Armor and Shielding

World of Darkness - Armory

Characters may want to safeguard themselves from coming attacks. While doing so can require any number of strategic maneuvers, the easiest manner of impromptu protection is wearing some kind of armor or going into battle with a handheld shield.

Armor

Sometimes, armor is the one thing that keeps a character alive. A leather jacket might help diminish a knife’s attack, and a bulletproof vest might stop a .38 slug from perforating a lung. Whether such protection is archaic or modern, any defense is good defense. What follows is a list of armor a character may potentially own and/or use. For information on what the ratings mean, please refer to the “Armor” section of the World of Darkness Rulebook, found on p. 166.

Shields

A shield is one way of potentially turning attacks aside. Characters might use anything to keep blows from connecting: a medieval buckler, a riot police shield, even a garbage can lid.
Using a shield in battle can be tricky. In game terms, a character wielding a shield and a weapon in combat finds that her attacks suffer at the cost of additional Defense. All attacks made while holding a shield are done at a –2 penalty. Characters with the Ambidextrous Merit reduce this penalty to –1.
In close combat, a shield adds to a character’s Defense score. If the character chooses not to use a weapon in combat while wielding the shield, she can figure in an additional +1 bonus to her Defense as she concentrates on avoiding harm, hiding behind the shield and using it to counter attacks.
In long-range combat, a shield isn’t particularly useful. Bullets punch right through most shields and into a character’s soft body. Unless otherwise specified (such as the “Ballistic Shield,” below), shields do not offer bulletproof protection. However, all shields allow a user to claim bare concealment. In most cases, ranged attacks against someone holding a shield up are done at a –1 penalty.
Shields also have a Strength requirement. A character with insufficient Strength to use a given shield can’t bring it to bear quickly enough, and it provides her no Defense bonus, though she still benefits from the concealment penalty to ranged attacks made against her.
Characters can attempt to attack with a shield. Shields are heavy and can be used to bash or batter an opponent. Generally, attacks made with a shield are done at a –1 penalty, and cause bashing damage if successful.
What follows are a few shield types that may see use in your game. These shields range from the archaic to the modern, and a few are improvised.

Weak Points

No armor is seamless. Even a full suit has points of vulnerability. Most armor neglects to cover arm or leg joints. Some armor leaves the neck or wrists open. Other armor doesn’t come with a helmet or lacks defense for one’s limbs.
Aiming for unprotected parts requires a targeted attack with the appropriate penalties. If armor covers the majority of a target’s body, however, a character can attempt to target her attack against that weak point. This is universally made at a –5 penalty. If such an attack is successful, the attacker can ignore the armor’s Rating.
Only Weaponry or Firearms attacks can be made against armor’s weak points.