Armor coverage

[Barwickian]

I'm trying to design various armour pieces for a military SF game, and find myself flummoxed by the armor coverage rules.

 

It's a heroic game, and I'll be using the hit location table.

 

For instance, I want three grades of helmets - light, combat and high-threat. The light and standard helmets will protect hit locations 3-4, the high-threat will protect locations 3-5 (full head coverage). Likewise, I want to design a piece of heavy armour covering the shoulders that's different from torso protection.

 

Under the rules on FRED p 334, all these are covered by the activation roll (8-), despite the fact that there's a considerably less than (8-) chance of hitting the locations.

 

Should I use the (8-) limitation and not worry about the fine granularity? If so, what should I do about the mass limitation on armor?

 

Should I instead apply custom limitations with a higher modifier than Requires Activation Roll (8-)? Or is there an official extension to the armor coverage table that covers such small pieces of armor?

[Steve Long]

Re: Armor coverage

 

Should I use the (8-) limitation and not worry about the fine granularity?

 

Yes, that's a good way to go. If the pieces are as small as you say, don't worry about the mass, or just assign them whatever mass you think is appropriate.