According to RAW, there is no real drawback when wearing Heavy Battle Armor (except for its price). So every PC should get one when expecting heavy fighting. Is that correct? Sounds a bit odd to me. Is there something I miss?

-Its encumbrance is only reduced by 3 when worn, so it's still 3 encumbrance.

-Not only is it crazy expensive, it's Restricted and rarity 7 as well, meaning that from a narrative standpoint it will be very hard to find it.

-There are certain places or situations where having heavy armor is a bad idea. For example, if you are in a situation where you are trying not to fight, or if you need to wear a disguise.

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are other reasons, and it's ultimately up to the GM exactly how that heavy armor might affect your task at hand.

-Its encumbrance is only reduced by 3 when worn, so it's still 3 encumbrance.

-Not only is it crazy expensive, it's Restricted and rarity 7 as well, meaning that from a narrative standpoint it will be very hard to find it.

-There are certain places or situations where having heavy armor is a bad idea. For example, if you are in a situation where you are trying not to fight, or if you need to wear a disguise.

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are other reasons, and it's ultimately up to the GM exactly how that heavy armor might affect your task at hand.

and most civilized planets will take offense to someone wearing it who is not military/ police.

While it's not in the Core, I would have no problem giving a Setback die (at least) for doing certain things in heavy armor - climbing up a tree, chasing after someone on foot through a spaceport, etc.

Well, how many people did you see wearing heavy armor other than Clone/Storm troopers in any of the films, or in the comics, or TV? Not many.

Armor in EotE is good but not so good that people without it are at a serious disadvantage, they can use cover and heavy cover to get nearly the same effect (unless you are house ruling cover and armor stacking which my group doesn't and this is one of the main reasons). We want our game to keep that Star Wars'y feel and not turn it into a strictly battlefield kind of thing. Heavy Armor is useful and desirable for a certain type of character concept and it's those characters that will wear it, the rest may on special occasions don Heavy armor but for the most part it just doesn't "fit".

It's not covered in the rules, but I would add a setback dice or two to a lot of agility and athletics type skill rolls. I can't see it being very easy to sneak, swim, or shimmy through an air duct in a suit of armor,

While it's not in the Core, I would have no problem giving a Setback die (at least) for doing certain things in heavy armor - climbing up a tree, chasing after someone on foot through a spaceport, etc.

A Setback dice to each armor that still has weight after -3 reduction for wearing it - Heavy Army and Laminate.

Properly fitted armor doesn't inhibit movement to a degree that ought to inflict a setback die just for wearing it.

That said, the encumbrance of a worn heavy suit of armor is going to go a long way toward eating up a character's Encumbrance Threshold. Looking at a Stormtrooper as an example:

Brawn 3 (Encumbrance Threshold: 8)

Blaster Rifle (Enc 4)

Vibroknife (Enc 1)

2 Frag Grenades (Enc 2)

Laminate Armor (Enc 4-3=1)

Utility Belt (Enc -1)

Extra Reloads (Enc 1)

So, just with that load-out, the Stormtrooper sits at exactly his Encumbrance Threshold. (Convenient, isn't it?) Give them Heavy Battle Armor, and they have to drop 2 Enc units to avoid the setback die for being over their Encumbrance Threshold.

Clever players could figure out a way to add one or more units of encumbrance to a trooper and really mess with his day.

Properly fitted armor doesn't inhibit movement to a degree that ought to inflict a setback die just for wearing it.

I would highly disagree with this when wearing heavier armors. I wear this almost daily:

It barely affects me. For game purposes it shouldn't affect really any tasks. But, I sometimes wear this:

It DOES affect my performance. For game purposes it should easily add a setback die when climbing a tree, jumping over a hole, etc. Only certain tasks though. It doesn't affect shooting or driving, for example. This armor is soft kevlar, but typically thicker then the concealable vest above. Even if you don't add the extra hard plates to chest, back, sides, etc, it will affect athletic ability. Hardened armors such as Laminate and Heavy Armor would definetly affect certain checks. It's not just the weight, it's the cumbersome nature of the armor.

