I have a question regarding tissue/armour layers and damage dealing.
If an iron sword strikes some steel plate armour and fails to penetrate it, and the damage is converted to bludgeoning (AKA the force of the blow is spread out over the plate), will bludgeoning damage be inflicted to the creature beneath the armour?
That is, as my inexpert understanding of it goes, what tended to happen to sword strikes on chain and plate - unless the sword hit a weak point in the armour caused by poor forging, the wound inflicted would be a very serious bruise, regardless of how hard the armour material is, the force goes somewhere. Better forged armour would, I presume, better spread the force around.
Additionally, if we're talking about a steel-skinned creature (Giant Magma Ants?) instead of a steel-armoured creature, is the force transfer handled differently?
Also, extra question I thought of while writing! Armour quality and material strength: Will they work as they currently do, as a multiplier of x1 to x2 (or whatever) to the strength? Maybe there could be something more interesting, with some kind of check to see if the blow has hit a poorly-forged weak spot where the material is thinner or poorly joined or whatever, and the standard material effect happening if the check is passed?