Armor

=Armor=

A Word on Physrep Safety
When choosing an armor physrep, avoid qualities that may be dangerous, or hazardous to players or physreps (no sharp edges, metal spikes, etc). Also, do not feel that you need an armor physrep that would afford actual protection in combat. We will give an initial reward for realistic looking armors, but all you need is a decent looking physrep of the appropriate type (even if the materials aren’t real) to gain the benefit of protective armor.

Armor is physical protection for a character. As long as a character has armor, any damage done to them is subtracted from armor first. Most in game combat effects only affect a character if the character sustains body damage from the attack, and thus wearing armor can prevent these effects (Note: certain types of attacks may bypass armor, and armor does not protect against spells unless the spell effect is damage). Armor ratings are given in numbers, just like body, and the higher the number you have the more effective your armor is. Armor rating can come from four sources that cumulatively determine your armor rating.

Natural Armor
This is an indication that the character has some kind of natural protection other than body, it could be a chitinous insect exoskeleton, exceptionally thick skin, or other means. In general this kind of armor is only for NPCs, and cannot be refit. It is healed by the same means that body is healed, but body is restored first.

Protective Armor
This is a rating that is based on the physrep you use, and the accompanying tag. In order to use this armor, the character must have the appropriate in-game skill (see prowess skill lists). The initial ratings of various armors are for a starting character are:

Category-Starting Total

Light armor1-5

Medium armor---6-10

Heavy armor-11-20

These are guidelines, and a broad range of armor ratings may be found in game. The tag determines a given suits actual rating. Protective armors are damaged after magic spell granted armor (like the Nature spell, Bark Skin), but before costume or natural armor. In order to use protective armor, you must have some type of phys rep. However, it need not cover all areas. It must just be identifiable as the appropriate type of phys rep. See below for rules on breaches and refitting.

Costume Armor
This is a rating from +1 to +5 that is a bonus for good costumes for player characters. This armor type takes damage after other armors are breached. A definition of the bonus is listed below. This armor restores at each convergence but cannot be refit. It cannot be stolen, and no tag or skill is necessary for its use. A destroy armor effect will reduce the costume armor value to 0. Costume bonuses are awarded at check in, and can vary from event to event.

Costume Bonus---Guideline

+0-Denim or clearly out-of-game logos

+1-No denim, no prints, minimal out-of-game elements (zippers, logos)

+2-Mostly in-game, blends well.

+3-Completely in-game (other than footwear)

+4-Stands out in-game (other than footwear)

+5-Stands out in-game, plus in-game footwear or good looking racial covers (troll feet for example)

Magical Spell Granted Armor
This is a rating that is the result of a spell cast on the character in game. It cannot be refit, and no more than one magical armor effect can be on a character at any given time. No physrep is necessary, and no tag is needed. Magical armor is affected first when calculating damage.

Armor Breaches and Refitting Armor
Once an armor rating is reduced to 0, the armor is considered breached. Remember, Costume Armor cannot become breached… it is simply a set amount that refreshes automatically every convergence. If protective armor is breached, its maximum protective rating is reduced by 2. If the maximum rating of any armor is reduced to 0 or less, the armor is permanently destroyed, and the tag must be destroyed or turned in to a marshal. Any damaged protective armor or breached protective armor that has a maximum rating still above 0 may be refit. This is repair done by a character with Armor Smith skill (not simply the wearer of the armor or a character with only the ability to use the particular armor in need of refitting). For every thirty seconds spent refitting, one point of armor is refreshed, up to the new maximum of the armor. Armor maximum values can be restored by the addition of new raw materials during the refit process.


 * Example
 * Cedric the Rogue is wearing a light suit of armor worth 5 points. In combat, he takes 7 points of damage, which breaches his light armor and does 2 points of damage to his body (his costume armor bonus was lost earlier in the convergence). After the combat, he hands his suit to his Armor Smith friend, who spends 90 seconds refitting the armor back to its new maximum of 3. Combat begins again and Cedric takes 7 points of damage, again breaching his light armor. After combat, he returns to town and pays his armor smith friend to repair his armor, which now has a maximum of 1 point since it has been breached twice. His Armor Smith friend spends 30 seconds returning the armor to its new maximum of 1, and then spends 2 minutes and 4 points of raw material to repair the armor to its normal maximum of 5 points. Cedric pays the Armor Smith for the raw material as well as his time and effort. The armor is now as good as new again.

Armor Use Skills
The Prowess based Armor Use Skills have three levels: Light, Medium, and Heavy. Common examples of these would be Leather, Chain Mail and Plate Mail, respectively. The Quality of your personal physrep will determine your initial armor rating, but any appropriate physrep can be used to represent any tag. For example, a poor looking, duct-tape based plate breastplate would start with a maximum of only 11 points (the minimum for Heavy Armor), but a good looking, real steel breastplate would be worth to 20 points instead. After the character begins play, any tag may be used as long as you have torso coverage of the appropriate armor type. If a character wishes to wear plate mail, and receive the benefit of its protection they must have the skill Heavy Armor Use. Heavier armor physreps can be used with lighter armor skills, but heavy armor tags require heavy armor skill. Same for medium armor.


 * Example
 * Bradic the Ranger starts game with the Medium Armor Use skill and has a cloth based chain mail shirt. The marshal determines that the cloth chain mail will initially start with the minimum 6 points and writes up a tag to begin game with. After a few events of playing, Bradic saves up some coin for better armor. He purchases a maximum 10 point suit of medium armor and uses the same cloth chain mail shirt to represent it. He sells the old armor (i.e. the 6 point tag) to an NPC merchant that wanders into town.

Acquiring Armor
When you character first starts play, you will start game with an armor tag representative of the Armor Use skill your character possesses and the physrep being used for it. After that, you must acquire armor in game by purchasing it from other players or NPC vendors (when available) or by having an Armor Smith product it from various raw materials, ranging from regular mundane steel up to dragon hide or other exotic materials which require special crafting skills.