Here’s a quick and easy guide for checking/creating your weapons, armor, and shields to make sure they pass the game regulations. Remember that all weapons need to be checked by a safety marshal at every game!
Weapons
The most basic specs to remember about weapons and weapon making are that the core should be made of pvc or kitespar, a .505 core minimum, with 1/2″ (but preferably at least 3/4″) closed cell foam on the striking surface. Tips must be open cell foam and should be larger than an eye socket.
Latex weapons are permitted, pending safety review. If you wish to use latex weapons, it is preferable to use blunt weapons, as latex swords will probably not be approved for thrusting.
The following guides will help you in beginning boffersmithing; you can also check on the forums, as there are a number of players who are willing to make weapons for fellow PCs, for fun or profit.
- Round-Blade Boffer Making Guide — A guide for making simple weapons in legal sizes, hosted on Google Docs.
- Flat-Blade Boffer Making Guide — A guide for making flat-blade weapons, hosted on Google Docs.
You can find more information about the specific requirements for different kinds of weapons in the Rulebook.
Armor
To learn about Armor skills and their uses, you should check out the Armor portion of the Rulebook. Here is a brief run down of acceptable armors and their rates:
- Light Armor – 1 to 2 points of protection – leather, ballistic nylon, padded cloth
- Medium Armor – 3 to 4 points of protection – thick leather, chainmail, brigantine, Kevlar, as well as a variety of martial arts or sporting goods protective pads. Mad Max style armor meets this level very well
- Heavy Armor – 5 points of protection – Motocross armor, police or military riot gear, and some sporting goods protective pads are easy to acquire phys reps
- Armored Fists – Hockey, LaCrosse, or other full fingered padded glove
Please note that Light, Medium, and Heavy Armors cannot be stacked to increase protection beyond the maximum limits. In other words, a two point suit of leather cannot be worn with a four point suit of chain to get six points of armor. The two of these worn together would still only be worth four points.
Shields
Physical board shields are extremely rare in the Eclipse universe. The available materials are too weak or cumbersome to be efficiently made to withstand HEL rounds from a blaster or other common weapons. However, there are small devices which can be worn on the belt that are made by Techs that are designed to stop numerous kinds of weapon attacks to a certain extent.
You can learn more about tech shields and tech shield types in the Rulebook. They are all listed in the Armor Tech section of the Production Skill lists.