Zombie RPG - Design Update - Accessories

Brian Mitsoda has kicked up a new Zombie RPG update at Iron Tower.  It's short enough to re-print, so here it is in entirety:

This week continues the defense theme in the form of Accessories. Accessories can further tweak a character’s defense or resistances or provide one of several other benefits as long as they are worn. Each character has two accessory slots – one for the head and one for the body.

Head accessories include items like helmets or masks which are generally used in offering up further protection to the wearer’s head. A bike helmet, for example, offers a little extra defense, but it’s not going to deflect a bullet. The gas mask prevents chemical damage and blindness, but offers no additional protection from physical damage. We also have a few “weird” types of head accessories which sacrifice protection for more imaginative use of tactics – for example, camo paint which makes characters harder to hit when being shot at from a distance.

Since Armor covers the body, body accessories tend to be worn on the arms, legs, or feet. Gloves can either add to defensive/resistance ratings or allow for a better grip on a gun. Sneakers can boost a character’s dodge chance, while boots tend to give additional bonuses to defense. Arm/leg guards can protect characters against statuses that affect the limbs. There are also a few unusual body accessories, some of which could be of great use to characters that possess certain melee or ranged abilities.

When used in combination with armor, accessories can allow further customization of a character’s offense/defense. For example, when wearing the gas mask, a potential strategy for a player surrounded by human enemies would be to drop a gas canister at your feet and casually walk away from the now dizzy and blind enemies. With a little bit of ingenuity, accessories can open up strategies that standard arms and armor cannot.

Bonus: If anyone wants to mention accessories you liked or thought were cheap in other games, feel free to list them here. I'm interested in effects/strategic use of items we may have neglected in our design, not necessarily ideas for accessories that would be cool in our game.