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The Ultimate (?) Shadowrun Barrier Rules Interpretation
by Damion Milliken and Gurth
with some input from Vince Pellerin
Throughout these rules, unless otherwise stated, roundings are to be made down, and performed after all calculations have been completed. Thus, 9 - 5.5 + 2 would equal 5.5, rounding down to 5, NOT 9 - 5 + 2 = 6, rounding down the 5.5.
BARRIER RATINGS
These rules replace the Barrier Rating rules found on page 98 of SRII. They are actually extrapolated house rules that are based upon many hours of research through, and deliberation on, the SRII rules.
There are two Effective Barrier Ratings. The first, the Damage Barrier Rating is for damaging the barrier (AKA “Break Through”). The Penetration Barrier Rating is used for penetrating the barrier (AKA “Firing Through”). Both of these Effective Barrier Ratings can be calculated from the base Barrier Rating, and the type of attack, as per the table below.
| AMMUNITION/ATTACK | DAMAGE BARRIER RATING | PENETRATION BARRIER RATING | SOURCE |
| APDS ammo | Barrier Rating x 31 | Barrier Rating / 2 | SRII + house rule |
| Armor-Piercing Anti-Vehicle Weapons | Barrier Rating x 31 | Barrier Rating / 2 | SRII + house rule |
| Blasts | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | SRII |
| Blunt melee weapons | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | SRII |
| Cannon rounds | Barrier Rating / 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | SRII2 |
| Combat spells | Barrier Rating x 2 | –3 | SRII |
| Damaging Manipulation spells | Barrier Rating | Barrier Rating | SRII |
| Explosive ammo | Barrier Rating / 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | SRII |
| EX Explosive ammo | Barrier Rating / 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | SRII & Fields of Fire |
| Flechette ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | SRII |
| Gel (Stun) ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | SRII |
| Needle ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating4 | Neo-Anarchist’s Guide to Real Life |
| Regular ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | SRII |
| Sharp melee weapons | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | SRII |
| Shot shotgun rounds | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | SRII |
NET.SOURCEBOOKS
| Black Triplex ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | Chromebook 2 |
| Acid ammo | Barrier Rating5 | Barrier Rating x 2 | Chromebook 1 |
| AP Flechette ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| APFSDS shotgun ammo | Barrier Rating x 3 | Barrier Rating / 2 | Blackhand’s Street Weapons 2058 |
| API ammo | Barrier Rating x 3 | Barrier Rating / 2 | Chromebook 1 & 2 |
| Armor Piercing ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating - 2 | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Depleted Uranium ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Dual Purpose ammo | Barrier Rating | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Duplex ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | Running Gear |
| EHI cannon ammo | Barrier Rating | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Firepower ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | Street Samurai Catalog/Running Gear |
| Fragmentation Flechette ammo | Barrier Rating | Barrier Rating x 2 | Chromebook 2 |
| Flare shotgun ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | – | Chromebook 2 |
| Flash shotgun ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | – | Chromebook 2 |
| Gas shotgun ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Glaser ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating x 4 | Running Gear |
| HE shotgun ammo | Barrier Rating / 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | Blackhand’s Street Weapons 2058 |
| HEAP ammo | Barrier Rating / 2 | Barrier Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| HEAT shotgun ammo | Barrier Rating / 2 | Barrier Rating | Blackhand’s Street Weapons 2058 |
| HEP ammo | Barrier Rating / 2 | Barrier Rating x 2 | Chromebook 1 |
| HESH ammo | Barrier Rating | Barrier Rating x 2 | SWO Guns |
| Hollow Point ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating + 2 | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Incendiary ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating + 2 | NERPS: Shadowlore |
| LAPHE ammo | Barrier Rating x 1.5 | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Multi-flechette ammo | Barrier Rating x 3 | Barrier Rating / 26 | Chromebook 1 |
| Ramjet ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Rubber Bullets | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Safety Rounds | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating6 | Blackhand’s Street Weapons 2058 |
| Silver ammo | Barrier Rating x 3 | Barrier Rating x 2 | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Smoke shotgun ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Stinger shotgun ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Stundart ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | Chromebook 1 |
| Teflon coating | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Tungsten ammo | Barrier Rating x 2 | Barrier Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
NOTES
- This is a house rule to make APDS and armor-piercing weapons (such as many anti-vehicle weapons) less damaging to barriers, due to their higher armor piercing ability than regular rounds and weapons. The SRII rule is to use the Barrier Rating x 2.
- SRII does not specifically say so, but these are treated here as explosive rounds.
