On page 163 of the AToW Companion, there's a table (the "Personal Equipment Quality Table") that lists a "Discount" level of quality for gear. As written, there appears to be no penalty for weapons or armor purchased at this quality level (there's a -1 on skill checks for non-weapons and armor). Is there a similar penalty for weapons and armor that I missed, or does generic infantry just drop in cost by a factor of 1/SQRT(2)?