Armor Operation
Armor that’’s bulky, heavy, and cumbersome hinders the character using
it. This is reflected by a penalty to the character’’s action check and
the lessening or negating of a character’’s Dexterity resistance
modifier. The Armor Operation broad skill and its specialty skills
help to alleviate these penalties.
The Table in the Armor Section lists the various
types of armor available and indicates which ones require the user to
take an action check and Dexterity resistance modifier penalty. Under
the “AP” column on that table, an entry of “0” means that the Armor
Operation skill is not needed to use the armor effectively, and no
action check or Dexterity resistance modifier penalty is associated
with it.
Having just the broad skill allows a character to reduce the action
check and Dexterity resistance modifier penalty of any type of armor
by 1 step. An action check penalty can be reduced from +1 to 0, or
from +2 to +1, and so on—but this benefit never provides a bonus. A
Dexterity resistance modifier penalty can be similarly offset, perhaps
returning the character’’s resistance modifier to its original value.
If the value under AP is greater than +1 then ranks in **armor
operation-combat** are needed to completely cancel the penalties
(refer to the [armor operation-combat
armor](/skills/armor-operation/combat-armor) for more details).
A character with the broad skill who is decked out in armor can
attempt any actions he wants, though some strenuous physical
activities (jumping, running, climbing, etc.) may require an Armor
Operation check.
In general, an Ordinary result on this skill check indicates a half
effect (run at one-half the normal rate, for example), while a Good
result or better indicates a full effect (run at the normal rate).
For a character untrained in Armor Operation, an action check and
Dexterity resistance modifier penalty associated with any type of
armor always applies. An untrained character can’’t do anything but
walk and make simple attacks while using any armor that carries an
action check and resistance modifier penalty. Simple attacks are just
that—no rank benefits, such as the double-strike benefit related to
the Melee Weapons specialty skills, can be employed by an untrained
character who is wearing cumbersome armor. Also, an untrained
character can’’t use any type of powered armor.
Note: the AP penalty of armors and shields is cumulative.