- Combat spells cannot hit someone on the other side of a barrier they are attacking, unless they are an area of affect physical combat spell.
- Will not penetrate an unmodified Barrier Rating of 3 or higher.
- If the Power Level exceeds twice the Damage Barrier Rating, the Barrier Rating goes down by 1 in addition to any normal reductions.
- Will not penetrate an unmodified Barrier Rating of 4 or higher.
The Damage Barrier Rating is calculated and then compared to the Power Level of the attack. There are three possibilities, per the Barrier Effects Table on page 98, SRII:
- the Power Level is smaller than one-half the Damage Barrier Rating. In this case, nothing happens except for some chips and scratches to the barrier.
- the Power Level is less than, or equal to, the Damage Barrier Rating. The Barrier Rating (not the Damage Barrier Rating) is reduced by 1.
- the Power Level is larger than the Damage Barrier Rating. Subtract the Damage Barrier Rating from the Power Level, multiply by 2, divide by the Barrier Rating, and round up. Reduce the Barrier Rating by this number, and a hole is made, with a width in meters equal to one-half this number (do not round).
Any spells that have particular effects are to be used as per their individual descriptions, with the Barrier Rating referred to in the description being equal to the actual Barrier Rating of the barrier, not the Damage Barrier Rating as calculated above.
Example A1: Carmen aims her Ares Predator at BlackFire, who’s behind an armored glass wall (Barrier Rating 4). The Predator does 9M damage, and Carmen has loaded it with regular rounds. From the table, the Damage Barrier Rating against regular ammo is equal to the Barrier Rating x 2, which makes it 8 in this case. The Power Level of 9 exceeds this, so the Barrier Rating is reduced by 1 (to 3) and a 50 cm diameter hole is made in the glass.
Example B1: Edward comes under fire from a security guard and ducks behind a concrete wall. The wall has a Barrier Rating of 20, and the guard is firing explosive ammo from his AK-97 assault rifle. The Damage Barrier Rating is halved against explosive rounds, making it 10. The weapon’s Power Level is 9, which is less than the Damage Barrier Rating, but more than one-half the Damage Barrier Rating, so the Barrier Rating is reduced by 1.
Example C1: Cindy casts a Force 6 Power Bolt spell at a locked door, which has a Barrier Rating of 3. This is doubled to 6 for combat spells like Power Bolt, making that the Power Level of the spell (i.e. its Force) is equal to the Damage Barrier Rating: the spell reduces the Barrier Rating of the door by 1, to 2.
Example D1: Foobar takes his Panther Assault Cannon and fires it at an interior wall in an office. Notoriously flimsy, this has a Barrier Rating of 2. Against assault cannon rounds, the Damage Barrier Rating is equal to the Barrier Rating / 2, in this case making it 1. The Power Level of 18 is surely more than the Damage Barrier Rating, which means it opens a hole in the wall. The hole’s size is .5 meters for every increment equal to half the base Barrier Rating that the Damage Barrier Rating is exceeded; the difference between the Power Level and one-half the Barrier Rating is 18 - (2/2) = 18 - 1 = 17. 17 x .5 meters = 8.5 meters, so a hole with a diameter of 8.5 meters is blown in the wall, and the Barrier Rating is also reduced by 17. Since that would make it -15, the Barrier Rating drops to 0.
For burst attacks containing more than a single round, there are three alternative methods of calculating the damage to the barrier, with method a being recommended:
- Simple, Shadowrun method: the Power Level of the attack, modified for the burst, is compared to the Damage Barrier Rating to determine the loss of Barrier Rating. The comparison is only made once.
- Simple, SRII Errata method: compare the Power Level of the attack, without modifying it for the burst, to the Damage Barrier Rating to determine the loss of Barrier Rating. The comparison is only made once.
- More realistic, but time consuming method: the calculation is performed for each round in a burst, with reductions in the Barrier Rating of the barrier being taken into account between each bullet.
PENETRATING THE BARRIER
If the attack was actually aimed at a target on the other side of the barrier, then the Penetration Barrier Rating comes into play (in such a case, this calculation is probably better off being carried out first). It should be noted that both these effects are occurring simultaneously, and that reductions to the Barrier Rating caused by the passage of a round do not affect the Barrier Rating used to calculate the Penetration Barrier Rating.
The Penetration Barrier Rating is subtracted from the Power Level of the attack to determine the Effective Power Level of the attack. If the Effective Power Level is zero or negative, then the round is stopped cold, else targets on the other side of the barrier must resist an attack with a Power Level equal to the Effective Power Level.
