ATE -- Help My Character Not Get Rad Poisoning

[Tallor]

In the Wastes, there is a lot of radioactive junk. Craters, dump sites, undetonated bombs, even the occasional mad scientist with a working gamma-ray gun prototype. It's important for an adventurer to avoid rads, or end up having to buy t-shirts with more than four holes in them.

So here's my plan:

Layer 1: Ultratech anti-rad drugs
Layer 2: Low-bulk hazmat suit / space suit
Layer 3: Powered, shielded armor

Actual items used can vary, but I'd like to hear thoughts on some good combinations. :)

[(E)]

Geiger counter / radiation detector?

[Humabout]

1. Ideally, don't go anywhere near radiation.

2. Failing that, spend as little time near radiation as possible.

3. Failing that, put as much mass between you and radiation as possible (up your PF).

4. Failing that, buy above mentioned t-shirt.


You seem to hit #3 pretty well, but you'll still succumb in time. I'd personally advise strictly adhering to #1.

[PK]

Remember that you can buy your RP as high as (ST + HT) very cheaply. Do that. Once your RP are at 20+, you recover 2 per day instead of 1 and it takes twice as much radiation to really hurt you. Very Rapid Healing also helps your recovery (of both RP and HP!); it's been a popular choice in our group.

Ironically, if your game includes mutations, there are some useful ones for avoiding rad damage. Natural Anti-Rad (ATE1, p. 27) lets you exceed the ST+HT cap on your RP by as much as +20! In theory, you could start the game with RP 40+ and Very Rapid Healing, which means it takes about 4x as much radiation to hurt you and you heal it 8x as fast! If you have Pyramid #3/90: After the End, check out the Geiger Counter mutation on p. 11; it is, without a doubt, the best way to identify and avoid irradiated areas. (All-Sight on p. 10 is the second best, as it gives you a Vision roll to spot gamma radiation.) Also see the notes in that article for Boosted Hemoglobin and Environmental Filter (both p. 7).

Finally, gear like the advanced biohazard suit (ATE2, p. 47) offers PF against radiation. But even with the Cheap modifier (i.e., DR 0), it's still a $6,400 value, so you probably can't start with it. The same with chelating agents (ATE1, p. 30), which are safe but freakin' expensive. The best option as far as gear goes may be SieverTasty (ATE1, p. 30), which is effective but has some nasty drawbacks.

[The Colonel]

Are we talking genuine radiation or cinematic?

For realistic radiation, there's not a lot you can do about gamma rays ... luckily, they are also the least damaging form.

Alpha particles are nasty, but have trouble getting through your skin - wear a mask, try not to eat or drink anything irradiated and always decontaminated yourself thoroughly after you've been outside. The same goes for anything you salvage.

Beta particles come somewhere in between - you need a couple of mm of metal to keep them out, but even heavy clothing will provide some shielding.

Whilst outdoors, pay attention to your gieger counter and avoid hotspots.