Armor

Armor is usually the easiest and most cost-effective way for creatures to protect themselves. Whether you are skimming through space aboard a mercenary vessel, attending a diplomatic meeting on a space station, or descending to a planet’s surface to explore, armor provides you with protection against attacks and hostile environments.

Modern armor is made of many different substances, including carbon fiber, ceramic, fabric, metal, and polymers. Most are constructed from a combination of materials, and some even use archaic materials such as animal hide. Creatures wear armor to protect themselves, but also to express their personal style.

Most suits of armor consist of a helmet, gloves, boots, and a bodysuit that offers head-to-toe protection. Unless otherwise specified, the boots include a functionality that can anchor your feet to a solid surface in a zero-gravity environment, allowing you to orient yourself or return to normal footing when needed (for more about moving in zero-g, see page 402).

Armor Proficiency
If you are wearing armor with which you are not proficient, you take a –4 penalty to both EAC and KAC (see page 240). A character who is proficient only with light armor can wear heavier armor effectively by selecting the Heavy Armor Proficiency feat.

Donning Armor
The time required to don or remove armor depends on its type. Light armor requires 4 rounds to don or remove, while heavy armor requires 16 rounds to don or remove.

Armor that is at least 8th level but less than 16th level takes half the normal time to don or remove. Armor of 16th level or higher takes one-quarter the normal time to don or remove, to a minimum of one full action.

Modern suits of armor are designed so that you can don or remove armor without assistance.

Don Hastily
You can hastily don armor in half the normal time, to a minimum of one full action. The armor check penalty, maximum Dexterity bonus, and armor bonus for hastily donned armor are each 1 worse than normal.

Armor Size
Armor comes in different sizes for different creatures, and you might have to adjust a suit of armor to fit you if it wasn’t made for your race. A hybrid can’t effectively wear armor made for a human, and a shirren needs to adjust armor that was made for a two-armed creature. If it’s in doubt whether a creature can fit the suit, the GM decides whether the armor needs to be adjusted. When you buy armor new, the purchase price includes any adjustments.

Environmental Protections
Space can be an inhospitable place, with countless dangerous worlds within it. Unless otherwise specified, all armors protect you from a range of hazards to ensure that you can survive for at least a few days if you must make emergency repairs to the hull of a starship, explore an alien world, or endure exposure to an environmental breach in a space station. Some armors do this through an environmental field (a minor force field specially attuned to pressure and temperature that does not reduce damage from attacks), while others can be closed with helmets and airtight seals. The most common environmental dangers are detailed in Environment beginning on page 394.

Activation and Duration
A suit of armor’s environmental protections last for a number of days equal to its item level. Activating or deactivating these environmental protections takes a standard action if you are wearing the suit (assuming the armor was properly donned). If you have access to a suit that is unattended or worn by a helpless creature, you can turn on its environmental protection as a full action, but turning it off requires a Computers check to hack the system, treating the suit as a computer with a tier equal to half the suit’s item level (the base DC to hack a computer is equal to 13 + 4 per tier).

The duration of a suit’s environmental protections does not need to be expended all at once, but it must be expended in 1-hour increments. Recharging this duration requires access to a functioning starship or an environment recharging station (publicly available in most technologically advanced or average settlements) and takes 1 minute per day recharged. Most of the recharging stations that replenish devices, such as batteries and power cells (see page 234), also recharge armor’s environmental protections, and using them to recharge suits is typically free of price. All other functions on a suit of armor with no duration remaining still work normally.

Breathing and Pressure
All armor can facilitate self-contained breathing, protecting you against vacuums, smoke, and thick, thin, and toxic atmospheres (including any airborne poison or disease). Self-contained breathing functions underwater and in similar liquid environments. This protection allows you to breathe in a corrosive atmosphere (see page 395) to prevent suffocation, but it isn’t strong enough to prevent a corrosive atmosphere from dealing acid damage to both you and your armor. A suit of armor with an upgrade that grants acid resistance reduces any acid damage taken from a corrosive atmosphere normally. Any vision impairment from the environment (such as smoke or water) still applies.

