Armor

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Your character's primary protection against harm in combat is armor. Any form of protective clothing can classify as armor, from heavy work gear to a knight's outfit. In the modern World of Darkness, armor is functional. Anything that's worn for an extended period, such as reinforced clothing, is designed to be light and sturdy. Soldiers, police and anyone else who can get their hands on bulletproof vests wear them for bodily protection. Those who want to resort to metal plates can do so, but the bulk of the equipment interferes with mobility.

The rating of any protective gear is automatically subtracted from the dice pool of an incoming attack. If your character wears armor rated 3, three dice are removed from an attacker's dice pool. Armor is rated in terms of the kinds of attacks against which it protects: ballistic and all other kinds. Thus, protective gear has two ratings separated by a slash on the Armor Chart (p. 170): general/ballistic. The first applies to most attack types. The second applies to those made with attacks involving the Firearms Skill. So, a flak jacket rated 2/3 imposes a -2 penalty on, say, punch and sword attacks, and a -3 penalty on gun and bow attacks.

Types of armor designed to be "bulletproof" on the Armor Chart (a Kevlar vest, flak jacket and full riot gear) have additional effects against Firearms attacks. They downgrade damage done in such an attack, turning it from lethal to bashing. This is in addition to diminishing the number of dice rolled in an attack. So, if a target wears a Kevlar vest and a shot is fired at him, the attack roll suffers a -2 penalty for the armor. Any successes rolled in the attack do damage, but it's bashing instead of lethal.

Attacks of a magical nature that inflict aggravated damage might not be hindered by armor; it depends on the type of attack. A sorcerous bolt of energy might pass right through armor. Mundane objects are simply not designed to withstand pure mystical assault. A silver letter opener stabbed at a werewolf, however, must still overcome armor to affect the creature (assuming it wears any armor). The werewolf's legendary Achilles' heel against silver doesn't give a letter opener a supernatural ability to ignore armor, only the power to blight a werewolf's flesh (if it can reach it). The Storyteller decides if an attack that inflicts aggravated damage also ignores armor.

Attackers may make specified-target rolls (see above) to hit unprotected portions of a defender and thus ignore armor. The Storyteller assigns the attack's penalty, depending on the size of body part targeted. In the case of bulletproof armor, an attack to an unprotected body part not only ignores the target's armor rating, but damage done remains lethal rather than being downgraded to bashing.

Cumbersome gear imposes Defense penalties, and some armor penalizes Speed and even efforts involving Strength. The Armor Chart (p. 170) provides stats for various forms of gear.

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.

• [BP]: This type of armor is bulletproof.
• Rating: Armor provides two kinds of protection: against general attacks and against Firearms attacks. The number before the slash is armor rating for most kinds of attacks (for close combat and thrown ranged attacks, whether bashing, lethal or perhaps aggravated). The second number is for Firearms attacks -- guns and bows. Bulletproof armor (kevlar vest, flak jacket and full riot gear) also downgrades damage done in Firearms attacks from lethal to bashing.
• Strength: Armor is often heavy and cumbersome. If your character does not have sufficient Strength to wear it, she cannot perform at peak efficiency. If your character's Strength is lower than that required for armor worn, her Brawl and Weaponry attacks suffer a -1 penalty.
• Defense: The penalty imposed on your character's Defense trait for the armor worn.
• Speed: The penalty imposed on your character's Speed trait for the armor worn.
• Cost: The minimum dots in the Resources Merit usually required to purchase the armor.