Quote:
Originally Posted by Hellboy
I am wondering if it might be possible to just partially remove flexible armor (like shift it to expose some skin to bypass the DR) without needing to pin the opponent.
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Shifting clothing aside during a grapple should be possible, but note that most flexible armor - and a good deal of clothing, particularly at lower TL's - is going to be secured with various straps and belts and the like, both for keeping (say) the pants from falling off and to prevent it from shifting around too much, which with the high weights of flexible armors can be tiring. Shifting unsecured clothing/armor out of the way (how far it can be shifted is up to the GM, as it will vary depending on design and location) is probably doable simply as an Attack during a grapple, with the foe being able to defend as normal. For secured clothing, you need to either destroy the restraints (probably the same rules as for cutting the straps of rigid armor) or remove them first. Removing them I'd eyeball as nominally taking 1/4th of the armor's Don time, but if the foe isn't pinned (or, in TG, reduced to 0 DX) this is instead a sequence of Attacks, with the foe being able to defend normally. Each successful hit counts as 1 second of the time needed to remove the armor. A foe who manages to break free with his straps partially undone may reconnect them by taking Ready maneuvers - each Ready negates one of the foe's previous successes. A foe who's straps were completely removed requires twice as long to reattach them as they nominally took to remove. Flexible armor that isn't secured, unless light enough to count as clothing, imposes a -1 DX to the associated body parts due to the weight shifting too much during combat. For simplicity, the armor is treated as completely secured (cannot be shifted) until the straps have been completely removed, and completely unsecured (can be shifted) until the straps have been completely reattached if they were previously removed.
Note that Expertly Tailored and Masterfully Tailored flexible armor may be tightly-fit enough to not need straps, but also be extremely difficult to shift. For simplicity, assume it cannot be shifted, and must instead be removed or destroyed.