Looking through the skills list, I think one Setback die to Laminate and Heavy Armor only when performing Athletic, Coordination, and Stealth tasks.

I agree with Sturn, I've worn a similar rig as the second picture for a few hours strait (not professionally but for some training) and although it isn't particularly uncomfortable it does get cumbersome after a while and does affect some kinds of movement, plus you can get pretty hot and sweaty.

I've also worn *cough - GEEK - cough* Storm trooper armor (my friends not mine, really), the kind you see at cons, and even though it's just super light vacu-pressed plastic it still interferes with your movement. Granted "real" trooper armor may be better fitting but I think it would still feel bulky.

I think the encumbrance heavier armours consumes goes a long way. While I understand the setback die sentiment, I'm not feeling the Star Wars-esqueness in it, but that's me.

Another way to make heavier armours more bulky is to reduce the "armour worn deduction" to 2 or 1. That way you more easily go above the encumbrance threshold and start adding setback dice to brawn and agility checks.

And there's the possibility that stormtroopers just usually didn't get individually form-fitted armor for logistical (lies, it's more like budget) reasons, even if they were conditioned to bear the weight. Mind you, one may question whether the grenades in question actually having their Encumbrance calculated individually...

Interestingly enough, one of the WEG suggestions for making stormtroopers more of a threat was for a GM to deem veteran stormtroopers as not suffering the penalty (-1D to Dexterity and related skills) due to all the time they'd spent in their armor.

Not sure if everyone is forgetting the major problem with such Heavy armour. Take the Storm Trooper example above. He has an Encumbrance Threshold of 8 and conveniently is carrying 8 Encumbrance-worth of gear, sure. But...

As per p152 under Encumbrance Threshold, "if a character is encumbered by an amount equal to or greater than his Brawn rating, he no longer earns a free maneuver each turn. The character can still perform up to 2 maneuvers, but each maneuver costs 2 strain."

As worn Heavy armour has an encumbrance value of 3, you would need a Brawn of 4 or more to be able to take a Maneuver without spending Strain. This sounds pretty serious to me!

The funny part is the example which comes straight after the above quote in the book. It goes on to say that Luke has a Brawn of 2, and therefore does not get a free maneuver each turn if he's carrying NINE or more points of Encumbrance!?

Now, even if this rule is a typo and should infact say "equal to or greater than his Encumbrance rating", the Trooper still doesn't get his free maneuver. He can either make an Action OR convert it into a maneuver that round. He can't do both.

Space Monkey,

I think you are reading the Encumbrance Threshold rule incorrectly because it is very unclearly written. It was explained here .

Space Monkey,

I think you are reading the Encumbrance Threshold rule incorrectly because it is very unclearly written. It was explained here .

Ah! Right, gotcha. In that case.. I ... um... take back everything I just said... erm... Oo! Whats that over there! *points one way and runs in the opposite direction!*

I was reading the rules incorrectly also, until I read your post and then start checking the rule and errata topic.

*He run that way!*

I'm normally of the "assign penalties to heavy armour"-school, but in the case of this game I'm happy to sit back and let the Encumbrance rules do the work for me. No need to overcomplicate things. A character who piles on heavy armour isn't going to be able to also lug around a light repeating blaster, a medkit and a vibro-axe without suffering.

Properly fitted armor doesn't inhibit movement to a degree that ought to inflict a setback die just for wearing it.

I would highly disagree with this when wearing heavier armors. I wear this almost daily:

It barely affects me. For game purposes it shouldn't affect really any tasks. But, I sometimes wear this:

It DOES affect my performance. For game purposes it should easily add a setback die when climbing a tree, jumping over a hole, etc. Only certain tasks though. It doesn't affect shooting or driving, for example. This armor is soft kevlar, but typically thicker then the concealable vest above. Even if you don't add the extra hard plates to chest, back, sides, etc, it will affect athletic ability. Hardened armors such as Laminate and Heavy Armor would definetly affect certain checks. It's not just the weight, it's the cumbersome nature of the armor.

Looking through the skills list, I think one Setback die to Laminate and Heavy Armor only when performing Athletic, Coordination, and Stealth tasks.