Radiation
Armor protects you against low levels of radiation (see page 403) and grants a +4 circumstance bonus to saving throws against higher levels of radiation. Armor of 7th level and higher grants immunity to medium radiation levels and provides a +6 circumstance bonus to saving throws against higher levels of radiation. No armor’s bonuses apply to saves against radiation sickness, regardless of the level of radiation exposure that caused you to contract it.

Temperature
Armor’s environmental protections reasonably protect you against both cold (temperatures below –20° F) and heat (air temperatures over 140° F). This prevents you from having to attempt Fortitude saving throws to avoid damage from the environment, and it prevents you from taking any damage listed for breathing in the environment. This does not protect against cold or fire damage from other sources or against environments that deal damage without allowing a Fortitude saving throw or breathing the atmosphere (such as lava)..)

Armor Upgrades
A creature can personalize armor by purchasing and installing armor upgrades, described below, which add bonuses or customized abilities to armor. Some individuals keep a collection of upgrades at hand, swapping them out as needed (requiring 10 minutes to replace the unit and resecure all connections). Explanations of entries for upgrades’ statistics follow.

AbadarCorp Travel Suit
AbadarCorp executives popularized these light armor business suits for boardrooms and diplomatic meetings. Contingent force fields and concealed rebreathers protect the wearer in hostile environmental conditions. Higher grades of travel suits offer more protection—along with a designer label.

Aegis Series
Aegis suits of heavy armor cover wearers entirely, leading to the suits’ nickname of “personal tanks.” Helmet visors are narrow or nonexistent, instead projecting video and audio feeds to the wearer. Power-assisted limbs allow the wearer to move intuitively with the suit on.

Carbon Skin
Though these suits of light armor appear to be made of stiff fabric, they are actually woven from carbon fibers. Higher-quality carbon skins are reinforced with carbon allotypes, such as white carbon or diamond, and the heightened sheen of the fabric hints at their expensive construction.

Ceremonial Plate
While this heavy armor of sculpted metal plates offers good protection to the wearer, its main purpose is to intimidate enemies. Often used for honor guards, military exercises, or parades, ceremonial plate is usually brightly colored or made of shining metal, with elaborate helmets.

Clearweave
The formfitting fabric of clearweave light armor is completely transparent to better display the fashion choices beneath it. Discrete force field generators along each side resemble intricate tattoos as much as they resemble circuitry. Clearweave darkens automatically when exposed to harmful solar radiation or laser fire.

Clearweave II contains built-in microprojectors that allow the wearer to display glowing patterns, simple art, and even icons and logos through the armor’s fabric. These displays can be controlled via a personal comm unit or a more advanced computer. The glow emitted by the suit when displaying such patterns isn’t bright enough to provide useful illumination, but it does reveal the wearer’s position in darkness or dim light.

D-Suit
Disembarkment suits, or d-suits, are designed for spacefarers who expect to leave their ship and visit a planet’s surface. Most d-suits are jumpsuits or flight suits worn under reinforced breeches, heavy boots, and a thick jacket. A helmet or rebreather and a utility belt with an attached holster complete the outfit.

Defiance Series
The defiance series of heavy armor is the workhorse of squad armor. A formed hard shell overlays a suit of para-aramids, creating a bulky and solid protective outfit. Defiance series helmets have wide, tinted visors to allow peripheral vision.

Defrex Hide
Made from the hide of a ferocious mammal native to Vesk-2, this light armor is popular among vesk but less often worn by other races. Tanned stretches of the creature’s thick hide are stitched together with metal wires, and the suits are reinforced with metal studs or scales.

Dendron Armor
A living defense designed by the Xenowardens, dendron armor melds bioengineered wood with advanced microbespun polymers. A mossy layer beneath this outer shell provides cushioning and life support. Xenowardens stylize this heavy armor to resemble the sentient trees found on Castrovel and other verdant worlds. The organic design of dendron armor makes adding upgrades a challenge, but it offers a good balance between mobility and protection.