Example A2: Carmen’s shot may now penetrate the armored glass. The Penetration Barrier Rating against regular ammo is 4 (equal to the base Barrier Rating), which is subtracted from the Power Level of the round. The 9M round is thereby reduced to 5M when it hits BlackFire. Keep in mind that the reduction in Barrier Rating, that also resulted from the same shot, doesn’t apply just yet. If Carmen fires through the glass again, that shot will face the reduced Barrier Rating of 3, however.
Example B2: With the explosive round from the guard’s AK-97, the Penetration Barrier Rating is equal to the Barrier Rating x 2, which makes it 40 in this case. The Power Level is only 9, stopping the round dead in the wall. Conclusion: explosive ammo is great for breaking down barriers, but not for firing at targets on the other side.
Example C2: Cindy was casting a non-area of affect Combat spell, which cannot hit anyone out of sight of the magician. Even if there is someone on the other side of the door, he or she won’t be hit.
Example D2: Like Cindy, Foobar aimed his cannon at the barrier, not at someone behind it. However, for the sake of argument let’s assume some office worker happened to stand in direct line with Foobar’s shot. The Barrier Rating is doubled to find the Penetration Barrier Rating against assault cannon rounds, so it becomes 4. The poor wageslave still faces 14D damage from the cannon…
Resolving the affects of burst attacks on targets on the other side of barriers will depend upon the method used above to determine the damage to the barrier:
- Simple, Shadowrun method: the Effective Power Level is merely equal to the Power Level, modified for the burst, minus the Penetration Barrier Rating.
- Simple, SRII Errata method: the Effective Power Level is merely equal to the Power Level, without modifying it for the burst, minus the Penetration Barrier Rating. Burst modifiers are applied after calculation of the Effective Power Level and determination of actualy penetration
- More realistic, but time consuming method: when firing a burst at a target on the other side of a barrier, it is possible that each round in the burst will have a different Power Level after penetrating the barrier:
For example, an SMG (7M) firing at a target on the other side of a Barrier Rating 7 barrier, using regular ammo:
- Round 1: Stopped cold
- Round 2: 1M
- Round 3: 2M
- Round 4: 3M
- Round 5: 4M
- Round 6: 5M
- Round 7: 7M
- Round 8: 7M
- Round 9: 7M
For the purposes of calculating the final damage code, there are three different options, the first being the recommended one:
- Average the Power Levels of the penetrating rounds (rounding down) and then apply the burst modifier to this. In the above example, the average Power Level is (1+2+3+4+5+7+7+7)/8 = 4, and 8 rounds hit the target. Thus the final damage code is 12D.
- Take the highest Power Level and then apply the burst modifier to this. In the above example, the highest Power Level is 7, and 8 rounds hit the target. Thus the final damage code is 15D.
- Take the lowest penetrating Power Level and then apply the burst modifier to this. In the above example, the lowest Power Level is 1, and 8 rounds hit the target. Thus the final damage code is 9D.
VEHICLE ARMOR
Determine the damage to the vehicle, by first using the penetrating rules (Penetration Barrier Rating) to see if the attack penetrates the vehicle’s armor. For this, we use the following table.
