Armor
Body armor comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, providing varying degrees of coverage and varying heaviness of materials.
Four feats cover proficiency in the use of armor: Armor Proficiency (light), Armor Proficiency (medium), Armor Proficiency (heavy) and Shield Proficiency (see below)
Armor is described by a number of statistics, as shown on Table: Armor.
Type: Armor comes in four types: archaic, impromptu, concealable, and tactical.
- Archaic armor is old-fashioned armor, such as medieval chainmail and plate mail.
- Impromptu armor includes items that provide protection even though they weren’t designed for that purpose, such as leather biker’s jackets and football pads.
- Concealable armor is modern body armor designed to fit underneath regular clothing. It can be worn for extended periods of time without fatiguing the wearer.
- Tactical armor is modern body armor that fits over clothing and can’t be easily concealed. Its weight and bulk make it impractical to wear all the time, and it’s generally only donned when a specific dangerous confrontation is likely. Because it’s worn over clothing in tactical situations, tactical armor often has pockets, clips, and velcro attachment points for carrying weapons, grenades, ammunition, flashlights, first aid kits, and other items.
DR: The protective value of the armor. Deduct this value from any attack that damages the character. DR/Balistic is negated with firearms (any bonus to defense class remains unaffected)
Defense Bonus: This bonus to defense class applies only to wearers who have the appropriate proficiency with the armor representing the ability of armor to deflect or negate damage entirely. For non proficient users their uncoordinated movements serve to negate this bonus.
Maximum Dex Bonus: Even if A character’s Dexterity bonus drops to +0 because of armor, the character are not considered to have lost his or her Dexterity bonus.
Armor Penalty: The heavier or bulkier the armor, the more it affects certain skills. This penalty applies to checks involving the following skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Stealth
Speed (30 ft.): Medium and heavy armor slows a character down. The number in this column is the character’s speed while in armor, assuming his or her base speed is 30 feet (the normal speed for most human beings).
Weight: This column gives the armor’s weight.
Table: Armor
| Armor | Type | DR | Defence Bonus (proficient only) | Maximum Dex Bonus | Armor Penalty | Speed (30 ft.) | Weight | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leather jacket | Impromptu | 1/Bludgeoning | +1 | +8 | -0 | 30 | 4 lb. | |
| Leather armor | Archaic | 1/Balistic | +1 | +6 | -0 | 30 | 15 lb. | |
| Light undercover shirt | Concealable | 1/- | +1 | +7 | -0 | 30 | 2 lb. | |
| Hazmat Suit | Tactical | 1/Bludgeoning | +0 | +7 | -0 | 30 | 2 lb. | Resist airborn/touch afflictions |
| Pull-up pouch vest | Concealable | 1/- | +1 | +5 | -2 | 30 | 2 lb. | |
| Undercover vest | Concealable | 1/- | +1 | +5 | -2 | 30 | 3 lb. | |
| Paintball/Airsoft Armor | Tactical | 1/- | +1 | +5 | -3 | 30 | 15 lb. | |
| Costume Armor (eg. stormtrooper) | Impromptu | 1/Balistic | +2 | +3 | -4 | 25 | 15 lb. | pic |
| Concealable vest | Concealable | 2/- | +2 | +4 | -3 | 25 | 4 lb. | |
| Chainmail shirt | Archaic | 2/Piercing | +2 | +2 | -5 | 20 | 40 lb. | |
| Light-duty vest | Tactical | 2/- | +2 | +3 | -4 | 25 | 8 lb. | |
| Shark Suit | Tactical | 5/Ballistic | +2 | +3 | -3 | 20 | 20 lb. | pic |
| Football Padding | Impromptu | 2/Ballistic | +2 | +3 | -3 | 25 | 25 lb. | |
| Heavy Armor | ||||||||
| Dog Training Bite Suit | Tactical | 5/Ballistic | +2 | +3 | -3 | 15 | 100 lbs. | pic |
| Improvised Plastic Suit | Impromptu | 3/Ballistic | +3 | +2 | -5 | 20 | 15 lb. | pic |
| Tactical vest | Tactical | 3/- | +2 | +2 | -5 | 25 | 10 lb. | |
| US infantry Interceptor Armor | Tactical | 4/- | +3 | +1 | -6 | 25 | 15 lb. | |
| Plate Mail | Archaic | 4/- | +4 | +1 | -6 | 20 | 50 lb. | |
| SWAT Heavy Armor | Tactical | 5/- | +4 | +0 | -8 | 20 | 20 lb. | |
| Shield | Type | Defence Bonus (Prof) | Defence Bonus (Non-Prof) | Maximum Dex Bonus | Armor Penalty | Weight | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garbage Can Lid | Impromptu | +1 | +1 | +8 | -0 | 4 lb. | |
| Light Shield | Archaic | +2 | +1 | +6 | -1 | 15 lb. | |
| Bracer | Concealable | +1 | +0 | +8 | -0 | 2 lb. | |
| Heavy Shield | Archaic | +3 | +2 | +4 | -2 | 15 lb. | |
| Tower Shield | Archaic | +5 | +3 | +1 | -4 | 45 lb. | -2 to attack |
| Riot Shield | Tactical | +6 | +4 | +0 | -3 | 20 lb. | -2 to attack pic |
Light Armor
For the character who doesn’t want to be bogged down by more cumbersome armor types, a leather garment or some sort of concealable armor is just the ticket.
