[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Where could he fit abrasion and impact protection inserts?

For that I'd literally go with "He wears a jacket that incorporates it", maybe chaps if he can get over the 'stereotype' (honestly it's not an issue in my area, but Chase is from Georgia which mentally is a bit more The South than Florida). A lot of guys ride with a decent leather jacket with reinforced elbows. Most* hog riders skip stuff like 'fancy' (anything that's more than just an extra layer of leather) armored jackets, knee and elbow pads, and armored gloves... because they are Real Men[TM].


* In fact it's safe to say I've never seen a Harley rider that wore more protection than a jacket, helmet, riding gloves, riding boots, and chaps. Most eschew chaps, many eschew the jacket. Almost all at least wear riding gloves, helm† (half-helm), and boots though.

And by 'riding gloves', I mean the thin leather riding/driving gloves.

† In Florida many skip this. Our laws allow for that with a lot of extra insurance required and most cops won't bother pulling someone over to check, unless they are looking for a reason to pull you over, then it's a good one. Likewise with improper footwear (flip-flops and sandals are explicitly not allowed to be worn by motor vehicle drivers in Florida despite it happening a lot).

Might it be best to wear some kind of sport vest under the body armour, fitted with a back protector? Then his denim jacket and jeans could have kevlar inserts for the knees and elbows, at least.

He should skip denim and go with subtly reinforced leather jacket and chaps. Unless denim is required for the cover i.d.

I regret to say that Taylor regards leather cowboy boots as a stylish accompaniment to formal dress.

Many in The South do. It's not uncommon. At least he isn't one of those "these are my formal flip-flops" heathens that we get here in Florida.

As he's also under the impression that a plaid shirt with sleeves and a denim jacket without any great quantity of engine oil on it constitutes dressing up in a 'shirt and jacket', he's somewhat sartorially challenged in polite company.

That's a very common attitude for "good ole boys and gals". However, keep in mind, his Momma probably raised him better, so he will understand that sometimes one simply must be a bit more formal (clean slacks, button-up shirt, clean shoes (or impeccable boots*) and jacket).


* Many Good Ole Boys take extraordinary pride in their footwear. I am obviously not a GOB.

What kind of skill modifiers, if any, and DR are we looking at?

Standard riding boots, probably DR 2*. 'Up armored' boots would give as much as DR 2*/3* (Everything/Crashes).

The extra bit for crashes comes from the large metal rings over the ankles, extra reinforcement on the ankle and soles, etc, but the overall boot isn't really going to stop bullets any better.

* Flexible.

Various footwear gives +/-2 to such skills as Climbing, Hiking, Running and Stealth. I suppose Driving (Motorcycle) might be affected as well. Ideally, we'd want to avoid penalties to any skills, but provide at least decent protection while riding.

Boots (even gym shoes) would count as "Proper Gear" for skill mods. Anything less should give a penalty.

Slick soled shoes/boots (cowboy boots, business shoes, etc) should give a -2 to controlling a bike at very slow speed (the kind of speeds where you put your foot down to balance) and stops, as it's so very easy for your foot to slip and for you to fall over and lay the bike down.

Flip-flops and sandals (and loose or untied shoes) would be -4 at those speeds, -2 in general (the ease of one's foot slipping off the pedal).

I'd be liable to treat high heels as sandals.

Some people claim that anything with laces is a hazard... but as I mentioned above, personally I think this is simply skill failure and "the laces got caught" is the excuse for the skill roll failure.