| AMMUNITION/ATTACK | EFFECTIVE VEHICLE ARMOR RATING | SOURCE |
| APDS ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating / 2 | SRII + house rule |
| Armor-Piercing Anti-Vehicle Weapons | Vehicle Armor Rating / 2 | SRII + house rule |
| Blasts | Vehicle Armor Rating | SRII |
| Blunt melee weapons | Vehicle Armor Rating | SRII |
| Cannon rounds | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | SRII1 |
| Combat spells | –2 | SRII |
| Damaging Manipulation spells | Vehicle Armor Rating | SRII |
| Explosive ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | SRII |
| EX Explosive ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | SRII & Fields of Fire |
| Flechette ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | SRII |
| Gel (Stun) ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | SRII |
| Needle ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating3 | Neo-Anarchist’s Guide to Real Life |
| Regular ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | SRII |
| Sharp melee weapons | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | SRII |
| Shot shotgun rounds | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | SRII |
NET.SOURCEBOOKS
| Black Triplex ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | Chromebook 2 |
| Acid ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | Chromebook 1 |
| AP Flechette ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| APFSDS shotgun ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating / 2 | Blackhand’s Street Weapons 2058 |
| API ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating / 2 | Chromebook 1 & 2 |
| Armor Piercing ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating - 2 | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Depleted Uranium ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Dual Purpose ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Duplex ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Running Gear |
| EHI cannon ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Firepower ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Street Samurai Catalog/Running Gear |
| Fragmentation Flechette ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | Chromebook 2 |
| Flare shotgun ammo | – | Chromebook 2 |
| Flash shotgun ammo | – | Chromebook 2 |
| Gas shotgun ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Glaser ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 4 | Running Gear |
| HE shotgun ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | Blackhand’s Street Weapons 2058 |
| HEAP ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| HEAT shotgun ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Blackhand’s Street Weapons 2058 |
| HEP ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | Chromebook 1 |
| HESH ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | SWO Guns |
| Hollow Point ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating + 2 | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Incendiary ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating + 2 | NERPS: Shadowlore |
| LAPHE ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Multi-flechette ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating / 24 | Chromebook 1 |
| Ramjet ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Rubber Bullets | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Safety Rounds | Vehicle Armor Rating4 | Blackhand’s Street Weapons 2058 |
| Silver ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating x 2 | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Smoke shotgun ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Stinger shotgun ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 2 |
| Stundart ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | Chromebook 1 |
| Teflon coating | Vehicle Armor Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
| Tungsten ammo | Vehicle Armor Rating | NERPS: ShadowLore |
NOTES
- SRII does not specifically say so, but these are treated here as explosive rounds.
- Combat spells resolve their affects on vehicles per the rules on page 109 of SRII.
- Will not penetrate an unmodified Vehicle Armor Rating of 3 or higher.
- Will not penetrate an unmodified Vehicle Armor Rating of 4 or higher.
Example D3: Foobar is outside the office, and turns his Panther against a Chrysler-Nissan Patrol-One that is bringing in some reinforcements to stop him. The Patrol-One has an Armor rating of 6, which is doubled against the assault cannon, to make it 12. The Power Level of the cannon is 18, so it can penetrate the armor.
The vehicle must resist an attack with an Effective Power Level = Power Level - Effective Vehicle Armor Rating. If the Effective Power Level is zero or less then the attack fails to penetrate the vehicle armor. If the Effective Power Level is positive, then the vehicle must resist the damage. However, the vehicle gets its Body Attribute as composite armor, and so may subtract its Body Attribute from the Effective Power Level of the attack (minimum of 2, as per normal Shadowrun armor rules). However, if the attack is from an armor-piercing weapon or APDS ammunition, then the vehicle may only subtract its Body/2 at this stage.
The Damage Level of the attack is one less than the originating Damage Level, except in the case of anti-vehicle weapons. For these weapons, the Damage Level is not reduced.
The vehicle rolls (as always) Body+(Armor/2) to resist the damage.
Example D4: Foobar hits the Patrol-One. The vehicle has to resist 3S damage from the shot: the Power Level is reduced by the Effective Vehicle Armor Rating, from 18 to 6, and then another 3 points are subtracted because the car’s Body is 3; because the Panther cannon isn’t a specific anti-vehicle weapon its Damage Level is reduced by one category, from D to S. The vehicle now gets its 3 Body dice and one-half its Armor dice to resist the attack: a total of 6 dice against a target number 3.
Vehicle armor does not degrade or get reduced as per the Damage Barrier Rating rules, however. It will suffer degradation by the armor degradation rules outlined below.
There are also alternative, by the book, interpretations of the vehicle armor rules:
By The Book interpretation of the Vehicle Armor rules 1: use the rules as above but instead of using the armor degradation rules outlined below, apply the barrier degradation rules to vehicle armor as well. This is accomplished by using the Damage Barrier Rating rules exactly as they are above, with the Vehicle Armor Rating in place of the Barrier Rating. A question that must to be answered by each individual gamemaster is whether or not holes will be opened up in the vehicle’s armor, as per the Damage Barrier Rating rules, or whether the armor will just be degraded, but no holes produced. Either way this results in vehicle armor rapidly degrading in the face of attacks.
Example D4a: the Damage Barrier Rating is equal to the Vehicle Armor Rating / 2 against cannon rounds, so that becomes 3 (6 / 2). The Power Level of the Panther cannon exceeds the Damage Barrier Rating, so the Vehicle Armor Rating gets reduced. The reduction is 4: one-half the Vehicle Armor Rating is 3, which fits four times into the difference between Power Level and Vehicle Armor Rating. The Vehicle Armor Rating after the shot is 6 - 4 = 2.
Depending on whether the gamemaster rules that holes are opened in the armor or not, a 2-meter hole could now be in the Patrol-One’s side.
