House Rules for my Lamentations Game

   Blocking with a Shield or a Weapon

     I don't like the idea of static AC for shields, so I borrowed a rule from a thread I saw a while back. I don't remember the role-playing game it's from (maybe you guys can help me with that), but the general synopsis is: on a 1 in 6 you successfully block with your shield. I thought it was super fucking cool, so I decided to roll with it.

     My rules are only while using a shield, you have a 2 in 6 chance to block a melee attack and 3 in 6 chance to block a ranged attack. I did away with the AC boosts a shield gives, obviously. This ability is directly linked to either Dexterity or Strength by only being able to do this 'reaction' a number of times per round equal to 1+ the highest of the two modifier, minimum 1. If you're using a large shield you need a 13 str but can only do it a number of times equal to your strength modifier. No minimum for this one.

     If you're using a weapon, you have a 1 in 6 chance of blocking a melee attack the same amount of times per round as a shield, and it's based on dex or str with a minimum of 1. I consider this a last ditch effort to minimize damage. This move sacrifices your weapon in the place of you. Depending on the weapons quality is depending on how well it will stand up to abuse like this. Each time an adventurer uses his weapon to block, even on a fail, roll for breakage chance. Certain weapons need to be checked after every swing. 

Weapon Qualities  

     When a party comes upon a weapons cache, typically all the weapons are in good working condition and are all essentially the same quality. I don't like that. It's incredibly unrealistic and boring. In my world, when a party comes upon a weapon cache, there's going to be a large variety of conditions the weapons will be in. Obviously, you can change these numbers as you see fit, but this is what I feel represents the weapons in the world.

d100	Quality/Weapon Breakage Chance
1-30	Nearly Broken; Old and Rusty. Check for breakage after each swing, even on a miss. 4 in 6 for attacking, 5 in 6 if blocked with.
31-55	Chipped and cracked; 4 in 6 for breakage
56-70	Has Some fair use; 3 in 6 for breakage
71-85	Fresh off the forge; 2 in 6 for breakage
86-97	Refined Steel, worked very well; 1 in 6 for breakage
98-99	Masterwork; someone’s life achievement. 1 in 10 to see if it cracks on a successful block. 1 in 10 breakage test after any additional blocking.
100	Legendary; unbreakable.