"Barrier Values" of Common Items

[swaghauler]

A quick question for all the GM's out there. How do you resolve the protection value of say a sofa or desk used as cover during a fight? I posed this question during the improvised armor thread and Stainless Steel Cynic wanted a more general posting of this. Below is the system I use. Please feel free to post your house rules as well, so everyone can compare them easily (including the assignment of Armor Values to items).

I use a "Barrier Rating/Value" that spans a range from 1 to 10 and is denoted in module text by placing it in brackets like this [#]. This rating is the number of POINTS (not DICE like Armor Value) of damage the item will absorb before letting the remaining damage pass through to the target. Penetration Ratings do apply to this but that increased damage protection does have a price (for the object). The damage that's absorbed doesn't simply disappear. All of the damage the object absorbs has an effect on that object. I simply increase the wear value by one for every instance that the object absorbs damage equal to or greater than it's Barrier Rating. I also reduce the object's Barrier Rating by 1 per instance of damage penetration to represent the "erosion" of the object by the damage. I use this system for some items that are considered "armor" in the original rules. An example of this would be car doors. Most automotive bodies are easily penetrated even by handgun rounds; Therefore I apply this system to them. Below is a sample list of the Barrier Values of common items:

BV [1]: Plate Glass, Heavy Cloth barriers (drapes, padding)
BV [2]: Light Safety Coated Glass (car side windows, display windows/glass doors), Fiberglass (boats, Jeep doors), Light Furniture (rattan), 2 ply Plywood. Thin Metal (lawn shed type)
BV [3]: Interior Doors (hollow cored), Cheap Sofa/Arm Chair (pine), DOT Approved Windshield.
BV [4]: 4 ply Plywood, Interior Door (solid, soft wood), Heavily Padded Sofa/Arm Chair.
BV [5]: Exterior Door (Solid, wood & vinyl composite build), Compact/Light Car body (Toyota, Honda).
BV [6]: Hardwood Door, Hardwood Desk, Hardwood Sofa/Arm Chair. Compact Car Body/Light Car Door with electric fixtures)
BV [7]: Padded Hardwood Sofa/Arm Chair, Refrigerator, Hardwood/Steel Coated (18 gauge) Exterior Door.
BV [8]: Luxury/Heavy Car body, Filing drawer full of paper,
BV [9]: Water Tank (full),
BV [10]: Steel Security/Fire Door, Engine Block/Gen Set.

This list is just a guide for you to rate your own items in game.

So how do you deal with that guy hiding behind the sofa in game?

Swag.