Each model of dendron armor has features based on a species of tree believed to have been native to lost Golarion. The least is the humble ash, followed by the supple yew, the hardy oak, and finally the majestic sequoia.

Echelon Fashion
Modeled after the universe’s most cutting-edge fashions, this lightly armored clothing is available in daring modern designs, using force fields and the highest-tech fibers to create any sort of outfit imaginable. Bespoke echelon fashions are often tailor-made for the orderer and meant to look unique.

Enforcer Armor
The faceless, slate-gray design of enforcer armor blends intimidation and anonymity. This heavy armor’s design echoes the aegis series’ personal tank approach, albeit with markedly inferior protection. Enforcer armor often towers a full foot over the wearer’s natural height, with most of the wearer’s head safely sheltered behind the breastplate and sensory input handled through projected video and audio feeds. Criminal organizations use enforcer armor to keep their hired muscle impersonal and enigmatic.

It is difficult to distinguish different models of enforcer armor visually, so as not to betray the armor’s capabilities outside of battle. However, the lack of distinguishing features often makes enforcer armor seem like a blank canvas to warriors who cover their individual suits in unit markings, personal slogans, illustrations of mascots, and even graffiti.

Enginerunner
The ysoki popularized this seemingly lightweight but incredibly durable heavy armor. Small squares of dense metal lie between two layers of reinforced fiber weave, giving the appearance of a padded flight suit but offering considerably more protection.

Estex Suit
Estex is a thick, durable fabric most often used to make flight suits and environmental suits. Estex suits cover the wearer from the neck down and can be modified with armor upgrades as needed. Higher-quality estex suits grant a better level of protection and allow for more upgrades, though they are often bulkier than comparable suits of light armor.

Freebooter Armor
Popularized by the Free Captains of the Diaspora, freebooter armor features an armored jacket or breastplate, heavy boots and gloves, numerous straps and hidden weapons, and a helmet. Novice explorers and mercenaries beginning their career sometimes choose freebooter armor for the air of rakish experience this light armor lends its wearer.

Golemforged Plating
An economical choice for many mercenaries, golemforged plating is one of the universe’s most popular heavy armors. Golemforged plating consists of a close-fitting polycarbonate suit fitted with ports and sockets to fit most armor customization options. Suits of golemforged plating include flexible boots and gloves as well as a standard helmet with a clear visor.

Grave Mantle
The utilitarian grave mantle is common both on Eox and among the Eoxian expatriates of the Corpse Fleet. The base model worn by rankand-file troops consists of a tabard of ballistic fabric worn over plastic mesh, with additional layers of fabric reinforcing the joints. More expensive models enhance the mesh with nanowire and place ceramic plates beneath the tabard. Despite Eoxian armies having no need for air, grave mantles retain life support systems as a defense against corrosive atmospheres and related hazards.

Grave mantle models include the base enlisted version, specialist models customized for the duties of their wearers, and officer models that combine superior protection with purely aesthetic additions such as holographic rank insignias.

Hardlight Series
The last word in light infantry armor, hardlight series armor features an inflexible, lightweight breastplate, limb guards, and a helmet over a smooth and formfitting jumpsuit. Manufacturers often make custom armor for military organizations, but off-therack armor of differing qualities is also available to mercenaries and explorers.

Hidden Soldier Armor
Made by the kasatha, these suits of heavy armor are so named for their slitted helmets, which reveal only the eyes. A rebreather lets the wearer keep their faces completely covered. A ceramic breastplate, shoulder guards, bracers, and greaves protect the wearer while facilitating the graceful kasathan close-combat style.

Inheritor's Grace
When first commissioned by the Church of Iomedae, this heavy armor was dubbed Armor of the Inheritor Ascendant. This cumbersome mouthful was soon supplanted by the tongue-and-cheek nickname “Inheritor’s grace,” as “by her grace, we are protected.” Now only the dourest of Iomedae’s church refer to her armor by its proper title. Each suit of Inheritor’s grace armor constructed by the church receives blessings as part of its construction, though otherwise identical knock-offs and officially licensed suits also exist. The armor is extremely common among worshipers of Iomedae and Knights of Golarion, but it is also worn by those with no connection to her faith.

