Defense Score

System Mechanic: Defense Score (DS)
A character's Defense Score, like their Magical Defense Score (MDS) is based exclusively on their gear. A completely nude character has a DS and MDS of 0. A character wearing a recruit's basic four piece uniform has a DS and MDS of 20.

During a physical (melee or ranged) attack, the attacker rolls a 1d20 and adds their Accuracy +/- any additional modifiers. Defenders usually get an opportunity to roll a 1d20 and add their Dodge/Parry +/- any additional modifiers if they are aware an attack is coming. The attack roll must be higher than the dodge/parry roll for the attack to be a success.

If the attack is a success, then the attacker subtracts the defenders current Defense Score (DS) from their current Attack Power (ATK), including carry-over damage. In case of 0 or a negative number, no damage is done; it was a glancing blow soaked by gear. When the attacker's ATK is higher than the defender's DS, each point of unsoaked damage (everything higher than the defender's gear) subtracts 1 health point from the defender's health pool plus 1 durability point from the defender's gear durability pool.

When a character's gear durability drops beneath 10, their armor and weapons will begin to break beyond repair at the rate of 1 item per combat round (GM's choice as to which item) and its Defense Rating (DR) is removed from the character's Defense Score until a new item of gear is added to compensate.