5e: Hacking the Game—Fallout, Part VII

Fifth Edition Fallout

Since this series was completed, the reskins and rules discussed have been compiled into a single sourcebook I've called Fifth Edition Fallout, which also includes new additions conceived after the conclusion of the series, as well as a bestiary of wasteland creatures! You can find Fifth Edition Fallout, a starter adventure called A Date With the Queen, and several resources including a tailor-made character sheet over at the Fifth Edition Fallout hub page.

It's time for another foray into the world of Fallout with our ongoing D&D 5e hacking project. If this is your first time jumping into this series, you may want to take a look at past articles. You can find an index of them here.

We started off our discussion of equipment a few weeks back with weapons and other damaging things, which is not quite the order the Player's Handbook would suggest I should have done it. If I were following that as a template I would have started with currency and armour. But I wanted to open the equipment articles with something punchier (excuse the pun). Not only are weapons arguably the most important tools at character's disposals in a game so reliant on conflict, they are also the most complex and rules-crunchy part of the inventory. Even more so with the addition of the modification subsystem I introduced. Last week we concluded that part of our journey. Instead we move on to parts of the equipment list that are perhaps not as exciting, but no less important. Next up is armour.

Armour may not be as flashy as weaponry, but all the same no wastelander should be without it. It's the means by which you stop all those exciting weapons carried by raiders, mercenaries, and super mutants from immediately obliterating you. Player characters especially should equip themselves with the best they can afford, since quite a lot of the weapons available in the setting exceed (sometimes by a lot) the base damage of weaponry available in the core D&D game. The importance of Armour Class as a stat is further magnifed by the lack of magic. Why? Because there will be less save-based effects, and thus enemies are more likely to be making attack rolls.

Magic not being a feature of the game also means that there are less ways for a character to raise their AC. Given we know that AC will matter to our wasteland heroes a lot because of the reasons addressed in the previous paragraph, we should consider making it possible for armour to increase AC beyond the limits of the core 5th edition game. Not easily nor cheaply, but doably.

And then there's the issue of power armour... Well, more on that later.

Vault-Tec Security Armour [Light Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Armour Rules Complexity and You

At the beginning of this series, I discussed how I planned to hack the game making as few changes as possible and building new things only when we need them. Along the way, I've mostly stuck to that goal. But sometimes, changes—even very big changes—are necessary not because they are required for the game to function but because they are essential for capturing the spirit of the world we're trying to build a hack to support. Weaponry has been the biggest example of such change so far, with my throwing out the Player's Handbook table in favour of creating custom weapons tables, and building a modification subsystem. I think this was an essential choice. As just one example of why I felt this necessary, the ranged weapons of Fallout are too different, and also too varied, to be adequately captured by reskinning a handful of crossbow and bow variants. The result would have been exceedingly dull. As for the new modifications subsystem? Granted, modifications were only introduced to the Fallout series in the most recent game, but they are a cool and iconic feature, and also do a great deal to support the scavenger spirit and hodge-podge tinkering of the wasteland setting we're creating these rules for. The beauty is that the PHB table is still there and still compatible with the rules. You could still refer to it for examples or exotic and archaic weapons.

Do we need to embrace such extensive changes when we work on rules for armour? I would argue yes. And so that's exactly what I'll do. But I want to acknowledge upfront that in the case of armour this is a decision I would make solely as a question of theme, rather than necessarily mechanical necessity. For one, I'm trying to build rules that constantly reinforce that scarcity is a GM tool in this world, so I would like rules where it is rare to find armour in complete sets. Second, I would like to build an armour modification subsystem that is functionally similar to the one for weapons. For your game, you might decide that involved armour rules are one complexity too many. If that's the case, you can skip all the way to the section at the bottom of the article entitled Simple Armour Option.

Armour and Scarcity

I just mentioned that it should be rare to find armour in complete sets. In vanilla 5th edition, the assumption is that armour is always sold or found in complete sets, and the implication is that the AC value and other effects of the armour apply when the entire set is equipped.

If we want to embrace the underlying theme of scarcity in our armour rules, we need a solution where whatever scraps of armour a character finds and is able to equip do benefit them in some shape or form. What we need to build is a system for "piecemeal armour".

