Darrian Battle Dress Question

[heron61]

So, on page 24 of Aliens of Charted Space vol. 3, we have Darrian Battle Dress and Special Arm Battle Dress both listed. Darrian Battle Dress is TL 15, and has stats comparable to similar Imperial Battle Dress, but with one *huge* difference, it's on 35 kg, rather than 90-180 kg, is this a misprint, or is Darrian Battle Dress that they can currently manufacture 1/3 or less the mass of Imperial Battle Dress?

 

[ottarrus]

Huh.
OK, I'm fine with the Darrians getting Imperial technology. That's established in canon.
But I'm rather leery of all this sooper-dooper TL16 military technology that everyone seems to think the Darrians have in the basement for a rainy day.
For one thing, and given Darrian culture I really do think this is important, the pre-Maghiz Darrians had no military opponents in their region. The only resistence to their expansion in the early years was environmental, not another species or political power. They had NOT contacted the Zhos and the Sword Worlders had not arrived yet. Given what we know about 'modern' Darrian culture, it seems very unlikely that the Confederation would have expended such a huge percentage of the GDP to fund a military with literally nothing to do. Especially when there were better things to spend that money on... from the Darrian point of view, defense spending is for just that, DEFENSE, not expansionism. They've never had an imperialistic or martial nature in their society, so I'm simply not seeing how they'd 'waste' resources on multiple regiments of powered armored troops armed with neural rifles and fusion guns. The Darrians are now, and were then, colonizers and scholars, not militarists.
With all that said, sure the Darrian Confederation Guards have TL 15 Battle Dress. But they have the same models as the Third Imperium, sized appropriately for the Darrian physical frame. MAYBE that amounts to 10% size/weight reduction, that's at the most.

 

[Annatar Giftbringer]

From Aliens of Charted Space vol.3:

Battle Dress: Darrian battle dress is more refined
than Imperial designs, integrating many additional subsystems and replacing hydraulic amplification servos with simpler, more energy efficient and lighter electro-contractive muscle pseudo-tissue

It is also mentioned that only the Confederarion Mobile Infantry are issued with it, and the TL16 Special Arm Battle Dress is even rarer.

Furthermore, only a few dozen of the neural rifles exist, issued on a mission-by-mission basis

 

[Sigtrygg]

So why wouldn't the Imperium just appropriate the "simpler, more energy efficient and lighter electro-contractive muscle pseudo-tissue" and build their own battledress with it?

Real reason:
1 - it's magic armour
2 - it requires a secret super duper alloy only a Darrian can make at a special double super secret location from a super extra secret mineral that can only be mined from a double super extra secret deposit in a mountain guarded by a Balrog.

 

[heron61]

From Aliens of Charted Space vol.3:


It is also mentioned that only the Confederarion Mobile Infantry are issued with it, and the TL16 Special Arm Battle Dress is even rarer.

Furthermore, only a few dozen of the neural rifles exist, issued on a mission-by-mission basis

Sure, but those are all TL 16+ artifacts that can't be duplicated, while the Darrian TL 15 battle dress is specifically mentioned as something that Darrian engineers can make now and that is actually a bit cheaper than some of the most expensive Imperial battle dress.

 

[Annatar Giftbringer]

So why wouldn't the Imperium just appropriate the "simpler, more energy efficient and lighter electro-contractive muscle pseudo-tissue" and build their own battledress with it?

Real reason:
1 - it's magic armour
2 - it requires a secret super duper alloy only a Darrian can make at a special double super secret location from a super extra secret mineral that can only be mined from a double super extra secret deposit in a mountain guarded by a Balrog.

this guy gets it