Approved Tech Executive Protection Armor

[Rusty]

Image Source: Suit Gown

Intent: To create a line of armored formal wear and business attire for high profile individuals for whom a full set of armor might not be appropriate.

Development Thread: If Necessary.

Manufacturer: Rusty's Custom Firearms and Cutlery

Model: N/A

Affiliation: Open Market

Modularity: Each piece is handmade by top notch tailors and dressmakers, and can be brought back in for modifications as needed.

Production: Limited

Material: High end garment materials such as silk, natural wool, and the like. Armorweave, plastoid, ceramics

Classification: Multipurpose

Weight: 4-5 kilograms on average

Quality:
Blaster: 7
Projectile (penetration): 7
Projectile (kinetic energy transfer): 2
Blade (slash): 7
Blade (stab): 3
Lightsaber: 2

Special Features: Provides fashionably discreet protection against a wide variety of threats. Can be tailored to suit almost any need.

Strengths:

• Discreet. Executive Protection Armor provides excellent protection against a variety of threats without actually looking like armor. You can wear it to a business meeting, a formal ball, or just about anywhere without anyone knowing any better.
• Fashionable. EPA is handsewn by experts and can be made to suit almost any modern fashion, within limits. Safety is paramount, of course, but if you can be safe while dressed to the nines, why not go for it?

Weaknesses:

• Though EPA does provide excellent protection, it's no substitute for battle armor. It's designed to stop an assassin's bullet, bolt, or blade, not stand up to a pitched battle.
• Heavier than normal garments of the same size and cut. Though similar in appearance to normal formal wear, it is necessarily thicker and weighs more.
• The armoring characteristics do place limits on the styles EPC is available in. Though nearly any cut of suit or formal gown can be made, casual wear (polo shirts, simple button down shirts, etc) or clubwear (thinly cut, revealing clothes meant to be worn to a nightclub such as a cocktail dress) are not available at this time.

Description: The concept behind Executive Protection Armor is simple: High profile, wealthy individuals are often targets for assassins. While wearing body armor all the time would likely be the safest option, outside of locking themselves in their estates and contacting the outside world solely through holograms, it is not always practical. Few and far between are the vests that will comfortably and discreetly fit under a three piece suit or a tuxedo, and women's fashion is even worse. An open backed cocktail dress leaves little to the imagination, and a vest would surely defeat the purpose.

That's where EPA comes in. If wearing armor under the clothes isn't practical, why not build it in?

For that purpose, RCFC headhunted several high fashion designers, tailors, and dressmakers for the purpose of creating discreet protective garments that wouldn't look out of place in a Coruscanti social club or the halls of Parliament. These garments are custom tailored to meet the needs of the customer, and can be made in a variety of styles. The armor materials are then incorporated into the garment directly.

Most will rely on various grades of armorweave. Armorweave, as we all know, provides excellent protection from both energy and projectile weapons, and is extremely difficult to penetrate with a knife as well. Ideally, the customer's torso will be completely encased in the stuff, effectively protecting their vital organs from attack. Sleeves, pant legs, and gowns will also probably receive an armorweave lining, though the customer can forego that if they wish. Additionally, we can custom build ceramic cored plastoid strike plates that are low profile and provide further protection from hostile actions. Upon request, RCFC will also procure more exotic cloth armors, pending availability on the market.

The armorweave lining affords protection roughly equivalent to Level IIIA Body Armor. This means that it will stop nearly any handgun round, as well as some rifle rounds. With the protective inserts, the protection level goes up to approximately Level III, meaning it will stop high powered rifle rounds, so long as they're not armor piercing. Without plates, it's rated against higher powered civilian blasters and some blaster carbines. The plates increase protection to the point where one might expect to wtihstand a single shot from an E-11 or equivalent. If someone attempts to shoot you with a .50 BMG or a turbolaser, no amount of armor will do you any good, so RCFC prioritized to provide realistic protection against threats the average customer might reasonable expect to face in the event of an assassination attempt.

The end result is a garment that is indistinguishable from an unarmored piece, unless you know exactly what you're looking for.

