Here's an idea I had a few days ago: have custom-made armor for a dracoform, as seen in Eragon and other such movies/books with dragons that have armor. Blend the Vehicle Armor rules in with character armor.

Such as: You can only have an amount of Dragon Armor equal to twice your Body or 20, whichever is lower, and if your Dragon Armor is greater than your Body, your Run/Walk speed is reduced 20%. Also, use the Maximum Armor Modifications guidelines layed out in Arsenal, page 44 for the Dragon Armor, but allow Weapon Mounts on the armor (taking up as many modification rating points equal to the number of modification slots it would have taken in a vehicle).

Also, allow it to stack with the dragon's natural Hardened Armor (similar to Trolls and what-have-you). IE: a Drake character with Dragon Armor 6 would have Hardened Armor 10, and it would be able to support Nonconductivity 4, Chemical Protection 2, a commlink, and a microphone (so he can hear/talk through the 'link), but no more modifications.

This is especially useful to Drake characters, but Dragon NPCs would (in my opinion) also get a lot of "mileage" out of this as well.

The problem with drakes is that they tend to shapeshift and putting on all that armor takes time. For the most part they'd have to pick between being a tank and being human every run.

And no one would pick the tank.

I would, every time.

Western Drake Troll Mage with above armor = tank and mage at the same time.

Good luck walking down the street. Dwarf Fortress (and Never Deal With a Dragon) has taught me that even bums, corporate wage-slaves, drunks, and peasants can get lucky and fuck up a dragon.

That's just scary! That's all we need is dragons with more armor and a fixed firing arm with an assault cannon!

Drakes need more armor. Hardened 4/4 is pierced by every gun in the game. Dragons and Great Dragons? No, they don't really need it (8/8 and 12/12 hardened respectively).

Tell that to the Ares Thunderstruck Gauss Cannon. The above rules are meant more for PC Drakes, and for a logical application Dragons (and Greats) should have already come to.

For example, for whatever reason a group of runners needs to assault a dragon. They have some good gear, like ADPS rounds in Barret Model 121s and Laser Guns, or what have you. Said dragon has Divining, and knows he's about to be assaulted at home by large-caliber weapons (but not much else), so he goes to his armoir and gears up. Now he's at least on even footing with the assault team, and will likely survive (even if it means running).

I'd think even some of the greats would have Dragon Armor, if nothing else than to make themselves appear even more frightning (WTH it's a Great Dragon! And he's wearing plate-mail?!? I quit life!)

Sadly (yet funnily enough), the group I run with now... they'd take odds on how many shots it'd take to kill said Great Dragon. These guys are crazy insane.

Aint't that the truth. In my last game of DF, my great city of Pullwires had become a bustling metropolis that had something like 120 dwarves in it. Lo, a dragon showed up to loot my Platinum deposits! So I followed standard protocol and ordered all non-guards inside. I'd dotted the landscape with guard towers that had roofs, and only connected to the rest of the city via underground tunnels, so I felt like I could probably withstand a siege.

I ordered my crossbowmen to the towers. The dragon approached. Some schlub bone carver I'd converted to a crossbowman maybe a month earlier took aim, shot once, and killed the thing with some kind of crit to the eye. One shot. Nobody else even fired.

It was a big anti-climax.

AND he has his Armor spell up?

Yay for ShadowRun allowing for the stacking of things even when they confer the same bonus.

Mystic Armor (adept power) + Armor (spell) + Armor (worn) + Armor (natural) = win

[invitation to be flamed by Cain]
Now THAT'S what NPC burning of Edge is for!!
[/invitation to be flamed by Cain]

I'm betting it was one of the typical magic arrows of DF:
-Iron Blot- has pierced the dragon's right eye!
-Iron Blot- has pierced the dragon's left eye!
-Iron Blot- has pierced the dragon's spinal cord!
It is damaged!
-Iron Blot- has pierced the dragon's left fourth front tooth!
-Iron Blot- has pierced the dragon's brain!
It is mangled!
Dragon has been shot and killed

Yeah, that's about the way it went. Dinged around in his head and cored him.

*cough*

It's been more than implied that (at least) GDs have access to an armor spell that grants hardened armor and stacks with their natural hide.

I am not in the least bit surprised.

Aren't dragons like spirits immune to natural weapons?

No. They have hardened armor, meaning they don't take stun.

Armor (Spell) + Armor (Spell) + Armor (Spell) + Armor (Spell) + Armor (Spell) = win.

Typo fixed.

...Or you could have modified it to...

No. They have hardened armor, meaning they don't take stun when the modified damage is less than their armor rating.

Because that's actually what I meant. The whole "no damage resistance roll" part is unnecessary.