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[Narmio]

So, my group and I are discussing the exact rules on armour layering. Particularly, what happens when you have mroe than two items of armour that layer. The layering rules in sr3 say this isn't really possible, but they were written before Form Fitting Armour became every munchkin's (and discrete types, but usually just munchkins) wetter-than-normal dream.

SR3 says you take the rating of the highest rated piece of armour and add it to half the second highest piece. If you are wearing, say, a lined coat and an armour vest with plates, this means you get 4|3 + (4|2)/2, or 6|4. But the rules do NOT say "add it to half all the other pieces", as might happen when you add a form fitting full body suit to the above. 4|3 + (4|2)/2 + (4|1)/2 == 8/4.

I think it's from a realism standpoint reasonable that in a few select situations such as this one, a character can wear three layers of armour, but from a game-balance standpoint that means characters can have insane amounts of armour, way more than security and military armour can provide, which just doesn't make any sense. A character with 9 quickness (Not as uncommon as it might sound, I have a munchkin infestation at times) can get a secure jacket, armour vest with plates AND a form fitting full suit for a whopping 9/4, and add forearm guards on top of that. Then they could grab a riot shield...

So, what do people use? What combos past two layers, if any, do people usually allow? How do people deal with players who can start the game and say "meh, security armour sucks, my stuff's better", and ignore anything short of full auto fire with their dermal sheathes and Leopard-III style armour?

Implementing the proposed restriction means EVERYONE winds up wearing a secure jacket and form fitting armour, too. No variety whatsoever.

Thoughts?