PPP, Hopefully quickly answered... Options

[FlashbackJon]

PPP doesn't count as additional pieces of armor for the purposes of encumbrance, but the additional armor rating does correct?

i.e. Armored Vest + Leg/Arm Casings + Vitals Protector (total 8B) requires Body 4 to wear without penalty?

[InfinityzeN]

Yes, their all accessories which add their rating to your armors for determining penalty.

[AllTheNothing]

PPP doesn't count as additional pieces of armor for the purposes of encumbrance, but the additional armor rating does correct?

i.e. Armored Vest + Leg/Arm Casings + Vitals Protector (total 8B) requires Body 4 to wear without penalty?

You are correct, they add to the total armor rating on which the eventual encumbrance penality is derived from; if the GM allowes it go for custom tailored armor to have an armor allowance of Body x 3 instead of Body x 2 (optional rule from Arsenal), take an Urban Explorer Jumpsuit with its helmet (6/6 + 0/2), a Full-Body Form Fitting Armor (6/2 count as 3/1 for encumbrance), ad Leg/Arm (1/1), Casings Vitals Protector (1/1), Forearm Guards or Shin Guards (both 0/1), now you have a 14/13 armor set that counts as an 11/12 against an allowance of Body x 3 (and none of the pieces is restricted nor forbidden, they are also all aviable at chargen).

[Degausser]

As a GM I disallow that armor, and instead use the arsenal optional rule that you can have one piece of armor that will never encumber you, as long at it is one piece of armor. It saves me a lot of headache on record keeping, and I don't have every guy running around with 14/13 armor at chargen.

[Neraph]

As a GM I disallow that armor, and instead use the arsenal optional rule that you can have one piece of armor that will never encumber you, as long at it is one piece of armor. It saves me a lot of headache on record keeping, and I don't have every guy running around with 14/13 armor at chargen.

Thank you for not answering the OP's question.

But yes, it does work exactly as you believed it does.

[Angier]

As a GM I disallow that armor, and instead use the arsenal optional rule that you can have one piece of armor that will never encumber you, as long at it is one piece of armor. It saves me a lot of headache on record keeping, and I don't have every guy running around with 14/13 armor at chargen.

where can I find this optional rule?

edit: nevermind, found it.

[hobgoblin]

You are correct, they add to the total armor rating on which the eventual encumbrance penality is derived from; if the GM allowes it go for custom tailored armor to have an armor allowance of Body x 3 instead of Body x 2 (optional rule from Arsenal), take an Urban Explorer Jumpsuit with its helmet (6/6 + 0/2), a Full-Body Form Fitting Armor (6/2 count as 3/1 for encumbrance), ad Leg/Arm (1/1), Casings Vitals Protector (1/1), Forearm Guards or Shin Guards (both 0/1), now you have a 14/13 armor set that counts as an 11/12 against an allowance of Body x 3 (and none of the pieces is restricted nor forbidden, they are also all aviable at chargen).

and probably looks padded enough that anywhere but a sports arena or z-zone will wonder what your up to...

[Zaranthan]

He's wearing a helmet, so that's a bit of a given.

[hobgoblin]

heh, now i got a vision of someone coming to work wearing all the PPP parts, then start to strip them of at his desk while talking to the coworkers about how intense the gang activity that morning.

[Draco18s]

I'm reminded of a character some forum guy made for a friend of mine's play-by-post games. Dude had like 20/20 armor with Body 3 or something crazy like that. GM told him (indirectly) that he was an idiot because of the encumbrance rules: he'd not be able to move, thus be helpless.

"Doesn't matter! They can't shoot me and do damage!"

"Yes they can. They walk up to you, remove your helmet, and take an aimed shot. At your head."

"No they can't!"

"Yes. They can."

(He gets a lot of crazy-stupid characters submitted for his games)

[paws2sky]

I'm suddenly reminded of SR1 and the live grenade eating competitions trolls used to get into... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/silly.gif)

-paws

[Zaranthan]

Ah, but once they remove his helmet, he'll be able to move again. He's like a temple guard.

[AllTheNothing]

and probably looks padded enough that anywhere but a sports arena or z-zone will wonder what your up to...

In Arsenal is stated that the PPPs come in three version, discreet to be worn below clothes, obvious to be worn above and in the form of sport gear, so if you use the underwear version you shouldn't stand out that much; however I have to say that underwear PPPs are way off in my opinion, and that they should only come as sport gear (making a stackable set similar to the suits from Mortimer London) or extra plating worn above clothes/armor.
@ Degausser: that set of armor has a price tag of 3'050 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) (not much but not little either) and can be taken care off with neurostun gas, or a supersquirt loaded with DMSO/Narcoject or DMSO/Slab, freaze foam granades, S&S rounds, lasers, the screetch rifle, stunbolts, called shots, etc. it's not that game breacking.

