Armour (powered)
Powered armour provides the maximum protection, but it is so heavy that all movement is powered. The armour has sensors that respond to your body’s movements such that the movement is as close as possible to natural movement. Nonetheless, any skill roll performed, while in powered armour has both of the Aegis and Vcl-Mech aspects, and you will suffer the -3 unqualified penalties, if you are not qualified in both.
Don and Doff
Powered armour also cannot be simply put on, there are too many interlocking pieces, so the armour must be constructed around you. Armour is normally sold and carried in a disassembled and scaffold semiassembled (ss) state. To use the armour, you must:
- unpack it;
- click together a ring, placing it on the floor;
- connect it to energy and matter streams; and
- stand in the ring and activate the construction.
The armour will then assemble around you. To take the armour off, you disassemble it again. It can be disassembled back to the ring on the floor, or to a wearable harness. Note that the harness weight is still a quarter of the full weight of the powered armour. So if the powered armour happens to be battle armour, the harness would weigh 125 kilograms, which will probably mean that you would struggle to lift it, let alone wear it.
Mishap Reminder
All powered armour has the active nanobot trait for three reasons: it must be assembled and reassembled; it autorepairs; and it has to reform connective matter streams during movement.
Recall that items of equipment with the active nanobot trait acquire mishap(elec-3).
Powered Armour is a Base {i} Vehicle
All powered armour are base {i} scale mech vehicles, so their resources and resistances are multiplied accordingly. See the powered armour example under Base Scales.
Assault Armour
300K:3(cost), 15(CC)
Op: active (mishap(elec-3)), op(Aegis,Vcl-Mech)
D|1|3(size), base{i}, 4(hardness), 4(HX), 4(EX), 2(FX), 1/50/200(wt)
Resources: 80(hp), 8(ep) ◊ Recovery: 0/hr(hp), 0/hr(ep) ◊ Consumption: 1(ep/hr)
Skills: 4(Health), 2(Energy), 0(Focus), 3(Strength), 0(Agility)
Challenges: 13(TC)
Resistances: +3(rst,frc) +3(rst,prc), +3(rst,sls), +1(rst,fire), +1(rst,cold), +1(rst,heat), +1(rst,corr), +1(rst,psn), +½(rst,rad)
Senses: 20(lightsense), 2(audiosense)
Speeds: 8(speed) stock(walk)
Cabin: 1(seats)
s2a: 150/200(hp) 225/300(ep) in min
Description: This is fairly standard heavy infantry armour, giving suitable protection for heavy engagements by the professional soldier. The suit usually has colour schemes for visual camouflage and dress uniform variations.
350K:3(cost), 15(CC)
Op: active (mishap(elec-3)), op(Aegis,Vcl-Mech)
D|1|3(size), base{i}, 4(hardness), 4(HX), 4(EX), 2(FX), 1/52/210(wt)
Resources: 80(hp), 8(ep) ◊ Recovery: 0/day(hp), 0/day(ep) ◊ Consumption: 2(ep/hr)
Skills: 4(Health), 2(Energy), 0(Focus), 4(Strength), 1(Agility)
Challenges: 14(TC)
Resistances: +3(rst,frc) +3(rst,prc), +3(rst,sls), +1(rst,fire), +1(rst,cold), +1(rst,heat), +1(rst,corr), +1(rst,psn), +½(rst,rad)
Senses: 20(lightsense), 2(audiosense)
Speeds: 10(speed) stock(walk)
Cabin: 1(seats)
s2a: 158/210(hp) 263/350(ep) in min
Description: So you’ve felt what it's like to go in as a tank, and you want a bit of your agility back, you might want to give this beast a run.
400K:3(cost), 15(CC)
Op: active (mishap(elec-3)), op(Aegis,Vcl-Mech)
D|1|3(size), base{i}, 5(hardness), 5(HX), 4(EX), 2(FX), 1/75/300(wt)
Resources: 150(hp), 12(ep) ◊ Recovery: 0/day(hp), 0/day(ep) ◊ Consumption: 3(ep/hr)
Skills: 5(Health), 3(Energy), 0(Focus), 5(Strength), 2(Agility)
Challenges: 15(TC)
Resistances: +4(rst,frc) +4(rst,prc), +4(rst,sls), +1(rst,fire), +1(rst,cold), +1(rst,heat), +1(rst,corr), +1(rst,psn), +½(rst,rad)
Senses: 20(lightsense), 2(audiosense)
Speeds: 12(speed) stock(walk)
Cabin: 1(seats)
s2a: 225/300(hp) 300/400(ep) in min
Description: Now there’s tank, and then there is really tank.
380K:3(cost), 15(CC)
Op: active (mishap(elec-3)), op(Aegis,Vcl-Mech)
D|1|3(size), base{i}, 4(hardness), 4(HX), 4(EX), 2(FX), 1/65/260(wt)
Resources: 96(hp), 12(ep) ◊ Recovery: 0/day(hp), 0/day(ep) ◊ Consumption: 3(ep/hr)
Skills: 5(Health), 3(Energy), 0(Focus), 4(Strength), 3(Agility)
Challenges: 16(TC)
Resistances: +3(rst,frc) +3(rst,prc), +3(rst,sls), +1(rst,fire), +1(rst,cold), +1(rst,heat), +1(rst,corr), +1(rst,psn), +½(rst,rad)
Senses: 20(lightsense), 2(audiosense)
Speeds: 10(speed) stock(walk)
Cabin: 1(seats)
s2a: 195/260(hp) 285/380(ep) in min
Description: A popular choice for well-equipped heavy marine boarding parties, who are definitely expecting rain.
Battle Armour
700K:3(cost), 15(CC)
Op: active (mishap(elec-3)), op(Aegis,Vcl-Mech)
T|2|2(size), base{i}, 5(hardness), 10(HX), 4(EX), 2(FX), 1/125/500(wt)
Resources: 70(hp), 20(ep) ◊ Recovery: 0/day(hp), 0/day(ep) ◊ Consumption: 5(ep/hr)
Skills: 6(Health), 5(Energy), 0(Focus), 3(Strength), 1(Agility)
Challenges: 13(TC)
Resistances: 4(rst,frc) 4(rst,prc), 4(rst,sls), 2(rst,fire), 2(rst,cold), 2(rst,heat), 2(rst,corr), 2(rst,psn), ½(rst,rad)
Senses: 20(lightsense), 2(audiosense)
Speeds: 12(speed) stock(walk)
Cabin: 1(seats)
s2a: 375/500(hp) 525/700(ep) in min
Description: A heavier version of assault armour, used by marines or other troops that have to do a lot of breaching. Troops that man hardpoints or other gunnery positions, use this armour, because they are unlikely to go into hand-to-hand combat, but are likely to be hit by heavy weapons fire.
The designs of this armour vary considerably. Most have the wearer’s legs inside the legs of the armour, but some, notably larger, variants, have the wearer entirely within the torso.