Sports Equipment of the Ancients
(Piecemeal Armor in Gamma World, 5^th Edition)
by Tormentor (Neil Whitlow)

The use, misuse, and adaptation of these artifacts can lead to all manner of interesting role-playing, as well as provide some cost-efficient equipment for the players. Players tend to scavenge equipment of all quality. Even some junk has its place when you are trying to survive in the nuclear wastelands.

Far from being junk, lots of the surviving sports equipment of the Ancients can be of use to the financially-strapped wasteland warrior. While many of these sports are very old, as the Ancient civilization progressed, the technology and materials used in the creation of this equipment constantly improved. Even in the year 2000, we can see that the use of alloys and polymers yield equipment that is greatly superior to the sports gear of the 1970’s.

I have attempted to provide some consistent rules for the use of piecemeal sports equipment as makeshift armor.

Rules
Players can wear one piece of equipment from each of the 4 categories (headgear, upper body, lower body, and miscellaneous) simultaneously. The cumulative effect of this piecemeal armor can sometimes provide protection that can rival the the cheaper forms of true armor. One tradeoff, of course, is that most sports gear is impossible to hide, and nearly all provide some form of action penalty.

If the adventurer is using piecemeal sports equipment only, the rules against layering armor do not apply here, as the whole purpose is to cobble together some protection using multiple pieces of gear.

If the adventurer attempts to layer any of the sports equipment (other than headgear) with conventional armor (such as wearing leather armor underneath shoulder pads, etc), the normal layering restrictions will apply.

Example
Suppose Miriam is wearing a Football Helmet, Hockey Shoulder/Torso Pads, and Football Pants.

Suppose Drac fires at Miriam with a Flintlock Pistol (HI), doing Good damage of d6+2w..which rolls out to be a total of 6w and 3s.

Miriam begins adding up all the (HI) damage her makeshift armor prevents. Football Helmet (+1), Hockey Shoulder Pads (d4-2), and Football Pants (+1). If Miriam rolls a 4 on her d4 roll, her armor will prevent a total of 4w points (+1+4-2+1), still causing 2w and 3s to her.

Makeshift armor does fare a little better against LI damage. Suppose Drac hits Miriam with a Mace (LI), doing Good damage of (d4+1w)…which rolls out to be a total of 4w and 2s.

Miriam begins adding up all the (HI) damage her makeshift armor prevents. Football Helmet (d4-2), Hockey Shoulder Pads (d4-1), and Football Pants (+1). If Miriam rolls a 3 on her Helmet d4 roll, and rolls a 2 on her Shoulder Pad d4 roll, her armor will prevent a total of 3w points (3-2+2-1+1), still causing 1w and 2s to her.

Baseball Batter’s Helmet
These helmets are made from a polycarbonate alloy shell. While they are quite sturdy, they do not offer any face protection.

Baseball Catcher’s Mask
These masks consist of a steel wire face frame attached to a small polycarbonate skull cap. Ear and throat extensions help provide extra protection.

Bicycle Helmet
These lightweight helmets have a thermo plastic shell. They provide no face protection, and oftentimes no ear protection either.

Football helmets are made from a hardened polymer shell and include a full coverage stainless steel wire face mask.

Hockey Goalie Mask
Goalie masks for 21^st century ice hockey are made from a Kevlar/Fiberglass combination, and include a full-coverage stainless steel wire face mask with very small openings. Extensions cover the throat for extra protection.

Lacrosse Mask
These masks are a big lighter weight than hockey goalie masks. They do include a full coverage stainless steel wire face mask, although it is thinner gague wire than those for football or hockey headgear.

Motorcycle Helmet
These helmets are made from fiberglass or polycarbonate shells. Most have chin pieces for limited face protection. Some have tinted or clear face shields that might offer limited protection from flying debris. The stats in the table assume a chin piece and face shield.

The hard shell on these helmets are made from various materials ranging from hard to soft. They do not provide face protection.

Football Shoulder Pads
These pads appear to be the staple sports armor of the wastelands. Prior to the Apocalypse, these pads were produced in much higher quantities than Hockey or Lacrosse because of the large number of players per team and the wild popularity of football in North America. Football shoulder pads will protect the shoulders, upper arms, chest, solar plexus, and upper back. Some companies produced rib protectors which could be attached to the shoulder pads, but these were marketed separately and where produced in much smaller quantities than shoulder pads themselves. These rib protectors are rarely, if ever, found. If the GM allows the lucky mutant to find a rib-protector add-on for his/her shoulder pads, then treat the football shoulder pads like hockey shoulder pads as far as statistics go.

Hockey Shoulder Pads
These pads are as rugged as football shoulder pads, and actually provide more protective coverage. They usually include extended pads that provide full frontal protection to the chest and stomach, while also providing all-around coverage to the ribs/kidneys. Extensions running from the shoulders to the elbows also protect the outside of the biceps.

Lacrosse Shoulder Pads
These pads are usually lighter weight than either football or hockey. Most lacrosse pads do provide slight protection of the chest and solar plexus.

Hockey/Football Pants
Both hockey and football pants consist of pockets and girdles that contain thigh, knee, hip, and tail bone pads.

Miscellaneous Knee and Shin Pads
These pads are not used in conjunction with pants, but rather have elastic bands to allow them to be used individually over or under light, loose clothing. An adventurer could conceivably construct lower body protection from a combination of these strap on pads. If the GM allows the adventurer to obtain 2 knee, and 2 shin pads, then the adventurer can gain the slight protection afforded on the above table.

Athletic Supporter (cup)
These heavy plastic shields protect the crotch and can easily be concealed under clothing.