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Hey all - curious to know how other Refs are interpreting the armor and penetration rules on page 73 of the Player Manual, particularly in relation to the penetration limit. The relevant sections state that:

• Armor Modifier: The armor modifier is applied to any armor levels before determining penetration.
• Penetration Limit: If the base damage rating of the weapon is 2 steps lower than the modified armor level or more, the attack is fully deflected...

As an example, let's look at the AT4, which has a damage rating of 8 and an armor modifier of -1. Should it be able to penetrate armor up to level 10, given the -1 armor modifier? Or should it only be able to penetrate armor up to level 9, given that an armor of 10 would be 2 steps above it's base damage of 8? The two rules mentioned above seem a bit contradictory, as base damage isn't clearly defined, and it's unclear if checking the penetration limit is a part of "determining penetration".

Armour modifiers is applied before determining penetration. So, for a Police Pistol it is +1 which means that when a Police Pistol hits something that has any kind of armour, that armour counts as one higher. So if you use a Police Pistol hits someone with a Plate Vest (that normally have Armour 2), it has Armour 3. In this case it would mean that the rule of Penetration Limit kicks in since the base damage for a Police Pistol is only 1.

So in my example, the AT4 should be able to penetrate an armor level of up to 10, because the armor modifier of -1 reduces the armor to a 9, which is still under the penetration limit?

So in my example, the AT4 should be able to penetrate an armor level of up to 10, because the armor modifier of -1 reduces the armor to a 9, which is still under the penetration limit?

Yup, the modifier is applied first. The basic rules how armour works is under damage in the combat chapter.