Armor and Encumberance, A question about helmets Options

[Emperor Tippy]

1. Is the helmet factored in when calculating encumbrance?

If so does that mean that only a person with a body of 6 could wear Full Body Armor without being encumbered?

[Ranger]

1. Is the helmet factored in when calculating encumbrance?

If so does that mean that only a person with a body of 6 could wear Full Body Armor without being encumbered?

Yes to both questions.

"If a character is wearing multiple armor items, add their ratings together before comparing to Body" (SR4, 149).

[Emperor Tippy]

So another rule that makes no sense. I'm really tempted to change encumbrance to Body*3. Or just go with the first piece of armor isn't counted for encumbrance rule.

I mean when wearing regular security armor with a helmet requires you to be in Olympic level shape you have a problem. And you can't even get any ware to augment your body.

It's kinda sad that your better off with a Full Body suit of Form Fitting armor plus an Urban Explorer Jumpsuit with Helmet. It provides the same armor as Full Body Armor + Helmet and costs less than a third the price.

[Ranger]

Yes, for sure there are several whacked out things in the rules, this being one of them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

If that bothers you but you still want to stick to the rules, you can try the rule tweaks suggested in Arsenal:

• Ignore armor encumbrance entirely if a character is simply wearing a single armor item (even if that’s a full body armor suit). Only apply encumbrance when a character is stacking armor or using a
lot of armor accessories (helmet, shield, forearm guards, etc.).

• Allow characters to buy customized armor that is specially-tailored for their specific bodies (much like how military-grade armor is fit to each person). Custom-fit armor could either ignore encumbrance entirely, or increase the armor allowance to Body x 3.

[Emperor Tippy]

Yes, for sure there are several whacked out things in the rules, this being one of them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

If that bothers you but you still want to stick to the rules, you can try the rule tweaks suggested in Arsenal:

• Ignore armor encumbrance entirely if a character is simply wearing a single armor item (even if that’s a full body armor suit). Only apply encumbrance when a character is stacking armor or using a
lot of armor accessories (helmet, shield, forearm guards, etc.).

• Allow characters to buy customized armor that is specially-tailored for their specific bodies (much like how military-grade armor is fit to each person). Custom-fit armor could either ignore encumbrance entirely, or increase the armor allowance to Body x 3.

Yeah, I will most likely go with you can just ignore the armor with the lowest encumbrance and helmets are counted as part of their armor piece.