Armor Encumbrance, Cyber and Magic... Options

[Ravor]

I was wondering what people counted towards the Armor Encumbrance rule, it is my understanding that according to the book, all of the following should count. (As a side, what does RAW stand for?)


Bone Lacing
(On one hand it seems to make sense as increased weight is included as a Side Effect, but on the other hand, I thought that bulk was the main reason for the Armor Encumbrance rule.)

Dermal Plating
(Doesn't mention increased weight, and although clearly visible, something under the skin really shouldn't be considered 'bulky' I wouldn't think.)

Ortoskin
(If its supposed to be virtually indistinguishable from normal skin why should it add up as armor under the Encumbrance rules?)

Mystic Armor
(Normal Skin that is mystically hardened, doesn't make sense to me that it should count at all.)

Armor Spell
(The Armor spell is discribed as a Force Field, so surely it shouldn't count at all by my reasoning.)

Troll's Natural Armor
(Seems about the same as Dermal Plating to me.

Anyways, I was wondering what other people thought, I may end up recreating my second Character as with Impants and an Armor Jacket her Ballistic Rating is 11, and her Body is 4. (Although on the bright side, dropping her Impants would free up some BP for other uses, still I'm not sure I'd like the idea that magic rules handsdown over tech.)

Thanks,

[Dashifen]

RAW = Rules As Written

The only armor I use in the encumbrance rules is armor from gear. All other armor, unless specifically specified in the RAW does not apply to that rule because it's either magical, natural, or cyber- or bioware. Thus you pay for those three types of armor in different ways that the encumbrance rules.

[stevebugge]

[Shrike30]

Somewhere in the armor section or the FAQ (and I'll post a quote unless someone beats me to it or I forget, since i'm about to leave work) it says that it's the rating of the armor you're wearing that counts... and things that provide a bonus (expressed +B/+I rather than B/I) doesn't count towards encumberance. So, if you're wearing an armored jacket (8/6) with body 4 (meaning you're "maxed out"), and you throw on a helmet (+1/+2), you aren't suddenly encumbered for having on 9 points of ballistic, because the helmet is "bonus" armor.