[AtE] Combination Gadget: Fallout's Pip-Boy

[MWnRNC]

I've had some additional time to work on my Fallout adaptation and I was hoping for some assistance with my take on the Pip-Boy. I'm working off of the Pip-Boy 3000 featured in Fallouts 3, New Vegas, & 4. A few notes about the components and my assumptions:

Rugged Small Computer from High-Tech: Electricity & Electronics p.37. Fallout is Pre-War TL7+3, so their computers use vacuum tubes. Since the Pip-Boy uses revolutionary miniaturization technology, I assumed it used transistors instead. Overall Complexity is 6 - 4 = 2, which seems about right and, as a bonus, makes the computer compact. System specs from Fallout 4 ("38911 bytes free") made me want to increase storage capacity, but I couldn't find a clear way to do this outside of Steampunk 2: Steam & Shellfire, which suggests +10% cost for +100% storage. With that adjustment, data storage is 50 KB. This makes final price $280.

The terminal is a rugged datapad from High-Tech p.21.

Rugged biomedical Sensors from Ultra-Tech p.187. The High-Tech versions were too heavy, so I opted to use these instead.

Rugged personal dosimeter from High-Tech p.49. The description suggests that the electronics can be miniaturized to fit into a watch. Weight is therefore neg.

Rugged GPS Receiver from High-Tech p.53. Like the dosimeter, it can be fit into a watch (so weight is neg.), but price increases $50. Final price is $300.

Rugged small Radio from High-Tech p.38-39, with the receive-only option. While I mostly stuck to TL7 capabilities for gadgets, I used the TL8 radio ranges. Final price is $100, final weight is 0.24 lb. (after subtracting batteries).

I did not include a flashlight, but will allow the user to adjust the screen brightness of the device to shed light that will illuminate a 1-yd area at the cost of doubling power consumption. For the purposes of combining the gadgets, I assumed that all components could be used at once.

Final cost is $1,200, final weight is 0.67 lb., and DR is 4. The cost feels appropriate, and the weight seems realistic but too light for Fallout. I'm considering hardening all the components as well. My questions are:

1. The datapad terminal imposes a -2 penalty for complex and lengthy tasks. Does this necessarily apply to any attempt to use software tools for technical skills?
2. In a campaign using After the End rules, should TL price modifiers be applied to each component separately ($15,000), or should the whole device just use highest TL ($18,000)?
3. Speaking of TL price modifiers, which modifier would be used for the small radio here? TL6 (the first TL small radios are available) or TL7 (the actual small radio model that I used)?
4. I'm a little confused by power requirements and still working those out (or deciding if I just want to handwave it with "nuclear batteries"). Anyone have any good worked examples of this?

Originally Posted by MWnRNC

I've had some additional time to work on my Fallout adaptation and I was hoping for some assistance with my take on the Pip-Boy. I'm working off of the Pip-Boy 3000 featured in Fallouts 3, New Vegas, & 4. A few notes about the components and my assumptions:

You went into more depth than I ever bothered to...

I'm considering hardening all the components as well.

If the PipBoy was designed to survive and be a functional device in a post-apoc scenario, it's probably hardened as well.

My questions are:

1. The datapad terminal imposes a -2 penalty for complex and lengthy tasks. Does this necessarily apply to any attempt to use software tools for technical skills?
2. In a campaign using After the End rules, should TL price modifiers be applied to each component separately ($15,000), or should the whole device just use highest TL ($18,000)?
3. Speaking of TL price modifiers, which modifier would be used for the small radio here? TL6 (the first TL small radios are available) or TL7 (the actual small radio model that I used)?
4. I'm a little confused by power requirements and still working those out (or deciding if I just want to handwave it with "nuclear batteries"). Anyone have any good worked examples of this?

1 - Yes. The penalty comes from the small screen and small peripherals. Imagine trying to do long term coding work on an iPhone screen and keypad.
2 - I'd they are getting what they pay, so I'd say separate TLs.
3 - Again, getting what they paid for, so TL 7.
4 - No... I have always made mine implanted cyberware, so mine ran off of a bio-battery converting blood sugars into power.

[MWnRNC]

Originally Posted by mburr0003

If the PipBoy was designed to survive and be a functional device in a post-apoc scenario, it's probably hardened as well.

The natural hardening provided by vacuum tube construction is the explanation I give for why a larger than expected number of computers survived the apocalypse.

Originally Posted by mburr0003

1 - Yes. The penalty comes from the small screen and small peripherals. Imagine trying to do long term coding work on an iPhone screen and keypad.

I guess I was thinking of it more as a mechanic having a schematic of an engine pulled up on their wrist, or an animated Vault Boy showing you proper CPR methods and helping you time chest compressions.

