Ballistic Impact
The critical table for bullets stopped by body armor — blunt trauma instead of holes: bruises, cracked ribs, knockdowns, and far fewer funerals than bare flesh would collect. The vest does not make you safe; it makes the deaths arrive later and cost the shooter more rounds. Sized against the RMU core Krush table (Core Law p. 232) — a caught bullet hits a notch below a war hammer — in the core Puncture table's location-band layout (RMU p. 233), with Weapon Law: Firearms 6.3 (book p. 121) as the historical starting point. Roll d100 (not open-ended) and cross-index with the critical's severity. When the ballistic body armor rules on Combat swap a critical here, keep the same roll — do not roll again. Most results also call a breakage check on the armor itself, biting deeper as the rolls climb: every round the vest catches wears it down, and enough of them beat it open — see Wearing Armor Down on Combat.
| Roll | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head1 | AThe round taps the helmet at the end of its arc. Foe hears a bell nobody else does.+1H | BThe slug flattens against foe’s brow ridge — a mean bruise.+2H | CThe slug spends itself against the helmet’s curve and drops down foe’s collar, still hot.+3H | DA flat smack off the crown. Foe’s teeth meet hard enough to hear.+5H | EThe impact skates across the helmet and tugs foe’s head with it — one step sideways to keep the world level.+2H, |
| Chest2 - 3 | ASquare into the vest. The bruise will outlast foe’s memory of who fired it.+3H | BThe trauma pad soaks up most of it. Most.+2H | CCaught high on the vest — the round’s push does more than its bite.+1H, | DThe plate takes it flush and shoves foe half a step back.+1H, | EThe vest stops the round over the ribs; the ribs complain about the arrangement.+4H1[-25] |
| Abdomen4 - 5 | AInto the belly panel. The wind stays in — barely.+2H | BThe weave catches it low. Foe’s gut clenches around the blow.+4H | CShot punches foe in the waist.+6H | DThe round hammers the vest’s lower edge into foe’s hip. His next step isn’t where he planned it.+4H1[-25], | EDeep punch through the padding. Foe’s stomach votes to leave.+2H2[-25] |
| Leg6 - 10 | AA slap across the thigh guard. Loud, cheap, forgettable.+4H | BThe round skims the leg armor and steals foe’s stride.+2H, | CThe knee takes it square — the joint holds, but foe feels every gram of the round’s momentum.+10H | DCalf plate rings like a dropped pan. The leg answers a beat late.+4H1[-25], | EThe round bites the seam at the knee — a thin line of red where the armor pinched skin.+3H, 11[-25], |
| Arm11 - 15 | AThe forearm guard takes the hit and hums with it.+3H | BThe round slaps the upper arm flat against the sleeve plate. The whole limb aches to the fingertips.+9H | CKnuckles caught against the grip. Everything from wrist down goes white for a moment.+1H1[-50] | DThe round wrenches the forearm inside its guard — something in there strains.+2H-10 | EThe bracer takes the hit flat and drives it into the bone beneath.+14H, |
| Head16 - 20 | AThe impact boxes foe’s ear through the helmet — ringing until tomorrow, and the lobe seeps red.+1H, 1(-25) | BThe chin guard slams shut against foe’s jaw. He tastes iron and his own surprise.+6H, (-25) | CThe slug clips foe’s throat — windpipe bruised, not crushed. He fights for every breath.+15H(-25) | DThe helmet takes the hit square and rings like a struck pot. Foe’s ears bleed a little, and his eyes take a moment to agree on a direction.+4H, 11[-50](-25) | EThe round glances off the brow of the helmet and wrenches foe’s head back. Everything doubles for a breath.+8H1[-25], -5(-25) |
| Chest21 - 25 | AThe vest catches it whole — a fist-sized bruise blooming beneath.+2H1[-25](-25) | BThe plate’s edge drives deep into the ribs beneath. The vest holds its shape; foe does not.+10H(-25) | CThe impact rolls foe’s torso like a wave. He needs three tries to find his footing.+6H3×, (-25) | DThe round lands where two panels meet and bruises the muscle between the ribs beneath.+8H1[-25], -5, (-25) | EFlat on the sternum plate. For one long moment foe’s lungs forget the trick of it.+8H1[-75], 10(-25) |