By The Book interpretation of the Vehicle Armor rules 2: for vehicle armor, do not use either Damage Barrier Rating or Penetration Barrier Rating, but simply subtract the Vehicle Armor Rating from the Power Level of the attack. If the attack is from an armor-Piercing weapon or ammunition, then subtract half the Vehicle Armor Rating (round down) from the Power Level of the attack. If the Effective Power Level is then zero or negative, the round bounces off the armor.
If the Effective Power Level is greater than zero, then the vehicle resists the damage (at the appropriately reduced Damage Level), using its Body attribute as composite Ballistic and Impact armor. APDS and armor-piercing weapons halve (round down) the Body attribute of the vehicle for the purposes of this calculation. (The minimum target number is 2.) The Damage Level of the attack is one less than the original Damage Level, except in the case of anti-vehicle weapons. For these weapons, the Damage Level is not reduced. This is simple and easy, but not entirely satisfying.
Example D4b: The Panther cannon’s Power Level is 18, minus the Vehicle Armor Rating and Body, which results in an Effective Power Level of 18 - 6 - 3 = 9. The vehicle has to resist 9S damage.
CRITTER HARDENED ARMOR
Treat it exactly the same as vehicle armor, i.e. using the Penetration Barier Rating rules. The critters Body is to be treated the same as a vehicle’s Body, and hardened armor the same as vehicle armor, except that critter hardened armor does not degrade at all. However, at the gamemaster’s option, critter hardened armor may degrade as per the armor degradation rules explained below.
Example E1: Bob finds himself on a boat in the North Atlantic, hunting leviathan for sport with some way too rich guy (he wonders why he’s doing this, too). The employer, as eccentric as is to be expected, has decided to use normal hunting rifles, which do 9S damage; the leviathan has 2 points of hardened armor and a Body of 11. APDS ammo is used, which can easily penetrate the armor rating of 2, so the leviathan now has to resist a damage of 2M: base Power Level 9 - (Armor Rating 2)/2 - one-half Body 5.5 = Power Level of 2.5, rounding to 2; the Damage Level is reduced by one to M. For this Damage Resistance Test, the critter gets 12 dice: its Body plus one-half its Armor.
PERSONAL HARDENED ARMOR
Treat it exactly the same as critter hardened armor, except that the Body attribute of the person inside does not count as composite armor and reduce the Effective Power Level, and the Damage Level of the attack is never reduced by one category. The personal hardened armor will be penetrated as per the Penetration Barrier Rating rules, and will degrade as per the rules below. This rule only applies to personal hardened armor, and not to normal personal armor.
Example A3: BlackFire shoots back at Carmen, who wears a light military armor (ratings 10/7). BlackFire is packing serious firepower, namely a 14S sniper rifle firing regular rounds. The Effective Power Level is 14 - 10 = 4, and so the damage Carmen has to resist is 4S. In addition, some armor degradation will occur (see below).
At some later stage, Carmen has acquired a new set of light military armor, and one of BlackFire’s buddies shoots 10 regular rounds from his HK227 (7M damage each) at Carmen. Using method A for resolving burst attacks, the Power Level of a single round is less than the Ballistic rating of Carmen’s armor, so all rounds simply bounce off without causing any damage to her at all. However, the attack may damage the armor itself (see below).
GEL PACKS
In addition to the rules as above, each time the armor is penetrated (i.e. each attack that the person inside must resist with their Body), both the Ballistic and Impact armor ratings are reduced by 1. This reduction is not applied on a bullet by bullet basis, rather it is applied per attack (i.e. a single burst, no matter how large, will only reduce the ratings by 1, not by 1 per bullet, assuming that it penetrates at all, of course). The gel pack armor will also degrade by the degradation rules outlined below.
Example A4: Carmen shoots back at BlackFire’s chummer, this time using her M22-A2 firing regular rounds on full auto. She fires 6 rounds and hits, causing 14D damage. The target is wearing an armor jacket with gel packs (5/3 armor), but, again using method A, Carmen’s rifle has a base Power Level of 8, so it penetrates and the guy has to resist the damage. The gel packs’ efficiency is automatically reduced by 1 point, regardless of any other reductions that may result from the burst.
ARMOR DEGRADATION
This rule replaces the armor degradation rules on page 75 of Fields of Fire, and it applies equally to personal non-hardened armor, gel pack armor, personal hardened armor, and vehicle armor. It may also, at the gamemaster’s discretion, apply to critter hardened armor, and maybe even to regular critter armor.
