Plot Armor

Plot Armor (also known as Magic Bullet Shield, as seen in map scripts) is an informal term referring to a character's unusual ability to survive infinite damage, due to their importance to the story.

In the Call of Duty series, this can be seen when certain NPCs such as commanding officers and characters notable to the story can survive normally fatal attacks in combat. They typically stagger at any incoming fire and fall down as if they died when taking enough damage, but will soon get up and resume fighting.

Characters without plot armor (such as randomly generated soldiers) can die from any fatal event, including accidental death at the hands of the player.

In addition to friendly NPC's with plot armor, certain enemies throughout the series may have plot armor if their actions are significant to the plot.

Call of Duty

 * At one point during "Ste. Mere-Eglise- Day", Martin's squad is pinned down by Tiger tanks. Sgt. Moody is still visible to the enemy despite taking cover, and is repeatedly shot at by the second tank's machine gun.
 * During Brecourt, Crossroads, Noville, and Kharkov 2, in one section the player will be assigned to protect Sgt. Moody or Sgt. Antonov, during this time their plot armor will be removed, and they can be killed, resulting in a game over.
 * After protecting Sgt. Moody in Brecourt, Pvt. Elder will also lose his plot armor and can be killed like any other NPC.
 * During Pavlov's House, Sgt. Pavlov has plot armor until the final defense stage of the mission. He loses his plot armor, but still has more health than the other Russian NPCs.
 * Cpt. Foley can be killed in the expansion pack "United Offensive", but this is considered non-canon as he later returns to lead Baker company, retaining his plot armor.

Finest Hour

 * Oleg Puskov is invincible until he is scripted to die by sniper fire during "The Flag Must Fall".
 * In the British campaign, Bob Starkey has plot armor.
 * In the American Campaign, Benny Church has plot armor.
 * All of the American soldiers NPC's in "Into the Heartland" have plot armor.

Call of Duty 2
Adherence to CO/Main Character rule.
 * In the American Campaign, Randall has full plot armor. Other characters, such as Braeburn and McCloskey have plot armor until "The Battle for Hill 400".
 * In the mission "Retaking Lost Ground", the German soldiers carrying Panzerschrecks cannot be killed until they destroy the Crusader tanks.
 * In the mission "The Battle of Pointe du Hoc", there are some German soldiers that cannot be killed.
 * In the mission "The Tiger", the titular tank cannot be destroyed, even by firing a Panzerschreck (through cheat code) at it.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
Adherence to CO/Main Character rule.
 * Andy Allen survives the German defensing and makes his way clearing the town along with Roger and the rest of the 3rd squad, until he loses his plot armor near the end when German reinforcements arrive, killing him and almost getting Roger killed by mortar.
 * In the mission Baptism By Fire, the Italian with Panzershreck in the tower cannot be killed until he destroys the half-track.
 * In the mission Desert Fox, the last Tiger tank cannot be destroyed until reinforcements arrive.
 * Bloomfield cannot be killed until his plot armor loses in the final mission,as well as Victor Denley that lost his plot armor in Farewell to Friends.
 * Saunders and Blackburn cannot be killed when clearing the beachhead until both are scripted to die by mortar at Gela beach. Also, on the same level, Rutherford can't be killed until the point where they storm outside of one bunker. At this point he's scripted to die at the hands of an Italian soldier.

Call of Duty 3
Adherence to CO/Main Character rule.
 * In the level, Falaise Road, the randomly generated Canadians that come over the wall have plot armor.
 * Richter has plot armor until the end of the level where he is killed.
 * In Mayenne Bridge, a German in a house has plot armor until he finishes shooting away the railing that blocks the player's way.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 * Vasquez, Griggs and Gaz have plot armor until their scripted deaths (Vasquez dies in "Shock and Awe", and Griggs and Gaz are killed in "Game Over").
 * Captain Price has plot armor throughout the game (except, naturally, when the player assumes his role during the flashback missions).
 * Massey has plot armor until the player clears the initial target building in "Charlie Don't Surf".
 * In "Sins Of The Father", Sergeant Kamarov lacks his usual plot armor, as he can be killed during the second firefight at the guard post. This is possibly explained by the use of other character models, as the characters had disguised themselves as the Ultranationalists they had killed during the first assault on the guard post. Despite this, Kamarov is scripted to appear towards the end of "Game Over".
 * Nikolai has plot armor through his appearances in-game in Blackout, Hunted and Death From Above.
 * In "Safehouse", the Loyalist assisting the SAS has plot armor, since he is scripted to be present at Al Asad's interrogation.
 * Also in "Safehouse," the two Ultranationalist guards protecting Al-Asad cannot be killed until Captain Price breaches the room.
 * In "Heat", Barton and Arem cannot be killed.
 * In "Crew Expendable", Wallcroft, Griffen and the final trooper are invincible.
 * MacMillan can be killed in "All Ghillied Up" if the player blows their cover, but he gains plot armor in "One Shot One Kill". After his scripted injury where the player has to carry him the rest of the level, he is completely immune to grenades and the like; enemy attacks somehow leave him unharmed.
 * In "Game Over" the Hind that pursues the player cannot be destroyed, until it is shot down by a Loyalist Mi-28 Havoc at the end of the level.
 * In the mission Safehouse, Al-Asad and his bodyguard have plot armor. The guard loses his plot armor when Captain Price opens the door and shoots him, while Al-Asad's plot armor is removed when the interrogation begins.
 * In F.N.G, the three S.A.S members helping Captain Price test the player have plot armor.
 * In the DS version of the game, during the mission "On Approach", an OpFor soldier can't be killed until he has fired his RPG-7.

