[Icelander]

Originally Posted by weby

A normal plate carrier: no, not really unless you are in bulky clothing like full biker gear, as they tend to be built for military type use mostly.

But it should be noted that a standalone class IV plate does not really need an official carrier, it just needs something to properly hold it in place when you move.

The plates themselves are about 2 cm thick and 30cm by 25cm, so it is perfectly possible to build a non-military style carrier and try to hide such under medium clothing like a suit.

2 cm thick plates are clearly not very concealable, except maybe from very inattentive and unprofessional opposition... and when you are wearing arctic wear.

The thickness of non-metallic body armour is a point very much in favour of high-hardness steel trauma plates, even if they are inferior protection for their weight. A 6-7mm thick steel trauma plate can provide Level III protection, but actually might be concealed, at least more plausibly than ceramic plates three times as thick.

Aside, how are you defining 'full biker gear'?

My character would very much like to be wearing a lot of protective wear against motorcycle crashes and he wouldn't mind having some protection against being shot.* The problem is that he's supposed to look like an Iron Order MC biker, who while technically not outlaw bikers, dress very much like them.

What kind of protective wear can be worn while still selling that cover ID?

I've assumed a half-helmet, gloves, either combat boots or cowboy boots and elbow and knee protectors that go under the clothes, so aren't readily noticable.**

Could he wear anything else?

*We're just supposed to talk to people, convince them to accept a deal, but my character trusts the deserting, murdering head of the local cartel about as far as he can throw him and is pretty sure he'll try to have us killed.
**If someone notices, they are more likely to assume that the character is trying to appear more macho than he is and while he pretends not to wear any protection, actually prefers not to have his knees and elbows shattered or shredded even in a fairly low-speed crash.

Originally Posted by weby

You really also want shoulder and spinal protectors if possible. The basic "biker armor" has shoulders, knees, elbows and spine specially protected, in addition to the overall abrasion and minor bump protection.

Well, yes, I really want it, because I don't want my PC to get hurt. Don't want the other PCs to get hurt either. And given the way we drive, crashing seems like it is a distinct possibility.*

*My PC already failed one Driving (Motorcycle) check because he was showing off, enjoying feeling the rush of wind on his face after five years in prison and trying to get his mind off unpleasant personal things by testing his skills. And I'm not even the adrenaline-junky (Agent Rubio) or impulsive (O'Toole) PC. Fortunately, the GM allowed another Driving check to regain control and I only ended up skidding out of control for a moment, after which impact my character regained control, shaken, but mostly unhurt (some pains in the hands and arms from the shock of hitting a pothole, but below 1 HP resolution).

Originally Posted by weby

The gloves also have normally knuckle impact protection.

Yeah, everyone is going to carry motorcycle gloves, at least. They'll either need to be quickly removable or useable as shooting gloves. I'm guessing that the former is more likely than the latter, but both would seem somewhat incompatible with ideal protection in a serious crash.

Any suggestions for good gloves that can be quickly shed or could be worn during action-adventure scenes other than driving motorcycles without significant penalties?

Originally Posted by weby

As example my suit has removable(for cleaning etc) armor panels in those locations in inside pockets of the suit. But some have them as non removable parts.

Which armour panels, if any, could be concealed under civilian clothing, specifically something suitable for someone affecting outlaw biker attire, i.e. jeans, leather MC cut and some other suitable upper body wear, hoodie, jeans jacket, leather jacket or sweater?

Originally Posted by weby

I do not know what would be appropriate damage, but if you opt for actual racing suit instead of the skintight showoff suit you should really get minimal abrasion as that is the main thing they protect against. (the hardened parts or the armor panels protect against the actual impact as those are the things you hit unless there is something like a rock hitting some other part between the protections.)

Too late. We're already in Mexico, in play. The GM will allow us to define some of the equipment we took along more precisely in real-world terms, i.e. replace a generic 'motorcycle suit' with an appropriate real-world model, but it has been established that out of three characters who ride motorcycle, two of them are trying to look like Iron Order MC bikers and will not wear any protective gear that doesn't fit their cover ID (or at least cannot be concealed while still appearing right).

And it's established that Agent Ilana Rubio took a form-fitting and thin suit, which might look good, but is probably much less protective than the rugged racing suits with stiff armour for collisions. She also has a leather jacket, jeans and some kind of leather or pleather chaps, as her more inconspicious riding gear and some other basic clothing appropriate to her cover ID as a gang member of the ALKQN, so far unspecified.

Originally Posted by weby

You can occasionally actually see drivers in track motorbike races fall and glide along the track for quite a bit before stopping and then get up and walk away.

Indeed. What I am concerned about is what is going to happen to PCs dressed as semi-outlaw bikers too stupidly macho for protective wear, or in a skintight outfit designed for aesthetic appeal rather than function, when they inevitably suffer such a fall.

Agent Rubio, the woman in the skintight suit, is much tougher than an ordinary human, so she wouldn't necessarily suffer as much as the average person, but if she's only got, say, limited DR 1 from her suit, abrasion/road rash damage is still going to be horrible for her if it comes to 2d or anything close to it.