Defending against attack comes in different forms, however armor serves as the greatest means of defense against would-be attackers. Armor comes in a couple different varieties, and some are rarer than others. Lighter armor allows for more maneuverability while granting minimal protection, while the opposite is true for heavy armor.
Armor can be made Superior quality by spending 300 G on it. Superior quality decreases the Armor Penalty by 1. Magic armor is considered to already be Superior quality, and thus the benefits don’t stack.
Deflection (Def): This reduces damage made by weapons to a certain degree, and protects the wearer from harm. This number subtracts from damage rolled before applying Soak. A weapon’s Penetration stat reduces the amount of Deflection armor has.
Agility to Defense (AtD): This is how much of a character’s Agility is able to be added to their Defense and Dodge stats. This only applies to Body armor.
Armor Penalty (AP): This is a penalty that is applied on certain skills. If a character tries to wear armor they’re not proficient with, this penalty applies to attack rolls as well.
Spell Failure (SF): This is a percentage chance of a spell failing while this armor is worn, adversely affecting the wearer’s spellcasting. This only applies to characters with the ability to cast spells who have not taken the Arcane Armor Training feat.
Location (Lo): This is where the armor’s Deflection is applied to upon being attacked. Deflection isn’t dispersed evenly per body part with the body having the most Deflection and the head having the least. The exception to this rule is Shields which instead must be raised as a swift action and guard the body part specified when raised. (Example, a Kite Shield raised to guard the head grants 4 Deflection to the head).
Pieces of armor that have an (S) next to their location can be stacked on top of another piece of armor that fits in the same location. For example, a Chain Coif can be worn with a Standard Helm on top of it, totaling the bonuses and penalties.
If you wish to speed up combat in your turn, you can default to hitting the enemies’ Body (it has a 50% chance of being hit, while the rest of the body parts have a 10% chance each).
Speed: How fast a character can move (in squares) while wearing this armor. Heavier armors make it so you have less squares to move in a single round due to their bulky nature. Only armor that covers the body or legs reduces your movement speed. The reduction to speed is represented as a -1 sq. and so on.
If multiple pieces of armor are worn, take all of the bonuses and penalties together.
Special Ability Key:
Pieces of armor which function as Energy Resistance against elements apply to specific body parts if worn separately. Other body parts remain unprotected, similar to normal armor’s Deflection against physical attacks.
Armor
Shield
Shields are usually worn in one hand while another weapon is used for attacking. They are used by raising them to block an incoming attack, granting a certain degree of protection to the wearer.
In order to make a shield protect a specific body part, you must use the Raise action as a swift action and select a part of your body (except the arm the shield is worn in). When raised, the shield applies its Deflection to that body part on top of the armor already worn.
While not raised, the shield instead only protects the arm it is worn in which is chosen when the shield is equipped.