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Called Shot bypassing armour?

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Sun, 2013-04-28 00:50
#1
Deadite Deadite's picture
Called Shot bypassing armour?
Character X has surprised and shot Character Y. X's Called Shot roll was successful and he has chosen armour defeating. Y has Heavy Bioweave Armour, Smart Skin and an active Crash Suit. Called Shot rules (p197) say ""in certain circumstances, a gamemaster may rule that an opponent's armor simply doesn't have a weak spot or unprotected area, and so disallow such called shots". So what layers are bypassed? My first thought is that the Crash Suit is defeated and the Smart Skin is not, but what about the Bioweave Armour? I would think that the Heavy Bioweave has 'weak spots' around the joints where it allows flexibility, but would these areas be fully defeated with a called shot or should the stats for Light Bioweave be used instead. This is for a PC vs PC scenario and I don't want to be unfair to either side. I'd appreciate any opinions.
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Sun, 2013-04-28 02:24
Smokeskin Smokeskin's picture
Go with what you'd normally
Go with what you'd normally do. For me, that would be bypass all armor. I just can't be bothered with keeping track of individual armor layers.
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Sun, 2013-04-28 08:01
DivineWrath DivineWrath's picture
I say all or nothing. Its a
I say all or nothing. Its a simple answer. If you get too bogged down in the details, you're never going to get the game played.
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Mon, 2013-04-29 12:52
NewtonPulsifer NewtonPulsifer's picture
It's not overly complex if
It's not overly complex if you make the rule decision before hand and then note the separate armor ratings (those armor(s) that can be bypassed on a called shot and those that cannot). Go for it if you want to. If you want to houserule something you can do the middle ground and provide 1/2 armor value instead of full for the bioweave and smartskin instead on a called shot (instead of all or nothing). Once again if you calculate it ahead of time and put it on the character sheet fiddly simulationist rules are usually okay. Ones like the rule where your initiative drops when you're wounded is the kind of rules my players did not like at all when I ran EP. Too easy to forget about. Remembering to use a different armor value on the called shot I don't think would be forgotten as easily - the whole called shot process sort of invokes a separate checklist aware thought process (at least for me). If its just another rule that gets forgotten in your group (like the initiative thing above for mine) I'd recommend just taking the "all or nothing" advice. Streamlining rules has definite advantages. WARNING: I tend to extensively house rule just about every RPG I run.
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"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."- Isoroku Yamamoto
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Wed, 2013-05-01 01:17
OneTrikPony OneTrikPony's picture
Personally I make the player
Personally I make the player Call the shot. I don't like playing slop. The player should describe how his character manged to bypass the armor. If he didn't make a perception check first that shouldn't be an easy shot to call.
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Mea Culpa: My mode of speech can make others feel uninvited to argue or participate. This is the EXACT opposite of what I intend when I post.

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Wed, 2013-05-01 13:27
Decivre Decivre's picture
I agree with OneTrikPony. Let
I agree with OneTrikPony. Let the player call the shot, and then determine what's bypassed from there. I learned to do this because of Shadowrun. If someone calls a shot at a target's eyes, and it turns out they have eye covers, it shouldn't bypass that armor... that's the very scenario that armor was purchased for. In that same vein, a called shot to the joint of a powersuit probably won't bypass the bioweave on the character's flesh, but it shouldn't be up to you to declare where that player needs to aim in order to make the shot bypass all armor. If they want to look, make them roll an appropriate check (knowledge check or perception check) to see if they spot a real opening. Then you can tell them where they can fire for a perfect shot, if there even is one.
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Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]
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