Pectorals
A pectoral is a small chest plate that guards against attacks on the vitals. It also has a chance of protecting the upper chest (location 9 but not 10), which can be targeted at -1; this increases with the plate’s size. Historical examples usually covered the front, not the back, and were held in place by straps. Use this table to assess stats:
Odds of Protection 1/6 2/6 3/6 4/6 5/6
Cost/Weight 5% 7% 10% 13% 16%
Penalty -1 -1 -2 -2 -3
Odds of Protection: Odds on 1d that the DR counts against a hit on location 9 from the front. It always protects the vitals from the front!
Cost/Weight: Percentage of cost and weight of equivalent torso armor (Low-Tech, pp. 110-111) for a plate this big.
Penalty: Additional penalty to avoid the pectoral, above and beyond that to target the upper chest (-1), for a net -2 to -4. If using Targeting Chinks in Armor (p. B400), vitals protected by a pectoral are targeted at -7 plus this penalty (so at -8 to -10); success halves DR.