Suggested Arena changes

I've grouped the suggested changes so that you could easily see what you'd like to use. I have several other ideas, like introducing divine metals to the arena to fill the gap between steel and adamantine, but no point in that until some less status-quo-shattering changes are discussed.
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Divine_metal

-- POINT COUNT:

Gremlins: -150 points
Dark gnomes: -100 points
Kobolds: -100 points
Molemarians: -50 points
Minotaurs: +100 points
Trolls: +100 points
Yetis: +100 points

EXPLANATION:
As the latest tournaments show, small guys have gained a major advantage now that charges aren't nearly as frequent, fights are bigger than 1v1, and fighting from the ground isn't nearly as impossible as it once was. The reduction to Molemarian point count stems from other changes I wish to introduce.


-- CREATURES:

Gremlins: Minor reduction to toughness and endurance, major reduction of willpower
Dark gnomes: Minor reduction to toughness, endurance, and willpower
Kobolds: Minor reduction to willpower
Soldier Ants: Medium increase of toughness
Tiger men: Minor increase of endurance, and willpower
(potentially): Werewolves: Medium increase of endurance and willpower
Minotaurs: Minor increase of endurance, major increase of willpower. Size 220
Trolls: Minor increase of endurance and toughness, major increase of willpower. Size 250
Yetis: Medium increase of toughness, major increase of endurance and willpower. Size 300

-- TISSUES

All: Medium reduction of bone breaking pain (15->12)
All: Minor increase of muscle pain (6->7).
All: Minor increase in bleeding for all kinds of damage, if possible
Soldier Ants: +1 chitin thickness (maybe even +2?)

EXPLANATION:
Pain is the great equalizer, as shown in the previous tournaments. These changes should make little guys slightly more susceptible to pain and fatigue, while making big guys less susceptible to fainting because of a stubbed toe. It would also make big guys slightly better in long fights because they'll fatigue a bit slower. Also, soldier ants badly need to be unsquishied. Having limbs explode because a gremlin punched them means they're a bit too fragile, I'd say.
The bone pain reduction is there because bones breaking often have a side effect of injuring muscles and blood vessels, so bones technically still have a massive pain multiplier. I still have no idea how to make severing limbs hurt more. The way DF works now is that having a finger broken hurts a lot more than having it severed.


-- WEAPONS:

Increase the price of all non-ranged weapons by 50%

EXPLANATION: The reason is simple: The way attack rolls work. Weapon skill is rolled (after appropriate modifiers are applied) against, in order: Dodging, Shield (if shield is present), Parry (AKA weapon skill, if weapon is present). This makes weapons an important defensive tool, too. Furthermore, having a second weapon nearly doubles the parry chance, making shields almost useless since they require spending a large number of points on a skill that doesn't actually help the user attack someone. Not to mention still having a weapon in case of arm loss. I don't want to increase weapon skill price because that would still keep the main problem, namely that dual wielding weapons is strictly superior to shield use. (except against ranged weapons, and even then, there's a chance to bat arrows out of the air with a weapon) An indirect result of this change is giving punchy and ranged builds a minor boost. Also, it makes getting an adamantine weapon in round one an extremely risky idea.


-- ARMOR:

Completely remove the big guy armor penalty.
Change the base price of leather armor to 100
Change the leather price modifier to 50%
Remove the STRUCTURAL_ELASTICITY_WOVEN_THREAD tag from gloves.
Replace the SOFT tag with HARD tag for gloves. (Imagine those tough industrial grade heavy gloves instead of glorified mittens)
Reduce low boots cost to 20
Give breastplates UBSTEP:1 (I imagine it as adding an armored neck collar and giant shoulderpads) so that they cover upper arms and neck, and set the price to 120.

EXPLANATION: The increase in armor effectivness isn't quite as drastic as it might seem, and it would encourage big guy players to experiment with starting builds other than "get a weapon and put all your points in its associated skill" Also, leather would go from completely useless to a poor man's protection against blunt weapons, and maybe people will finally have a reason to use leather clothing other than the leather armor.
The reason for the reduction of low boots price is simple: They cover half as much as low boots, they should have half the price
The change of breastplates is there because upper arms exist in this weird state where they can't be given rigid armor, except in the form of leather armor. The change in price would compensate for the increased utility of breatplates.


- SKILLS (and some associated items)

Reduce the price of Archery skill to 5
Reduce the price of shield skill to 15
Reduce the cost of shields and bucklers by 33%
If shield are buffed, reduce ranged weapon skill costs to 30 points per level.
Remove the -25% dodge price thing.
Remove the striking penalty.

EXPLANATION: Archery skill has at best a marginal effect on ranged combat, as that poor dwarf showed in the tournament. Also, shields need a boost. Builds with shields have been shown to be strictly inferior to builds that spend those points on armor or more weapon skill or a second weapon.
The dodge price bonus is too much of a boost for small guys, and the striking penalty completely removes a fun big guy gimmick build from the game.