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Old 01-26-2018, 01:52 PM   #1
Tigrah2k
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Michigan
Default Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

I have never seen any reference to this, I think because GURPS assumes stereotypical humanoid characters. I chose, however, to play outside the species box, by playing a reptileman. This begs the question, how does one armor a tail? Even a vestigial one would need some protection, since pain is a hindrance to combat, and even a vestigial tail is quite a large target.

My current working theory, is that it would have to function much like the TL4 version of the neck armor. Articulated, to some degree, and providing a very small armor bonus. This also alters the to-hit tables somewhat, which is likely why it wasn't considered by the original designers of the game.

Any thoughts, opinions, etc?
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Old 01-26-2018, 02:39 PM   #2
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

For a tail that isn't used for balancing, you'd probably just have a long skirt on your armor and keep the tail under it. For tails that are used for balance, it's hard to see how you armor them without horribly throwing balance off, but other than that you'd probably just use straps.
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Old 01-26-2018, 02:44 PM   #3
starslayer
 
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

Any species that has tails that can't be 'tucked in' and develops armour would develop armour for whatever needs armouring, so it would mostly be a matter of increased cost/weight due to the extra armour required.

Mail sleeve would seem to be the most obvious way to go, if its not a dragging tail it won't be in a lot of places to be hit by crushing attacks or stepped on and mail would give full flexibility rather than having to mimic the tail's bone links with plate.
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Old 01-26-2018, 02:51 PM   #4
Tigrah2k
 
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

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Originally Posted by starslayer View Post
Any species that has tails that can't be 'tucked in' and develops armour would develop armour for whatever needs armouring, so it would mostly be a matter of increased cost/weight due to the extra armour required.

Mail sleeve would seem to be the most obvious way to go, if its not a dragging tail it won't be in a lot of places to be hit by crushing attacks or stepped on and mail would give full flexibility rather than having to mimic the tail's bone links with plate.
That's a cool thought. I'll have to work with my GM on this.
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Old 01-26-2018, 02:53 PM   #5
mlangsdorf
 
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

I'd generally treat a significant tail as another arm for determining the cost and weight of armor. Really big tails might be treated as legs.

I don't see any significant restrictions on the type of armor, either: you could make a cloth sock that covers the tail and secures around the waist and around each leg (like a jockstrap in reverse), and then reinforce that as necessary to provide the attachment points for armor.

If you're using armor rules that penalize bulky armor on areas with lots of flexibility (like Better Fantasy Armor's rules for joints or Low-Tech's rules for faulds over the abdomen), then the entire tail should be considered a flexible area.

Ninja'd by Starslayer.
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Old 01-26-2018, 05:42 PM   #6
Ulzgoroth
 
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mlangsdorf View Post
If you're using armor rules that penalize bulky armor on areas with lots of flexibility (like Better Fantasy Armor's rules for joints or Low-Tech's rules for faulds over the abdomen), then the entire tail should be considered a flexible area.
I'd say this depends on whether you actually need tail flexibility. A lot of mammals don't really seem to need a tail at all, so immobilizing it in a rigid sheath likely wouldn't be debilitating. Obviously a prehensile or striking tail would be non-functional if protected that way. A T. Rex balancing tail might not need to bend, but probably does at least somewhat.
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Old 01-26-2018, 05:46 PM   #7
GWJ
 
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

In Pyramid #52 there is simple system to creating your own armors. Only thing you need with this article is to know surface of tail and to know what material do you want. And I think you can do this like for a cone (or cone + cylinder):

Example:
(L)ength: 2 yards.
diameter (in thickest place): 0.5 yards; so radius is 0.25 yards.

Surface of this tail is π x 0.25 x 2 = π x 0.5 = ~1.57 square yards = 14.13 sq ft. Let's say just 14 square feet for simplicity. And if you have surface area, you just do what is in the article. Two examples for this case (not there are all very heavy and expensive due to surface area - twice area of human torso's area):

* Iron mail tail armor:
Weight: 7.56 lbs per 1 DR (max 14 DR)
Cost: $30 per 1 lb. of armor's weight.

* Steel plate tail armor:
Weight: 6.496 lbs per 1 DR (max 14 DR)
Cost: $250 per 1 lb. of armor's weight.
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Old 01-26-2018, 05:56 PM   #8
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

There is, of course, the fact that armoring the back hasn't historically been a high priority, and the tail is on the back.
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Old 01-26-2018, 06:34 PM   #9
Flyndaran
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

But a back is harder to hit than a moderate to large size tail swinging around looking so inviting to enemies.
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Old 01-26-2018, 06:42 PM   #10
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Tail armor, for tailed PC and NPC?

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Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
But a back is harder to hit than a moderate to large size tail swinging around looking so inviting to enemies.
No, it really isn't. Neither one can be practically hit from in front at all, and if you're behind your target, there are usually more useful things to hit.
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