I ran a session of Down We Go today for my kids and they loved it! They want to play it again! Down We Go is remarkable. It's the most compact and self-contained ruleset that still feels like the dragon game that I have yet seen. I do have a couple questions about how armor and shields function. Are there any limits on who can use them? For instance, can Mystical and Sneaky characters run around in heavy armor and use sheilds, or do they have limits on what armor they can use? Do characters wearing armor always get the benefit of armor everytime they get hit, or is armor only usable once before it has to be replaced or repaired, or is armor only usable LVL times per day like abilities? Thanks!
Hey! Great to hear and thank you!
Anyone can use any kind of armor, but the Ref is invited to create reasons why it may not make sense to, or restrict it.
Shields and helmets typically just break or bend if hit, but they block all damage from that attack.
Armor has three kinds mechanically
Light
Medium
Heavy
You can use these to reroll a defence roll 1, 2, or 3 times, respectively. If you succeed at the reroll, your armor take the damage instead of you. This has to be repaired or recharged back in town.
For me personally I let magic users or sneaky wear heavy armor, but I come up with reasons they shouldn't or flavor them to be magical and more expensive to recharge.
Hope that helps.