Please bear in mind that there are limitations to this approach. The use of cloth armor like armorweave allows the garment to move and breathe, but can only do so much to mitigate kinetic energy. While it might stop a bullet, cracked ribs and massive contusions are likely to result. It will also not stand up to sustained blaster or projectile fire, as each impact will degrade its efficacy. This, then, is no substitute for proper battle armor. It's designed to defeat the initial attack and allow one's protective detail to get them out of harm's way, not stand up to a firefight with Mandalorians.

Prices will vary based on cut, style, and level of protection, as well as any other modifications the customer would like. But as the saying goes, if you have to ask about the price, you probably can't afford it.

Primary Source: N/A

 

[ADM. Reshmar]

RESEARCH REVIEW
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Star Wars Canon:
Pending initial review
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Starwars Chaos:
Pending initial review
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WITHOUT DEV THREADS
Pending initial review
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WITH DEV THREADS
Pending Initial review
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SUGGESTIONS
Pending Inital review

 

[ADM. Reshmar]

[member="Rusty"]

So I am having problems seeing this with the same level of protection as storm trooper armor.

Quality: (Armor class is a measure of general stopping power. Most light armors would be classified as 1-4, most medium armors would be classified as 5-7, and most heavy armors would be classified as 8-10. However, rare or primitive materials, among other factors, can also affect armor class. For example, stormtrooper armor would be class 5, Mandalore's armor or beskar'kandar would be class 10, and a specially forged suit of personal armor for a high-ranking Force user could be anywhere from class 6-9 or thereabouts, depending on how much effort went into it. Many people choose lower armor classes for their custom armor in a trade off for more powerful equipment or specialized resistances, or simply for more mobility.

I think this would be towards the low end of the light armor spectrum. all these 7's are just too high. this is light and thin materials which would be needed for things like suits and dresses. I would say 3 would be the highest rating possible for anything of this sort.

 

[Rusty]

Two problems with that assessment. Firstly, armor ratings for Factory submissions have inflated since that was written. An stiffly starched shirt would pull a 3 by current standards. A product rated 3 would essentially be unsellable.

Secondly, you really would get that level of protection, at least at first. Your average trooper armor can withstand moderate strength blaster bolts, projectile weapons, and knives. It'll generally be constructed from plastoid or durasteel or something similarly lightweight and rigid. A properly constructed armorweave garment will protect from all the same, and it's not uncommon to see them rated as such. It won't stand up to that sort of abuse for as long, and kinetic energy transfer would be a problem. Both of those issues were addressed in the description.

[member="Reshmar"]

 

[ADM. Reshmar]

armor ratings for Factory submissions have inflated since that was written.

these are the rules as they are now and as such what I must go by for judging this submission. You are correct that these have been inflated in the past but we are working to bring them more into line with the template guide. At least I am. If you need to you can second chance it but I have to judge it as the template lays it out and as such storm trooper armor is 7 so I just can not see an evening gown being the same strength as medium to light heavy armor.

Blaster: 7 Projectile: 7 Blade: 7 Lightsaber: 2

Blaster i can see being a bit higher but projectile and blade could never be this high in something like you are intending

 

[Rusty]

At least I am.

That right there is a problem. If the Factory is going to revise the standards, or at least start bringing armor ratings down in line with the standards, it needs to be a concerted effort and there needs to be an announcement on the matter. I'm cool with that. Hell, I agree with it. Ratings creep is inevitable in the long run, but it never hurts to prune it back. However, everyone has to be on the same page.

If it's just you, on the other hand, that is a serious issue. Leaving aside the fact that you're going to see a drastic spike in the number of second chances requested on submissions you handle, the Factory only really works when ratings are consistent. People making submissions to the Factory need to know that, regardless of what judge handles their submission, they can expect to receive more or less the same treatment and will be held more or less to the same standards.

Some variation will happen. Different judges have different areas of expertise, and some will be able to look more in depth at certain issues because they have the background to do so. If, for instance, this was a ship, I wouldn't dream of arguing with you. You know the shipbuilding on Chaos inside and out, and it's easy to defer to your experience. On the whole, however, everyone needs to be on the same page.

So I guess my question to you is this: is the Factory making a unified effort to curtail rating inflation, or is this just you? If it's the former, I'll be happy to put a pin in this until the announcement is made. If it's the latter, my hands are kinda tied. I've got to make a product that can sell, and trying to sell a handkerchief with a 3 rating would be difficult in the current market.

