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(Reasonably) Realistic Armour and Cover Degradation Rules

Contributed by Surrealistik
Sunday, 17 August 2008

Alright. The fact that armour does not degrade at all, and cover degrades far too slowly in Dark Heresy is, in my very
humble opinion, ridiculous. Consequently, I came up with this ruleset to address the issue. Be warned; the content strives
to arrive at a reasonably realistic system, so it may be a little verbose and over complex for some. Questions and
constructive feedback are very welcome.

Armour/Cover Degradation: Armour and cover degrade if they are sufficiently damaged, and certain types of damage
logically are more capable of inflicting Degradation than others. A piece of armour or cover is applicable for Armour
Degradation if the damage dealt to it is in excess of its Threshold, or twice its original Armour Points (this includes special
Armour Point values vs certain types of damage). The following passages describe in detail the differing rates of
Degradation between the various damage types:

Impact Damage: Striken areas of the armour/cover all have their Armour Points reduced by 1 point, plus an additional 1
point for every 2 exceeded Threshold increments beyond the first. Treat damage from Las weapons as Impact damage
for the purposes of calculating Degradation.

Explosive Damage: Striken areas of the armour/cover all have their Armour Points reduced by 1 point for each point of
damage dealt in excess of its Threshold.

Energy Damage: Striken areas of the armour/cover all have their Armour Points reduced by 3 points, plus an additional 2
points for every exceeded Threshold increment beyond the first. Treat damage from Las weapons as Impact damage for
the purposes of calculating Degradation.

Rending Damage: Striken areas of the armour/cover all have their Armour Points reduced by 2 points, plus an additional
1 point for every exceeded Threshold increment beyond the first.

Repairing Armour and Cover: Armour and cover can be repaired if they have any Armour Points remaining. The cost to
restore an Armour Point in materials (not counting labour) is equal to one, divided by the original Armour Points of the
piece to be repaired, multiplied by that piece's base market price, divided by four. The base market price for a piece of
armour is equal to the base market price of the suit it is from, divided by the number of locations that armour covers.
Round fractions to the nearest whole number.

Restoring a cover Armour Point costs an amount in materials (again not counting labour) equal to one divided by the total
Armour Points of the piece of cover, multiplied by its base market value (as determined by the GM), divided by four.

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Replacing Armour and Cover Any armour or cover piece that has had its Armour Points reduced to 0 is utterly and
permanently destroyed. A piece of armour destroyed in this way cannot be repaired, and must be replaced. Armour
pieces have the same Availability as the armour set they're from. Characters may also have to pay for the labour and
expertise needed to integrate the new piece with the rest of the armour.

Example: Xavius with Guardsman Flak Armour takes 11 Explosive damage spread across all areas. This is more than
the Threshold of his Flak Armour (4 x 2 or 8 versus Explosive damage), so Armour Degradation applies. The amount of
excess is equal to 3, so the Flak Armour's Armour Points in all areas is reduced from 4 to 1 point; leaving the Flak
Armour a mere 1 point of damage from being irrevocably and completely destroyed! Repairing the 3 points of
Degradation for even a single piece of armour will cost at least 9 Thrones ((3/4 * 300 / 6) / 4). Repairing it completely for
all 6 areas will cost at least 6 times that amount.

Example: Nihilus the Arbitrator, wearing a Flak Jacket, somehow takes 18 damage from a Lasgun in the torso. This is
more than the Flak Jacket's Threshold of 6 (3 x 2). Though the Lasgun deals energy damage, it counts as Impact
damage for the purposes of Armour Degradation. Consequently, the Flak Jacket's Armour Points are reduced by 1, plus
an additional 2, as four multiples of its original Armour Points were dealt in excess of its Threshold ((18 - 6) / 3 / 2 = 2).
The chest piece's Armour Points are reduced to 0, and it is utterly destroyed. Nihilus may purchase a replacement at the
cost of 25 Thrones, not including the cost of labour for its reintegration.

Shameless Plug: If you liked this ruleset, you may well like another I've authored that encompasses (relatively) realistic
wounding and injury, or my collection of weapon upgrades and attachments.

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