Call of Duty: World at War

 * Sgt. Reznov and Pvt. Chernov both have plot armor, until Chernov's scripted death during "Heart of the Reich". However, if player points his weapon at Chernov after being burned, his name will still appear.
 * Tom Sullivan has plot armor until his scripted death in Little Resistance.
 * The Japanese soldier that stabs Sullivan cannot die until he has done so.
 * The radioman who starts out with the player's squad in Hard Landing has plot armor since he radios command once the airfield is captured. He may die in the counterattack.
 * Pvt. Polonsky and Sgt. Roebuck both have plot armor. During Breaking Point, depending on the player's actions, one of them loses his plot armor and dies (another scripted death), while the other keeps his plot armor.Plot-armor-waw.jpg
 * When Sergeant Daletski is under MG fire in Vendetta, he just falls down and gets back up when he is shot.
 * The German flamethrower who burns Chernov cannot be killed until he does so.
 * Both Russian soldiers who are ordered to break open the farm doors by Reznov in Their Land, Their Blood have plot armor and cannot be killed by gunfire nor grenades until they stand on each side of the farm door and are blown off by a King Tiger's shell inside the farmhouse.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * During the events of "No Russian", Makarov has plot armor.
 * NPCs from the TF141 including Captain Price, Ghost (until his scripted death), and "Soap" MacTavish are equipped with plot armor. In "Takedown", Royce is invincible until Meat dies; in "Loose Ends", Ozone and Scarecrow are invincible until the DSM is connected. Furthermore, in the latter mission, the player cannot destroy the Mi-8 helicopter, but the troops who rope out can be killed while in mid-air.
 * Sergeant Foley and Corporal Dunn also have plot armor. Pvt. Wells, in "Wolverines!", is invincible until Foley carries Raptor to Burger Town.
 * Pvt. McCord has plot armor in "Second Sun", as there is scripted dialog from at least one of the Rangers.
 * General Shepherd's helicopter in "Endgame" is invincible due to Price being scripted to destroy it. The general himself cannot be killed because he is scripted to be struck by Soap's knife at the climax of the level.
 * Private Morgan has plot armor until the player puts a smoke screen around the BTR in "Wolverines!".

Call of Duty: Black Ops

 * Bowman, Reznov, Sergei, Dimitri Petrenko and his squad-mates, Dragovich, Kravchenko, Steiner (the latter three in Project Nova), Swift, Harris and Clarke have plot armor until their canonical death.
 * Woods, Hudson, Weaver, Brooks and Carlos have plot armor that lasts throughout the game.
 * Woods briefly loses his plot armor when Alex Mason is hit by a mortar at the top of a enemy infested hill in "S.O.G.", until he is saved from the NVA soldier.Plot Armour.png in Black Ops.]]
 * Hudson does not have plot armor while he is playable.
 * Reznov's plot armor is a subversion, as his character is a hallucination in the mind of Alex Mason, excluding "Vorkuta" (where he is alive) and "Project Nova" (where he is playable).
 * The Viet Cong who stabs and kills Swift cannot be killed until he does so.
 * The Spetsnaz soldier who destroys the walkway in WMD (which causes the death of Harris) cannot be killed until he performs this action.
 * The U.S. Marine in Crash Site has plot armor until Mason destroys multiple NVA soldiers and MG turrets, where he is killed.
 * The Spetsnaz Operative in Payback cannot be killed when the player pulls out the gun from the VC Bookie's holster. He can only be killed when Mason and Woods see him trying to escape out the wooden door.
 * All the Marines in Rebirth have plot armor during the tank ride, and the two operatives accompaning the player during the Nova Gas fight are also invincible. The plot armor is removed after leaving the Nova Cloud.

