Armor is very useful in combat. A single sword blow or bullet can incapacitate or kill you… but armor might give you a second chance. Your armor’s Damage Resistance, or DR, subtracts directly from the damage inflicted by your enemies’ weapons. Armor requires no skill to use – you just wear it! (Exception: Certain TL7+ armor types require Environment Suit skill, p. 192.)
Effective armor is heavy, though. Its weight can hinder you (see Encumbrance and Move, p. 17), reducing your Dodge – and also your Parry, if you use fencing weapons, Judo, or Karate. A swashbuckler who relies on agility to avoid injury might choose light or no armor! (As a guideline, your Dodge, Block, or Parry – and preferably two or all three of these – should be at least 12 if you plan to go unarmored.)
The best armor is expensive, too. You probably won’t be able to afford it without lots of Wealth!
Armor is more important in some periods than in others. Before TL4, it’s a lifesaver. Warriors who expect to go into battle should wear the heaviest armor they can afford. On the other hand, few fighters wear metal armor in a city or on the road: it’s just too heavy and uncomfortable.
At TL4, armor declines in importance as firearms become common: anything that can stop a musket ball is too heavy to wear. Except for heavy cavalry, few soldiers or adventurers wear more than a pot helm and breastplate. At TL5-6, armor all but disappears – although TL6-7 infantry still wear a steel pot helmet to protect against bursting shell fragments.
At TL7-9, this trend reverses, as lightweight, bullet-resistant synthetics (such as Kevlar) appear and gradually improve. In some TL10+ backgrounds, armor might be vital. In others, weapons can penetrate anything, and a good Dodge – or shooting first – is the best defense.
Like weapons, armor has variable Legality Class (pp. B267, B507). If it could be categorized as “clothing,” but has some protective benefit, it’s LC4 – or maybe LC3. If it would only be worn for combat, it’s LC2 or even LC1. Shields are usually LC3: they are intended for combat, but cheap enough that a militia might be expected to own them.
The Armor Table (pp. 110-111) gives costs and weights for armor for the entire torso. Use the table below to find cost and weight for armor for other hit locations. For armor that covers only half of a location – e.g., “front only,” like a breastplate – halve the cost and weight of armor for that area. Do the same for just one arm, leg, hand, foot, etc.
Example: The Armor Table lists a light mail vest as $500, 12 lbs. Long sleeves for all of both arms (50%) are $250, 6 lbs.; leggings for both legs (100%) are $500, 12 lbs. Mail for both hands (10%) is $50, 1.2 lbs.; ditto for both feet (10%). Total: $1,350, 32.4 lbs.
The same percentages can be used to calculate other figures; e.g., manufacture time (see GURPS Low-Tech Companion 3) and donning time (see Donning Armor, p. 102).
All pieces can be worn separately – groin (codpiece), shoulder (pauldron), elbow (couter), forearm (bracer), knee (poleyn), shin (greave), etc.
| Location | Cost and Weight | Hit Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head | 30% | 3-5 | [1] |
| Skull | 20% | 3-4 | |
| Face | 10% | 5 | |
| Neck | 5% | 17-18 | |
| Torso | 100% | 9-11 | [2, 3] |
| Chest | 75% | 9-10 | [2] |
| Abdomen | 25% | 11 | [2, 4] |
| Groin | 5% | – | |
| Arms | 50% | 8, 12 | [5] |
| Shoulders | 10% | – | [6] |
| Upper Arms | 10% | – | [7] |
| Elbows | 5% | – | [8] |
| Forearms | 25% | – | [9] |
| Hands | 10% | 15 | |
| Legs | 100% | 6-7, 13-14 | [10] |
| Thighs | 45% | – | [11] |
| Knees | 5% | – | [8] |
| Shins | 50% | – | [9] |
| Feet | 10% | 16 |
* Partial limb armor provides only partial protection!
Roll 1d once to see whether an attack hits armor. For an arm: (1-3) forearm; (4) elbow; (5) upper arm; (6) shoulder. For a leg: (1-3) shin; (4) knee; (5-6) thigh.