The first step in establishing a system for piecemeal armour is to figure out how many pieces of armour a person can wear. In reality, the answer to that is quite a lot. In medieval plate armour, for instance, there were over twenty individual pieces. We don't want nor need that level of complexity, so I propose to break a humanoid body up into a number of slots: chest (for breastplates and jackets), left arm (for shoulder pads and bracers), right arm, left leg (for greaves and boots), right leg, and finally a slot for a helmet. Naturally, a character can only benefit from one item in each slot at a time.

Fallout 4 also has additional clothing slots: Eyes (glasses and goggles), mouth (bandanas and similar), and a body slot in which a character can wear regular clothing underneath the bits of armour they find. The items worn in them aren't armour, strictly speaking. In the video game some of them are just cosmetic while others are found with enhancements or can be modified to have armour-like properties, but they are an exception. Therefore I don't think we need to build in default support for them. Special items that provide armour-like benefits without taking up an armour slot can be handed out by a GM as special exceptions in a similar fashion to magic items in the core rules of D&D. So for now at least we're concerned with the Helmet, Chest, Arms, and Legs slots.

Aside from armour slots, I think we should retain the three categories of armour: light, medium, and heavy. These will be a useful tool in establishing the difference between weaker and stronger pieces of armour. Furthermore, by keeping them we don't have to think about how changing this part of the rules plays with class proficiencies. In actual fact, I think it's probably a good idea to abstract the armour a bit and simply use these three categories rather than break armour up into all the various types available in Fallout (leather, raider, metal, etc.). The modification system will be quite complicated enough as it is without thinking about the interplay with specific armour types. That said, the GM can and should specify what a piece of armour is made of when it is found or available for sale, and could rule that it has special properties or weaknesses.

We will also have to think about the interplay of wearing pieces of armour from different categories.

Breaking Down AC

To achieve what we want, we need to figure out how to break up the AC of Light, Medium, and Heavy armour so that the benefits of AC are granted incrementally the more pieces of armour a character wears.

Light Armour

Leather Armour [Light Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Using studded leather as our reference, we know that light armour should be worth an AC of 12 (or a bonus of +2). But we also know that we can afford to let the AC of light armour in our rules rise a little higher, due to the dangerous weapons available. 13 or 14, perhaps, without factoring in modifications? Here are my thoughts on how to divide this up:

• Light Arms/Legs: +1 AC per 4 pieces worn.
• Light Chest: +1 AC.
• Helmet: +1 AC.

With this, a character's AC will be 11 if they wear light arm and leg armour, 12 if they also have chest armour, and 13 if they also wear a helmet. Modifications to their armour and helmet will let them increase this number higher, as would carrying a shield.

Note that the modification subsystem will let characters add useful properties to each piece of armour, making it useful for its own reasons even when it's only worth a fraction of an AC bonus.

Medium Armour

Raider Armour [Medium Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

With half-plate as our reference, we know that the total bonus of medium armour should be around 15. We've also already created a useful model. If it takes 4 light leg/arm pieces to grant a +1 bonus, what if 2 medium leg/arm pieces grant +1 bonus for a total of +2 if all four are worn? Medium armour could be broken up something like this:

• Light Arms/Legs: +1 AC per 2 pieces worn.
• Light Chest: +3 AC.
• Helmet: +1 AC. (I should note at this point that helmets are always treated as Light armour that grant +1 AC (similar to the static +2 of shields). A Heavy modification for the helmet would increase the bonus to +2.

Without modifications, a character wearing medium armour has an AC of 12 if they wear all the arm and leg pieces, 15 if they also have chest armour, and 16 if they're wearing a helmet.

Heavy Armour

Sturdy Combat Armour [Heavy Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Finally, we can compare heavy armout to plate, so we know the total bonus must be at least +8, but likely a little better since that's consistent with what we've developed so far. We can also continue doubling the effect of leg and arm pieces, so this time each one will be worth +1 AC by itself. Here's what I'm thinking:

• Light Arms/Legs: +1 AC per piece worn.
• Light Chest: +4 AC.
• Helmet: +1 AC.

Without modifications, a character wearing heavy armour has an AC of 14 if they wear all the arm and leg pieces, 18 if they also have chest armour, and 19 if they're wearing a helmet.

All in all, I think this approach works well. There is an internal logic to the incremental improvements of the armour, and with each category we've managed to attain an AC for a complete set that is one higher than the AC available from the armours listed in the Player's Handbook. There's a nice sense of symmetry here.

We still might want characters to be able to boost their AC higher, but we can accomplish that through modifications.