The base model of Inheritor’s grace makes use of lightweight alloy plates backed by energy-dissipating padding. More expensive models use heavier alloys and preserve mobility through reaction-feedback enhancements at each joint. A typical suit protects the wearer’s head with a projected force field for better visibility and a more commanding presence, but some eschew this in favor of battle helmets designed with an aesthetic similar to ancient helms.

Iridishell
These gleaming metal plates lock together to form a suit of heavy armor reminiscent of an insect’s shell. Although the iridishell was initially designed for shirrens, its beauty combined and functionality makes it a popular choice for many. More expensive suits of iridishell not only offer more protection but feature elaborate designs with gold or silver trim and embedded jewels.

Kalo Encounter Suit
When they first ventured beyond the frigid seas of Kalo-Mahoi, the kalo brought the waters of their moon with them in specially engineered suits. The kalo encounter suit represents the latest evolution of that design—a portable ocean that keeps the kalo at the nearfreezing temperatures they prefer. The suit’s air supply doubles as ballast to keep the wearer neutrally buoyant in water despite the armor’s weight, and the idiomatic design accommodates and protects the kalo’s swimming membranes. While the armor can be adapted to circulate water instead of air, kalos prefer their comfort of their own technology. Similarly, the filters and seals of kalo encounter suits can be adapted to the needs of air breathers, although such suits tend to accumulate excess moisture and develop mold or mildew.

Kasatha Microcord
These suits of ribbed protective fabric are slightly less advanced than comparable light armor but still provide good-quality protection at an affordable price. Kasatha-made microcord suits are typically one-piece outfits of dark colors, sometimes with glowing trim, but other manufacturers produce such suits in a variety of colors and styles.

Lashunta Mind Mail
Each link in a suit of mind mail is a nanotechnological marvel: a psychically active circuit reactive to the thoughts of its wearer. When donned, mind mail floats just above the skin and alternates between rigidity and supple motion in response to its wearer’s thoughts and movement, with hundreds of tiny force fields filling the gaps between links as needed. The mail covers the entire body except for the face. The coif retracts into the collar at a mental command, and the mesh gloves likewise unlink and recede into the sleeves when a delicate touch is required. Mind mail offers a comfortable alternative to climate control in tropical environs such as Castrovel, as the armor does not make direct contact with the body and the open mesh provides ample airflow. The wearers of mind mail often personalize their armor with intricate designs woven with varicolored metals into the pattern of the mail. These designs can be altered with an Engineering check at the same DC as a check for adjusting armor (Core Rulebook 196).

Lashunta Ringwear
These beautiful suits of heavy armor feature engraved metal bands that fit above and below the body’s major joints. Metal guards, woven chain sheets, and force fields stretch between the bands to form a complete set of protective gear. Tinted crystals are often added during the forging process to the ore used for ringwear to create glimmering suits of different hues.

Lashunta Tempweave
Lashuntas developed tempweave light armor by threading temperature-regulating wires through reinforced clothing. The result is a protective, flexible outfit that maintains a comfortable temperature for the wearer. Most tempweave outfits feature a fitted tunic over breeches, making them a popular choice for explorers venturing to hot or humid environments.

Mining Jack
Asteroid miners wear mining jacks for both life support and protection against the hazards of vacuum mining. As they are designed for use in low and zero gravity, the jacks are quite bulky, with alloys chosen for strength and durability rather than weight. Because miners often spend the entire day in a vacuum, mining jacks have storage compartments accessible within the armor. The breastplate of a mining jack can expand outward without being removed, allowing the wearer a modest amount of space to pull her arms inside and enjoy a beverage or meal. Each suit includes a pair of miniature airlocks that allow safe transfer of small objects from outside to inside the suit as a full action. A pair of mining jacks can even link locks to trade gear without exposing the item or either wearer to vacuum. The first mining jacks were dwarven designs, but their ingenious design and utility have made them popular throughout the Diaspora.