Campaign

 * Sandman, Truck, Grinch and John "Soap" MacTavish have plot armor in every level that they appear in until their scripted deaths.
 * John Price has plot armor throughout the game, except the infiltration part in "Stronghold" and, of course, while he is playable in "Dust to Dust".
 * In "Mind the Gap", Wallcroft and Griffin have plot armor, but Griffin is scripted to die at the end of the first part of the level.
 * In "Turbulence", Commander Leonid Pudovkin and Sergeant Anton Fedorov have plot armor until their scripted deaths.
 * In "Goalpost", Rhino 1 and 2 have plot armor, being capable of shrugging off T-90 shots, though Rhino 2 is destroyed while the player is inside it. Carter, the minigunner of Rhino 2, also has plot armor until his death. The gunner and driver of Rhino 2 that accompany the player after the tank is destroyed have plot armor that lasts throughout the mission.
 * Nikolai also has plot armor, being capable of shrugging off shots in "Persona Non Grata" and "Return to Sender", though he doesn't participate in combat.
 * Sabre and Faucon in "Bag and Drag" have plot armor that lasts until the player enters the van near the end of the mission.
 * Volk and Gator in "Iron Lady" have full plot armor.
 * During the "No Russian" flashback in "Blood Brothers", Vladimir Makarov and his men have plot armor, although the wounded Yuri's objective is to kill them and stop the massacre.
 * In "Scorched Earth", Granite Team has plot armor until their scripted deaths. One of the Leopard 2 tanks, Blutertragen, can be destroyed by the T-90 if the player doesn't destroy it quickly, but the other 2 are invincible until the building crushes them.
 * Yuri is capable of shrugging off shots while he has control of Nikolai's chopper's remote turret in Return To Sender. He also has plot armor in "Dust to Dust" until Makarov kills him.
 * In the level Black Tuesday, Team Anvil has plot armor that lasts throughout the mission.
 * Bravo 9's SAS operatives have plot armor until they jump out the window and the Russians open fire.
 * Makarov has plot armor throughout the game until his death.

Special Operations

 * The Mi-8 helicopter that transports Juggernauts to a map in Survival cannot be destroyed. However, it is possible to kill the latter and have him fall to the ground.
 * Similar to Game Over, Endgame and the above example, the enemy copter which drops more troops on the field in Flood the Market is invincible to attack, but the Russian personnel themselves can be killed while roping out. This will cause an effect where they drop to the ground. The player can see a similar effect in Loose Ends.
 * The GIGN driver in Server Crash is equipped with plot armor; this also applies for the Over Reactor, Hit and Run, Little Bros and Smack Town helicoptor pilots.
 * Scarecrow has plot armor when he becomes a bot in the mission Kill Switch, except when the first Juggernaut arrives, and when planting the EMP.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

 * Frank Woods, Jason Hudson, Crosby, Samuels, Manuel Noriega, Jonas Savimbi, Mullah Rahman and the ISI Leader all have plot armor that is not lost at any point in the game.
 * Mike Harper, Tommy Briggs, Javier Salazar, Raul Menendez, Alex Mason, Farid, Jones, Anderson, Tian Zhao and Chloe "Karma" Lynch all have plot armor when in third person until their optional deaths. If they are saved by the player's actions, their plot armor returns later in the game, excluding Jones, Menendez and Mason, who do not appear in combat in any other missions after their plot armor is taken away. Farid's plot armor returns after killing Harper, but he later loses it in Odysseus upon his death.
 * David Mason, Frank Woods, Farid and Alex Mason have Plot Armor if they are accessing something with the Access Kit, as they cannot shoot back or dodge enemy fire. Enemies will also ignore them during this period.
 * Officers Janneson and Barnes have Plot Armor during Cordis Die, this plot armor is never lost throughout the game.
 * DeFalco has plot armor during the scene where he makes his first appearance in Fallen Angel, but the player cannot damage him anyway, as weapons are locked.
 * In Strike Force missions, aircraft deploying troops (VTOLs and Black Hawks) cannot be destroyed in any way.

Call of Duty: Ghosts

 * Hesh, Merrick, Keegan, Kick, Rorke and Collins all have plot armor that lasts throughout the game.
 * Rorke lacks his plot armor at the end of Birds of Prey, though killing him will result in a mission failure.
 * Hesh briefly lacks his plot armor while breaching the common room in Atlas Falls. This can be proven by trying to let the AI kill the enemies in the room in order to get the Trophy/Achievement Piece of cake. The payer will get a mission failure message saying "Hesh was shot and killed'".
 * Hesh also loses his plot armor while fighting Rorke in The Ghost Killer, when he has to be saved by Logan.
 * Riley always has plot armor, except when Logan takes control of him in No Man's Land.
 * Elias Walker always has plot armor until his canonical death, except when he is playable in Legends Never Die.
 * Kyra Mosley and Ajax have plot armor until their scripted deaths.