I think the bigger issue you're running into with the second armor is that you only wear it "sometimes". It's not your normal gear. Another aspect of the issue is that you're dealing with armor that is almost a 'one size fits all' affair, which limits how well it can be adjusted for proper fit.

Having watched folks in 40+ pounds of steel armor (full, medieval-era plate armor, with chain and a padded gambison underneath) do cartwheels, backflips, running vaults onto live horses from the ground, and such, I stand by the statement that a properly fitted armor isn't going to, in and of itself, hinder your movement enough to account for a setback die.

Having built and worn Stormtrooper from a kit myself, I can tell you that there's a *world* of difference between armor cut to the default cut lines, and armor which has been tweaked to fit the wearer properly, and the differences were almost always less than 1/4" for me. (Some of it also involves switching from the 'standard' elastic bands shipped with most kits to leather, nylon, or canvas strapping.)

Truthbetold I'd suggest that narratively-speaking, "tweaked to fit the wearer properly" could or should be one of the benefits of getting a Superior Armor Customization, as opposed to the standard armors in the game being "cut to the default lines"... the latter of which every "line" stormtrooper is doomed to by the sheer size of their organization.

Especially when lore has it that the Imperial Department of Military Research as both designer and apparently sole-source manufacturer thereof, apparently no subcontracting out...

I think this question is akin to: "Mercedes is a superior car, so we can expect everyone to have one, right?"

I bet swimming in heavy armor would be really hard.

Funny thing is, I'm looking at this all in the context of "how would I stat dark trooper armor?" You never know, somehow your PCs might run across a Phase II suit...

I think the bigger issue you're running into with the second armor is that you only wear it "sometimes". It's not your normal gear. Another aspect of the issue is that you're dealing with armor that is almost a 'one size fits all' affair, which limits how well it can be adjusted for proper fit.

Having watched folks in 40+ pounds of steel armor (full, medieval-era plate armor, with chain and a padded gambison underneath) do cartwheels, backflips, running vaults onto live horses from the ground, and such, I stand by the statement that a properly fitted armor isn't going to, in and of itself, hinder your movement enough to account for a setback die.

Even so I wear it monthly for hours at a time. It's not "one size fits all" in the least bit. At least not what I wear. You are measured and the kevlar is cut for you. There are lots of adjustments to be made to the armor that you can't see from the outside. It fits quite well. It is still very bulky. Yes I CAN climb a tree in it or attempt a cartwheel, but it will defintely be harder to do (a setback die) then without it. Those knights doing flips I'm sure would agree that they could do the same performances more easily if they stripped out of the armor. No one here is arguing you can't do certain tasks, just that they are at least slightly more difficult (a setback die).

Again, it's not the weight, but the bulkiness. My normal patrol gear (concealable vest, belt) weighs 26 pounds. My special response team gear (vest, armor plates, pouches, weapons, helmet, etc) is well over the 40 pounds of the knights' armor. Depending on how many and what types of rifle plates you wear, the armor itself can reach close to 30 pounds. But it's not the weight I'm complaining of in the armor, but the pure bulkiness.

We are kind of getting into minutea here. I understand the points on both sides. It's just a game after all. Keeping it as written (with Encumbrance rules) is still going to have some realism. For me, I wish to keep my PCs from running around in Laminate or Heavy Armor eventually, since as pointed out it loses some of the feel of Star Wars heroes if they do so. With what has been suggested above (it's costly, illegal, etc), plus a Setback die for some tasks, it helps keep the PCs out of the stuff.

Funny thing is, I'm looking at this all in the context of "how would I stat dark trooper armor?" You never know, somehow your PCs might run across a Phase II suit...

I would look to AoR beta, page 216 for Darktrooper Armour. However, since it's an NPC, all we get is " Powered armour (+2 soak, +1 defense) " in the equipment entry. So it looks like heavy battle armour with a missile tube, plasma shell assault cannon, and a jetpack attached.

Unfortunately, I can't find anything on how the jetpack works >_<

-EF

Unfortunately, I can't find anything on how the jetpack works >_<

-EF

There's been a couple of threads on this, I believe. There are rules for them in EotE.