Leather Jacket: This armor is represented by a heavy leather biker’s jacket. A number of other impromptu armors, such as a football pads and a baseball catcher’s pads, offer similar protection and game statistics.
Leather Armor: This archaic armor consists of a breastplate made of thick, lacquered leather, along with softer leather coverings for other parts of the body.
Light Undercover Shirt: Designed for deep undercover work in which it’s critical that the wearer not appear to be armed or armored, this garment consists of a T-shirt with a band of light protective material sewn in around the lower torso.
Pull-Up Pouch Vest: This garment, consisting of a torso apron of light protective material held up by a loop around the neck, can be stored in an innocuous fanny pack. Deploying the apron is a move action. This garment provides no equipment bonus (and has no armor penalty or maximum Dexterity bonus) when undeployed.
Undercover Vest: Covering a larger area of the torso, this vest provides better protection than the light undercover shirt—but it’s also more easily noticed. It’s best used when the armor should remain unseen but the wearer doesn’t expect to face much scrutiny, granting a +2 bonus on Spot checks to notice the armor.
Paintball/Airsoft armor: Unlike most sports armor these light suits afford some degree of protection against guns.
Medium Armor
Most medium armor (except for the archaic chainmail shirt) is not terribly heavy, but nonetheless provides a significant amount of protection—at the expense of some speed.
Concealable Vest: Standard issue in many police forces, this vest provides maximum protection in a garment that can be worn all day long under regular clothing. While it may go unnoticed by a quick glance, it is usually visible to anyone looking closely for it, granting a +4 bonus on Spot checks to notice the armor.
Chainmail Shirt: This medieval-era armor is a long shirt made of interlocking metal rings, with a layer of padding underneath. It’s heavy, making it uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.
Shark Suit: This specialized wet suit includes aluminum or sometimes even titanium chain mail to protect against shark bites. While uncomfortable for land use it provides unparalleled protection from zombies for a suit of it's weight.
Light-Duty Vest: A lightweight tactical vest designed for extended use by riot police and forces on alert for potential attack, this armor sacrifices a degree of protection for a modicum of comfort—at least compared to other tactical body armors.
Tactical Vest: The standard body armor for police tactical units, this vest provides full-torso protection in the toughest flexible protective materials available.
Costume Armor: Prop replica armors once a status symbol at comic conventions are now the poor man’s defensive garb of the apocalypse, all but the (literally) die hard fans have replaced impractical prop helmets with something more sturdy.
Football Padding: Despite being relatively common this former armor of the gridiron has acquired a poor reputation in failing to protect sensitive areas like the wrists, neck and abdomen from hungry undead.
Heavy Armor
Bite Suit Used for training attack dogs this prohibitively heavy and hot armor was hailed as being nearly zombie proof according to a viral video in the early days. Many were soon to point out that while the suit prevents one from being eaten by a zombie, it doesn’t prevent one from being crushed to death by a dogpile of zombies.
Improvised Plastic Suit: Made hastily by do it yourselfers the quality of these suits vary widely, PVC Pipes, portions of garbage pails are common elements in this eclectic category of armor
Plate Mail: This medieval-era armor consists of metal plates that cover the entire body. It’s heavy and cumbersome compared to most modern armor, but it does provide a great deal of protection.
Interceptor Armor (Special Response Vest): Built like the tactical vest, but incorporating groin and neck protection as well as a ceramic plate over the chest, this armor provides additional protection in battles against heavily armed opponents.
SWAT heavy armor (Forced Entry Unit): The most powerful protection available is built into this suit, which consists of a heavy torso jacket with ceramic plates over the chest and back, neck and groin guards, arm protection, and a helmet. Heavy and cumbersome, this armor is generally only donned by tactical officers heading into a dangerous assault.
Shields
Garbage Can Lid: This very common object is popular among survivors as an improvised defense, plastic lids shatter on any critical threat against the user. Metal shields are very prized. The weilder holds the handle of the lid in their hand.
Light Shield: A small medieval style shield strapped to the arm but permitting use of the hand (though not to wield a weapon)
Bracer: A metal covering for the forearm, does not restrict the use of the hand at all but the defense bonus is negated if the character tries to wield a second weapon.
Heavy Shield A larger medieval style shield is braced against the forearm
Tower Shield A massive classical style shield, provides excellent defense but is very bulky
Riot Shield: A modern equivalent to a tower shield, a riot shield is often made of thick plexiglass for improved visibility.
