Armor

Armor is used to help protect a player or ship. Here we will discuss Armor for characters too use to protect themselves. The primary attribute of Armor is its AC Bonus. AC stands for Armor Class and is the number an attacker has to beat in an accuracy check in order to roll for damage. However just like weapons Armor has multiple attributes and they can all be customized using Customization points.

Armor Tech Levels

Tech level also has an important roll to play in Armor. It decides how many Customization points can be spent and the maximum AC bonus Armor can provide.

Table: Armor Tech Levels

Tech Levels	Level Limit Max AC Bonus	Max # of Customization/ Bonus Customization Points	Extra Base Cost	Extra Procure Diff
Level 0	+5	1/0	+$0	+1
Level 1	+6	2/0	+$0	+0
Level 2	+7	3/1	+$250	+0
Level 3	+8	4/2	+$100	+1
Level 4	+9	5/3	+$3000	+2

Armor and Attributes

Table: Armor and its Default Attributes By AC Bonus

Armor AC Bonus	Maximum Dex Bonus	Speed Diff	Average Weight (Tech 2)	Average Cost Procure Diff	Feat Requirement
+ 0	+9	Normal	0.25 lbs	$10/+0	No Feat Requirement
+ 1	+8	Normal	10 lbs	$100/+0	No Feat Requirement
+ 2	+7	Normal	15 lbs	$250/+0	Light Armor Proficiency
+ 3	+6	Normal	20 lbs	$500/+0	Light Armor Proficiency
+ 4	+5	- 10ft	25 lbs	$1000/+0	Medium Armor Proficiency
+ 5	+4	- 10ft	30 lbs	$3000/+1	Medium Armor Proficiency
+ 6	+3	- 10ft	35 lbs	$6000/+1	Medium Armor Proficiency
+ 7	+2	Halved	40 lbs	$12000/+1	Heavy Armor Proficiency
+ 8	+1	Halved	45 lbs	$24000/+2	Heavy Armor Proficiency
+ 9	+0	Halved	50 lbs	$50000/+3	Heavy Armor Proficiency

To the left is a table of Armor sorted by AC. In Future Path the player can create there own customized armor just like in weapons. Also just like in the weapons section a list of default Armor to choose from is provide if you do not want to customize.

The table to the left is a list of the Armor by AC bonus with all the default values associated with the AC bonus. Then the following section below is a description of each attribute as well as a few non-default attributes.

This Armor is a focus on personal body armor and not Power Armor or full body mechanic suites. Power Armor is any Armor that provides an AC bonus of +10 or more and will be explained in detail in another section below.

1. Too customize body armor the Player must first pick a Character class. Some classes have restrictions on what armor the character can wear. Also the Player should consider the Feat requirements for what Armor to pick.
2. Secondly the Player should consider what Tech level the Armor can be. The Tech level can increase the price and the procure difficulty. If the Player chooses armor with a higher Tech level then their Character has then the Player Character cannot modify/repair the Armor.
3. Thirdly the Player should consider the cost. The more customization points spent on the default Armor the higher the cost. For every customization on the armor that's an additional 1/2 starting price to the total. For example: +3 AC armor has a starting price of $500. So for each customization it increases the total cost of the armor by an additional $250. The only exception to the rule is for AC 0 Armor. For every customization point its an additional x3 the base price.

To customize the Armor the player can first spend base points provided by the Tech level. Then they can add additional customizations by taking negatives in attributes to earn negative points. Every negative change gives one point. Two negative points can make 1 customization point. Some negative changes yield different things and some things cost more. For a full list of rules you can review the attributes below.

Description of Customizable Attributes

Besides the default values from the table above a Player can customize other attributes of the Armor. Below is a list of all attributes that can be customized:

• AC Bonus:

Player can adjust the AC Bonus of the Armor.
You cannot spend points increasing AC level. Simply pick a higher level Armor. You can however take a negative too this. This instantly yields two negative points instead of one. However this doesn't decrease the cost of the armor.

• Maximum Dex:

Player can adjust the maximum Dex bonus the Character gets while using the Armor.
This cost a customization point. It can increase the max Dex by 1. Spending a point on this cost double. If a negative is taken its a -1 and it yields 1 negative point.

• Speed Diff:

Player can adjust the speed penalty for wearing armor.
This costs a single customization point. It can increase the speed to the next higher amount. The speeds are (Normal/-10ft/Halved). Decreasing the speed yields a negative point. Decreasing it below 'Halved' simply take another -5ft off and make the armor clumsy. You can only change this attribute once.

• Weight:

The Weight and thus clumsiness of the armor.

Weight is tricky. The weight in the table is based on Tech 2 level. The lower the level the higher the weight where as the higher the level the lower the weight. Each increment either way is an increase/decrease of 5ft. (Starting with AC +1 Armor, +0 doesn't count). At Tech 0 level the Armor at +1 weighs in at 20lbs and +9 weighs in at 60lbs. You cannot lower the weight any lower then the lowest being 5ft but you can increase it above 60lbs. If the weight goes above 60lbs the Speed attribute is dropped a level. Weight costs 1 customization point. A negative yields one negative point.

• DR Bonus:

This provides Damage reduction to Armor for different types of attacks.

