Armor Penalties Explained Intermediate
Armour is a trade. Understand what it costs before you decide it is worth paying.
Heavy armour protects but slows you and cripples stealth, Dodge and Martial Arts — match armour weight to the build.
What Armour Costs
Heavier armour reduces combat movement speed, hurts stealth, and penalises Athletics, Dodge and Martial Arts. It also adds encumbrance.
When The Cost Is Worth It
On a front-line tank whose job is to stand and block, the speed loss barely matters and the protection is decisive. Heavy armour is correct there.
When It Is Not
On assassins, martial artists, ranged shooters and high-Dodge skirmishers, armour penalties gut the build. These characters want light gear.
The Rule
Match armour weight to role. Tanks wear heavy, specialists wear light, and most of the squad sits comfortably on medium.
“Beak Things are fast. The only safe response to one is a head start.”