Re: (TFT) Marauder Power Suit.

[Peter von Kleinsmid <pvk@oz.net>]

At 11:16 AM 12/6/04 -0600, rmorger wrote:
> ST 22, FT 22, DX 12, IQ 10, PA 2d6 MA 12 hits stopped per armor
> rules, weapons as per weapons list all energy weapons at 1d6 less
> damage than human weapons.
>
> All 4 of these characters would be 1.5 hex creatures.

FT = fatigue capacity?
PA = what?
What's a 1.5 hex creature? 1-hex but 1.5 x weight of equipment, spell 
costs, etc?

I tend to think one might want to use a different hex scale for high-tech 
combat, since the weapons tend to have a lot more range. At least megahexes 
rather than hexes, I'd think, unless in a really close space.

As for my usual realism-oriented thoughts (which I label as such to 
encourage others to ignore if they please):

I also thought of bugs as more like megahex-or-larger, which would make 
them big targets. As I recall, they were also described as very tough, 
meaning higher armor and/or damage capacity and/or multiple target 
locations with different effects for them being taken out, much like the 
powered armor might have. Seems like ST 22 for a skinny might make it 
strangely hard to kill when unarmored, again depending on what your damage 
numbers are like.

The book's (and the AH game's) description of powered armor was that their 
suits made them a more than a match for a "squadron" of tanks. Nearly 
invulnerable, nearly flying, huge strength, precision, and a stockpile of 
weapons which could take out groups and buildings at once, not to mention 
tactical nuclear weapons.

Yet the bugs were still a challenge, and considered quite tough, and not 
because of massive numbers as in the semi-recent film.

However, the numbers I see suggested range from top-end TFT strengths, to 
perhaps slightly above 20th Century values. The bugs just mentioned don't 
look much tougher than big TFT Hymenopterrans, for example.

And if we can agree that 20th Century firearms have better penetration than 
say a 14th Century crossbow (average 10.5 points, so an assault rifle might 
be at least more like average 20, firing three such shots per trigger 
pull), then armor values like:

At 09:41 AM 12/6/04 -0500, you wrote:
> Power armor with ST as well as hits stopped was also where I went with it 
> - though I plugged the hits stopped as 10, since I figured a full suit of 
> batlearmor was equivalent to fine plate magicked to +4, with an ablative 
> ST of 100, but if targeted using hit locations 15 for head and each limb, 
> 40 body.

Wouldn't be proof against even a typical late 20th Century infantry weapon. 
One assault rifle burst hit to the head could take it out easily, as could 
a couple of bursts to the torso. Not to mention the multiple machineguns 
mounted on even one tank, let alone a squadron of them.

PvK
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