Flesh Mask vs. Clothing, Armour, etc.

[Jabberwocky]

How do you people approach the Flesh Mask power? Does it generate a naked "body" and the character then has to wear something, or is the clothing a part of the Mask? Can such ectoplasmic "clothing" be taken off, then? What about wearing armour under a Flesh Mask? I mean, a smart RCV could probably go with Kevlar^TM on its belly to protect its vulnerable spot. Thanks for your input.

[umdshaman]

How do you people approach the Flesh Mask power? Does it generate a naked "body" and the character then has to wear something, or is the clothing a part of the Mask? Can such ectoplasmic "clothing" be taken off, then?

Yes. It's pretty much just a conjured ectoplasmic 'costume', so however you decide it works is probably fine.

What about wearing armour under a Flesh Mask?

Technically.

I mean, a smart RCV could probably go with Kevlar^TM on its belly to protect its vulnerable spot.

Again, technically, but they probably wouldn't. The Flesh Mask is a layer of 'skin' over whatever the creature is underneath (including what they're wearing, holding, etc). That means that the Flesh Mask's appearance can't be any smaller than whatever's under it. If you've ever seen an on-duty police officer in person, you'll know what I'm talking about; kevlar basic doubles their size. So unless they wear it all the time, someone who knows them without it is DEFINITELY going to notice. Plus most human-eating baddies like to be attractive. It's a very effective lure... the Flesh Mask is like the bobble of an angler fish. The other problem from a narrative standpoint is that kevlar does not stop edged weapons very well anyway. I hope that helps.

[Jabberwocky]

Thank you. Well, it doesn't necessarily have to be Kevlar; I think that there are other options. Modern advanced reinforced materials useful against piercing or slashing damage that are lightweight and easy to use at the same time (http://www.turtleskin.com/Body-Armor/BladeTecT.aspx or http://www.safeguardarmor.com/stealth-body-armor/ - and I'm sure there are even better materials available for customers willing to pay). A little precaution might prove crucial during a potential confrontation.

[vultur]

In game terms, it's not going to get as much benefit from Kevlar as a human would, and unless it's a good vest, it may not benefit at all.

YS says:

So, Armor:2 is intended to protect completely against most pistols—it’s probably a reinforced Kevlar vest or something.
That said, armor does tend to lag behind weaponry in terms of availability. Many bulletproof vests are only Armor:1—a heavy pistol round can still crack a rib if it hits you.

But armor doesn't stack, and Red Court Vampires have Armor:1 by default (from Inhuman Toughness), and nobles may have Armor:2 (from Supernatural Toughness).

[Taran]

I say YES!

Sure, they can wear armour and then use their flesh mask to cover it up.  This will protect their tender bellies if someone figures out their catch and tagets those areas.

Of course, a flesh mask is an ectoplamic disguise designed to cover up the fact that they are giant bat-creatures.

So, as long as they can get the armour custom made to fit around their bat-like torsos, they are good to go.   And really, it's only their belly they need to protect...

If they want full body protection from holy weapons, they'll have a harder time customizing that armour, I think.  They'd be better off wearing the armour OVER their flesh mask...but then they'd have ill-fitting armour as soon as the flesh mask dissolves...

[vultur]

I say YES!

Sure, they can wear armour and then use their flesh mask to cover it up.  This will protect their tender bellies if someone figures out their catch and tagets those areas.

A good point. Armor would benefit them if their Catch is satisfied, even if it wouldn't normally have any benefit beyond their Toughness.

EDIT: I think it'd be pretty rare though. Most physically-powerful supernaturals, especially predators of humans, seem to be arrogant about their superiority over mortal humans. At the very least, one would expect Red Court vampires to wear armor much less often than humans, since the benefit would be much less/much more situational.

If they want full body protection from holy weapons, they'll have a harder time customizing that armour, I think.  They'd be better off wearing the armour OVER their flesh mask...but then they'd have ill-fitting armour as soon as the flesh mask dissolves...

Yeah, that would be tricky. And while it would protect them from being burned-on-contact by holy water or characters with Holy Touch, I don't think it would stop the repelling effect of faith (as Harry does with his pentacle); since that doesn't require physical contact, physical armor shouldn't help.

I don't know about sunlight: does it actually have to touch their skin? I think I'd say that it still affects them somewhat -- if they can see, their eyes must be exposed to light by the armor -- but maybe not as badly as an unprotected vampire.

EDIT: Maybe they would just be Compelled (irresistibly since they're negative-refresh) to flee the sunlight, but not actually burned unless they were stuck with no way out for a really long period, in which case they might be blinded.

[Jabberwocky]

No, I don't think most RCVs would wear such custom made armour but there's one RCV NPC in my game who is a cautious planner. One doesn't usually end up being several hundred years old by making (too many) mistakes and she knows it. She would probably like to have some spare surprises up her sleeve when things get messy for her.

Regarding sunlight - yeah, I'd make it a compel, too. But, on the other hand, when playing Shadowrun back in the day, one vampire PC just really had to go out during the day once. So he used someting like a spacesuit with cameras outside and displays inside. Such technology (think Google Glass or any Virtual Reality device) is available even today. So, again, a smart and precautios RCV (BCV) could have something like this prepared for times of dire need.

[Taran]

Regarding sunlight - yeah, I'd make it a compel, too. But, on the other hand, when playing Shadowrun back in the day, one vampire PC just really had to go out during the day once. So he used someting like a spacesuit with cameras outside and displays inside. Such technology (think Google Glass or any Virtual Reality device) is available even today. So, again, a smart and precautios RCV (BCV) could have something like this prepared for times of dire need.

It works until the Wizard hexes the suit.

Maybe it's like how sunlight burns vamps in Buffy.  They start smoking and need to cover up.  Thick, pasty sunscreen and sunglasses helps...but they certainly wouldn't hang out in the sun.  The compel works well.

Or, You could treat it as an environmental attack and use the armour value to protect against the damage.

[Jabberwocky]

Ah yes, hexing. Particularly nasty in such a situation. And simply piercing or damaging the suit would work as well. By the way, it doesn't have to be a "spacesuit" - neoprene with VR cameras/goggles would do the job for the vamp, I think. The digital sight being the most vulnerable spot, of course, but still useful for fleeing when there is no other way around.