Armor Phys rep Requirements

Zeira · Post by **Zeira** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:30 pm

I'm just gonna put this out there because I have heard other people mention it.

Currently you can wear a trench coat and count it as heavy armor. I understand the reason this done is because armor phys reps can get really expensive. The people who do this pay additional upkeep on said armor.

I think that you should only be able to go one catagory up from your phys rep. A light armor phys rep can be counted as a medium piece of armor as long as they pay the additional upkeep and so on and so forth. This can help with people wondering if the guy in a duster actually has full kandium armor.

I also think all armor should have an upkeep requirement regardless of phys rep also. If I have 10 Heavy armor tags and a suit of full plate does that mean I dont have to pay upkeep on them? I think with the way the current economic system works we need more outputs anyway...

Thoughts?

Post by **GM_Chris** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:43 pm

Well the current system is very socialist in nature so I tend to be against it completely

cole45 · Post by **cole45** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 8:16 am

armor has changed every year.

if we do what you suggest people will complain that only people who can afford heavy armor get the benefit.(happened before.)

if we make it loose people who wear armor will complain they don't get anything out of it.(happened before.)

Zeira · Post by **Zeira** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:29 am

If you have a light armor phys rep you can still treat it as a medium armor but you wouldn't be able to jumb all the way up to heavy. It is difficult to gauge how well defended a PC is by just looking at them. We have all seen very cost effective ways that people can make armor with a little time and effort. A good amount of CJ's armor was made by him at little expense.

If you want to use the best armor available in the game you might have to put in a little more. The medium armor catagory still provides a good amount of armor. If you have a medium armor phys rep you would still have access to heavy armor. You wouldn't have to wear full plate to get heavy armor, just studded leather or something along those lines.

Also armor encumbers. It lowers your manuverability and ability to swing blows effectively. Even leather armors restrict your movements to a degree.

General Maximus · Post by **General Maximus** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:30 am

I have to agree with Zeira.

I used modifed hockey armor when I started Larping. It helped me get into my character and folks knew I was wearing armor. And the cost was cheap!!! And it looked good.

So the objection of armor is to expensive or folks can't afford it holds very little weight with me.

Armor does not need to be real, made out of metal, leather etc. It just needs to look good and look like armor. Armor hinders movement and restricts ones fighting ability. But man it makes one feel powerful and cool

And it would be very nice to be able to view a person and have an idea they are wearing armor and maybe even understand what armor catigory they are wearing.

But that's just my opinon

dier_cire · Post by **dier_cire** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:31 am

I wouldn't have an issue only allowing a single jump. I mean showing up in jeans and a T-shirt and the character wearing full armor is dumb (not that this is really the case but...).

Plus it makes chainmail fit better (something that has annoyed me for ages).

This would still be flexiable in that _anyone_ can get armor points. But to get the best, you have to put forth a tiny amount of effort. Heck, my first gen plate was made of broken sleds, duct tape, an old shirt, some aluminum and pop rivets.

Atrum Draconus · Post by **Atrum Draconus** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:31 pm

Yeap, wearing no armor and getting full protection is not what I meant at all when I protested only real armor, especially plate being accepted as real armor. I thought you could only jump 1 category anyway. I think this would be the final change to bring armor in to line, I never imagined that a rule would get passed that said you didn't have to wear any phys rep at all and could take max armor bonus.

Zeira · Post by **Zeira** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:05 pm

You still have to wear a phys rep. A very thin layer of leather, such as that from a trench coat, counts as a light armor phys rep for full body.

Atrum Draconus · Post by **Atrum Draconus** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:28 pm

That I'm fine with, it only gives you 3 pts and if it's closed is actually FAR MORE restrictive than most light leather armor would be. I've been considering cutting my armor, which is a trench with the bottom cut off, into more a normal type of armor so It's not so hot in the summer and is less restrictive.

Rhul · Post by **Rhul** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:02 am

I know I sure get pissed when in the summertime people are wearing lighterweight phys-reps than me and gettting more armor points than me(more an issue with Garritt than Rhul right now, because even as Rhul my armor is being counted as one level higher, though it does have 'plate' sections on the shoulders, knees and elbows, added in the last couple of events to make me feel better about 'counting it as' Kandium heavy when it's really just ringmail.)

As Garritt I wear a $7.50 leather trench, a $5.00 leather skullcap, and full-leather chaps (the big splurge at 50 bucks, but I don't even need them- trench gives leg coverage). I sweat my balls off, and still only can stand to call it quality light (because in-game, it's both supposed to be Aiden's old quality light, and I'm an empath). But that's "real" light armor for less than 20 bucks.

But my real problem isn't with trenchcoats-as- platemail, but a little thing called 'cloth armor/quality cloth armor', wherein you can wear plain garb and call it the same as my full-leather sauna suit *grumble*. But I've also seen the lightest of 'armor' being counted as Kandium heavy, and none of it's even as heavy as my (admittedly lightweight as leather goes) trenchcoat.

I wholeheartedly support the "only can count armor as one level up" argument. If someone's going berzerk and I need to step in to help stop them, it's be kinda nice to know if they're packing the heaviest Kandium armor in the game, rather than padded cloth. (or with "quality cloth armor" nothing more than 'garb' giving them 7 armor.

We have cloth armor in the game already- it's called light armor (which is either padded cloth, leather, or wool, even though i've seen some GM's say a player couldn't use wool, even though it's in the book's description.).

Rhul · Post by **Rhul** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:27 pm

The biggest fix we could ever make to armor to "make it accessable to everyone" is to change the coverage on legs and arms to allow greaves and bracers to represent full legs or arms, respectively.

Those are widely accepted as the least expensive pieces of "real" armor to get at stores and re-faires, and are also a fantasy staple. Nearly every fantasy game, introduces greaves and bracers as first-level armor.

Just do this for both types:

-Light: suede leather, quilted cloth, wool
-Medium: coir-buille boiled leather (with or without studs)
-Boiled leather with a covering of steel.

You can't tell me that people wearing just bracers for full arms would be 'cheesier" looking than light being "counted as" heavy. It also goes a long way to stop the "I'm too poor for armor" argument, as you can a set of leather bracers for 25 bucks.

Zeira · Post by **Zeira** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:04 pm

You would still get half coverage I believe if you have bracers. If you have two sections of half I believ it counts as one section. So if you had just bracers and just greaves you would have a full section. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong because I don't feel like looking it up...

Rhul · Post by **Rhul** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:42 pm

But people complain that full armor sections cost to much to RP with "real" armor (for example, a set of leather articulated shoulders can cost 50-75 dollars). So make the argument moot by allowing them to do the same with less expensive examples, i.e, a 25 dollar set of bracers.

Helps promote 'real" armor, with greater accessability to the common larper.

cole45 · Post by **cole45** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:37 am

That is a pretty good compromise CJ.

its still real, looks good, and is much better than the current...nothing.

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 9:25 am

a set of leather articulated shoulders can cost 50-75 dollars

Show me CJ where you can find things for that price without having the ability to make your own? I know my leather shoulder piece I have on Aurora was $150 and none of the bracers I have where anywhere near $25 nor were my greaves.

Some people aren't good at making armor and all and can't do it on the cheap. Or they have to customize it because they need it let's say made larger or smaller then your average build.