Damage Reduction is also tricky. Firstly all Armor has DR against melee damage. The DR is the AC Bonus. This only pertains to Melee. However not against any bonus melee damage. For example the ElectroMancer has a Technique called Imbue Weapon that adds an additional 1d6 damage bonus. The damage rolled would go directly to the target and not be part of the DR. All Armor by default has no other DR. There are however other DR types. There is Total DR. This DR accounts for all things and is added ontop of Melee. There is Damage Type DR. The damage types are: Kinetic/Electric/Thermal(Includes Nuclear)/Chemical. So in total there are 3 different types of DR. Total DR/Melee DR/Damage Type DR. The Player cannot decrease Melee DR for negative points. However you can spend 1 customization point to increase it. The Player can also add Total DR. For every 2 points spent the Armor gains 1 point of Total DR. As for Damage Type DR for every 1 customization point spent the Armor Type DR increase it by 1. The Armor can only ever have 3 of the 4 types.

• Special Attributes:

A list of special attributes that can be applied to armor.
There is multi special attributes that can be applied to armor. There are rules governing them each.
Protection again Combat Maneuvers: Cost: 1 customization point. Advantage: Can provide a major +4 advantage to guard against a single type of combat maneuver. This Special Attribute can be taken multi times. However it can only be picked for one type of combat maneuver and the advantages stack according to the Advantages/Disdvantages rules.
Regeneration: Cost: 1 customization point. Pre-req: Requires at lest Tech level 2. Maximum amount of times the Player can choose this item is based on the tech level. Level 2/twice/Level 3/3 times and so on. Advantages: For every 1 customization point spent the Armor gains a +1 to regen the wearers HP once per turn. Makes the item Exotic.
Exotic: Cost: Free this is a requirement of certain customizations. The base cost of the item goes up a level and with it the cost of all the customizations. If the armor is AC +9 then its simply double the cost.

OLD RULES BELOW!

Modern Armor is made to be used against modern firearms. The GM can decide how to use the armor's defense value as an Armor Class bonus or as a Damage Reduction/Slashing.

If the Defense value is used for an Armor Class bonus, then this bonus applies to the character's touch AC against firearm attacks.

Regardless of how the value is used, the armor still retains the fortification bonus.

Armor Table

Armor is described by a number of statistics, as shown on Table: Armor.

Defense: The GM decides to use the value for an Armor Class or Damage Reduction/Slashing

Fortification Bonus: Modern armor also includes the special quality of Fortification.

When a critical hit is scored on the wearer, there is a percent chance that the critical hit is negated and damage is rolled normally.

Maximum Dex Bonus: This number is the maximum Dexterity bonus to AC that this type of armor allows.

Skill Penalty: This penalty applies to checks involving any Dexterity based skill.

Speed: Medium and heavy armor slows a character down.

Weight: This column gives the armor's weight.

Cost: This is the purchase cost to acquire the armor.

Armor	Defense	Fortification Bonus	Maximum Dex Bonus	Skill Penalty	Speed	Weight	Cost
Leather Jacket	1	-	-	0	30	4 lb.	$
Sport Padding	2	-	+6	0	30	15lbs	$
light Undercover Shirt	2	+10%	+7	0	30	2 lb.	$
Pull-up Pouch Vest	2	+10%	+6	-1	30	2 lb.	$
Undercover Vest	3	+10%	+5	-2	30	3 lb.	$
Concealable Vest	4	+15%	+4	-3	20	4 lb.	$
light-Duty Vest	5	+15%	+3	-4	20	8 lb.	$
Tactical Vest	6	+20%	+2	-5	20	10 lb.	$
Special Response Vest	7	+25%	+1	-6	20	15 lb.	$1,000

Armor Types

No Proficiency Required

The following do not require a weapon proficiency to use.

Leather Jacket

This armor is represented by heavy leather jacket.

Light Armor

Sport Padding Armor

A number of other impromptu armors, such as football pads and a baseball catcher's pads, offer similar protection and game statistics.

Light Undercover Shirt

Designed for deep undercover work in which it's critical that the wearer not appear to be armed or armored, this garment consists of a T-shirt with a band of light protective material sewn in around the lower torso.

Pull-Up Pouch Vest

This garment, consisting of a torso apron of light protective material held up by a loop around the neck, can be stored in an innocuous fanny pack. Deploying the apron is a move action.

Undercover Vest

Covering a larger area of the torso, this vest provides better protection than the light undercover shirt—but it's also more easily noticed. It's best used when the armor should remain unseen but the wearer doesn't expect to face much scrutiny, granting a +2 bonus on Perception checks to notice the armor.

Medium Armor

Concealable Vest

Standard issue in many police forces, this vest provides maximum protection in a garment that can be worn all day long under regular clothing. While it may go unnoticed by a quick glance, it grants a +4 bonus on Perception checks to notice the armor.

Light-Duty Vest

A lightweight tactical vest designed for extended use by riot police and forces on alert for potential attack, this armor sacrifices a degree of protection for a modicum of comfort—at least compared to other tactical body armors.

Tactical Vest

The standard body armor for police tactical units, this vest provides full-torso protection in the toughest flexible protective materials available.

Heavy Armor

Forced Entry Unit

The most powerful protection available is built into this suit, which consists of a heavy torso jacket with ceramic plates over the chest and back, neck and groin guards, arm protection and a helmet. Heavy and cumbersome, this armor is generally only donned by tactical officers heading into a dangerous assault.

Special Response Vest

Built like the tactical vest, but incorporating groin and neck protection as well as a ceramic plate over the chest, this armor provides additional protection in battles against heavily armed opponents.