Supplement 8: Power Armour

[Gamerguy]

I've ran MANY, MANY, MANY Battledress Traveller games. Since Mercinary appeared in 1978 - Traveller has had powered armor. Some Refs can do adventures with powered armor - others can't - or won't.

The most common use is Imperial marines combating heavily armed pirates - but Mercinary tickets are common too.

This book will sell well - and will be a valuable addition to many Traveller collections.

8)

 

[rinku]

Yeah, I agree that this could be a very nice book if done well. And even in the 3rd Imperium, there is room for some variety in powered armour, up to small vehicle size (say, as per Appleseed) and cyborg tech.

I'd see it as a viable option in the TL9-11 range, before the grav tech really beomes universal. At Tech 12 plus, troops in combat armour operating out of g-carriers would likely be able to do any mission a suit would be designed for (in effect the suit becomes a g-carrier with passengers). Once battledress comes along, the big suits would probably become totally obsolete apart from some specialist extreme environment functions (I can see a need for walkers with arms in Insidious environments that can "defeat all personal protection measures in 2-12 hours").

The other thought is to simply combine the product with Robots. A suit is usually just a robot with space allocated to a pilot and no controlling AI, after all.

 

[Treebore]

Yeah, I have always had a warm spot in my heart for "Starship Troopers" and "Armor", and long been a fan of Battletech and Gundam, plus I have frequently used BD in my Traveller Games, heck, used it when I ran a part of the module "Tripwire" at Dark Con.

So I am seriously looking forward to this book, as well as getting Mech Tech N Robots ASAP.

 

[danbuter]

I'm all for Power Armor. And it's been in the game since books 1-3, it was just called Battle Dress.

 

[Treebore]

I'm all for Power Armor. And it's been in the game since books 1-3, it was just called Battle Dress.

Yes indeed. I think it upped your STR from day 1 too, or was that later?

 

[rinku]

Yup. Always doubled your Str and gave you unlimited endurance for making blows and running and such. And that's First Edition Book 1 from 1977.

What Mercenary added were the fusion and plasma guns, which is the point at which the firepower caught up with the armour.

 

[SnowDog]

It's true that powered armor is not all that important to civilian campaigns but then again merchant prince is not all that important to military campaigns, is it?

I am currently reading Machinery of Light by David J. Williams and it really makes me feel very interested in about this book.

 

[SCKnight14]

Well, I have read several novels featuring power armor, many of which have already been mentioned. I actually look forward to this book. By the way, does it come out next month? According to Books-a-Million, it does.

 

[AndrewW]

Well, I have read several novels featuring power armor, many of which have already been mentioned. I actually look forward to this book. By the way, does it come out next month? According to Books-a-Million, it does.

It was delayed. Haven't seen a new release date yet.

 

[Aramanthus]

I want it (Book 9) for the equipment the soldiers the players may encounter and or have a conflict with. Power Armors have always been there in Traveller since the beginning, so why wreck it for some of us. Let us have our supplement. But what you want and we'll buy what we want.

 

[alex_greene]

It's true that powered armor is not all that important to civilian campaigns but then again merchant prince is not all that important to military campaigns, is it?

You ever hear of the word "outsourcing?"

 

[AndrewW]

I want it (Book 9) for the equipment the soldiers the players may encounter and or have a conflict with. Power Armors have always been there in Traveller since the beginning, so why wreck it for some of us. Let us have our supplement. But what you want and we'll buy what we want.

Book 9 is Robots. Power Armour will be Supplement something. Nothing is being wrecked, book is just delayed.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

So, will there be rules for non-human, non-humanoid, power armour?

If a setting has octapoid-like water-breathers, will they be able to have sealed, walker propelled power armour?

What about extreme hostile environmental suits (à la the gascraft of 'The Algebraist')?

 

[Treebore]

So, will there be rules for non-human, non-humanoid, power armour?

If a setting has octapoid-like water-breathers, will they be able to have sealed, walker propelled power armour?

What about extreme hostile environmental suits (à la the gascraft of 'The Algebraist')?

Power Armor can be adapted to any alien race with a little bit of thought.

 

[alex_greene]

So, will there be rules for non-human, non-humanoid, power armour?

If a setting has octapoid-like water-breathers, will they be able to have sealed, walker propelled power armour?

What about extreme hostile environmental suits (à la the gascraft of 'The Algebraist')?

Power Armor can be adapted to any alien race with a little bit of thought.

Ah, yes, thinking. Everyone can do thinking. Well, almost everyone.

But the thing is, will there be actual rules for this sort of thing so we Referees and fans can actually avoid having to do this thinking, because if we could put the things together ourselves without the aid of a few tables and examples, what would we need of the supplement?

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

I can think for myself... but players argue.

 

[SCKnight14]

I'm still seeing that the book comes out July 10 at BAM. I know the mongoose website doesn't have it, but can anyone verify what books-a-million is saying is accurate?

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Does it say anywhere how many atmospheres the types of battle-dress and power armour can withstand?

 

[Treebore]

Does it say anywhere how many atmospheres the types of battle-dress and power armour can withstand?

Probably a bit more than HEV Vacc Suits, which I assume handles at least the atmospheric pressure at the bottom of our Earths Oceans. That is over 16000 pounds per square inch. Thats over 1,088 atmospheres of pressure (16000/14.7 psi). So for me, more than that.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Hmm, so maybe not quite up to cruising through a gas giant's atmosphere....

I suspect an "extreme" hazardous environment suit might be needed for that.