Armor Stacking

By The Asgardian, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

In the core rulebook, it states you can stack personal armor and get the def and soak bonuses as long as they don't come from the same source (two set of heavy battle armor and etc...).

We have a player who wore a Nomad greatcoat (+2 soak), a Zelcomm heavy cloth uniform (from Shadow of the Black Sun +2 soak), and a Caatch vest (+2 soak) for a total +6 soak and his Brawn of 2 to make it a 8 soak.

Has anyone else come across issues like this?

-Ashe-

Not so far, since my players know they would be laughably told no, its one thing to suggest a personal defense field and wearable armor stack, quite another to just pile on various clothing pieces to try and get +6 soak.

Is a reason the wearable armor can be Modified for effectiveness and talents exist to increase soak or armor or on characters, you start allowing silliness like the example provided and your in for a world of power player creep.

I believe that Sam Stewart has stated that all worn armor counts as a single source of Soak. That means that only the highest Soak among the various pieces you wear is going to matter.

joey.png

>100 Soak! I win Star Wars!

I hope FFG adds this to the next errata so it can die...

Where does it talk about armor stacking? I can't find any mention of it in the core rulebook at all.

It says multiple sources of soak stack. So some people assume that means armor stacks and not that armor is categorically considered a single source.

Also I miss WEG and it's Space Hobo class template...

Edited by Ghostofman

P. 207 CRB. Second Column, next to the last paragraph. "Different sources of soak stack, such as heavy assault armor and subdermal plating. Multiple applications of the same source do not stack-..."

Armor is a source of soak, you are allowed one application of that source. Subdermal plating is a cybernetic upgrade. That would be a separate source. Some talents provide some as well.

P. 207 CRB. Second Column, next to the last paragraph. "Different sources of soak stack, such as heavy assault armor and subdermal plating. Multiple applications of the same source do not stack-..."

Armor is a source of soak, you are allowed one application of that source. Subdermal plating is a cybernetic upgrade. That would be a separate source. Some talents provide some as well.

Hm. Reading it in the raw, I can see how it would get confusing. But I agree with you, and that'll be my judgment if it ever comes up in my game. Fortunately, I don't have any rules lawyers (yet) and no one but me has read the CRB cover-to-cover.

If you search the topics there's probably 3 or 4 threads on it. They tend to go over all the issues pretty thoroughly if you ever need the ammo to shoot down a rule lawyer.

Fortunately, I don't have any rules lawyers (yet) and no one but me has read the CRB cover-to-cover.

The skills of a rules lawyer can be a boon in the right hands, so lacking a rules lawyer isn't necessarily a fortunate thing. The better ones can cut right through some rules issues and see problems before they explode at the table.

Maybe it is an age thing, but when we run across things like that we tend to just chuckle and know what they intended.

I think the spirit of the rule is using the highest source of soak a particular suit gives you. Like if I have heavy battle armor and threw a nomad greatcoat over it I would only have 2 soak from my armor not 3. But if I was wearing armored clothing and put a catch vest I would have soak 2 against energy weapons along with the 1 defense because of the armored clothing.

Considering that if you are wearing Armor and hiding behind Cover you only use the highest rating, I highly doubt the spirit of the rules is to stack Armor.

The skills of a rules lawyer can be a boon in the right hands, so lacking a rules lawyer isn't necessarily a fortunate thing.

The better ones can cut right through some rules issues and see problems before they explode at the table.

Yeah, I've sunk myself and friends in the poop many a time with "Uh, actually guys...".

Rules lawyering shouldn't be about gaining an advantage, it should be about knowing where you stand.

[right fist over heart, staring off into the distance]

Edited by Col. Orange

What is going on with the Quote boxes and all the extra line breaks?

Yeah, I've sunk myself and friends in the poop many a time with "Uh, actually guys...". Rules lawyering shouldn't be about gaining an advantage, it should be about knowing where you stand.[right fist over heart, staring off into the distance]

Upwind of you for preference. :P Considering the talk of poop.

We're really having this conversation again?
Unlike facepalms, you can't stack armor.

double_facepalm.png

We're really having this conversation again?

Unlike facepalms, you can't stack armor.

Well we were .

But then somebody came along and made us feel really bad about ourselves and our life choices and stuff. :unsure:

Edited by Col. Orange

Well my wet blanket dice pool is yyyg with two boost die. Also, it has the superior quality. The nice thing is I can wrap it around my three armors I wear at all times and it adds +2 soak.

Edited by sonovabith

Well my wet blanket dice pool is yyyg with two boost die. Also, it has the superior quality. The nice thing is I can wrap it around my three armors I wear at all times and it adds +2 soak.

So if you had that on with your Heavy Battle Armour, that'd be +4 Soak, right? ;)

We're really having this conversation again?

Unlike facepalms, you can't stack armor.

double_facepalm.png

It is the Groundhog Day of rules discussions.

I imagine it follows print runs. New edition comes out > bunch of new people buy it > they have the same queries the chaps who bought the previous run did.

Edited by Col. Orange

Which is surely a good thing from FFG's perspective......

Which is surely a good thing from FFG's perspective......

True dat.

Of course it's good for us too - without continuous sales I image the line dies.

Actually you could say it is a good sign. If certain things, which those of us who have been around for a long time have seen often, keep coming up it is usually an indicator that new people are buying the game. I would be more concerned if these kinds of things stop coming up.