Item Crafting

[LCDarkwood]

So I thought Focus Items are an exception to the column rule.

Oho! You're right. See? Tired.

So, +2 strength.

Base item strength becomes 8 shifts.

It doesn't actually change the armor effect - you need 12 shifts for a permanent Armor:3. So if you're smart, you keep the 8 shifts.

However, that does leave you 3 slots free to keep for enchanted items or potions. And those items default to 8 shifts.

So, there's that.


-Lenny

[LCDarkwood]

Does that mean those with Inhuman Toughness can't stack it's benefits with worn armor? Because that...doesn't make alot of sense, actually. And makes it definitively worse than Inhuman Strength, whose Stress bonus most definitively does stack with weapons.

The Strength powers outdistance the equivalent Toughness powers on purpose. So, no apologies there.

Armor simply isn't a 1:1 thing when you're talking about gritty modern stuff. Even in real life, so-called "bulletproof" vests still often result in a cracked rib when you get shot center mass by a decently-sized round. There's a point at which, especially when you're talking about units of measure as large and abstract as the ones we use, that layering doesn't really help. I think that's even the case with supernatural defenses - if you've got an Armor:1 innate toughness, but you've encased yourself in Armor:3 protection, the big number is the one that matters, dramatically speaking. (Hell, I could even see that as a way of dealing with the Catch, for some beings.)

I could have gone with a Cyberpunk 2020-esque solution, but that would have resulted in a lot of fractions and rounding, which would have pretty much put us at the equivalent of no stacking anyway.


-Lenny

[Sebastian]

The Strength powers outdistance the equivalent Toughness powers on purpose. So, no apologies there.

Armor simply isn't a 1:1 thing when you're talking about gritty modern stuff. Even in real life, so-called "bulletproof" vests still often result in a cracked rib when you get shot center mass by a decently-sized round. There's a point at which, especially when you're talking about units of measure as large and abstract as the ones we use, that layering doesn't really help. I think that's even the case with supernatural defenses - if you've got an Armor:1 innate toughness, but you've encased yourself in Armor:3 protection, the big number is the one that matters, dramatically speaking. (Hell, I could even see that as a way of dealing with the Catch, for some beings.)

I could have gone with a Cyberpunk 2020-esque solution, but that would have resulted in a lot of fractions and rounding, which would have pretty much put us at the equivalent of no stacking anyway.


-Lenny

Magical/mundane armour should stack, if you wear kevlar/steelplate over your enchanted tshirt that should decrease the energy your tshirt has to deal with resulting in the equivalence of a stacking effect. Of course which kinds of damage gets through should also matter.

[SoulCatcher78]

Magical/mundane armour should stack, if you wear kevlar/steelplate over your enchanted tshirt that should decrease the energy your tshirt has to deal with resulting in the equivalence of a stacking effect. Of course which kinds of damage gets through should also matter.

It's too bad that you'll likely die of heat exhaustion before arriving at the fight though   

[void]

Personally, my hangup is that if you have some kevlar or composite weave or SOMETHING, and you start stitching runes into it, you should be able to reinforce it for less effort than it'd take to create an equivalent defensive effect without that underlying infrastructure. Getting Armor:3 from kevlar should be easier, require less work and personal investment, than from a t-shirt.

On the other hand, the system doesn't really _track_ non-magical items on a character strength/balance level, so there isn't anything currently to keep everyone from going "My armor is this special material plus this extra enchantment"..

And of course the gripping hand is that we haven't seen anyone wearing enchanted body armor yet, have we? Is that because of traditions/closed mindedness on the part of wizards we deal with? Aside from Harry, who hasn't had the resources/funds for actual armor throughout most of the series, it's pretty well established that most of the White Council is kind of stuck in their ways.

I feel like I'm missing a crucial piece of this puzzle.

[Deadmanwalking]

Yeah, from a perspective of logic, enchanted armor should be better than regular armor...and both should stack with inherent toughness. On the other hand, we don't want layering to get out of hand...that could get really bad. Also silly.

Hmmm. Maybe a cap on how much armor can stack? Stacked armor maxes out at, say, 3 and can't go any higher? And of course the proviso that physical armor of level 2 or higher is really obvious.

[Belmonte]

And of course the gripping hand is that we haven't seen anyone wearing enchanted body armor yet, have we? Is that because of traditions/closed mindedness on the part of wizards we deal with? Aside from Harry, who hasn't had the resources/funds for actual armor throughout most of the series, it's pretty well established that most of the White Council is kind of stuck in their ways.

Doesn't Carlos wear Kevlar with his grenades and things?  I /think/ I recall a reference.

Kevlar's only Armor 1-2, anyway.  Personally, I wouldn't make a big deal of it, but I would, if they were using such a material, maybe add +1 or +2 to the wizard's Lore for that item only.  I'd also make a note that if they're stopped, police will be curious.  Even if not illegal, they'll wonder why the guy in the periphery of the case is wearing kevlar.  I think the tradeoff of 'a bit of a boost' verses 'you have to possibly deal with police' is a fair tradeoff.

Edit: Don't know if this works, actually.  Mostly because +1-+2 isn't enough to actually have an impact for armor.  Maybe rather than complicating stuff, just eyeball.  Say that a 'suitable material' gives +1 to the final value, and call it a day.

[JosephKell]

Magical/mundane armour should stack, if you wear kevlar/steelplate over your enchanted tshirt that should decrease the energy your tshirt has to deal with resulting in the equivalence of a stacking effect. Of course which kinds of damage gets through should also matter.

Actually the reason Michael stacked his armor was because the plate part was better against claws (slashing) and teeth (which can crush) and the Kevlar helps against guns.

So Michael's armor was probably Chainmail (Armor:2 vs melee/thrown) and Lots of Kevlar (Armor:2 vs guns).  Do we ever see anyone shoot fire at Michael?  The listing of "Armor:2" seems like a simplification.

You just apply the best armor that is applicable.

Firefighters in Fate would have Armor:3 against fire and Armor:More against smoke inhalation (assuming they are using their breathing rig).  It probably has a limitation of "really ****ing heavy and hot" (suffer a penalty to Athletics and Might checks while wearing it).