Realistically, it’s extremely difficult for a blade edge to cut through any sort of armor. Most damage to armored opponents is in the form of blunt trauma. Here’s an optional rule to reflect this:
Roll damage and determine whether the blow can put at least 1 point of penetrating damage past twice the armor’s DR. If it can’t, then treat the cutting attack as merely crushing – that is, simply subtract the armor’s usual DR from damage to get injury. Such injury doesn’t actually slice through the armor, and is equivalent to blunt trauma. If the blow can penetrate twice the armor’s DR, then use the rules for cutting attacks as written – subtract the armor’s usual DR from damage and then multiply by 1.5 to find injury – and assume that the armor (and flesh!) is cut.
Example: Sir Gnaff is wearing DR 7 plate. He’s hit by Conan the Bar’s sword for 14 points of cutting damage. Twice DR 7 is 14, so the blow fails to penetrate and is considered crushing. Thus, it inflicts 14 - 7 = 7 HP of injury. If Conan were using poison, it would be useless; the blow merely dented the armor. If Conan had rolled 15, this would have been enough to penetrate twice DR 7. Penetrating damage would have been 15 - 7 = 8 points, and cutting injury would have been 8 x 1.5 = 12 HP. . . and if Conan’s sword were poisoned, the venom would have a chance to work.
For more on wounding and blunt trauma, see p. B379. This rule applies only to armor, not to other forms of DR (e.g., Tough Skin).
Most low-tech armor is custom-tailored for the owner. If an adventurer acquires a piece of armor that wasn’t designed for him, he’ll suffer -1 to DX and -1 to DR while wearing it, because it doesn’t fit correctly. This can be fixed by a craftsman with Armoury (Body Armor) and suitable tools. It takes an hour of labor and a successful Armoury roll at +2 to alter the armor for its new owner. Failure simply means that the DR and DX penalties remain, but critical failure destroys the armor.
The GM may make exceptions for extremely flexible armor, remarkably similar wearers (twins, clones, etc.), and other special cases. He may also exempt cheap munitions armor, which is specifically designed to fit a range of body sizes; see Armor of Quality (p. 109). Removing the integrated padding from armor might save a little weight (GM’s option), but will result in the above DX and DR penalties.
Here are many optional rules that allow a more realistic treatment of armor.
Heavy body armor is cumbersome, but not as much as one would imagine. Unless it’s cheap (see Armor of Quality), it will be carefully tailored, with its weight evenly distributed over the whole body. A trained warrior can conduct most activities – running, jumping, mounting a horse, etc. – without undue strain or penalty.
Body armor is hot and stuffy, however – especially if a helmet is worn. And leg armor is cumbersome, and can restrict movement. A full set of armor (helmet, chest, and legs) is heavy, and stifling even in temperate conditions. In hot weather, it increases FP costs (see Fighting a Battle, p. B426) and can contribute to heatstroke (see Heat, p. B434).
Long battles, even with extended breaks between actual combat, can quickly fatigue a warrior. During the Battle of Towton in 1461, when knights fought each other on foot, the prolonged melee caused some to collapse from heat exhaustion despite the fact that heavy snow was falling! If using GURPS Mass Combat, the GM may wish to consider the length of the battle rounds when assessing FP loss.
Even a full suit of armor has small gaps where the plates overlap. A precisely placed weapon point can exploit this; see Targeting Chinks in Armor (p. B400). The penalty to hit chinks in armor is -8 on the torso, -10 everywhere else. Remove -2 from the penalty for plate armor that doesn’t use sliding rivets (p. 109). Armor damage can further mitigate the penalty; see GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2. On a successful hit, halve armor DR.
Only rigid armor has exploitable chinks. Flexible armor lacks chinks (but has other weaknesses). Flexible DR is marked with a “*” on the Armor Table (pp. 110-111).
In addition to chinks, there are places that rigid armor cannot cover at all – usually at the joints. For harsh realism, some of the more vulnerable locations are described below. These get no DR, not half DR, and may be easier to hit!
Flexible armor was often worn underneath to help protect these vulnerabilities (see Arming Garments, below).