[hobgoblin]

heh, again my faulty memory gives me a foot in mouth moment.

hmm, that vitals protector sounds like a high tech jock strap...

and a helmet can never be considered high fashion, right?

i can almost see it now, a lady walks up to the charmer at the bar, cops a feel and ends up asking "how do you visit the bathroom in that thing?" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[AllTheNothing]

heh, again my faulty memory gives me a foot in mouth moment.

hmm, that vitals protector sounds like a high tech jock strap...

and a helmet can never be considered high fashion, right?

i can almost see it now, a lady walks up to the charmer at the bar, cops a feel and ends up asking "how do you visit the bathroom in that thing?" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Yeah, the helmet is bound to stand out and that vital protector is going to be pain in certain situations; however in a world in which there are people that use PMV (Arsenal p.107, the Horseman) to go around inside stores to avoid leaving the protection provided by the vehicle you can probably overlook someone going around with an helmet.
However I would like to point out that a jumpsuit isn't meant to be high fashion, if you want high fashion go for Mortimer or an Actioneer suit and the FFBA, or a Zoé's Moonsilver line for female (females have the disadvantage that fashion often tries to exalt their femminity, which usualy doesn't allow alot of covering limiting the armor wearable).

[tsuyoshikentsu]

The Vashion Island Synergist line actually has some of the best armor available for high fashion, and it comes with a longcoat with a concealable holster. (Total -4 Concealability!) That plus the PPP system (sans helmet) gives you 8/7, and you look ready to hit a corporate ball.

[Mäx]

Zoé's Moonsilver line for female (females have the disadvantage that fashion often tries to exalt their femminity, which usualy doesn't allow alot of covering limiting the armor wearable).

Thats one of the biggest reasons why i think the rules should just allow stacking of all armors, so my face could att least wear a coat or jacket over her second skin for extra protction on the way to the meet.

[hobgoblin]

Yeah, the helmet is bound to stand out and that vital protector is going to be pain in certain situations; however in a world in which there are people that use PMV (Arsenal p.107, the Horseman) to go around inside stores to avoid leaving the protection provided by the vehicle you can probably overlook someone going around with an helmet.
However I would like to point out that a jumpsuit isn't meant to be high fashion, if you want high fashion go for Mortimer or an Actioneer suit and the FFBA, or a Zoé's Moonsilver line for female (females have the disadvantage that fashion often tries to exalt their femminity, which usualy doesn't allow alot of covering limiting the armor wearable).

supposedly the horseman is a high-tech wheelchair. so i cant really see the argument. that is unless i yet again have missed some kind of semi-fluff on that vehicle...

[Zaranthan]

supposedly the horseman is a high-tech wheelchair. so i cant really see the argument. that is unless i yet again have missed some kind of semi-fluff on that vehicle...

You're thinking of the Transys Steed. The Horseman is more like a segway with a shell. People would accept either vehicle rolling about in a department store, but the former gives a sort of Stephen Hawking image while the latter is more like Bill Gates in a Popemobile.

[Neraph]

Thats one of the biggest reasons why i think the rules should just allow stacking of all armors, so my face could att least wear a coat or jacket over her second skin for extra protction on the way to the meet.

You're just thinking about the clothings that can be armor as well. Try talking to your GM and seeing if he'd be up to letting you buy a piece of clothing that has all the benefits of, say, a long coat (-2 Conceal underneath), but none of the armor, for the same price. Odds are he'll say yes.

[hobgoblin]

more like Bill Gates in a Popemobile.

as if the current pope was not bad enough...

[Zen Shooter01]

The armor rules are a headache.

The encubrance rule is a problem, because it's based on body. Characters with high Body can wear more armor, making the gulf between street samurai and faces all the wider. So I don't like that. Besides that, shouldn't future armor be more user friendly?

Now, with PPP and form fitting body armor in Arsenal, it's very easy for a beginning character to have 12 points of ballistic or more. The same gear is available to NPCs, and now everybody is impervious to gunfire - especially in light of the convert-to-stun rule.

So now everybody has to be armed with squirt guns, or sorcery, or assault cannons. The smallarm is obsolete.

[Mäx]

You're just thinking about the clothings that can be armor as well. Try talking to your GM and seeing if he'd be up to letting you buy a piece of clothing that has all the benefits of, say, a long coat (-2 Conceal underneath), but none of the armor, for the same price. Odds are he'll say yes.

NO, i wanted to combine secondskin with an armored jacket for extra protection.

[tsuyoshikentsu]

Now, with PPP and form fitting body armor in Arsenal, it's very easy for a beginning character to have 12 points of ballistic or more.

Well, if you're a troll, yeah, easy. If you're human, you either have some 'ware helping out or hardmaxed Body. If you're an elf, you did both. That's just for 12.

Besides, you can still take down a party with just stun.

[The Mack]

Well, if you're a troll, yeah, easy. If you're human, you either have some 'ware helping out or hardmaxed Body. If you're an elf, you did both. That's just for 12.

A couple of things here.

1) Why would Elves have to do both to compete with Humans? They have the same Body capabilities.

2) You don't have to have hard maxed body or have 'ware for 12 ballistic.

BOD 5 = up to 10 armor with no encumbrance.

Lined Coat or Urban Explorer Jumpsuit

Form Fitted Body Armor: Full Suit

Total ballistic protection = 12

Counts as 9 ballistic for encumbrance.

So you can now add a piece of PPP for a total ballistic of 13, counts as 10 for encumbrance.