Odd Armour Combinations

What happens when a characer wears a mix of light, medium, and heavy armour?

Any armour that grants at least a +1 bonus to AC has an effect that is obvious even when armour is piecemeal, so needs no special rules. That eliminates chest pieces and all heavy armour from consideration.

The fact that two pieces of light arm and leg armour is equivalent to one piece of medium arm or leg armour is fairly obvious and forms the basis of an equivalency system.

Dexterity Penalties

In the base game, medium and heavy armours prohibit the use of some or all of a character's Dexterity bonus. Because of the piecemeal armour system, we need to approach this from the other direction and apply penalties to the character's maximum allowed Dexterity bonus based on the armour pieces they're wearing.

Power Armour

T-60 Power (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

How to handle power armour? It could simply be treated as armour with ludicrously high AC, but that would lead to fairly dull encounters. It should also be possible to damage power armour so that, over time, its benefits are lost.

If we want to track the power armour's health, that suggests that it should be treated as a pool of hit points that acts as a buffer before the character's own hit points are lost.

In keeping with the idea of piecemeal armour, power armour has the same six slots as regular armour. Each piece of power armour has a certain number of hit points; when it runs out of hit points, the damage just carries over to the next piece or to the wearer if there are no pieces remaining. We need a method of deciding which pieces are targeted in which order: I propose Arms (starting with the one with the least current hit points, or randomly determining if both have the same maximum hit points and neither is damaged), Legs (the same rules apply), Chest, Helmet.

Power armour frames also increase a character's strength and reduce falling damage. Power armour can also allow a character to breathe underwater for a limited time. These features need to be accounted for in the rules created to handle power armour.

Power armour frames can be worn by medium humanoids.

Modifications

Just as weapons did, both armour and power armour will have a modifications system. Almost all modifications for power armour will be separate from those available to regular armour. Armour modifications are generally available for Light, Medium, and Heavy armours.

Modifications are broken up into Material modifications (which can be applied to armour of any of the slots except helmets), Arm modifications, Chest modifications, Helmet modifications, and Leg modifications.

Robots, Armour, and Modifications

Robot characters can't be unfairly penalised, thus they can wear armour. When armour is purchased and equipped on a robot, it generally means that defensive upgrades have been installed in their systems or extra plating has been bolted on to their frame. Robots have six armour slots even when they don't have the traditional humanoid body, and even when the robot does have an unusual body (like an eyebot) the slots have complete equivalency. Eg. four slots are "arm/leg" slots and thus may only grant fractional AC, etc. On the whole a robot should be capable of installing most mods, but common sense should apply.

Because of their body shapes I think we have to exclude robots from wearing power armour, but they have access to unique modifications that represent hardware and system upgrades. In some cases, robots have access to modifications otherwise only available for power armour.

Actual Rules

All right, enough discussion! Let's get on to the crunchy bits.

Armour Categories

Light armour is made from supple and thin materials, such as leather.

Although typically worn by wanderers who cannot afford better, agile characters may prefer light armour due to the fact it can be worn without sacrificing any mobility. A character can apply their full Dexterity bonus while wearing light armour. Therefore a full set of light armour is likely an optimal choice for a character with a high Dexterity bonus.

Two pieces of light arm or leg armour are treated as one piece of medium arm or leg armour (see Piecemeal Armour, below).

DC Guard/Baseball Armour [Light Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Medium armour offers more protection than light armour, but impairs movement more. Medium armour includes metal armour, combat armour, and armour made from the frames of old robots.

The amount of a character’s Dexterity bonus they can apply to their AC may be reduced by wearing some pieces of medium armour. A full set of medium armour is therefore a decent choice for a character with no Dexterity bonus or a Dexterity penalty, and an optimal choice for a character with only a small Dexterity bonus.

A piece of medium arm or leg armour is treated as two pieces of light arm or leg armour (see Piecemeal Armour, below).

Metal Armour [Medium Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Heavy armour offers the best protection but is bulky and far less mobile. Heavy armour is generally made from similar base materials to medium armour. It represents heavy variants of pre-nuclear combat armour as well as bulkier, tougher armours made from scrap metal and robot parts.

The amount of a character’s Dexterity bonus they can apply to their AC is reduced by every piece of heavy armour worn. A full set of heavy armour is therefore the optimal choice for a character with no Dexterity bonus or a Dexterity penalty.

