Ablative Armor

[Heroman]

A few questions with regard to the -1 Ablative rule where the defense value degrades by 5AP.

 

I am looking at this from a Heroic style genre, namely small mecha (4m), using hit locations and designing some damagable exterior armor.

 

Where it states "...every shot against which an Ablative Defense Power provides protection and which could, if a good enough roll were achieved, do BODY damage to the target..."

If a vehicle has layered defenses, such as DEF (Ablative) and normal DEF, does that mean the potental damage the attack can do must overcome both the ablative and normal DEF combined?

 

When using Hit Locations, does that mean you take the damage multiplier into account when making this determination?

 

Is the maximum DEF or current level of the Ablative DEF used when making this check?

 

Thanks for the info!

[Steve Long]

Re: Ablative Armor

 

It means the target's total defenses, unless the GM rules that some don't count for these purposes. For example, DEF confined to just one or two tiny locations on a vehicle (like a single internal system), or Armor with a low Activation Roll, might not be counted. As noted on 5ER 116, there are rules regarding Hit Locations and Ablative that the GM can apply in this situation.

 

Hit Locations and other modifiers don't count -- you just look at the potential maximum damage that could be rolled on the dice.

 

It's maximum defense, not current defense.