One of the key issues most new players and some seasoned players have with this game is dying at low levels, losing possibly hours of work. Now yes the wasteland is harsh, and open pvp and full loot drop aren't going anywhere. So how do we make things less difficult for players without losing anything people cherish? My suggestion is NPC armor drop. Now read carefully before anyone panics please. First of all what npcs wear which armor would have to be addressed, and whether or not certain npcs should drop any at all.
So after the npcs are worked out on who drops and who doesn't a few things should be considered.
Armor taken off of npcs should be deteriorated just like the weapons if not more so considering you're likely filling them full of lead, hot gases, plasma, lasers, or your own fist. This can be done in a way to maintain npc AC until they're dead (meaning the act of killing them is what reduces it)
Npc Guards in towns should be excluded from the armor drop system, the same as they are from weapons. It was made that way for a reason, no point changing it now. Yes Rangers and Hub guards might become a huge target, but they already are. It could be said to make them more difficult since they come from actual trained and powerful places.
A way to help regulate it slightly is to add a % chance to the drop, so not every armored npc that can drop armor does drop armor. A flat table for % would suffice, and could even be changed to make the better armor less likely to drop.
For Power Armor, it could be argued they can be excluded from drop, for various Canon and non-canon reason, for example the act of killing the person inside renders the armor beyond current Wasteland science's ability to repair.
If players have another means of getting armor like they do weapons, it's just one more chance they have of getting back into the fight. The armor won't be the best and it won't be perfect but it's way better than skin. Just like with guns, people will still craft and mine, it just gives low level players a leg up out there. If they can kill some Marauders outside NCR, and get some Leather Jackets they won't be nearly as pissed when someone blows them away just after getting Busters quest reward. Of course there are some drawbacks like the market will probably get flooded with low level weak armor, but it's no different than radios. To help maintain the market, the times broken relation to value should help since armor off an npc isn't going to be brand new.