Armpit: The armpit is vulnerable because it’s often exposed when the warrior lifts his arm to swing a weapon. An impaling wound there can sever the brachial or subclavian artery and the nerves controlling the arm before puncturing the lungs and heart. Treat an impaling attack to the armpit as an attack to the vitals at -8 to hit. On a critical hit, don’t roll on the Critical Hit Table; instead, the arm is automatically crippled (pp. B420-423). This is in addition to impaling damage to the vitals!
Back of Knee: Rigid knee protection cannot wrap around to protect the back of the joint without preventing the leg from bending. The back of the knee may be targeted at -8. Treat a successful hit as if the joint itself was targeted (see GURPS Martial Arts, p. 137).
Eyes: Any armor that fully covers the face also covers the eyes. Anyone wishing to target the eyes can do so through the eye-slits at -10. If successful, there’s no DR and the eyes suffer full damage! See Face Protection (p. 112) for more on armoring the face.
Groin: The groin is especially difficult to armor and particularly vulnerable to attack. The rigid codpiece was an attempt to provide additional protection, but had to be removed before mounting a horse. The codpiece gives full DR to the groin but leaves gaps that can be targeted at -8. It also grants +2 to knockdown rolls for groin hits. Flexible armor, such as mail, gives more freedom of movement, but since the groin is susceptible to crushing damage (p. B399), it’s of only limited use.
Inside Elbow: As with the knee, rigid armor can cover the elbow, but only on the outside. If it protected the entire joint, the warrior could not bend his arm. Because of this, the inside elbow is another gap that can be targeted at -8. Treat a successful hit as if the joint itself was targeted (see GURPS Martial Arts, p. 137).
Neck: The neck is another location that’s tricky to armor. A rigid collar limits head movement, while a flexible one leaves the throat susceptible to crushing attacks. Neck armor gaps are at -8 to hit. For extra detail, see the Neck Wounds Table on p. 138 of GURPS Martial Arts. See Neck Protection (pp. 112-113) for more on armoring the neck.
Open Palm: Most gauntlets have a soft leather (or completely open) palm to make it easier to grip a weapon. This may be targeted at -8 to hit – or just -6, if the wearer is unarmed. If successful, there’s no DR and the hand suffers full damage! Master Fiore taught a dagger parry that involved intercepting the opponent’s descending weapon hand with a dagger, and noted that it was especially effective against gauntlets.
Historically, flexible armor was frequently worn under rigid armor to protect gaps. As well, padding was sometimes layered beneath mail to bolster it against crushing attacks. In Europe such garments were called pourpoints, haketons, or gambesons. Handle this using Layered Armor (p. 103). When chinks are targeted, though, the attacker need only overcome the flexible layer’s DR; e.g., if DR 1 padded cloth is worn beneath DR 6 plate, successfully targeting a gap in the plate means that the attacker must defeat only DR 1.
At TL3, plate was strapped over a mail shirt called a haubergeon (“little hauberk”). This provided excellent protection but was very cumbersome. Any attack that struck the wearer had to contend with both layers (see Layered Armor, p. 103); gaps were protected only by the mail.
At TL4, plate armor made use of a specialized garment called an arming doublet, which incorporated cords called arming points (twine or leather lacing) to attach small bits of plate and mail. This long-sleeved garment is very lightly padded and provides no additional DR. However, the patches of armor – called voiders or gussets – do give DR, and are specifically located at armor gaps; e.g., they’re sewn over the armpit and inside elbows. An arming doublet should be worn with any TL4 plate armor that includes arms and/or legs. It costs $160 and weighs 3 lbs.
It’s possible to wear a suit of plate without an arming doublet, but this results in -1 to DX and DR, since it no longer fits correctly (see My Armor Doesn’t Fit, p. 103), and the gaps are now unprotected!
To conceal armor from somebody who’s looking for it, you must win a Quick Contest of Holdout (p. B200) vs. his Search skill (p. B219). Holdout suffers a penalty equal to DR for rigid armor, DR/3 (round up) for flexible armor. Also add any bonus for clothes worn over the armor; e.g., Long Coat (p. 99) and Undercover Clothing (p. 100). Range penalties apply to Search.