Originally Posted by mburr0003

2 - I'd they are getting what they pay, so I'd say separate TLs.
3 - Again, getting what they paid for, so TL 7.

With these plus the modification for hardening, final cost and weight are $2,300 and 1.34 lbs.. That feels appropriate without being too heavy for everyday use. With After the End modifiers, price is $72,000. I think I may need to tweak the cost modifiers to get something more appropriate to the setting.

Originally Posted by mburr0003

4 - No... I have always made mine implanted cyberware, so mine ran off of a bio-battery converting blood sugars into power.

That's a neat idea. I go back and forth on whether the nuclear batteries in cars, gadgets, etc. are a fun setting conceit that also minimizes book keeping, or just hopelessly silly.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by MWnRNC

I guess I was thinking of it more as a mechanic having a schematic of an engine pulled up on their wrist, or an animated Vault Boy showing you proper CPR methods and helping you time chest compressions.

If you would normally give a bonus for having a reference, I'd probably reduce it by 1, both for the tiny screen and also for having to take one hand off what you are doing to look at it.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by MWnRNC

That's a neat idea. I go back and forth on whether the nuclear batteries in cars, gadgets, etc. are a fun setting conceit that also minimizes book keeping, or just hopelessly silly.

One important thing to keep in mind in a AtE scenario is that people will try to use any available source of energy for other purposes. The nuclear battery in an old car might be used to power weapon emplacements, spotlights, water purifiers, etc. Someone might try to jury-rig a bypass on their PipBoy to try and power a laser pistol. A broken-down power armor's fusion core may be used to power the grow lights and water pumps of a hydroponics setup. Sure, these aren't options in the games (at least not without mods), but when you switch over to a PnP system this kind of stuff is going to crop up.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Varyon

One important thing to keep in mind in a AtE scenario is that people will try to use any available source of energy for other purposes. The nuclear battery in an old car might be used to power weapon emplacements, spotlights, water purifiers, etc. Someone might try to jury-rig a bypass on their PipBoy to try and power a laser pistol. A broken-down power armor's fusion core may be used to power the grow lights and water pumps of a hydroponics setup. Sure, these aren't options in the games (at least not without mods), but when you switch over to a PnP system this kind of stuff is going to crop up.

The Fallout universe is perfectly happy to have useful gadgets lying around for centuries with no one even trying to use them until the PC shows up. It can sometimes require some very careful nonthinking to avoid serious breaks in immersion.

It's one reason I would probably use Fallout as inspiration, rather than using it as is.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by RyanW

The Fallout universe is perfectly happy to have useful gadgets lying around for centuries with no one even trying to use them until the PC shows up.

Certainly, but once the PC's do show up, in GURPS they're going to have a lot more options than the few (if any) that were programmed into the games, so you need to know how much energy a car's "nuclear batteries" put out to know how many water purifiers it can run, how much energy a PipBoy consumes to see if you can jury-rig it into a defibrillator (or TASER), and so forth.

And, of course, the GM should consider other wastelanders doing similar things.

[MWnRNC]

Originally Posted by RyanW

If you would normally give a bonus for having a reference, I'd probably reduce it by 1, both for the tiny screen and also for having to take one hand off what you are doing to look at it.

I'm beginning to wonder if the Pip-Boy is really worth it. The gadgets are handy, of course, but the computer doesn't seem to be doing much. It doesn't have the Complexity to run useful tool programs and, even if you made it so, it would still carry that penalty.

Originally Posted by Varyon

One important thing to keep in mind in a AtE scenario is that people will try to use any available source of energy for other purposes. [...] Sure, these aren't options in the games (at least not without mods), but when you switch over to a PnP system this kind of stuff is going to crop up.

Yes, I'm hoping for something like this. I'm thinking of the tendency in Fallout for nuclear batteries to be extremely dangerous (cars explode like a mini-nuke when shot) and for them to provide near-limitless energy for decades/centuries in a game about resource scarcity.

Originally Posted by RyanW

It's one reason I would probably use Fallout as inspiration, rather than using it as is.

Definitely this. I want it to be recognizable Fallout, but I'm reserving the right to tweak anything to make sense or just for personal preference.

Originally Posted by MWnRNC

I'm beginning to wonder if the Pip-Boy is really worth it. The gadgets are handy, of course, but the computer doesn't seem to be doing much. It doesn't have the Complexity to run useful tool programs and, even if you made it so, it would still carry that penalty.

Even as just as database with reference docs that give +1, it's better than lugging reference manuals around.

Add in navigation aids like compass, gps, maps, inertial mapping, etc... all depends on the Fallout you're referencing and how helpful you want the Pip-Boy to be.