Force Resistant/Dead Armor

[Lok Jorunn]

So I've been chatting with a few pals about the whole aspect of Force Resistant/Dead armor. These sets of armor, hides, or shells block out all aspects of the Force, very similar to the way Ysalamiri work save for the "bubble" of sorts that extends outwards. Here's a few examples of canon related canon articles:

• Terentatek Hide - "A terentatek's hide was highly resistant—in some cases even immune—to the effects of the Force."
• Taozin - "Wielders of taozin nodules could maintain the same Force-disguise that a living taozin could, disappearing nearly completely into the mystic energy force."
• Vonduun Skerr Kyrric (Crab Armor) - "As the armor was a living creature, it was subject to a living creature's problems " and "Perhaps most notably, the Yuuzhan Vong were unable to be sensed through the Force." (Source)

I just have one question about wearing and utilizing some defensive articles that are constructed from these materials: how can Force users use the Force when wearing these?

I mean, I have a character (Mordecai Zambrano) with an entire suit of armor constructed from Beskar'gam and Teretatek plating and whatnot all over it. I'm a bit guilty of using this without entirely thinking it through, but I wanna get down and dirty with this. Most armors and clothing that have these Force resistant hides and materials are protected from any other Force user attacking them with Force-based abilities save for indirect ones like Telekinesis or whatever.

But how exactly can someone who's fully encompassed in this kind of material use the Force themselves?

You might have a helmet made of that stuff on, you might have gloves on as well. So, wouldn't that mean that you would almost completely lose connection to the Force outside of that set of armor? Try to mind trick someone and then you realize that you can't because doing so would mean reaching out with the Force. The Force extends from your will - the will inside of your body and inside of that Force resistant helmet. Same concept would apply to a Force Push, Pull, or Telekinesis. You may have gloves on and then go to choke someone out, but that same Force energy comes from within; also coming from within that Force resistant glove.

Anyone else seeing something wrong here? Shouldn't there be a major drawback to Force users wearing armor that makes use of these properties? I'm sure these devices would be superb for Non-Force users but I doubt wielding the Force while wearing Force resistant garments would logically be possible.

Now I want to hear your thoughts, concerns, comments, and suggestions.

Stay polite, respectful, and open-minded - we're all capable of that.

 

[Zambrano the Starweird]

An excellent point I've never truly thought of. I'd like to hear some other opinions before I give out mine.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Lok Jorunn"]

• For terentateks, the trenchcoats I made are the prime example. They're coats. They flap open, they leave your lower legs, hands, head free -- and they only work against stuff that directly hits the coats. Plus the sub, if you read it, has things like 'makes healing the wearer harder' and so forth, for sense reasons similar to what you're talking about. Anyone who's using one of those coats to completely lolnope the Force isn't using the sub correctly.
• In the primary sources (Shadow Hunter and Coruscant Nights), taozin stuff screws with your Force senses unless you really know what you're doing or unless it's a really minimal amount, like a single amulet or skin nodule. Most taozin armors I've seen have heavily interfered with Force senses from the wearer as well as anyone else. If some have gotten through without that disadvantage, that's on judges, but they would absolutely have that disadvantage regardless.
• For vonduun skerr kyrric, Jedi wore it without incident on the infiltration mission to Coruscant that ran into Darth Nyax (the Enemy Lines duology). So for that one, you're gonna have to be satisfied with 'because canon says so.'

 

[Lok Jorunn]

For vonduun skerr kyrric, Jedi wore it without incident on the infiltration mission to Coruscant that ran into Darth Nyax

The armor was also inanimate and fused with plasteel. See below:

"Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker, and other members of the group wore inanimate synthetic vonduun crab armor composed of plasteel."

 

[Darth Metus]

[member="Lok Jorunn"]

Welp, let's see.

Since it's canon that a Dark Lord of the Sith can use the Force whilst wearing Vonduun, pretty sure it's one of those "Welp, plasma sticks and hyperdrives" kinda handwavium.

Taozin Amulets dampen force senses of the wearer too. It's not one of those "lolnope, you can't see me but I can see you" kinda deals.

Terentatek is where it gets tricky, because killing one and skinning it doesn't offer the same effect. You have to alchemize it to get this effect. So, there's varying degrees of how this can affect the wearer's force usage. In some cases, if you completely cover yourself in Terentatek (ala Terminus Beskar'gam), it shuts down your ability to use the ability you're immune to. In other cases, the coverage isn't enough to have a significant effect on your ability to use the Force. (TL;DR - It depends)

EDIT: SNIPED BY MAH MENTOR <3

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Lok Jorunn"] - That's only half the story. Others wore living sets on that mission. That said, given the massive inconsistencies between NJO books, I wouldn't be surprised to find that some say that crab armor weakens your force abilities and others say it does nothing. It's worth noting, though, that there are points where Jedi wear Vong bodysuits, masquers of various kinds, without any kind of reduced Force sensitivity. The only times people's Force connections get altered by use of Vong stuff is when they're actively Vongshaped over a long period or when yorik coral seeds are eating them from the inside out.

On the other hand, I recently popped two nyquil and could be blanking on some important precedent or other. Not really an issue that's going to be solved until someone sits down and re-reads the entire NJO.

 

[Velok the Younger]

Since it's canon that a Dark Lord of the Sith can use the Force whilst wearing Vonduun

Oh yeah. Krayt. THERE's the precedent I was forgetting.

 

[Darth Metus]

[member="Zhol Kash Dinora"]

Got your back homie.

 

[Lok Jorunn]

[member="Zhol Kash Dinora"], [member="Dagora-Kel"]

Of course the armor itself couldn't be Force Dead, merely given that attribute by the Yuuzhan Vong wearers.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Lok Jorunn"]

Nah, vonduun's a Vong biot like any other Vong biot. Every piece of Vong biotech except for things made explicitly from stuff from this galaxy, like voxyn, is just as force dead as the Vong.

 

[Lok Jorunn]

[member="Zhol Kash Dinora"], [member="Dagora-Kel"]

I think that answers most of my questions for the moment, so I'll return if I have any more. I'm just trying to help clarify any future discrepancies I may have in roleplaying with PCs who utilize such things.

Anyways, thanks for being prompt and polite - means a lot.

 

[Darth Metus]

[member="Lok Jorunn"]

Anytime bro

 

[Ellie Mors]

To add to this, force dead and resistant armor generally affects the force as it "passes through" it. This means it does not create the ysalamari-like effect of completely cutting that which it covers off from the force, it means the force that needs to effect the wearer will be reduced by the material's resilience, but it is not wholly stopped unless you are entirely covered by the force dead material with no gaps for things to get in. That said, there is no material, force dead or otherwise (off the top of my head), that can totally nullify every force ability - this extending to canon force nullification resin at grade three. Force dead armor, for example, is vulnerable to force lightning, and the terentatek coat has a list of vulnerabilities, and so on. Now it may be possible to create something which finally and wholly defends against the force with some work, and I'm not discounting that, but the materials you've listed only grant partial resistance, and thus far the ysalamari have proven the most effective in stopping force users in both regards, so it would stand to reason that those which it remains vulnerable to would also work from the inside. Exposed hands and body parts also help this.

If you have any more questions, ideas, or thoughts in relation to this, feel free to ask. This subject always interested me.