Armor can be made more concealable to mitigate the Holdout penalty; flexible armor is most suitable, but rigid panels can also be concealed. The craftsman needs Armoury (Body Armor) and Sewing at skill 12+. He chooses a type of clothing and the armor he wishes to conceal within it, and then rolls against the lower of the two skills. Remove -1 from the Holdout penalty per two full points of success; e.g., success by 5 erases -2 in Holdout penalties. Critical success means the armor can only be detected with a tactile search. Critical failure indicates that the armor will fail completely at some dramatically appropriate time during combat (GM’s decision).
Total weight and base cost follow the rules for combination devices that can be used simultaneously; see Combination Gadgets (p. 14). Multiply this base cost by the amount of Holdout penalty removed, +1.
Example: Ordinary clothing for Status 2 costs $600 (20% of $3,000 cost of living). Fine mail armor is $900. A combination gadget has base cost $900 + (0.8 x $600) = $1,380. If it removes -3 in Holdout penalties, final cost is (3 + 1) x $1,380 = $5,520.
Historically, most warriors who could afford a suit of armor also had at least one servant to carry it when it wasn’t needed, and to help put it on when it was. Many pieces of armor have laces and straps that are difficult for the wearer to fasten. Each piece (cuirass, helmet, gauntlet, greave, etc.) requires a certain amount of time to don. Some items, such as a mail shirt, can simply be slipped over the head in a few seconds; others, such as a scale corselet, are fastened with buckles or lacing, requiring much more time.
The time to don each type of armor appears in the Armor Table (pp. 110-111), which covers only torso armor. Calculate times to armor other body parts using the percentages on the Armor Locations Table (p. 100). If the wearer has assistance putting on his armor, divide donning time by 4 (minimum 3 seconds). Time to remove the armor is halved.
Obviously, different body parts require different pieces of armor! It’s rare for armor to provide the same protection over the entire body. A suit of plate, for example, uses heavier plates for the head and chest; much lighter plates protect the arms and legs. Most hit locations are described on pp. B398-399, but some others are outlined below. See the Armor Locations Table (p. 100) for weight and cost.
The Armor Table (pp. 110-111) lists armor that covers the entire torso. In reality, many types of armor are too rigid for this. They would prevent the warrior from bending at the waist, making many maneuvers impossible – sitting down, mounting a horse, and even running. Most armor stops at the midriff, leaving stomach and groin exposed. Gamers who wish to simulate this can separate the torso location into two sections: the chest, which includes breast and upper back (areas 9-10), and the abdomen (below). The chest is targeted at no special penalty. If a crushing, piercing, or impaling attack strikes the chest, roll 1d; on a 1, the vitals are hit.
As noted above, many types of armor can cover the upper torso but aren’t flexible enough to cover the lower torso.
An adventurer might wish protection in battle but lack access to professionally made armor. Many types of armor can be improvised. It doesn’t take a professional to make a straw-mat breastplate (see Straw, p. 106); a leather jacket or a craftsman’s apron requires no modification at all to act as armor; and a large animal skull can be stuck on the head as an improvised pot helm (see Bone, p. 106).
Other types of improvised armor require basic knowledge of Armoury (Body Armor), so a skill roll is required – but at +4. Basic smithing tools can work a suitable metal pot into a helmet. With wire and simple tools, you can make unriveted mail armor (see Butted Mail, p. 107). Cheap-quality (-1 DR) splint bracers and greaves (see Splinted Armor, p. 105) can be made with a length of cord and some metal or wooden strips. A tailor’s kit (p. 30) and a Sewing skill roll, still at +4, can quilt a pile of tunics into cheap-quality (-1 DR) layered cloth armor (below).
The rules in Combining and Layering Armor (p. B286) require armor to be flexible and concealable if it’s to be worn as an underlayer. Low-Tech offers advanced rules for concealing armor; see Concealing Armor (p. 102). When using these, warriors wishing to combine layers and their respective DRs may simply omit the need for inner layers to be concealable. Such armor must still be flexible, though.
Apply -1 to DX for one additional layer, or -2 to DX for two. More than three layers total is rare. This penalty only affects deeds performed with the affected hit location. For example, if only the legs have layered armor, the penalty only affects actions involving the legs – including combat (but not mounted combat), running, and climbing. If armor is layered on the torso, the penalty applies to all actions. However, DX penalties don’t apply if the total odds of partial armor protecting a hit location are 3 in 6 or less (see the Armor Locations Table, p. 100), or for armor that covers only the head.
