[Low-Tech] Padded Cloth and Layered Armour penalty

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Plane

Which pyramid? Sounds great.

To my knowledge, there are three - Low Tech Armor Design (TL 0-4), Cutting Edge Armor Design (TL 5-9 IIRC, with emphasis on TL 8 and 9), and Ultra Tech Armor Design (TL 9-12). I know the first is in Low Tech II, and the second I think in The Cutting Edge. The last I believe is in one of the Tech and Toys, but can’t recall which one (IV maybe?).

I just figured if you treated blunt trauma that gets through as crushing damage to the next layer of armor. So if you had a 25 DR cape above a 5 DR shirt hit for 25 crushing, 5 BT-as-crushing hits the shirt, and then 1 BT-as-crushing gets through the shirt to hit the person?

BT is injury, not damage, so the character is looking at 5 HP lost.

Another rule to keep in mind which I remember seeing somewhere in Low-Tech is only Rigid armor has Chinks and that Flexible armor doesn't have Chinks, so would that mean as leather moves from flexible to rigid it gains chinks? Seems strange.

Armor thick enough to lose GURPS Flexible needs to be designed more like plate - one designed like a leather bodysuit would leave the wearer unable to move.

However diminished, it feels like it ought to do something though... as little as leather "skintight" overtop plate might protect against something like a knife slash, the knife still has to slice through the leather before it can begin to scratch up the metal.

As I mentioned upthread, half DR may be appropriate.