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Old 07-30-2009, 09:03 PM
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Shotgun Shotgun is offline
... Fistful of Polyhedral Dice
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Where I keep my Rulebooks and Dice.
Posts: 8
Default FUnctional Body Armour Theory

I'm going to lay down some licks, and -then- I'm going to spawn a thread.

The Thread, when it happens will be the acronym of this post, so follow along and jump on...

The 'look' of uniform/armour, has been well discussed here, I'm not going to go there, as sartorial perfection, projection of 'image' and all the rest is not my concern. {Here or in FUBAT thread}

I'm ok with 'Resistweave' in my Game. Given the nature of lethality in TMP, I'm perfectly -fine- with a everyday garment that everyone wears that is tougher than a 'concealable' standard BPV, -also- sheds blades and claws better than 10th C. chain-mail, and can be washed in a stream.
Compared to -safe as houses- 'cold' fusion generators that can run a small hamlet for 50 years and can be carried by one person, or shoulder fired laser bazookas, magical bullet proof jammies are a cake-walk.
The idea of layers of armour, not being allowed to, etc is an artefact of system, to prevent munchkins from getting over on sloppy GM/MD/ST's {whatever you call the dude with the screen and the dice and the ability to say "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies"} and be able to wade into combat with the aplomb of someone who knows they are already cast in the sequel.
Layered armour is -how- armour WORKS.
NO ONE ever, any where ever wear 'JUST a Chain-mail Vest'.
The friggin' Scythians wore loose silk shirts UNDER their Armour and Clothes to -help pull out- NOT stop, arrows they KNEW would get through.
Human bodies ALL work the same way, more or less, weapons are weapons and do damage in predictable ways, and there is a practical limit to the size and bulk of what you -can- wear, period. Don't believe me, ok fine. Then please don't join the other thread. That said, I intend to discuss a couple of systems I have come up with in various games over 30 years of tabletop RPGing that max out what you can deal with and still be an effective combatant, based on personal experience with wearing armor in the Real World in -hot- weather and cold, while trying to beat the tar out of other guys, handling real guns and loads in the field, in and out of the military, and keeping abreast of the 'technical clothing' developments in the outdoor sales fields of retail, because I feed my family by being able to -sell stuff- and if I can't tell a semi-attentive customer why they should spend that -extra- $250 bucks on this jacket instead of a cheap-ass rain jacket, I don't get to buy one for -myself- to use when pay-day comes around.
That said, bona-fides and intent stated, new thread commences tonight.
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