Sturdy Raider Armour [Light Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Helmets are usually made of metal, fiberglass, or some similarly stiff and durable material. They are always considered light armour. Wearing a helmet increases your AC by +1.

Shields are typically made from wood, metal, or fiberglass. Wielding a shield increases your unmodified Armour Class by 2. You can benefit from only one shield at a time.

Armour Properties

Armour Proficiency. Anyone can put on a suit of armour or strap a shield to an arm. Only those proficient in the armour’s use know how to wear it effectively, however. Your class gives you proficiency with certain types of armour. If you wear any piece of armour that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity.

Armour Class. Armour protects its wearer from attacks. The armour (and shield) you wear determines your base Armour Class. Some armour (such as light or medium arm and leg pieces) does not provide any benefit unless you are wearing multiple pieces of the same tier of armour.

Dexterity. Wearing some armour reduces the maximum Dexterity bonus the wielder can apply to their Armour Class (if you have one). The maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by armour without such penalties is treated as +5 (the cap for ability bonuses under normal circumstances).

A character who is wearing a complete set of matching armour (all light, all medium, or all heavy) and proficient with that armour ignores their Dexterity penalty.

Mobility. If the Armour table shows “Disadvantage” in the Mobility column, the wearer may have disadvantage on all Dexterity-based ability checks as well as Strength (Athletics) checks. The number of mobility impacting pieces that must be worn before the wearer suffers disadvantages is listed in brackets. (Note: if you prefer a less harsh approach, use D&D's default of just applying this disadvantage to Stealth).

Strength. Heavier armour interferes with the wearer’s ability to move quickly, stealthily, and freely. If the Armour table shows “Str 13” or “Str 15” in the Strength column for an armour type, wearing that armour reduces the wearer’s speed unless the wearer has a Strength score equal to or higher than the listed score. The wearer’s speed is reduced by 5 feet if they are equipped with one to three pieces of heavy armour, or by 10 feet if they are equipped with four or more pieces of heavy armour.

Piecemeal Armour

A character may wear pieces of armour from different categories. When piecemeal armour is worn:

• 2 pieces of light arm and leg armour are equivalent to a single piece of medium arm or leg armour.
• 1 piece of medium arm and leg armour is equivalent to 2 pieces of light arm and leg armour.
• Thus, a wanderer wearing 1 piece of medium armour on their left arm and 2 pieces of light leg armour is effectively wearing either 4 pieces of light armour or 2 pieces of medium armour. Either way, that means they gain a +1 bonus to their AC.

A character combines the weight and negative modifiers of piecemeal armour worn in the same way that they would a complete set of the same armour. If even one piece of armour incurs Mobility disadvantage, it applies regardless of what other types of armour are worn.

Power Armour

X-01 Power Armour (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Power armour is heavy plating that is too bulky and heavy to be worn normally, but can be attached to mechanised power armour frames that bear the load. Power armour frames are also equipped with cushioning and other functions that protect the wearer from falls and other kinds of heavy impacts.

Power armour pieces and frames have no cost, as they are too rare and valuable to be available for purchase.

Like regular armour, power armour is divided up into six slots, and it is possible to wear an imcomplete or piecemeal suit of power armour on a frame.

A character can enter a power armour frame while wearing regular armour, but the features of that armour are immediately superceded by that of their power armour.

Power armour frames have the following effects when worn:

• increase the wearerr’s effective Strength score by +4, and their Strength score can exceed 20 while wearing a frame.
• the character’s maximum carrying capacity and lift/drag limits are doubled.
• the wearer cannot benefit from their Dexterity bonus, but also doesn’t apply their Dexterity penalty.
• the wearer has resistance to bludgeoning damage from falling or from something falling onto the wearer.
• the wearer’s unarmed attacks deal 1d4 damage.
  

In addition to the features of the frame, power armour has the following statistics.

Hit Points. Each piece of power armour has a pool of hit points. When the wearer takes damage, their power armour loses its hit points first in the following order:

1. Arms (starting with whichever has the least hit points if applicable, otherwise determined at random with a d6 roll where 1-3 means left and 4-6 means right).
2. Legs (starting with whichever has the least hit points if applicable, otherwise determined at random with a d6 roll where 1-3 means left and 4-6 means right).
3. Chest.
4. Head.

