Damage to Armor

[McAllister]

Originally Posted by The_Ryujin

Hmmmm? Not sure what your disagreeing with, I was saying that a flat penlity to DR, no matter the type, was silly so I would think that on at lest some level we're in agreement heh.

Actually, I... hm, you're right, we agree that the flat -1 is wrong. My mistake, I must have been spoiling for a fight when I posted.

To be honest, though, it may be more trouble than it's worth determining exactly how much DR each armor type has.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Typically yes, though semi-ablative is not an ideal model, it's just one well established in the rules. Ceramic-type inserts, in particular, are prone to damage over a quite substantial area.

Ceramic inserts, sure, aren't they already semi-ablative under RAW? I was more thinking flexible ballistic armor. (And I suppose the question also goes for flexible and inflexible metal armors.)

[The_Ryujin]

Originally Posted by McAllister

Actually, I... hm, you're right, we agree that the flat -1 is wrong. My mistake, I must have been spoiling for a fight when I posted.

No problem, we all have those kinda days.

Originally Posted by McAllister

To be honest, though, it may be more trouble than it's worth determining exactly how much DR each armor type has.

Oh, you just use the DR of the armor your using. If you have a DR 12 piece of armor on you just use Its DR of 12. Using RAW, to determine if it's damaged you'd subtract 1 from that 12. If you use my suggestion the armor would effectively protect its self with its DR x 0.9.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by McAllister

Actually, I... hm, you're right, we agree that the flat -1 is wrong. My mistake, I must have been spoiling for a fight when I posted.

To be honest, though, it may be more trouble than it's worth determining exactly how much DR each armor type has.

-1 seems like a simplification based on the assumption that armour has unimpressive amounts of HP and is Homogenous:

Originally Posted by B408

An attack only overpenetrates if its
basic damage exceeds the target’s
“cover DR.” To find this value, add
together the target or cover’s DR
[ . . . ]
and
HP (for flesh), 1/2 HP (for a machine,
vehicle, or other Unliving target), or
1/4 HP (for a Homogenous object).
Use the object’s DR alone if it’s a thin
slab, like a wall or a door. Finally,
apply any armor divisor.

Armour does seem to count as a thin slab, and either Homogenous or Diffuse. So at most ¼ of its HP contributes to its Cover DR; the rest of its Cover DR is in fact its innate DR.
Assuming that a single ceramic insert or whatever is about 1 lb of mass, that's a HP score of 8. ¼ that is 2.
Inaccurate, but easy to use in real time, in the middle of a combat.