The Stellar Armory ยท Chapter 11
How Armour Works
Armour has four numbers and a line of qualities.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Resistance | Added to the wearer's Resistance, which is half Might, rounded up. No armour in this book adds more than +3 |
| Melee Defense | Attacks against the wearer at Engaged range add this many Bane Dice |
| Ranged Defense | Ranged attacks against the wearer add this many Bane Dice |
| Encumbrance | What the armour counts for while worn |
Deflecting and Vulnerable
Two qualities decide how armour meets a damage type. There is no table to consult: read the armour's own line.
Deflecting X (type). Attacks of that type add X Bane Dice. The armour is built for that attack.
Vulnerable X (type). Against attacks of that type, reduce this armour's Resistance bonus by X, to a minimum of 0. The armour has a gap that attack finds.
A type the armour does not name is neutral: the armour gives its full Resistance and no Bane Dice.
Five Rules
1. Armour is never worse than no armour. Vulnerable reduces only the armour's own bonus. The wearer's Resistance from Might is never touched.
2. Deflecting does not stack above 2. A character behind a Deflection Screen and inside a Reflec Coat adds 2 Bane Dice to a beam attack, not 4. Melee Defense and Ranged Defense are separate and add on top.
3. One body armour at a time. A belt unit and a shield are used with it.
4. Natural attacks do not trigger Vulnerable. Claws, bites, and slams apply their type for Deflecting, and never reduce armour through Vulnerable, unless the creature's entry says its attack does.
5. An untyped attack is Crushing if hand-to-hand and Ballistic if fired.
Worked Example
A marine in Combat Armour (Resistance +2; Deflecting 1 Ballistic, Deflecting 1 Beam; Vulnerable 1 Disruption) has Might 3, so her Resistance is 2 from Might plus 2 from the armour: 4.
- A pirate fires a Slug Carbine (Ballistic) at her. The attack adds 1 Bane Die for Deflecting and 1 more for the armour's Ranged Defense. A hit meets Resistance 4.
- A second pirate fires a Plasma Carbine (Plasma). The armour names neither Deflecting nor Vulnerable for Plasma. The attack adds only the Ranged Defense die, and a hit meets Resistance 4.
- A third fires an Ion Rifle (Disruption). Vulnerable 1 reduces the armour's bonus to +1. A hit meets Resistance 3.
Had she worn a Powered Assault Suit, the Ion Rifle would have met Vulnerable 2, leaving +1 of the suit's +3, and 2 Boons would have shut the suit down for six rounds.
Wearing Armour
Donning. Light armour (+0 or +1) takes a minute. Medium (+2) takes five. Heavy (+3) takes ten.
Sealed armour carries its own air for the listed time. A Critical Injury to the wearer breaches the suit; patching it is an action with a suit kit.
Powered armour runs for a day of ordinary use on a charge. Shut down by Ion, or out of power, it is dead weight until restarted.
Cumbersome on armour adds its shortfall as Bane Dice to every physical check, and its full rating as Bane Dice to Stealth and to swimming regardless of the wearer's Might.