Once a piece of power armour has lost all of its hit points, it is heavily damaged and must be repaired. The typical repair cost of a piece of power armour in coins or salvage is equal to its hit points divided by 5 (rounded up), and is shown in the Repair column of the Power Armour table.

Damage remaining after a piece loses all its hit points is carried over to the next piece or to the wearer.

Water Breathing. The helmets of power armour manufactured before the apocalypse (models A-D) are sealed and grant limited ability to breathe underwater, for as long as the air supply lasts (typically 5 minutes). Makshift power armour, such as the bolted together plating of raider power armour, isn’t watertight.

Getting Into and Out of Armour

Getting into armour is referred to as donning the armour, while taking it off is referred to as doffing the armour.

The time it takes to don or doff a piece of armour depends on the piece’s category, as shown in the Donning and Doffing Armour table. Donning and doffing an entire set of armour takes the combined time of all pieces to be donned or doffed.

Donning and Doffing Armour

Category	Don	Doff
Light	2 turns (12 seconds)	2 turns (12 seconds)
Medium	8 turns (48 seconds)	2 turns (12 seconds)
Heavy	16 turns (1 minute 36 seconds)	8 turns(48 seconds)

Synth Armour [Light Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Donning or doffing armour usually takes place outside of combat or other dangerous encounters (refer to the times in seconds and minutes). If armour is being donned or doffed at the same time a dangerous encounter takes place, the following rules apply:

• When donning or doffing a piece of armour requires multiple turns, the character cannot attempt to do anything else on those turns, nor can they take reactions between their turns, otherwise the process is interrupted.
  If enough turns have occured to put on or retain partial armour before the process is interrupted, the character gains whatever benefits and incurs whatever penalties are associated with the number of pieces currently worn. Any additional turns taken are wasted, and the process of donning or doffing the remainder of the armour must begin again from zero.
  Donning or doffing armour is completed at the end of the final turn, meaning that the character could take a reaction during the same round as long as it occurs after their turn).

Provided power armour is already on its frame and the frame has been powered with a fusion cell, donning and doffing it is as simple as stepping into or out of the suit, though it takes a short time for the frame to open. It takes 2 turns (12 seconds) for a character to enter or exit the frame. Assembling a suit of power armour onto its frame takes an equivalent amount of time to donning or doffing heavy armour.

Armour and Shields

Armour	Cost	AC	Dexterity	Strength	Mobility	Weight
Light Armour
Arm Piece	8 caps	+ 1 per 4 pieces	—	—	—	1.5 lb.
Leg Piece	8 caps	+ 1 per 4 pieces	—	—	—	1.5 lb.
Chest Piece	15 caps	+1	—	—	—	3 lb.
Medium Armour
Arm Piece	15 caps	+ 1 per 2 pieces	Max Dex -1 per 2 pieces	—	—	4 lb.
Leg Piece	15 caps	+ 1 per 2 pieces	Max Dex -1 per 2 pieces	—	—	4 lb.
Chest Piece	30 caps	+3	Max Dex -1	—	—	8 lb.
Heavy Armour
Arm Piece	40 caps	+1	Max Dex -1	13	Disadvantage (2)	8 lb.
Leg Piece	40 caps	+1	Max Dex -1	13	Disadvantage (2)	8 lb.
Chest Piece	80 caps	+4	Max Dex -2	15	Disadvantage (1)	16 lb.
Helmet
Helmet	15 caps	+1	—	—	—	3 lb.
Shield
Shield	25 caps	+2	—	—	—	6 lb.

Sturdy Metal Armour [Medium Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Power Armour

Armour	Hit Points	Weight
Raider Power Armour
Arm Piece	10	16 lb.
Leg Piece	10	16 lb.
Chest Piece	20	22 lb.
Helmet	10	14 lb.
T-45 Power Armour
Arm Piece	15	15 lb.
Leg Piece	15	15 lb.
Chest Piece	30	20 lb.
Helmet	15	12 lb.
T-51 Power Armour
Arm Piece	20	15 lb.
Leg Piece	20	15 lb.
Chest Piece	40	20 lb.
Helmet	20	12 lb.
T-60 Power Armour
Arm Piece	25	15 lb.
Leg Piece	25	15 lb.
Chest Piece	50	20 lb.
Helmet	25	12 lb.
X-01 Power Armour
Arm Piece	30	15 lb.
Leg Piece	30	15 lb.
Chest Piece	60	20 lb.
Helmet	30	12 lb.