Night Plate
Based on designs reverse-engineered from ancient troves and alloys rediscovered through painstaking research, night plate is the heavy armor of choice for the drow of Apostae. It blends archaic armor sensibilities with cutting-edge technology, resulting in an appearance that resembles a metallic construct as much as armor. Night plate’s design incorporates flaring cauldrons and razor-sharp leg spurs, though these impressive adornments have little function beyond intimidation. Highergrade models incorporate even more of these embellishments, cunningly designed to avoid interference with the armor’s primary functions.

Preserver's Mantle
The Xenowardens bioengineered the preserver’s mantle as a form of living armor. Rather than donning the mantle, a creature steps onto it and allows the armor to wrap itself around and over the creature’s body. Insulating moss acts as padding, while vines and wood match the strength of the advanced composites of other light armors. When the armor’s environmental protections are activated, the external surface of the plants interlace into an airtight barrier, while the moss regulates the temperature and converts exhaled gases back into breathable air. Like other armors, the mantle must be adjusted to fit a new wearer (though this requires a Life Science check, rather than an Engineering check.

Regimental Dress
Regimental dress is the light armor counterpart to ceremonial plate. Often stylized to the extreme, regimental dress comes in as many variations as there are military forces, militias, and private security details. Regimental dress uses advanced fibers and strategically placed ceramic plates to avoid ruining the design lines of the uniforms. A force field projector concealed in the collar activates as needed to provide life support and protection for the head. Integrated holographic imaging projects rank insignia, medals, and ribbons, and supports gesture-activated informational displays for each honor.

Reinforced EVA Suit
Although designed for extravehicular activity in hazardous conditions, reinforced EVA suits function as durable, if clunky, heavy armor. This full-body suit has a rigid shell covering the back and chest, with heavy gloves, padded boots, and rugged fabric rounding out the ensemble. A wide helmet design provides good visibility and includes a retractable glare shield. The suit’s excellent air recycling makes for a more comfortable environment than many more battle-worthy designs.

Second Skin
This flexible body stocking fits tightly against its wearer and can be worn under ordinary clothes. If a second skin matches the wearer’s skin tone, this type of light armor can be difficult to detect. A second skin can also accept upgrades, making it popular for celebrities, diplomats, and other individuals who want protection without appearing to wear armor.

Shiftskin
Developed by the reptoids for their agents, shiftskin comes in a variety of designs styled to resemble normal clothing, uniforms, and even other light armors. Each suit of shiftskin is designed to accommodate both its owner’s natural form and one other specific assumed form of another race, shifting and reshaping as needed when the reptoid changes shape. Thus a suit of shiftskin can be adjusted to accommodate two different forms (Core Rulebook 196), rather than fitting only one form at a time.

Shiftskin has been adapted for use by other races. Even when used by non-reptoids, an individual suit can still can be adapted to shift between two different forms, so long as those forms are no more than one size category apart. Though obviously of use for non-reptoid shapeshifters, this also allows the same suit to fit two different wearers.

Shobhad War Harness
While a few shobhads still wear armor crafted from leather reinforced with metal plates, the shobhad-neh typically incorporate more advanced materials such as ballistic mesh and ceramic plates into the traditional designs of their ancestors. Despite having a high bulk for light armor, war harnesses are well padded and ventilated for comfort, as shobhads rarely remove their armor. Though some shobhad disdain the life support systems built into advanced armor, most recognize their value. The protective headgear, leggings, and sleeves used for such conditions stow discretely out of sight when not needed.

The shobhad war harness comes in recruit, veteran, warleader, and chieftain varieties. The grades vary by quality of manufacture rather than appearance.

Shotalashu Armor
The lashunta shotalashu cavalry wear this protective gear while riding their bonded saurian mounts. Layers of thin, ablative plates make for light armor that moves with the rider while providing maximum protection. Military merchants have taken to creating knock-off shotalashu armor in more modern styles, as some of the traditional nature themes are no longer fashionable.