| Abdomen26 - 35 | AThe blow sinks into the soft armor over the gut. Tomorrow it hurts to laugh.+3H-5(-25) | BThe vest’s skirt slaps into the hip crest — bone-deep bruise under intact cloth.+6H1[-50](-25) | CThe round folds foe forward over his own belt line.+10H1[-25]2×, (-25) | DThe hip takes the round’s whole argument through the carrier. Walking becomes a negotiation.+12H1[-25], (-25) | EThe slug hammers the liver through the weave. Foe vomits bile and folds.+24H1[-50](-25) |
| Leg36 - 45 | AThe thigh plate spreads the blow across the whole muscle. All of it objects.+6H1[-25], (-25) | BThe round crushes a toe cap into the toes it was guarding.+6H-10(-25) | CCalf hit — the leg buzzes, then buckles, then barely holds.+7H1[-25]3×, (-25) | DThe knee guard takes it mid-stride and the stride loses. Foe goes down.+10H1[-50], 1[-25], 10, , (-25) | EThe round pins the greave against the shin bone. Deep bone bruise; blood where the edge cut.+18H, 11[-75], 10(-25) |
| Arm46 - 55 | AElbow guard rings. The funny bone files a formal complaint.+4H1[-50](-25) | BThe round catches the bicep through the sleeve — dead arm, the kind that hangs for a minute.+2H1[-50], 1[-25], -5, 10(-25) | CThe forearm guard cracks and drives into the tendons it covered. Foe’s grip goes unreliable.+3H-15(-50) | DThe shoulder takes the round’s full stop. The arm swings wrong for the rest of the fight.+8H1[-50], -102×, (-25) | EThe wrist guard slams back into the joint. The hand opens on its own and stays open.+29H1[-50], (-25) |
| Arm56 - 65 | AThe round pinches the shoulder rig into the trapezius — a raw, bleeding welt under the strap.+11H, 1-5(-25) | BShoulder strike drives the plate edge into the joint. The bruise will wear the plate’s outline for weeks.+10H1[-75], 10, (-25) | CCollarbone catches the blow through the vest’s yoke. It holds — bent.+23H1[-25], -10(-25) | DThe impact spins foe half around by the shoulder. Something in the joint stays twisted.+18H1[-50], -15(-25) | EBullet breaks foe’s clavicle.+12H1[-50], -25(-25) |
| Abdomen66 | ALow and mean — the round drives the groin guard into everything it guards. Foe sits down in stages.+19H1[-75], 1[-50], 10, , (-25) | BThe blow lands where the vest ends and the belt begins. Foe folds over it and stays folded, gasping through waves of it.+7H2[-75], 1[-50], 1[-25], 203×, (-25) | CSolar plexus. The armor spreads the blow; the diaphragm folds anyway. Foe doubles over, wheezing.+23H1[-75], 1[-50], -30, 10, (-25) | DThe round drives the vest’s lower edge into foe’s liver. The armor holds; the liver ruptures. Without surgery, foe bleeds out inside from a wound with no hole in it. Foe is dying. +14H, 28[-25], -30, 20(-25) | EThe impact crushes the pelvic ring through the carrier. Foe folds around the plate that saved him from the bullet and dies of the blow instead. Foe is dying. +18H4[-50], -40, 20, (-25) |
| Leg67 - 75 | AThe boot plate crushes into the small bones of the foot. Every step now costs.+2H-10, (-25) | BThigh hit — the muscle knots around the deep bruise, and foe’s footwork turns to arithmetic.+8H-53×, (-25) | CThe shin guard cracks back into the tibia. The leg quits mid-step and foe meets the street.+16H1[-50]2×, , (-25) | DThe kneecap grinds under the failing guard. It bends; it should not bend there.+16H2[-25], -5(-50) | EThe ankle takes the round through the boot’s collar — swelling fast, seeping where the leather bit.+28H, 2-15(-25) |
| Chest76 - 80 | AThe back panel catches it between the shoulder blades. Foe arches like a drawn bow.+6H2[-50], 10(-25) | BRibs crack under the plate. Breathing keeps working, but now it charges by the breath.+5H1[-50], -20(-25) | CThe impact caves the vest’s side into the ribs and drops foe to one knee, then the other.+6H1[-75], 1[-50], 1[-25], 203×, , (-25) | DSeveral ribs give way together under the plate — a soft crunch foe feels more than hears.+9H1[-50], -20(-25) | EThe ribs stave in around the plate and foe folds to the ground — every breath grates bone on bone.+20H1[-75], -20, 103×, , (-25) |
| Head81 - 85 | AThe chin strap snaps foe’s jaw shut on the impact. He bites through his cheek and wobbles.+2H1[-50], 2[-25], 10(-25) | BThe helmet stops the round; foe’s neck pays for the stop. Whiplash wrenches every muscle from ear to shoulder.+19H1[-75], -10, 10(-25) | CSquare on the brow plate. Foe sits down hard in the street, helmet dented, lights flickering behind his eyes.+22H1[-75], -10, 10, , (-25) | DThe helmet’s brim slams down onto the orbital rim. Foe’s eye swells shut while he is still reeling.+14H3[-50], 20, (-50) | EThe helmet shell caves inward without breaking. Concussion — foe’s legs go loose and he cannot remember what round it is.+32H1[-75], -15, 10, (-25) |
