SWAT Zombies!

[Grell]

It is stated in "Endless Dead" for an encounter that a SWAT zombie in Riot Armor should be very hard to take down. I don't immediately see how in terms of mechanics when the AR of the armor is the same as the AR for the zombies. Beat the armor's AR and do damage direct to the zombie; go low and damage the armor. Seems much the same as not wearing any armor at all.

Did I miss something here? How would you handle this

[Rockwolf66]

Not to mention that actual "Riot" armor is more padding than Ballistic protection. As far as the "Assault" armot that Swat teams wear...it covers the body from shoulders to groin with an added Helmet that is open in the front. Nost body armor only covers 1/3 of the human body. SWAT armor just has an additional Helmet and protection for the upper arms.

They shouldn't be any tougher than a zombie where 60% of attacks against it just don't do anything.

[Grell]

Exactly my thoughts as well. Nothing in the established mechanics supports the book's claim, which is sad because I like the idea of an armored zombie encounter. Ultimately, it seems like another situation for a house rule.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Well most people houserule the AR thing. I know we do, and most of the people here on the forums do.

[Tadrith]

I house rule all armor in general in to 3 kinds. First of all the number on the dice is what determines whether you hit the armor or not, bonuses are counted as normal when figuring dodge and parry and all that. Armor on natural or non magical creatures, (I.E Zombies, Lizard-men, Dino's, stuff like that) a natural roll below the AR dose 1/2 to 1/4 damage. Armor from tech or magic (I.E. armor that has a set Sdc) is treated as normal a hit to the armor dose dmg to it's Sdc. Armor on powerful supernatural or magic creatures is treated as in the book hitting the armor dose no dmg. That makes zeds in riot armor easy to deal with from a rule stand point. The players have to take out all the riot armor before they can go back to dealing 1/4 dmg to the zed.

[Wooly]

"Riot armor" offers no ballistic protection. Rather it is designed to protect police officers/corrections officers, etc against blunt force trauma from rioters fists, rocks, clubs, etc. Helmet would be a PASGT or MICH (NIJ Level IIIA or less)or a civlian knock off with a lexan face shield.

Modern infantry combat armor like the Interceptor Body Armor System (IBA) also employed by SWAT teams only provides ballastic protection against centerfire rifle calibers through the use of composite cermanic armor plates (NIJ Level IV). Which only cover rought a 12 x 10 inch area (about the size of a clip board) on the chest and back. Soft armor covers upper arms/shoulders, neck/throat, torso areas not covered by SAPI plates and groin and offers NIJ level IIIA

Bottom line: Anyone with a centerfire rifle should be able to shoot zeds in the head with or without kevlar helmets.


Armor Level Protection

Type I (soft body armor)
(.22 LR; .380 ACP) This armor would protect against 2.6 g (40 gr) .22 Long Rifle Lead Round Nose (LR LRN) bullets at a velocity of 329 m/s (1080 ft/s ± 30 ft/s) and 6.2 g (95 gr) .380 ACP Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose (FMJ RN) bullets at a velocity of 322 m/s (1055 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). It is no longer part of the standard.

Type IIA (soft body armor)
(9 mm; .40 S&W; .45 ACP) New armor protects against 8 g (124 gr) 9×19mm Parabellum Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose (FMJ RN) bullets at a velocity of 373 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1225 ft/s ± 30 ft/s); 11.7 g (180 gr) .40 S&W Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) bullets at a velocity of 352 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1155 ft/s ± 30 ft/s) and 14.9 g (230 gr) .45 ACP Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) bullets at a velocity of 275 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (900 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). Conditioned armor protects against 8 g (124 gr) 9 mm FMJ RN bullets at a velocity of 355 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1165 ft/s ± 30 ft/s); 11.7 g (180 gr) .40 S&W FMJ bullets at a velocity of 325 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1065 ft/s ± 30 ft/s) and 14.9 g (230 gr) .45 ACP Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) bullets at a velocity of 259 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (850 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). It also provides protection against the threats mentioned in [Type I].

Type II (soft body armor)
(9 mm; .357 Magnum) New armor protects against 8 g (124 gr) 9 mm FMJ RN bullets at a velocity of 398 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1305 ft/s ± 30 ft/s) and 10.2 g (158 gr) .357 Magnum Jacketed Soft Point bullets at a velocity of 436 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1430 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). Conditioned armor protects against 8 g (124 gr) 9 mm FMJ RN bullets at a velocity of 379 m/s ±9.1 m/s (1245 ft/s ± 30 ft/s) and 10.2 g (158 gr) .357 Magnum Jacketed Soft Point bullets at a velocity of 408 m/s ±9.1 m/s (1340 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). It also provides protection against the threats mentioned in [Types I and IIA].

Type IIIA (Soft body armor and kevlar helmets)
(.357 SIG; .44 Magnum) New armor protects against 8.1 g (125 gr) .357 SIG FMJ Flat Nose (FN) bullets at a velocity of 448 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1470 ft/s ± 30 ft/s) and 15.6 g (240 gr) .44 Magnum Semi Jacketed Hollow Point (SJHP) bullets at a velocity of 436 m/s (1430 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). Conditioned armor protects against 8.1 g (125 gr) .357 SIG FMJ Flat Nose (FN) bullets at a velocity of 430 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1410 ft/s ± 30 ft/s) and 15.6 g (240 gr) .44 Magnum Semi Jacketed Hollow Point (SJHP) bullets at a velocity of 408 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (1340 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). It also provides protection against most handgun threats, as well as the threats mentioned in [Types I, IIA, and II].

Type III (Hard plates)
(Rifles) Conditioned armor protects against 9.6 g (148 gr) 7.62×51mm NATO M80 ball bullets at a velocity of 847 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (2780 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). It also provides protection against the threats mentioned in [Types I, IIA, II, and IIIA].

Type IV (Hard plates)
(Armor Piercing Rifle) Conditioned armor protects against 10.8 g (166 gr) .30-06 Springfield M2 armor-piercing (AP) bullets at a velocity of 878 m/s ± 9.1 m/s (2880 ft/s ± 30 ft/s). It also provides at least single hit protection against the threats mentioned in [Types I, IIA, II, IIIA, and III].


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_vest