It's nothing person [member="Reshmar"], but I am trying to run a business here. Can't do that if I'm forced to market a substandard product.

 

[Allyson Locke]

what "market" are you talking about? There are no credits and there is no economy. I could make a tissue and say it sells a lot because there's no exchange of currency. Your argument "I'm running a business here, my hands are tied because of inflated such and such. I can't sell this etc" is full of hot air.

If you don't like what's being requested of you, you can second chance. [member="Rusty"] [member="Reshmar"]

Also, everyone is on the same page while you were gone there was a major shift in factory judging standards. All of the judges have very similar thoughts with rating. Anything that's "inflated" was done before this and we are working on pulling things back. The insanity of grade 10/mass produce won't happen beyond the mistakes we have made already. Which of course are in the works of correcting.

Edit, because I have fat fingers and I'm in bed

 

[Ellie Mors]

[member="Rusty"]
Factory judges are expected to be treated with the same respect and dignity that members of the site who submit their submissions for approval are expected to receive. If you believe you are being treated unfairly or that your submission is not being judged correctly you are more than free to request a second chance, however you are not free to question your judge's judgement and argue otherwise.

The standards that the factory follows are also clearly set, as your judge has pointed out is located in the armor template.

I will be reviewing this submission from this point on, and I'm going to start by requesting your armor quality is dropped to match the amount of materials and the type of materials which are being used here.

Armorweave, for example, is not at all stated to resist any form of bladed or projectile weaponry. If you would like to create your own variation of that in order to replicate your idea of kevlar, you are more than free, but generic canonical armorweave is not going to provide you a quality of 7 across the board. And unless your clothing has some kind of heavy underlay beneath the fabric, the presence of plastoid and ceramics isn't going to provide much, if any, protection from projectiles and most melee bladed weapons.

If you are not happy with the judgement you are offered in the factory, you are more than welcome to second chance it.

 

[Rusty]

what "market" are you talking about? There are no credits and there is no economy. I could make a tissue and say it sells a lot because there's no exchange of currency. Your argument "I'm running a business here, my hands are tied because of inflated such and such. I can't sell this etc" is full of hot air.

A lack of official currency does not equate to a lack of economy. Businesses produce goods and offer services for those that would be otherwise be unable or unwilling to procure them. Though we may not get credits for them, we do build our reputation, which is the only real currency Chaos has. For someone in my position, the best chance I have of getting noticed and picking up contracts, which directly equates to RP opportunities and the ability to grow my business in tier, is to produce products that people want. I have to keep producing products that people want, time and time again, or else the business stagnates. In order to make products that people want, I have to make sure that they're up to the current standards for quality for similar products.

Also, everyone is on the same page while you were gone there was a major shift in factory judging standards. All of the judges have very similar thoughts with rating. Anything that's "inflated" was done before this and we are working on pulling things back. The insanity of grade 10/mass produce won't happen beyond the mistakes we have made already. Which of course are in the works of correcting.

My apologies if I didn't notice that there had been a shift. I wasn't able to find an announcement on the matter, so there wasn't much to go on there.

Factory judges are expected to be treated with the same respect and dignity that members of the site who submit their submissions for approval are expected to receive. If you believe you are being treated unfairly or that your submission is not being judged correctly you are more than free to request a second chance, however you are not free to question your judge's judgement and argue otherwise.

My apologies to [member="Reshmar"] if I came across as disrespectful. That was not my intent. We've always gotten along well, and I've nothing but respect for his skill as a judge. Having said that, has it not always been the case that the person submitting something to the Factory can debate a point if they've evidence backing them, so long as it's done in the form of constructive debate? If I failed to notice the change there then I apologize, but having dealt with that numerous times as a judge and lacking any sort of official word on the matter, I assumed that it was still the case.

Now onto the submission itself.

Armorweave, for example, is not at all stated to resist any form of bladed or projectile weaponry. If you would like to create your own variation of that in order to replicate your idea of kevlar, you are more than free, but generic canonical armorweave is not going to provide you a quality of 7 across the board. And unless your clothing has some kind of heavy underlay beneath the fabric, the presence of plastoid and ceramics isn't going to provide much, if any, protection from projectiles and most melee bladed weapons.

