The Armourer · Chapter 1

Introduction

The three armories before this one print a damage type on every weapon. A sword is Cutting and Thrusting. A mace is Crushing. A bullet is Ballistic. Each of those books then tells the reader to ignore the field until the armour rules arrive.

Armour is a decision about which blow you would rather take.

This book is those rules. It uses two qualities and no table.

What You Should Expect

Armour with a strength and a gap. Deflecting names a damage type the armour turns aside. Vulnerable names one that gets through. Most armours carry one of each.

A ceiling. No armour here adds more than +3 to Resistance, and every armour that reaches +3 needs Might 3 or more.

Weapons that finally differ by what they are. An axe and a mace with the same damage are no longer the same choice against a man in mail.

Helms and shields as separate purchases. A helm reduces Critical Injuries. A shield adds Defense. Both are used with body armour.

Two periods. Chapters 4 and 5 cover armour made by a smith. Chapters 6 and 7 cover armour made in a factory, from 1939 to today.

Using This Book in Your Universe

With the armories. Every weapon in The Fantasy Armory, The Ranged Armory, and The Modern Armory already has its type. Nothing in those books needs changing.

Without them. Chapter 8 gives a default type for any weapon or creature attack that does not print one.

Encumbrance must be enforced. The system produces decisions because a second weapon is heavy. At a table that ignores Encumbrance, everyone carries a sword and a mace, and the type rules add bookkeeping and nothing else. Do not use them there.

Prices are in the same units as the armories. Chapter 3 has the era multipliers for modern armour.

What You Need

The Exodus NDS core rules.