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crnormand
[Feature Request] Support for Split DR using the new Item system
Now that DR can be added as a Bonus using the new Item creation... maybe it's a good opportunity to add support for Split DR?
Split DR is common to a lot of armor after TL7 (see B284). Typically when the book gives a value like 12/4, the 12 applies to cut and pi damage, and the latter, smaller DR applies to other damage types. It would be cool if the Item creator was able to parse Split DR. Even if that just means recognizing "DR +12/4" (for example) as a valid bonus and displaying it. 👍
Can you attach a character with this kind of armor (just ZIP it up and drop in your comment)
With 0.9.7 we now have the ability to temporarily add DR. So the question then becomes, how would we temporarily apply it for a damage calculation.... and how would the ADD know about it?
We could certainly enhance the OTF formulas to apply a temporary DR boast... so the GM could see that the damage type is pi/cut and click on a button in the character sheet (or journal entry) to 5 to the DR. Of course, the GM can do that now manually. They use the 'overide DR' to add 5 to whatever the DR was at the location.
To do this automatically, we would have to be able to know different DR values, for each hit location, for each damage type. We could certainly add this into our hitlocation model (it already differentiates the hit lcoations), so we would just need a mapping of damage type to DR. Easy enough to do.
But how to we get the information into our system? The current tools won't export enough information.. so we would have to parse it from either the notes... or something the user typed in.
Certainly possible... but now we are getting into a bit of work for an unknown amount of payback.
Maybe we fall back on a chat/OtF formula that applies a "status" to the character, and that status just happens to be "add +5 DR to various hit locations". Maybe something like:
[/DR+1 hands feet\/DR+5 chest] and then [/DR clear] The GM (or whomever is applying damage) sees that the damage type is the exception for the target's armor and clicks on the first button to raise the DR... and then clicks the second button to clear the DR bonus..... yeah, I'm not liking this idea either.
More brainstorming is necessary ;-)
The current tools won't export enough information
FYI, GCS just added support for split DR to their latest release. The armor database hasn't fully caught up yet, but there is a commit adding the reduced crushing DR for most flexible armors.
In any case, you can now edit armor to have a base DR and then a type-specific DR for each region. Exporting a character with such armor to Foundry VTT and then importing to your game aid does render this as split DR in the character sheet view (e.g. "8/24"), but of course the DR type is lost. The game aid seems to use the first number as the DR for any damage type. (BTW, kudos on your parser being robust enough that "8/16" doesn't trick it!)
The damage type is currently free-form text, so users are currently expected to type an official GURPS damage abbreviation type there (so you can't necessarily trust the inputs). That makes this a little iffy, since it's not 100% clear if there will be any naming conventions enforced in the armor database. I was surprised to see "crushing" instead of the usual "cr" in the first commit to support split DR for armor.
As a concept, split DR has also been in GCA for as long as I can remember - it shows the similar path of 12/4* or similar in the armour listing. That then shows up in the hit locations.
The difficulty becomes knowing what the splits refer to, as Chris has mentioned.
I would suggest that by default GGA looks at any split DR and takes the first value as the default for that location (which is pretty much how it gets written - 12/4* would be 12 against most things and the 4* is against a limited set of attack types).
The key would be to then allow users in the equipment section to specify what each "special" DR relates to (and perhaps you can have multiple DR = x/y/z//etc (probably don't need to go beyond 3 levels) and in the equipment section you can specify the damage type that relates as, say, */cr/pi (where * means "everything" and then the others are the standard damage types). GGA then parses that in the ADD for a given hit location and damage type it checks and applies the correct amount of DR.
It would also be helpful to allow flags to layer the armour, so ADD applies the first layer first, and then the subsequent layers, each with their own DR specific to the damage type, so the final damage that gets through it correct.
A further enhancement could reflect a previous request I made about hardened armour in layers so perhaps you have a further flag for a given piece of armour to show if it's hardened. Combined with the layering above, you would correctly deal with hardened outer layers, then variable DR inner layers (without hardening). An example is something like flexible nanoweave armour underneath (variable DR against cr type) and an out clamshell which is hardened. So damage first has to get through the hardened outer layer and then whatever remains has to be checked for damage type and then applied to the non-hardened inner layer. Similarly with breastplates worn over padded armour or chain.
I'm not as familiar with GCS, but as mentioned, GCA already provides an output format with armour layering and DR variances, something like: 20+12/4* which means 20 on the outside and a split DR of 12/4 on the inside.
