Armor protects characters by increasing the amount of damage needed to seriously wound them. It does not prevent all harm, but it sets thresholds that determine how much injury is actually sustained.

Each suit of armor provides two key values:

• Major Threshold – the minimum damage needed to deal 2 HP
• Severe Threshold – the minimum damage needed to deal 3 HP

Any hit that deals positive damage but doesn’t meet either threshold still causes 1 HP of harm. Damage reduced to 0 or less deals no damage.

Here are some sample values for common armor types:

These values may vary depending on material, craftsmanship, magic, or upgrades.

Heavier armor may impose trade-offs:

• Disadvantage on stealth-related Aspect Checks
• Movement penalties (e.g., can't sprint or jump far)
• May require a minimum Strength or Constitution Aspect

These penalties would be listed on the armor's equipment card.

Magical or superior armor may:

• Add resistances to damage types
• Reduce incoming damage before applying thresholds
• Automatically increase one or both thresholds

Example: Shield of the Glacierborn adds +2 to Severe Threshold and grants resistance to Cold damage.

Some species or monsters have natural armor, functioning the same way but often with different mechanics (e.g., scales, barkskin, stone plates). A character with natural armor may still wear crafted armor, but only the better of the two threshold sets applies.

The GM may allow attacks to bypass armor in specific conditions (e.g., grappling an unprotected neck). These are rare, risky, and usually grant the defender a saving throw or an increase to Evasion.

Some Domain abilities might do direct HP damage, such as Magic Missile.

• Armor doesn't prevent damage—it increases the damage required to inflict serious harm.
• All armor must balance protection with movement, perception, and stealth.
• Some armor is modular—players may mark off pieces to reduce hit severity temporarily.
• NPCs and monsters follow the same mechanics unless simplified for gameplay flow.