I actually think the system is elegantly designed.
I find it too long;
Our experience so far against mooks is that it is brutally short. However, against an opponent that takes injuries and wounds, it would indeed be quite long. Long, dramatic, full of twists and turns. That is exactly the balance I usually try to strike in a game. I want those major fights to be dramatic and to really matter, to have the risk of turning abruptly, while unimportant fights move along faster. The mook fights could be even quicker - Burning Wheel, for example, boils down to a single roll called a Bloody Versus test. I've never found that satisfying.
So, at least in theory, I think I like it. I need to see it play out a few times.
too unfair for 'average' fighters vs. skilled opponents;
I see that as a feature, not a bug - this is a world of knights and Lords. Might is Right; governance is drawn from an ability to use unequaled force. Knights with skill and armor are only threatened by other knights with skill and armor. If an "average" commoner could be a threat to a knight, the entire system would be shakey.
That said, the system allows two balancing factors already:
Fear the Masses. The Goldcloaks control Kings Landing. The King is safe with just his Kingsguard. But Joffrey took it for granted... when an entire mob rioted, they tore the knights apart. The
Assist action allows a group to combine +1 and +2 values to overcome
any individual. Even just eight thugs with 2D Fighting in fleabottom would roll 2D+1B+7 and they could score double or triple damage easily. Should the six spearmen have worked in concert, they could have teamed up on either of us knights and caused one Wound instead of six misses. (Thanks for that, BTW... I appreciate it going a little easier as we learn. The 12-on-3 odds scared me!)
The Destiny-filled Individual. When you want the special individual to strike the lucky blow critical to the story, that is what Destiny Points are for. You can get bonus dice from several sources (as easy as aiming) and then spend a temporary Destiny Point for the chapter to convert it to a regular die. Or a permanent one for +5, automatic success, or to convert ALL bonus dice to regular dice. Keyth can exist as a non-combatant Maester, who is young with lots of Destiny points. He might suck at general combat but might also score the critical blows in any major battle. This is already built into the system - it doesn't require a house rule, just an adjustment by the GM regarding how many Destiny Points he wants the players to have or not have to make things more or less epic.
and this is the big one.....I HATE when people have good rolls that are hard to come by completely negated (I'm thinking scoring a hit and having all of the damage absorbed by armor)
You said you like a d20 model where armor adjusts the attack roll. Lets just think of this that way.
If you don't do enough damage to overcome armor, it just means you need another degree of success. So, instead of thinking "my attacks are all negated" just think "my successful attack roll is just five higher."
Mail armor has AR 5. That negates a lot of weapon's damage. So, instead of a Combat Defense of 6, you can think of it as needing 11. But wait! The same armor gave him a -3 penalty to his Combat Defense. You need +5 to double damage and overpower the armor, but 3 of those points are given free. Every armor penalizes the Combat Defense by half or more of the Armor Value. Once I realized that, it didn't seem as overpowering as I originally thought. Sure, that Knight in full-plate gets 10 subtracted off of each attack. But he is slow and SO easy to hit... his penalty is -6, giving the first full degree of success for free, and then a portion of the next one. I could do normal damage against him unarmored, or I'm on my way to triple damage against him covered in steel.
Again, I think the system has some interesting levels of balance built-in. Or, to turn your argument around... would you have had those good rolls to hit if the armor hadn't given a bonus to mae an easier to-hit roll? It is easier to hit, harder to damage, but slightly easier to do the double or triple damage required.
Just my thoughts.