Skyfire Armor
These suits of interlocking metal and ceramic plates are usually highly decorated. Gold trim, exaggerated shoulder guards, and stylized Skyfire logos on the breastplates are common. These iconic outfits are worn by the storied members of the Skyfire Legion, though other groups and individuals have copied the Legion’s distinctively decorated heavy armor. Skyfire armor ordinarily comes with force fields that encase the wearer’s head when needed.

Stationwear
Many types of reinforced clothing afford protection without sacrificing comfort or fashion. The prevalence of this kind of light armor on Absalom Station has led to the colloquial term “stationwear.” Stationwear ranges in style from casual wear to business suits and more formal garb. The usual environmental protections of armor are concealed in the design of these outfits. The grades of armor—business, casual, elite, and flight suit—refer to the quality of the garments, not the style.

Steelbones
A framework of metal ribs covers this suit of heavy armor. Force fields bridge the gaps between the metal ribs, which give the armor the macabre look of a metal skeleton. Officers of the Corpse Fleet favor this armor for its unsettling appearance, but steelbones can be worn by anyone who values an intimidating style.

Swarmsuit
Inspired by Swarm technology and designed specifically for shirrens, a swarmsuit is a collection of ablative plates backed with reinforced padding and linked with mesh straps. The light armor’s unique arrangement makes it perfect for creatures with unusual physiologies. The wearer arranges the straps in a comfortable formation and slides the ablative plates to cover vulnerable areas.

Thinplate
Devised by androids, thinplate is a dense polyethylene layer that looks lightweight while providing significant protection. This type of heavy armor is thin enough to be worn under loose outfits, but the rigid polyethylene restricts movement and slows the wearer. Thinplate can be molded into a variety of styles, though a simple breastplate plus limb guards is the most common form.

Vesk Brigandine
The core of vesk brigandine is a lightweight breastplate made of interlocking polymer hexagons. It flexes almost as well as fabric under normal use, but it becomes rigid as steel in response to impact. Its slim profile lets it be worn either over or under clothing. More advanced brigandine designs incorporate inertial dampeners to enhance protection. Vesk who prize mobility over maximum protection favor this style of light armor, and its use has spread throughout the Pact Worlds to the degree that any similar design is often referred to as vesk brigandine.

Vesk Monolith
The ultimate battle gear, pioneered by the vesk, these suits of heavy armor have a dappled polycarbonate shell that resembles stone in texture. A monolith suit looks like a massive articulated golem formed of stone plates. Despite its size, monolith armor moves easily thanks to its power-assisted joints. Sigils and personal emblems can be “chiseled” on the breastplate or shoulder guards of a monolith suit to signal the wearer’s allegiance.

Vesk Overplate
These utilitarian suits of heavy armor reflect the brute strength of their inventors. Overplate makes no concession to comfort. Instead, each polycarbonate suit is solid, dense, and often unadorned, though the high-quality craftsmanship of each suit is apparent. Overplate has a reputation for withstanding any sort of trauma, thanks to its coating of thermoplastic resin.

Vitrum Plate
Made of transparent polyethylene, vitrum plate resembles a suit of carved crystal. Though the material is hard as metal, it shimmers and refracts light like glass. The difficulty of compressing polyethylene to preserve its lightness while affording such protection makes this type of heavy armor expensive.

Voidshield Armor
Constructed from interlocking carbon nanotubes, voidshield armor is a matte black and remarkably thin. Android armorsmiths were the first to develop this heavy armor, and most suits bear a mechanical, robotic design. Voidshield armor sets are suitable for many upgrades and are popular among experienced explorers

Ysoki Refractor Suit
The innovative ysoki created this reinforced jumpsuit layered with energy-reflective foil. This light armor is undeniably noticeable, but it also protects against energy attacks with the same efficacy as it does kinetic attacks. Ysoki refractor suits are popular among all races now and can be tinted in different metallic shades.