| From: | Adam Getchell <acgetche@****.UCDAVIS.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Helmets |
| Date: | Wed, 5 Oct 1994 15:50:47 -0700 |
the lack of hit locations.
A helmet gives something like +2/+1 armor, _added_ to the base
armor the goon is wearing. In point of fact the helmet armor itself is
just as hard, if not harder than the armor material the goon is wearing,
but in Shadowrun with a sort of logarithmic power progression it didn't
make sense to double armor values for wearing helmets.
Huh? I mean that armor in Shadowrun is sort of averaged out over
the entire body, so that the values reflect what sort of armor a general
shot has to contend with. A helmet merely raises the average by adding
extra to another hit location.
Also, a Power 8 weapon is more than twice as good as a Power 4
weapon, especially against Armor rating of say, 2 (and infinitely better
against Hardened Armor 4).
In actuality, helmet armor is usually the hardest stuff in the
suit, not the least of which is due to the radical slope on the helm (more
glancing shots) and the fact that there is less of a weight penalty for
loading armor topside than over a breastplate (the same rationale explains
why Battleship Turret armor is heavier than the side belt). If you really
want a nitty-gritty simulation of modern fire combat, I'd suggest Phoenix
Command (and once you get the hang of the charts, it isn't too slow
either).
On the other hand, by head shot we usually think of a shot to the
forehead or mouth, or some sort of location where the armor ain't.
Trouble is, there are plenty of helmets (in Shadowrun) that don't have such
holes, especially Security armor and Military Grade Armor.
Looking at Called Shots, one finds one can use it to aim for a
weakness, like a chink in armor or somesuch, _if the firer is aware such
exists_. I don't see too many weaknesses in Milspec armor, so you can't
aim for something that just ain't there.
Wrapping this up, you can make a Called Shot to bypass the goon's
armor, but it wouldn't necessarily be a head shot per se (or you might
end up hitting the helmet). If they've got Full Security Armor or
Milspec armor, though, tough luck chummer.
+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|Adam Getchell|acgetche@****.engr.ucdavis.edu | ez000270@*******.ucdavis.edu |
| acgetchell |"Invincibility is in oneself, vulnerability is in the opponent"|
+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