| Arm86 - 90 | AThe round smashes whatever foe carried into the hand that carried it. Fingers sprain around the wreckage.+2H-20(-50) | BForearm hammered against its own guard — foe drops what he held, drops himself after it.+12H1[-75], 1[-50], 103×, , (-50) | CThe elbow shatters inside its cup. From shoulder to fingertips the arm is just weight now.+28H1[-75], -15, 10, (-50) | DThe vest holds and the shoulder does not — the arm leaves its socket and hangs at a length it should not reach.+22H2[-75], -15, 203×, (-50) | EThe plate’s shoulder edge crushes the artery beneath the collarbone. Nothing shows but a bruise; the chest cavity fills anyway. Foe has rounds, not minutes. Foe is dying. +3H1[-75], -40, 10(-50) |
| Leg91 - 95 | AThe calf plate folds and the bone beneath it cracks. Standing is possible. Standing is expensive.+8H1[-25], -30(-50) | BThe femur takes the round’s whole momentum through the thigh guard and hairlines. Blood wicks into the cloth as the leg buckles — foe stays up on sheer spite.+15H, 11[-75], -25, 10, (-50) | CAnkle crushed inside the boot. The joint grinds where it used to glide.+22H1[-75], -35, 10(-50) | DThe greave cracks and the shin bone with it — a jagged end nicks the artery behind it. Blood fills the boot, quietly. Foe folds mid-stride. Foe is dying. +2H, 66[-25], -30, 20, (-50) | EThe femur snaps mid-shaft despite the armor and the leg folds the wrong way. Shock sets in fast, and it is not letting go. Foe is dying. +6H3[-75], -40, 20, (-50) |
| Abdomen96 - 97 | AThe plate drives into the kidney behind it. Nothing shows on the outside, and foe is filling up on the inside.+15H2[-50], -25, 10(-50) | BThe pelvis cracks through the armor’s skirt. Foe sits down where he stood. Wait for the ambulance.+18H1[-75], -35, 10, , (-50) | CThe spleen ruptures under an intact vest. Foe folds — dead within the hour without surgery. Foe is dying. +1H, 4-50(-50) | DThe impact bruises the spine through the back panel. Foe’s legs quit on the spot. Foe is out of the fight. +7H, 2-55(-50) | EMassive internal trauma under an unbroken weave. The armor looks fine; foe is not. Foe is dying. +21H, 4-60(-50) |
| Chest98 - 99 | AThe plate transmits the whole blow to the breastbone and it gives way in the middle, inward.+19H3[-50], -15, 20(-75) | BThe plate stops the round; the sternum does not stop the plate. Bone shards ride the shockwave into the heart muscle. A surgeon might beat the clock. Might. Foe is dying. +10H, 1-35(-75) | CThe plate stops the slug; the shockwave stops the heart — for a beat. Foe drops, out cold. Foe is out of the fight. +8H, 3-55(-75) | DFlail chest — a whole panel of ribs floats free. Foe is dying without an emergency room. Foe is dying. +40H, 1-60(-75) | EThe impact lands square over the heart, between beats. It does not restart. Foe is dead. Foe is dead. +37H-80(-75) |
| Head100 | AThe helmet holds its shape. The brain inside does not — vessels shear, and a massive stroke follows. Foe fights one more round on habit alone, then drops. Foe is dying. +5H3[-50], -40, 20(-75) | BThe helmet takes the round and folds inward with it. The side of foe’s skull goes with the shell, and he is gone before the sound of it reaches you. Your next action this round takes +20. Foe is dead. +8H2[-50], -45, 10(-75) | CThe impact snaps foe’s head back hard enough that the neck gives. Foe is dead. +20H-80(-75) | DThe skull flexes under the helmet and the brain shears against its moorings. Foe drops into a sleep no one can schedule the end of. Foe is out of the fight. +44H-80(-75) | EThe round drives the front of the helmet into the front of the skull, and everything behind it at once. Foe is dead standing up and has not been told. Your next action this round takes +25. Foe is dead.-120(-75) |
+XH: additional hits · ♦X: bleeding, X hits per round until healed · X✹[-Y]: stunned X rounds at penalty -Y · N×✳: staggered, loses N AP (1 if unnumbered) · -X: injury penalty until healed · ◷X: X fatigue — the wind driven out by a blow the armor stopped; it RESTS BACK, unlike an injury · ⇘: knocked prone · ⚒(-X): the armor that caught the round makes a breakage check, at -X if given (Wearing Armor Down, on Combat) · ☠: dying, dead, or out of the fight — stated in the cell. Attacker bonuses are given in the text.