Armor

Armor's how you keep from getting your ass handed to you by weapons with a higher Force stat that a character would normally be able to endure.

(For what little it's worth, the statistical arms race between guns, armor, and later melee weapons and the modification of the combat process, arose from estimating the Force value of a ballistic pistol against an unarmored character with average Hardiness. Everything's crenulated from there.)

(ALSO, for what it's worth, most of this information is retained from previous work done on the Webs Forum.)

Armor is equipment that is considered to be worn on a character's body at all times unless otherwise stated. It affects character stats at all times, both in and out of combat.

Armor Stats
Hardiness: In general, Armor provides it's own Hardiness value, which is used in the To Penetrate Step in Combat. This value is also used to represent the structural integrity of the armor, and can be degraded in combat by Sundering.

Penalties: Armor will usually penalize both Speed and Agility, to represent the ill effects of its bulk.

Armor Sizes
There are three distinct sizes of armor: Light, Medium, and Heavy. As the size of the armor increases, so does the protection it provides, as well as the penalties to Speed and Agility.

Light

This armor provides respectable protection without affecting mobility.

 * Hardiness: 5
 * Penalties: none

Medium
Armor that provides a balance between protection and mobility
 * Hardiness: 8
 * Penalties: -1 Speed, -0 Agility

Heavy
The best protection comes at the cost of mobility.
 * Hardiness: 11
 * Penalties: -2 Speed, -1 Agility

Armor Types
There are three categories of armor: Fiber, Ceramic, and Metal. Each of these is specialized to defend against a certain Damage Type, and provide a bonus to the Armor's Hardiness based on the damage type of the attack. Additionally, the categories provide additional penalties to Speed and Agility.

Fiber Armor
This armor is composed of dense fibers designed to resist, deflect, and insulate against Energy Damage, while providing minimal protection against other damage types. Fiber armor provides no additional penalties to Speed and Agility.
 * Energy Resistance: +6 Hardiness
 * Ballistic Resistance: +2 Hardiness
 * Slashing Resistance: +0 Hardiness

Ceramic Armor
An array of of overlapping ceramic plates provides exceptional protection against Ballistic Damage, as well as respectable protection against Energy and Slashing Damage. Ceramic armor applies an additional -1 Agility penalty.
 * Energy Resistance: +2 Hardiness
 * Ballistic Resistance: +6 Hardiness
 * Slashing Resistance: +2 Hardiness

Metal Armor
A combination of woven metal and hardened plates that excels at resisting Slashing Damage, while providing robust protection against Ballistic threats. Metal armor applies additional penalties of -1 Speed and -1 Agility.
 * Energy Resistance: +2 Hardiness
 * Ballistic Resistance: +4 Hardiness
 * Slashing Resistance: +6 Hardiness