Accept the developer question above clear says you can't gain the benefits of armor and weapons at the same time.

Actually, I think I'm going to drop a line to developer's question anyway, because the above question doesn't bring into account talents that directly raise defense.

I should say I submitted a rules question on the matter, specifically asking about the interaction of the Defensive weapon quality (which is stated to "increase" melee defense), and armour.

I'm inclined to not trust the previous dev statement simply because it ignored the "Defensive Training" talent, as that most certainly should be calculated into -something-.

I agree it seems like Sam may have screwed that one up:

* bold on "item qualities" by me

** https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/fe/65/fe65c91d-6a10-470b-8dfc-f78a8227d5fe/swe02_faq_lowres.pdf for reference

Yeah, I'd go with the FAQ. Plus, Sam is only human, so any answers from him or the other designer should be taken with a grain of salt, especially if it contradicts earlier information.

There is still that line in the rules. Defense from different sources does not stack.

All these different interpretations of the FAQ are looking at it through rose-colored glasses.

The ways to increase your static defense value are from mods on that item, such as the mods on the curved hilt.

You choose your item with the highest static defense that is increased by the mods on it that say +1 defense or +1 deflect.

There are other talents that increase the defense on an item, such as the Imbue Item talent that can increase the melee or ranged defense of armor by 1 for as long as the Force Die is committed.

You don't increase the static defense value of the cover you are behind by having a cortosis shield in your hand.

Those are different sources and they do not stack.

Let's take your last exemple and add that you are wearing armored clothing having a Defense rating of 1.

Your Cortosis shield grants only Defensive 2 (if i'm not mistaking), and Defensive states that it increases your Melee Defense value by that number.

Your Cover grants a Static Defense Value of 1.

Your Armored clothing grants a Static Defense Value of 1.

To get your total Melee and Ranged Defense, you choose a Static value (either Cover or Armor because they both have 1), so your base Melee Defense and Ranged Defense is 1, and then you add modifiers from talents, item qualities and powers (your shield increases your static value by 2), for a total of 3 Melee Defense and 1 Ranged Defense.

Donovan and tinkerghost got it right.

There is still that line in the rules...

Which as I posted above, you are taking completely out of its intended context. I would suggest going back and re-reading the full paragraph in the book. Do so, and you'll see that said reference to "different defenses not stacking" has nothing to do with things like armor, weapon, or item qualities.

Well when I get the book in front of I'll do that, but for now... how about you explain how 2 swords and 2 shields in the arms of the 4 armed race from that AoR sourcebook works. Because you guys are trying to say that swords and shields are not separate sources od defense from worn armor.

.

Sam Stewart answered a question and instead of accepting his answer you guys claim he must be wrong and are clinging to a very liberal interpretation of the faq.

Well when I get the book in front of I'll do that, but for now... how about you explain how 2 swords and 2 shields in the arms of the 4 armed race from that AoR sourcebook works. Because you guys are trying to say that swords and shields are not separate sources od defense from worn armor.

.

Sam Stewart answered a question and instead of accepting his answer you guys claim he must be wrong and are clinging to a very liberal interpretation of the faq.

1. Even I'm not saying they -should- stack, I'm asking where the rule limitation is that they can't stack.

2. Given the FAQ statement, how the rules are worded, and the difference between a -source- and a -increase-, I'm inclined to believe it isn't solely the result of "simply" applying the "multiple sources of defense don't stack" rule.

3. How is it a "liberal" interpretation of the FAQ? It is clearly differentiating between "sources" and "increases," and then it goes on to give an AND list of potential increase sources that are then added into a source (it being an "and" list matters because that indicates that all listed points can be added in)

"Then any armor, talents, and item qualities he has that “increase” his defense value are added to the static value he chose."

NOT

"Then any armor, talents, or item qualities he has that “increase” his defense value are added to the static value he chose."

So I sent a message yesterday:

Some confusion regarding the way personal scale defense works in the game. The rule section covering defense says multiple sources do not stack and you use the best source of defense. However, the description for the Defensive and Deflection weapon qualities describes them as "increasing" defense equal to the ranks of the quality. So if a PC has melee/ranged defense of 1 gained from armor, does a weapon with Defensive 1 and Deflective 1 have 2 ranged and melee defense (with them "increasing" the defensive value of the armor), or is it simply the way the paragraphs are worded, and the weapons are to be treated as separate sources of defense from the armor, with the PC only using one of them? Also, how do the different talents that increase melee defense and ranged defense interact with this? One last bit regarding the Defensive Training talent. The talent gives Defensive equal to ranks in it, and it says it replaces the Defensive quality if a weapon already has it. Does Defensive Training change the quality of the weapon if it has better ranks of Defensive (Defensive 2 over Defensive Training 1), or does it change it regardless of the ranks in Defensive?

And got this reply:

We are currently re-evaluating how personal scale defense works in the game, and may have a more comprehensive answer in the future. So at this point, we cannot answer your question. Sorry about that!

Got the same response. Here's hoping to a quick and effective resolution. Personal scale defense has always been a pretty heave sticking point of the system to me (seems like it becomes really easy to hit someone and pretty XP taxing to get things to not get hit).