Items that don’t provide DR don’t cause DX penalties. Notably, many types of armor are worn with padding to improve fit and comfort, but that isn’t thick enough to provide DR. There’s no DX penalty for this. Armor in the Armor Table (pp. 110-111) includes suitable padding, which neither provides additional DR nor affects DX. If a warrior wore armor over thick padded cloth (DR 1), though, DX penalties would apply.
Armor is noisy and easily noticed: halve DR, round up, and assess a Stealth penalty of that size. If armor DR varies by hit location, use the piece with the highest penalty. If the overall encumbrance penalty (p. B17) would be worse, use that instead of the DR-based one.
Special preparation can reduce the chances of being detected. Spending 10 minutes to pad or tie down rattling buckles and rubbing segments decreases noise. Another method is to wrap each individual segment in soft cloth or fine leather. Lacquering also reduces the amount of noise armor makes; handle this using Styling (p. 14), treating it as +4 CF. Each of these methods removes -1 from the Stealth penalty.
If appropriate camouflage colors are used (see Camouflage, p. 126), then a bonus to Camouflage also applies.
There are some social and practical restrictions on wearing armor.
A fully armored individual is someone who is expecting trouble… or looking to make trouble. He is unlikely to receive a warm welcome! In a noncombat situation, armor that covers the face or entire head gives -2 to reaction rolls. Nonconcealable armor with DR 2+ anywhere else (except the hands or feet) gives -1, or -2 if it isn’t flexible and covers the torso. These penalties are cumulative: plate armor and a full helm would give you -4!
However, there is no reaction penalty if the NPC making the reaction roll recognizes the wearer’s need or right to wear armor in the situation. Examples of socially acceptable armor include a knight on campaign or at a tourney; an astronaut wearing a vacc suit in space; or a soldier, paramedic, or journalist wearing body armor in a war zone.
It takes three seconds per piece to don or remove most armor. It takes 30 seconds per piece for vacc suits or battlesuits, except for their helmets. Exception: TL8+ flexible armor with insert panels and all TL9+ nonflexible armor have some form of “quick release” mechanism to drop the insert panel or let the user step out of the armor in only one second.
You can freely combine multiple pieces of armor that don’t cover the same hit location, but you can only layer armor if the inner layer is both flexible and concealable. Add the DR of both layers. Wearing an extra layer of armor anywhere but on the head gives -1 to DX and DX-based skills.
Near the end of the first century B.C., the Roman army introduced a new type of armor: a cuirass of segmented iron plates, known today as lorica segmentata. This was an early example of munitions armor, issued to men who couldn’t afford mail or a bronze cuirass (legionaries’ equipment costs were deducted from their pay!). It consisted of cheap-quality segmented plate covering the chest (areas 9-10) and shoulders.
Under this went a lightly padded subarmalis, with heavily padded shoulders and a kilt of overlapping quilted linen strips (pteryges) covering the abdomen (area 11). Under this was a regular linen tunic. On the legionary’s head was an iron helmet (galea or cassis) with cheek guards and a crest. On his legs and feet, he wore shin guards (ocreae) and hobnailed sandals (caligae). He carried a rectangular medium shield (scutum).
From the Armor Table (p. 111), medium segmented plate is DR 4, $900, 24 lbs. Segmentata only covers the chest, so cost and weight are 75%: $675, 18 lbs. Cheap quality is -1 DR, -0.6 CF, for DR 3, $270, 18 lbs. Shoulder protection is 10% of torso armor: $90, 2.4 lbs. Cheap quality yields DR 3, $36, 2.4 lbs.
Cost and weight of armor padding are included in the Armor Table (see Layered Armor, p. 103), but the kilt isn’t. Treat it as light layered cloth: DR 2*, $150, 12 lbs. The kilt only covers the abdomen, for 25% of cost and weight: $37.50, 3 lbs.
A tunic is ordinary clothing: 20% of cost of living ($300 for a poor citizen), or $60, and 2 lbs.