Armor degradation uses the Damage Barrier Rating rules, but with the following modifications:
- Light Damage Code Weapons, Effective Armor Rating = (Ballistic + Impact) x 8
- Moderate Damage Code Weapons, Effective Armor Rating = (Ballistic + Impact) x 4
- Serious Damage Code Weapons, Effective Armor Rating = (Ballistic + Impact) x 2
- Deadly Damage Code Weapons, Effective Armor Rating = (Ballistic + Impact)
The Effective Armor Rating is then used in the place of the Barrier Rating in the Damage Barrier Rating rules. I.e. a /2 modifier for explosive rounds, a x3 modifier for APDS, and the other modifiers would also apply. Also, no holes are created in the armor as a result of armor degradation. Additionally, only articles listed as armor in the sourcebooks abide by these rules – other impediments to attacks, like a steel plate worn in front of a character’s chest, use the standard barrier rules.
For vehicle armor and critter hardened armor, use the armor rating in place of the (Ballistic + Impact) sum above. Alternatively, twice the armor rating may be used to represent the greater robustness of hardened armors, and takes into account that they really have Ballistic and Impact ratings equal to their single rating.
Example A5: BlackFire’s chummer (we won’t bother giving him a name because he’s not going to survive this example anyway) had to resist 14D damage, minus his Ballistic armor of 5. The base Damage Code of the weapon is 8M, though, so for purposes of armor degradation his Effective Armor Rating is (Ballistic + Impact) x 4, which is (5 + 3) x 4 = 8 x 4 = 32. This is then doubled because Carmen fires regular ammo, to 64. No matter which way you look at it, Carmen’s attack is not powerful enough to cause armor degradation.
Example D5: Foobar and his assault cannon aim at one of the sec guards crawling out of the Patrol-One after Foobar pumped a few more rounds into it. He fires, and hits. The guard is wearing a vest with plates (4/3 armor) and because of Foobar’s cannon rounds doing a base of Deadly damage, his Effective Armor Rating is 4 + 3 = 7. This is then halved* to 3.5 because it’s an assault cannon round… The Armor rating is reduced by (18 - 7) / 3.5 = 11 / 3.5 = 4 points.*
There are three alternatives to assigning the degraded armor points, with the first being the recommended method.
- Split it equally between both ratings, with any odd point going to the armor rating used to resist the attack.
Example D6a: Of the 4 points, 2 are taken from the Ballistic rating and 2 from the Impact rating: the reduction is distributed evenly, though if there was a point left over it would come from the Ballistic rating because that is used to resist damage from assault cannons. The new Armor ratings are Ballistic 2, Impact 1.
Apply the full reduction to both armor ratings.
Example D6b: Both Ballistic and Impact ratings are reduced by 4, giving the armor a 0/0 rating.
Apply the full reduction to the rating used to resist the attack.
Example D6c: Ballistic is used to resist damage from the cannon, so it is reduced by 4 points. The new armor ratings are 0/3.
In the case of vehicle armor, the Damage Level used is the same one which the vehicle resists, not the original Damage Level of the weapon. I.e. all weapons except anti-vehicle weapons have their Damage Level reduced by one.
BARRIER RATINGS
For those gamemasters who wish for an additional level of selection and fine tuning for Barrier Ratings, the original SRI Barrier Ratings are transportable directly into SRII. The SRI Barrier Ratings are outlined below:
| Material | Thin | Normal | Thick | Reinforced |
| Wood | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Armor Glass | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Plywood | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Construction Plastic | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 |
| Impact Plastic | 2 | 5 | 10 | 20 |
| Steel Sheet | 3 | 6 | 12 | 24 |
| Ballistic Composite | 3 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Concrete | 4 | 8 | 16 | 32 |
The SRII Barrier Ratings are:
| Material | Rating |
| Standard Glass | 2 |
| Cheap Material/Regular Tires | 3 |
| Average Material/Ballistic Glass | 4 |
| Heavy Material | 6 |
| Reinforced/Armored Glass | 8 |
| Structural Material | 12 |
| Heavy Structural Material | 16 |
| Armored/Reinforced Material | 24 |
| Hardened Material | 32 |
If the two sets of Barrier Ratings are compared, it can be seen that they are actually very similar. The SRI Barrier Ratings are more specific and explicit in what they assign, but they only assign values for a limited selection of materials. The SRII Barrier Ratings appear to have tried to correct this with general ratings, at the expense of including thicknesses for the materials. It is possible to use the SRI Barrier Ratings as a guide for specific materials.