You're absolutely right in stating that Wookiee doesn't support the idea that armorweave has any resistance to projectiles or blades. The assumption that it does is largely Chaos canon, and it's often used a Kevlar analogue. Every submission has to stand up on its own merits. I agree to that wholeheartedly, and it's an argument I've used myself in judgments in the past. That said, when Wookiee fails to provide sufficient data on a material, the community does an admirable job of stepping up and filling in the blanks.

That was the base I was working off of when I designed this submission.

It does not take a great deal of Kevlar to stop a bullet. The inserts in my vest, for instance, are only about 3.5 mm thick and are rated to stop anything short of a high powered rifle round. Given the arbitrarily advanced nature of Star Wars tech, it didn't seem unreasonable to think that it would be possible to replicate the results of Level IIIA body armor without resorting to obscenely thick layers. A protective lining would be feasible in all but the skimpiest of cocktail dresses.

And since stormtrooper armor is made of thin plastoid, the inserts should provide a similar level of protection, especially with the addition of a ceramic core to help disperse the heat of a blaster strike.

I'll concede that the kinetic factor should be addressed in the rating, and Kevlar does have issues with stopping stab attacks, so here's what I propose.

Blaster: 7
Projectile (penetration): 7
Projectile (kinetic energy transfer): 2
Blade (slash): 7
Blade (stab): 3
Lightsaber: 2

In addition, production will be dropped to Limited, in order to account for the time and expense that goes into making the garments.

[member="Braith Achlys"]
[member="Spencer Varanin"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

Blaster: 7 Projectile (penetration): 7 Projectile (kinetic energy transfer): 2 Blade (slash): 7 Blade (stab): 3 Lightsaber: 2

I can work with this.

Having said that, has it not always been the case that the person submitting something to the Factory can debate a point if they've evidence backing them, so long as it's done in the form of constructive debate?

The difference between trying to explain why your submission's materials might warrant a larger quality versus what transpired here are quite large. Bringing up how the factory judge, Roleplay Judge, or Administrator looks at a submission, how the factory's standards are being enforced by those representatives of the factory, and questioning their judgement rather than the specific content of their judgement as it pertains to what is being asked (opposite my earlier example) are not things to be discussed in a submission's comments.

Your explanation to how this would function to prevent a round from penetrating this material, and clarifying what is being done here, is an example of when and how such things can be addressed. How you went about responding to your judge, however, was out of line.

-

Back to the submission, I'd like a more narrow definition of its weight, something closer to 4 KG in mass (a heavier wedding dress, if I were to draw comparisons, or a heavy leather jacket) and elaboration in the description about how thick this material is and what kinds of projectiles it can prevent - in most instances - from penetrating. I'm fine with the protection from slashing melee weapons in return for reduced protection from stabs/thrusts/etc. Do a once over, make it clear that this is heavier, protective, clothing/light armor and not casual wear that offers little to no difference between a normal gown and a padded one, and address those issues that you've conceded needed to be addressed.

 

[Rusty]

Heavier than normal garments of the same size and cut. Though similar in appearance to normal formal wear, it is necessarily thicker and weighs more.

• The armoring characteristics do place limits on the styles EPC is available in. Though nearly any cut of suit or formal gown can be made, casual wear (polo shirts, simple button down shirts, etc) or clubwear (thinly cut, revealing clothes meant to be worn to a nightclub such as a cocktail dress) are not available at this time.

The armorweave lining affords protection roughly equivalent to Level IIIA Body Armor. This means that it will stop nearly any handgun round, as well as some rifle rounds. With the protective inserts, the protection level goes up to approximately Level III, meaning it will stop high powered rifle rounds, so long as they're not armor piercing. Without plates, it's rated against higher powered civilian blasters and some blaster carbines. The plates increase protection to the point where one might expect to wtihstand a single shot from an E-11 or equivalent. If someone attempts to shoot you with a .50 BMG or a turbolaser, no amount of armor will do you any good, so RCFC prioritized to provide realistic protection against threats the average customer might reasonable expect to face in the event of an assassination attempt.

Added in the thickness and limitations to styling under weaknesses, and a paragraph explaining what it's rated to stop. That's in addition to the armor rating and production changes.

[member="Braith Achlys"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

<p>Awesome. Pending Admin Approval. Thanks! [member="Spencer Varanin"]</p>

 

[Allyson Locke]

Approved.