Armour Modifications

	Light Armour		Medium Armour		Heavy Armour		Power Armour
Modification	Cost*	Weight	Cost*	Weight	Cost*	Weight	Cost	Weight
Material Modifications
Asbestos Lined	×2	+1.5 lb.	×2	+3 lb.	×2	+5 lb.	—	—
Heavy Build	×4	×1.5	×4	×1.5	×4	×1.5	—	—
Lead Lined	×2	+1.5 lb.	×2	+3 lb.	×2	+5 lb.	—	—
Lead Plating	—	—	—	—	—	—	+300 caps	+10 lb.
Light Build	×1.5	-0.5 lb.	×1.5	-1 lb.	×1.5	-2 lb.	—	—
Non-conducting	×2	+1.5 lb.	×2	+3 lb.	×2	+5 lb.	—	—
Thermal Lined	×2	+1.5 lb.	×2	+3 lb.	×2	+5 lb.	—	—
Titanium Plating	—	—	—	—	—	—	+500 caps	+10 lb.
Toughened	×2.5	+1.5 lb.	×2.5	+3 lb.	×2.5	+5 lb.	—	—
Winterized Coating	—	—	—	—	—	—	+300 caps	+10 lb.
Arm Modifications
Braced	+16 caps	+0.5 lb.	+30 caps	+1 lb.	+80 caps	+2 lb.	—	—
Brawling	+16 caps	+0.5 lb.	+30 caps	+1 lb.	+80 caps	+2 lb.	—	—
Claws	—	—	—	—	—	—	+80 caps	+3 lb.
Grappling Hook	+10 caps	+0.2 lb.	+10 caps	+0.2 lb.	+10 caps	+0.2 lb.	—	—
Hydraulic Fist	—	—	—	—	—	—	+80 caps	+3 lb.
Integrated Weapon	+10 caps +weapon	+weapon	+10 caps +weapon	+weapon	+10 caps +weapon	+weapon	—	—
Larceny Module	+200 caps	+0 lb.	+200 caps	+0 lb.	+200 caps	+0 lb.	—	—
Tesla Fist	—	—	—	—	—	—	+150 caps	+5 lb.
Chest Modifications
Blood Cleanser	—	—	—	—	—	—	+150 caps	+5 lb.
Dense	+16 caps	+1.5 lb.	+30 caps	+3 lb.	+80 caps	+5 lb.	—	—
Emergency Protocols	—	—	—	—	—	—	+300 caps	+5 lb.
Hacking Module	+200 caps	+0 lb.	+200 caps	+0 lb.	+200 caps	+0 lb.	—	—
Jet Pack	—	—	—	—	—	—	+500 caps	+10 lb.
Motion-assisted Servos	—	—	—	—	—	—	+200 caps	+5 lb.
Personal Stealth Assist Field	—	—	—	—	—	—	+500 caps	+5 lb.
Radiation Coils	+500 caps	+10 lb.	+500 caps	+10 lb.	+500 caps	+10 lb.	—	—
Resistance Field	+800 caps	+10 lb.	+800 caps	+10 lb.	+800 caps	+10 lb.	—	—
Sensor Array	+200 caps	+10 lb.	+200 caps	+10 lb.	+200 caps	+10 lb.	—	—
Spiked	+16 caps	+1.5 lb.	+30 caps	+3 lb.	+80 caps	+5 lb.	—	—
Stealth Assist Field	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tesla Coils	500 caps	+10 lb.	500 caps	+10 lb.	500 caps	+10 lb.	+500 caps	+10 lb.
Helmet Modifications
Headlamp	+10 caps	+0.2 lb.	—	—	—	—	+10 caps	+0.2 lb.
Heavy	—	—	—	—	+20 caps	+2 lb.	—	—
Recon Sensors	—	—	—	—	—	—	+300 caps	+2 lb.
Leg Modifications
Calibrated Shocks	—	—	—	—	—	—	+150 caps	+5 lb.
Cushioned	+4 caps	+0.2 lb.	+8 caps	+0.5 lb.	+20 caps	+1 lb.	—	—
Robot Legs	+30 caps	—	+30 caps	—	+30 caps	—	—	—
Thrusters	+80 caps	—	+80 caps	—	+80 caps	—	—	—
Treads	+60 caps	—	+60 caps	—	+60 caps	—	—	—
Muffled	+16 caps	+0.5 lb.	+15 caps	+1 lb.	+40 caps	+2 lb.	—	—
*In the case of multipliers to base item cost, round up where necessary.

