even worth their time to try such a shot.

The Cap

The Cap is a padded, leather or even steel skullcap which is about the size of and worn much like a close-fitting cap, beret or hat. It gives the wearer no penalty for Vision Checks, and a –1 penalty with Hearing Checks (as it partially covers the ears). It's often worn in conjunction with padded, leather, hide, studded leather, and other lightweight armors.

The Coif

The Coif is a padded chain mail hood; it fits fairly snugly around the neck and over all the head except the face from chin to forehead. Like the Cap, it gives the wearer no penalty for Vision Checks and only a –1 penalty with Hearing Checks. It's usually worn with chain mail.

Often, a heavily-armored knight will wear a chain mail coif and wear a Great Helm over it. The only benefit this confers is that such a knight can remove his Great Helm, the better to see and hear around him, and still have some head protection. As a disadvantage, it adds a little weight to the knight's equipment, but it does not decrease his Vision and Hearing checks any further than just wearing the Great Helm.

The Open-Face Helmet

The Open-Faced Helmet, made of reinforced leather, or of metal, covers the back, sides and top of the face, leaving most of the face open. It gives the wearer a –1 penalty with Vision Checks, and a –2 penalty with Hearing Checks (it completely covers the ears, usually with small holes or grating over the ears so that the wearer can hear at all).

Examples include the Corinthian helmets of ancient Greece. In a medieval campaign, open-faced helmets are often worn by military officers and soldiers who can afford the protection.

The Closed-Face Helmet

The Closed-Face Helmet is made of metal and is much like the Open-Faced Helmet . . . except that there is armor plate, often in the form of a visor which may be opened, in front of the face. It gives the wearer a –2 penalty with Vision Checks, and a –3 penalty with Hearing Checks.

Examples include the basinet mentioned in the Player's Handbook, the galea and myrrmillo mentioned for the gladiators (above), and many other combat helmets. Many knights and other mounted warriors wear helmets of this type.

If the wearer of a Closed-Face Helmet is also wearing plate mail or field plate armor, he gets a +1 to saving throws vs. dragon breath, and to spells such as burning hands, pyrotechnics, fire ball, flaming sphere, wall of fire, delayed blast fireball, incendiary cloud, and meteor swarm, and other fire-based spells and magical effects (as determined by the DM).

If someone uses a Lasso, Chain, or Bolas in an effort to snare a rider's head, and that rider is wearing a Closed-Face Helmet, the victim gets to roll 1d6. On a 4–6, the attack is handled normally, but on a 1–3, the attack is treated just as a normal lasso or chain dismount; the attacker doesn't do the extra damage that the head-lasso attack normally allows.

The Great Helm

The Great Helm is a massive helm which covers the entire head, from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders, leaving slits open for the eyes and holes open for breathing; it has no removable visor. It gives the wearer a –3 penalty with Vision Checks, and a –4 penalty with Hearing Checks.

The Great Helm provides the following other benefits:

The wearer of a Great Helm gets a +2 saving throw vs. wizard spells such as hypnotism, light cast on his eyes, blindness, hypnotic pattern, suggestion, fire charm, rainbow pattern, and some other mind-controlling spells . . . but not charm person, charm monster, or domination.

If the wearer of a Great Helm is also wearing plate mail or field plate armor, he gets a +2 to saving throws vs. dragon breath, and to spells such as burning hands, pyrotechnics, fire ball, flaming sphere, wall of fire, delayed blast fireball, incendiary cloud, and meteor swarm, and other fire-based spells and magical effects (as determined by the DM). If, instead of plate mail or field plate, he is wearing full plate, the bonus is a +3 to saving throws.

If someone uses a Lasso, Chain, or Bolas in an effort to snare a rider's head, and that rider is wearing a Great Helm, the attack is automatically treated just as a normal attack. With lasso or chain, it's a normal lasso or chain dismount, and the attacker doesn't do the extra damage that the head-lasso attack normally allows. With Bolas, the attack does normal damage, but no strangulation damage.

In the Campaign . . .

If you use these rules in a campaign, you add some color and distinction between the types of armor that your PCs will be wearing. On the other hand, once again, it's an added level of complexity which the game doesn't have to have. Use these rules only if the added complexity doesn't bother you, and if the special functions of the different types of helmets appeal to you.

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