• DPoNI Home
• The Rules
• Character Creation
• Roles
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• Feats
• Powers
• Playing the Game
• Combat
• Equipment
• Wealth
• General Gear
• Weapons
• Armor
• Poisons
• Ninja Gear
• Supernatural Items
• Ships
• Creatures
• License
• The Tools
• The Setting

This material is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
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ARMOR AND SHIELDS

Armor's just not really popular among the islands. It makes swimming hard, it's hot, and it interferes with your bravado and ninja eliteness. Neither pirates nor ninja really bother with it, much, to be honest.

Note that the Armor Training feat is a Warrior feat.

Armor Check Penalty

All armor has an armor check penalty that applies to certain skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Stealth, Sleight of Hand and Swim. The armor check penalty for each armor type is a penalty that is two higher than the armor's Toughness bonus, except for Swim, which is twice two more than the armor's Toughness bonus.

So armor that grants a +1 Toughness bonus imposes a -3 penalty on Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Stealth, Sleight of Hand checks, and a -6 penalty on Swim checks.

Armor and Fatigue

In addition, wearing armor for extended periods of time causes non-lethal damage. Each hour armor is worn, the wearer must make a Fortitude save against a Difficulty equal to 15 plus the armor's Toughness bonus. Failing this save causes the wearer to take a Bruised condition. No recovery checks against this non-lethal damage are possible until the armor is removed.

Armor Types

If you still really want armor, here are the available armor types in the islands.

Beaded: This armor is made of multi-colored beads and is often worn by native chieftans. It is bright and decorative, but provides some protection. Because it is designed for island life, the Difficulty for the Fortitude save to resist fatigue while wearing beaded armor is reduced by 2, making a Difficulty of 14 rather than 16.

Cord: Less decorative than beaded armor, woven cord nonetheless supplies strength and protection against blows. Like beaded armor, cord armor has a lower Difficulty for the Fortitude save to resist fatigue. The Difficulty for cord armour is 15 rather than 16.

Leather: Boiled stiff and strongly jointed, this armor covers the vital areas with hard leather plates.

Studded leather: Leather armor reinforced with steel strips and studs.

Imperial Soldier: A set of metal plates laced together and protecting the torso, the shins and the head, this armor is provided to Imperial conscripts to afford them some chance of surviving their first battle. Most denizens of the islands attack people wearing this armour on sight.

Imperial Lord: Much more expensive and more effective than the soldier's armor, the lord's armor covers more extensively and with heavier plates. This armor is often decorated in bold and intimidating designs. The life expectancy of anyone walking around the islands with this kind of armour is measured in minutes.

Breastplate: A few pirates here and there strap steel to their body, scoffing at the terror of all sailors of being knocked overboard and sinking to their doom Perhaps they don't know how to swim, anyway.

Shields provide a bonus to Dodge, much like the bonus provided by cover, since shields are basically a form of mobile cover. Additionally, shields provide a bonus to Parry. A character using a shield may choose to which to use against any given attack.

Shields also carry the same sort of armor check penalty as armor, which is equal to two more than the Dodge bonus of the shield (twice that for Swim checks).