Combat Armour [Medium Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Armour Modifications

The following lists describe modifications that can be applied to both armour and power armour.

A piece of armour or power armour can have up to two modifications: one from the material modifications list, and one from the specific list for the piece’s type.

When modifying armour, characters can usually choose from among the modifications that do not have “Robot” or “Power Armour” restrictions. Robots enjoy greater modification variety, and can also choose from “Robot” modifications. Finally,
When modifying power armour, only those modifications that specify “Power Armour” modifications are valid options.

The costs and weights of armour modifications are shown on the Modifications tables. In some cases the cost adjustment is to the armour piece’s base price is given as a multiplier. In these cases, the cost of the modification is that many times the piece’s base price in addition to the piece’s own cost. If multiplying the price results in a decimal point, always round up.

The Armour Modifications table shows the cost, weight, and other properties of the various upgrades available in the wasteland.

Material Modification Properties

The following modifications can be applied to all types of armour except helmets.

Asbestos Lined. The armour piece reduces any incoming energy or fire damage by 1.

Heavy Build. The armour is bulky and durable, granting the following benefits:

Light Arm/Leg: counts as 2 pieces of light armour or is treated as a piece of medium armour for the purpose of calculating AC.

Light Chest: +2 AC (instead of +1).

Medium Arm/Leg: counts as 2 pieces of medium armour or is treated as a piece of heavy armour for the purpose of calculating AC.

Chest: +4 AC (instead of +3).

Heavy Arm/Leg: increase AC by additional +1 for each two pieces worn (on top of their normal bonuses, for a total of +3 for two pieces and +6 for four).

Heavy Chest: +5 AC (instead of +4)

Lead Lined. The armour piece reduces incoming radiation damage by 1.

Lead Plating (Power Armour). While the piece is worn, reduce any incoming radiation damage by 5.

Light Build. The weight of the armour piece is reduced by 0.5 lb. (light), 1 lb. (medium or helmet), or 2 lb. (heavy).

Non-conducting. The armour piece reduces incoming lightning damage by 1.

Thermal Lined. The armour piece reduces incoming cold damage by 1.

Titanium Plating (Power Armour). While the piece is worn, reduce any incoming bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage by 5.

Toughened. The armour piece reduces incoming bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage by 1.

Winterized Coating (Power Armour). While the piece is worn, reduce any incoming energy or fire damage by 5.

Arm Piece Modification Properties

The following modifications can be applied to arm pieces only.

Braced. The armour piece reduces any incoming melee damage by 3.

Brawling. The armour piece increases your unarmed melee damage by 3.

Claws (Power Armour). While this modification is installed, on a successful hit with an unarmed attack the target must make a DC 10 Fortitude saving throw or take 1d4 slashing damage at the beginning of each of their turns. The target may repeat their saving throw at the end of each of their turns.

Grappling Hook (Robot/Power Armour). With this modification installed, you gain the benefit of a grappling hook and 50 feet of rope.

Hydraulic Fist (Power Armour). With this modification installed, the wielder’s unarmed attack deals 2d4 damage.

Integrated Weapon (Robot). Instead of a hand, you have a built-in one-handed weapon (a large robot can treat a two-handed weapon designed for medium creatures as though it were one-handed for this purpose). You cannot be disarmed of the integrated weapon. However, you cannot attempt any task that requires two hands. If you have two integrated weapons, you cannot attempt any task that requires hands at all.

Larceny Module (Robot). With this modification installed, gain proficiency in Lockpicking. You are always treated as though you have a set of lockpicks in your inventory.

Tesla Fists (Power Armour). While the arm piece is worn, on a successful hit with an unarmed attack deals an additional d4 lightning damage.

Chest Piece Modification Properties

The following modifications can be applied to chest pieces only.

Blood Cleanser (Power Armour). While the torso is worn, reduce the DC of chem addiction by 5.

Dense. The armour piece reduces any incoming damage taken as a result of an grenade, mine, or other explosion by one die of the smallest type dealt by the explosion.

Emergency Protocols (Power Armour). While the torso is worn, when your hit points are 20 or lower your speed increases 10 ft. and you gain resistance to all damage.

Hacking Module (Robot). With this modification installed, gain proficiency in Hacking. You act as your own personal computer, and are always assumed to have the necessary leads and interfaces.

