Armours

Armour is a popular acquisition for adventurers as their lifestyle often puts them in harm’s way. All characters have a base Armour Class (AC) equal to 10 plus their Dexterity modifier - the higher a person's AC, the harder it is to take them out of a fight. Armour increases this base AC, and can even provide certain damage reductions, environmental protections, or situational benefits depending on its design.
Unarmoured characters, as mentioned, have a base AC of 10. There are normally no benefits to being unarmoured in combat, any advantage gained by fighting unencumbered is vastly outweighed by the character's sheer vulnerability. The one exception to this are characters who have specific Training in fighting unarmoured, who do gain access to the same Initiative benefits as Light Armour wearers enjoy (see below).

Armour Weight

Modern armours are classed as either "Light" or "Heavy", depending on their encumbrance value whilst worn. Your current armour weight-class depends on the heaviest armour currently equipped.

Light Armour (Encumbrance 0-1): Made from firm but flexible materials, Light Armour provides protection whilst preserving agility - allowing faster characters to act with more confidence. As well as adding their Dexterity bonus to their Initiative result, as normal, Light Armour wearers can choose to reroll their Initiative at the start of each round.

Heavy Armour (Encumbrance 2+): Made from solid, unyielding materials, Heavy Armour favours characters tough enough to use this extra weight to their advantage. Wearers may add the highest of their Strength or Constitution modifiers to their AC, in addition to their Dexterity. Once per scene, Heavy Armour wearers may also take +4 to any Physical Effects saving throw that their armour might help resist.

* - An asterisk indicates that a table entry has special rules, see that item's description for further details.
(+/-) - In certain cases an armour protects better against certain types of damage and worse against others, in such cases the AC value will be marked with a positive and/or negative symbol, which means the AC is +/- 1 from the value given against the kind of damage indicated.
DR - DR stands for Damage Reduction, and this value is subtracted from all damage done to the wearer of the type described
( ) - Encumbrance values marked within brackets state the encumbrance value when that object is worn.
# - Certain armours have their encumbrance values marked with an asterisk, such armours are light or modular enough that they can be worn in combination with any other armour on the list. When wearing multiple sets of armour their AC does not stack, only the highest AC value is used, but any other bonuses including Damage Reduction all apply as normal.

Types of Armour

Armor comes in four general categories. Most worlds allow for the legal possession of street armour, while heavier gear often requires permits, and may be disallowed entirely on more law-encrusted worlds.

Street Armour

Street armour is the sort of TL4 gear one can wear in public without social repercussions. Such armour is disguised as ordinary street clothing or is so light as to be wearable under an ordinary outfit. PCs can wear street armour on most worlds without incurring any trouble from authorities.

Combat Armour

Combat armour is obviously armour and cannot be effectively disguised. Most worlds reserve combat armour to law enforcement officials, military personnel, and the bodyguards of important or wealthy citizens. Most law enforcers consider anybody wearing combat armour to be a person clearly expecting military-grade problems in their immediate future.

Environmental Armour

These suits are designed primarily for environmental protection, from factors including temperature, atmospheric pressure, and hard vacuum. Each armour is listed with the various environments they can protect from. Ownership of these suits is usually legal on most worlds, as they are generally awkward for combat use and impose a -1 to attack rolls whilst worn unless stated otherwise. Some environmental armour may require power for operation, and may also be designed to include or work with certain items found under field equipment.

Powered Armour

Powered armour comprises a variety of protective suits which enhance the user's defence or capabilities through a power cell. Visible or not, open possession of most of these suits is illegal outside of military or law enforcement. This category includes the heaviest and most advanced personal protection gear available short of an actual mech. Most powered armour requires relevant training in order to use comfortably. Someone wearing armour of this class, provided the armour's base AC is 18 or higher, is immune to damage from primitive melee or ranged weapons, unarmed attacks, and any firearm or grenade-scale explosive of TL3 or less.

Headwear Armour

Headwear is a special category of armour which may be worn either on its own or as part of a larger set of armour. Costs are provided both for standalone purchase of the item, and percentage cost of the armour it is being fitted to. The different types of headwear each provide different situational bonuses, and may also be useful in other situations because of the way that different types of headwear are viewed socially - see their descriptions. Some headwear gives an AC/attack-roll benefit, in which case this bonus can be taken at any time - even after an attack roll has been made.