Damage Resistance and Penetration

Damage Resistance (DR) rates the
degree of protection that natural or
worn armor, a force field, tough skin,
etc. affords against damage. Objects
and vehicles have their own DR values
that protect against any damage they
suffer – and if you take cover behind
or inside them, their DR also protects
you.
Subtract DR from basic damage.
The result is the “penetrating damage”
that punched through or deformed the
armor enough to cause a significant
injury. For instance, if you are hit by
an attack that inflicts 6 points of basic
damage and you’re wearing mail with
DR 4, you take 2 points of penetrating
damage.
In general, DR from multiple
sources is additive; e.g., if you have a
natural DR of 2 and put on a tactical
vest with DR 15, your total DR is 17.
Exceptions will always be noted.
The DR of armor often varies by
body part. If you are not using the hit
location rules (see Hit Location,
p. 398), just assume that any hit
strikes the torso, and apply its DR.
Finally, note that DR from certain
sources may provide differing degrees
of protection against different damage
types.
For more on DR, see Damage
Resistance (p. 46) and Armor (p. 282).