Jet Pack (Power Armour). While the torso is worn, gain a fly speed of 30 feet. You can remain airborne for a maximum of three turns, landing (or falling) at the end of the third turn.

Motion-assisted Servos (Power Armour). While the torso is worn, your Strength ability score is increased by an additional +2.

Personal Stealth Assist Field (Power Armour). While the torso is worn, gain advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) rolls you make while remaining still or moving no more than fifteen feet per turn.

Radiation Coils (Robot). With this modification installed, as a bonus action on your turn you can activate the radiation coils. Adjacent creatures take 1d4 radiation damage at the start of every turn until they are no longer adjacent, or you turn the coils off as a bonus action.

Resistance Field (Robot). You project a field that diminishes the energy of incoming attacks. All alies within 15 feet of you reduce the damage taken from an attack by 3.

Sensor Array (Robot). With this modification installed, gain advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.

Spiked. The armour piece causes any creature the wearer grapples to take 1d4 piercing damage at the beginning of each ogf their turns.

Stealth Assist Field (Robot). With this modification installed, allies that remain within 15 feet of you increase their Dexterity (Stealth) check results by +2.

Tesla Coils (Power Armour/Robot). With this modification installed, as a bonus action on your turn you can activate the tesla coils. Adjacent creatures take 1d4 lightning damage at the start of every turn until they are no longer adjacent, or you turn the coils off as a bonus action.

Sturdy Synth Armour [Medium Armour] (Screenshot from Fallout 4 © Bethesda Softworks)

Head/Helmet Modifications

The following modifications can be applied to helmets only.

Headlamp. While the helmet is worn, gain the benefit of a flashlight.

Heavy. The helmet grants an additional +1 AC, but requires heavy armour proficiency.

Recon Sensors (Power Armour/Robot). With this modification installed, gain the benefit of a recon scope.

Leg Piece Modification Properties

Calibrated Shocks (Power Armour). While the leg piece is worn, the wearer’s carrying capacity is increased by 100 pounds.

Cushioned. The armour piece reduces falling damage by 3.

Hydraulic Frame (Robot). While this modification is installed, the robot’s carrying capacity is increased by 100 pounds.

Muffled. The armour piece grants a +2 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

Robotic Legs (Robot). With this modification installed, you lose any special movement speed you might have had (such as a commbot’s hover), and instead have a 30 ft. movement speed.

This modification is treated as though it takes only one leg slot, but cannot be taken twice, nor can it be installed at the same time as either robotic legs or treads.

Thrusters (Robot). With this modification installed, your movement speed is replaced by a fly speed, though you cannot ascend higher than thirty feet above ground level.

This modification is treated as though it takes only one leg slot, but cannot be taken twice, nor can it be installed at the same time as either robotic legs or treads.

Treads (Robot). With this modification installed, increase your movement speed by 10 feet and gain advantage on any Dexterity (Acrobatics) ability checks rolled to retain footing on treacherous terrain. However, you also suffer disadvantage on Strength (Athletics) checks made to climb.

This modification is treated as though it takes only one leg slot, but cannot be taken twice, nor can it be installed at the same time as either robotic legs or thrusters.

Simple Armour Option

If you'd rather keep armour simple, you can use the alternative tables below and ignore the modification subsystem.

Simple Armour

Armour	Cost	AC	Dexterity	Strength	Mobility	Weight
Light Armour	47 caps	12	—	—	—	9 lb.
Medium Armour	90 caps	15	Max Dex +2	—	—	24 lb.
Heavy Armour	240 caps	18	Max Dex +0	15	Disadvantage	48 lb.
Helmet	15 caps	+1	—	—	—	3 lb.
Shield	25 caps	+2	—	—	—	6 lb.

Simple Power Armour

Armour	Hit Points	Weight
Raider Power Armour	70	68 lb.
T-45 Power Armour	105	62 lb.
T-51 Power Armour	140	62 lb.
T-60 Power Armour	175	62 lb.
X-01 Power Armour	210	62 lb.

Next Time

We're in the home stretch of our exploration of equipment. Next session we'll cover miscellaneous items that are available in the world of Fallout such as pipboys, talk briefly about how we might handle legendary modifications, and discuss the world's cap-based economy.

Over to You

What do you think of piecemeal armour, power armour, and the modifications? Let me know in the comments, or message me on twitter (@spilledale).