Does "backlash" bypass protections?

[bcwhite]

6e1 pg 218 says regarding "backlash":

Quote

The damage done by the Backlash is the same as
whatever was used to attack the Entangle with

 

Is protection from armor and/or other sources subtracted from this just as if it were an outside attack?

 

What about hit-locations?  If the character uses their hand to try to break the entangle, is the backlash x½ for everything?

 

[Chris Goodwin]

Absent a specific exception, and a GM decision otherwise, the general rules still apply.  A character's defenses would apply against the damage from Backlash. 

 

Regarding Hit Locations, the general rules would still apply as mentioned.  Assuming the game is using Hit Locations, and assuming a Hit Location is used to make the attack (as in a punch or a kick), and assuming special effects, dramatic sense, and common sense allow for it, Hit Locations could indeed apply.  (For instance, a Barrier or Entangle (with Backlash)  defined as a hard surface might apply hand-to-hand damage directly to the hand, while one defined as a reflective surface that returns energy attacks might not.)  And as always, the GM's decision should be final.