Armor Guidelines

“I always say the dents in a man's armor show he's battle-tested.” -Rich Paul

 All Armor Costume pieces brought into game need to be checked by a Guide in the Post Office, and tagged for safety, before being brought into play.

A Note for New Players: If you begin your first game with costumed armor, you will be awarded “Starter Armor” (Armor you get for free with a New Character) based on the Guidelines below.

Armor design for physical representation follows a certain set of Guidelines:

If you are making Starter Armor you will want to make a very basic set of armor for your first piece. Often times characters have armor crafted in game to produce better valued armor item cards. Better valued armor requires more coverage, and with that, you will want to leave yourself the leeway to add and improve your armor physical representation to match your newly in-game Crafted Armor.

5 points are awarded for Starter Armor.

If you have Non-Starter Armor, or Armor that has been crafted in game, your physical representation of that armor should match the blueprint’s listed requirements.

As a loose standard, we use the medical burn chart to determine percentage of coverage. Final call always comes down to your local staff member checking it over once you bring it to game, but this is a reliable tool to use when constructing your armor physrep.

Regardless if you are using starter armor or non-starter armor, you must wear the total armor physical representation to get the benefit of the armor. If you are not wearing your physical representation, you are not wearing your armor.

When crafting the physical representation for your armor there are some key points to keep in mind:

Safety. Do not make armor that you can not run in. Also, do not make armor that has sharp edges, points, or portions that could cause injury if someone were to get caught/whipped by your armor. Be considerate of yourself and your fellow players. Be sure to make armor that you can wear, is sturdy enough to take a little bit of a beating, and is sturdy enough that it will not break if you were to break into a full run.

Consideration. Any armor you wear is going to be struck by either latex weapons or come crafted contact safe weapons. Be sure that your armor will not cause damage to the weapons that strike you. This means no studs, jagged bits, or portions of your armor that could damage the contact safe props that have been designed to not harm you.

Weather. The weather changes a lot and varies from location to location. Be sure to wear armor that will not cause you to overheat, or, you will be able to combine with layers so that you can bundle up when it is cold.

Ease of access. You will have to take your armor off for someone to repair in-character eventually. If you can not get in and out of your armor, you may want to consider re-designing the prop.

Genre-appropriate. This is a post-apocalypse game that takes place generations after the fall of mankind. Tools are primitive, there are no fantasy genre influences, and life is hard in this world. Your armor should reflect the hard life that your character lives. Be sure to carve scratches, apply dents, paint on fake rust (not real rust, we don't need tetanus), dull the shine, add some blood stains, and carve in some bullet holes. Your armor is the most outward representation of who you are in regards to the apocalypse, make sure your armor tells the story of your characters travels.