Treat the Roman helmet as a pot helm with cheek guards. As explained in Heavy Plate (p. 109), a DR 4 plate cuirass is $1,500, 12 lbs. A pot helm is 20% of that: $300, 2.4 lbs. Cheek guards (sans ear protection) are 10% of that – or $30, 0.24 lb. – for a total $330, 2.64 lbs. Cheap quality gives DR 3, $132, 2.64 lbs. We also need helmet padding (+1 DR, $10, 1.2 lbs.) and a crest ($20, 1 lb.). This headgear comes to DR 4, $162, 4.84 lbs.
Legs are protected by greaves. Starting with the DR 4 plate armor above, we note that shin armor has 50% of cost and weight, or $750, 6 lbs. As greaves cover only the front, we halve again: $375, 3 lbs. Cheap quality gives a final DR 3, $150, 3 lbs.
Feet are protected by hobnailed sandals (p. 98): DR 1 (bottom only), $50, 1.5 lbs.
Finally, a medium scutum (see Shield Table, p. 116) is DB 2, $140, 16 lbs.
The total cost deducted from our legionary’s pay is $905.50 (although this may have been subsidized). He’ll be carrying a load of 50.74 lbs. On top of this, he must carry his weapons and marching equipment.
The Basic Set takes an all-or-nothing approach to armor coverage: an armored hit location is completely covered, or nearly so (see Targeting Chinks in Armor, p. B400). For extra detail, use the following rules. A hit location may be covered by one or more pieces of armor which provide only an n-in-6 chance of protection. Add n if multiple items protect the hit location. Roll 1d whenever such a partially armored location is hit. On a roll equal to or less than n, DR protects.
An attacker can attempt to strike around partial armor. This gives a penalty over and above that for hit location: -(n-1), but never better than -1. That is, -1 for 1/6 or 2/6, -2 for 3/6, -3 for 4/6, or -4 for 5/6.
To conceal armor from somebody who’s looking for it, you must win a Quick Contest of Holdout (p. B200) vs. his Search skill (p. B219). Holdout suffers a penalty equal to DR for rigid armor, DR/3 (round up) for flexible armor. Armor designed specifically to be concealed gives +1 to +4 toward negating this penalty. Also add the bonus for clothes worn over the armor (e.g., Long Coat, p. 64, and Undercover Clothing, p. 64). Range penalties apply to Search.
Those trekking off into danger wearing footwear that hasn’t yet been “broken in” must make a HT, Hiking, or HT-based Soldier roll. Equipment Modifiers (p. B345) apply for custom-made footwear, which is of good or fine quality. Success means the footwear breaks in quickly, with a minimum of discomfort. Failure results in moderate pain (p. B428) for 2d days. Critical failure leads to terrible pain or even a crippled foot – GM’s decision.
The armor tables give the following information for each item of armor:
TL: The tech level at which the armor is commonly available.
Armor: The item’s name.
Location: The area the armor protects on a humanoid wearer. Individual locations are skull (top of the head), face (the face, excluding the eyes), neck, eyes, arms, hands, torso (the abdomen and chest), groin, legs, and feet. Limbs covers the arms and legs, but not the hands or feet. Head covers skull, face, and eyes. Body is neck, torso, and groin. Full suit is everything but the head.
DR: The amount of Damage Resistance the item gives. Subtract this from any blow that strikes the armored location. For instance, if you’re wearing a DR 6 corselet and are hit in the torso for 8 points of damage, only 2 points penetrate and affect you. Some armor has a split DR; e.g., “4/2.” This means DR varies by location or by type of attack; see the notes for that piece of armor.
“*” means the armor is flexible. Flexible armor is easier to conceal or wear under other armor, and quicker to don or remove, but it is more vulnerable to blunt trauma damage.
“F” means the DR only protects against attacks from the front.
Cost: The item’s price, in $. “K” is thousands; “M” is millions.
Weight: The item’s weight, in pounds.
LC: The item’s Legality Class; see Legality Class (p. 267).
Notes: Many items have special features or restrictions; see the notes after each table. Some advanced armor has built-in features that effectively grant the wearer advantages.