New Armor Rules These armor rules are radically different from the ones in the rulebook: these rules will take precendence if there is a conflict between the two. This is not some radical concept I came up with myself: these rules follow those given in the various weapons supplements published for Palladium (Weapons and Armor is the most complete: all the others use the same set of numbers and rules). Every set of armor has associated with it several numbers: AR, AR Impale, AR Impact, Dex, Weight and SDC. The various Armor Rating (AR) factors are used to determine whether or not a successful attack penetrates the armor and does damage to the character inside. Dex is used to take into account the affect armor has on a character's ability to perform certain skills (like sewing a shirt with gauntlets on!). Weight is self-explanatory, I hope!. SDC is the Structural Damage Capacity of the armor: how much abuse can it take before the armor gives out. The use of each one is explained below. Firstly, there are many different types of armor (not just the few listed in the rulebook). However, remember that some types may not be available in all places (plate armor is just not available to cultures who don't work metal, eh?). Armor is usually tailored to fit the character (taking on average an extra day to complete), but if the armor is needed right away (or for a set that is found), the character can survive without this. However, ill-fitting armor can be very uncomfortable and if the situation is not rectified within a short period of time, sores and aching muscles (and such) will become acute (i.e. start to affect the amount of time the armor can be worn, etc.). Also, ARMOR DOES NOT COME WITH ANY PADDING OR UNDERGARMENTS OF ANY SORT. If you want padding, it comes separately. There is a reason for this: armor is now "stackable": suits can be worn over top of one another. The stackable part is simple: armor is broken up into three different categories: light, medium and heavy. Only armor of a lower category can be worn beneath a particular suit. Light armor (cloth, unstudded leather, etc.) can be worn under both medium and heavy armor. Medium armor (studded leather, chain mail, etc.) can be worn only under heavy armor. This means a maximum of three suits of armor can be worn (light under medium under heavy). When "stacking" armor, take the highest AR in any given situation (remember that in some cases the lighter armor may have a higher Impact or Impale AR). DEX and Weight should be added together (yes, a suit of leather under a suit of plate is more encumbering than a simple suit of plate). SDC does not add: simply subtract all SDC damage from the outer suit until it is removed, then apply the damage to the inner suit. Different pieces of different suits may also be worn together (say, a plate mail breastplate worn with chain mail arms and legs). In this case, the statistics of the armor will be computed (get out your calculators!) using the following formulas: Head armor = 10% Body/Torso armor = 40% Arm armor = 20% Leg armor = 30% These numbers are based on the amount of the body that each piece would cover: this is similar to the way that AR was created in the first place (as per the rulebook). Each statistic is computed using these percentages. Round AR and SDC to the nearest single digit, but leave all fractions in for Weight and DEX. for example, a character wearing a plate breastplate, backplate and helm with chain limbs would calculate AR by adding: Head = plate = 10% * 17 = 1.7 Body = plate = 40% * 17 = 6.8 Arm = chain = 20% * 13 = 2.6 Leg = chain = 30% * 13 = 3.9 Total = 15 Actual AR = 15 Repeat for Weight, DEX and SDC (in this case these stats would be 49.5 libs, 1.5, and 102 respectively). Any SDC damage will be distributed among all the pieces for practical purposes using these percentages (if it becomes important in the future, we can roll hit locations for those situations: most likely if a character has a special piece of armor he/she wants to preserve). As a reminder: characters with restrictions on what armor they can wear must also apply that to stacked and/or combined suits of armor. Armor Damage When a strike roll is lower than the AR of the defender, a successful attack will hit armor rather than the character inside. This damage is applied directly against the SDC of the armor: think of SDC as the hit points of the armor. Since armor doesn't heal, the damage must be repaired. There are three ways of repairing armor: using the general repair skill, taking the armor to a smith/leatherworker to repair or using magical means. The general repair skill is covered in the Skills section: refer to those rules for a complete explanation. The only caveat is that the character needs to have an 'armor repair kit': basically just the tools needed to fix the armor. These tools are usually very easy to purchase and are normally not very expensive. A smith or leatherworker can repair suits of armor (according to their trade, of course). Expect that the cost will range from 5-10 gold per SDC point to repair (more complicated suits such as studded leather or plate will cost the most, while the lighter suits will cost less). The time it takes to restore this SDC will be on the order of 1-2 days per 5 SDC for the leatherworker, and 3-7 days per 10 SDC for a smith (again, the heavier suits will cost more time). Jobs can be completed faster, but expect to pay much more in this case. A few magic spells and items can restore SDC to armor: these typically work instantly. Alchemists can also repair armor for the cost of casting the spell: a more expensive but much faster process than taking the armor to an armorer. A few priests may be able to cast these spells as well, but those who are not active members of their cults will probably not receive immediate treatment. Please note: the only way to fix magic armor is through the use of spells unless the magic is designed otherwise (this is rare!). Effects of Damage When a suit of armor is damaged to the point that it has only 1/2 of its SDC points remaining, the AR is reduced by 2 points. At this time the weight can be reduced to 1/2 of normal. If a suit of armor is damaged to the point that it has only 1/3 of its original SDC, the AR is further lowered 2 points (making a total of 4 from the original AR). Reduce the weight to 1/3 of normal as well. This applies to all suits of armor, including those cobbled together from bits: in our example of plate and chain from above, once the SDC reaches 61 points, the AR will be 13 instead of 15. Should the armor then take more damage down to 34 SDC, the AR would be 11. Impale AR The impale AR should be used when any impaling weapon, such as a spear or arrow, is being used. The attacker should announce the use of an impaling weapon prior to rolling the dice. Weapons are classified as impale or other: unless stated with the weapon description they cannot convert back and forth Impact Factor Impact damage is treated differently than other damage, since it succeeds in bruising and battering the character rather than attempting to eviscerate them. Again, as above, weapons that can impact are listed, and those that are not listed as impact weapons cannot do impact damage unless the wielder has the specific WP for doing so (WP Flat of Sword, for example). The use of an impacting weapon should be announced prior to rolling the dice. Also, any falls or falling objects will do impact damage as well. The impact factor should first be applied to the normal AR of the armor to produce an Impact AR. This is the AR that the impact attack must beat to do damage to the character and represents the ability of the armor to cushion an impacting blow. As a way of example, imagine wearing a knit wool cap and hitting yourself in the head. Now imagine the same situation, except that you are wearing an aluminum pan on your head. Which seems like the most comfortable? Second, the impact factor will be applied to the damage done on a successful attack. Roll damage as normal, then multiply by the impact factor (always round up). If the attack is successful, then that amount damages the character (subtract from current HP). The remainder is applied to the armor's SDC. If the attack does not beat AR, then this amount is applied against SDC. The remainder travels through the armor and affects the character as stun damage (see the section on Stun). The successful attack was able to damage the character, but had to damage the armor enough to do this damage. The attack that hit armor was not strong enough to damage the character, but the blow was sufficient enough to be felt by the character inside.