[UT] Articulated Weapon Harness - Questions

[hollybargle]

Reading through Ultra-Tech, I came upon the articulated weapon harness (UT p.150). While undoubtedly a handy tool for heavy gunners on the mover, I note that it says that it is generally only for weapons bulk -4 or more.

Could it be conceivable to have one custom made for a lower bulk weapon? The character I am planning uses two magnums. Would a custom made dual-armed weapons harness be out of the question? I'm not really certain on how these harnesses would work, and the range of motion allowed on them.

A couple other questions in relation:

A player is disarmed or for whatever reason drops his weapon while the weapon is connected to the harness. What would happen?

Could the harness conceivably be put into a flesh-pocket? (UT p.211) Would there be arms and such then extruding from his chest?

Thanks for your time!

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by hollybargle

Could it be conceivable to have one custom made for a lower bulk weapon? The character I am planning uses two magnums. Would a custom made dual-armed weapons harness be out of the question? I'm not really certain on how these harnesses would work, and the range of motion allowed on them.

You could, but the design would not really help you in a manner that would justify the weight, bulk, expense, and limitations in motion. I think what you are really looking for is an exoskeleton, but please detail what objectives you are trying to accomplish and I can be more specific.

Originally Posted by hollybargle

A player is disarmed or for whatever reason drops his weapon while the weapon is connected to the harness. What would happen?

Unless the disarm does enough damage to separate the weapon from the harness it would still be attached - you just need to reach out with your next action and take hold of it again.

Originally Posted by hollybargle

Could the harness conceivably be put into a flesh-pocket? (UT p.211) Would there be arms and such then extruding from his chest?

No. First, it would have nothing to anchor to and would likely rip itself out of your flesh. Second, a flesh pocket is about concealment and this is too bulky to conceal even when not in use - yes, there would be protrusions.

[hollybargle]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

You could, but the design would not really help you in a manner that would justify the weight, bulk, expense, and limitations in motion. I think what you are really looking for is an exoskeleton, but please detail what objectives you are trying to accomplish and I can be more specific.

Well, for example, both weapons would be considered braced, giving +1 to aim for both weapons. Also, if the gyrostabilized version was purchased, there would be no bulk penalty for move and attack. This would be pretty useful for a 'run and gun' type character.

[cosmicfish]

Ah, I see. I think that you could possibly devise a better way to do it, but I would allow it with the following caveats:

The size and weight listed are linear with the weight of the weapon because of the limitation on Bulk - I would place some minimum weight on the harness to represent the fact that below a certain point you cannot make the system lighter and still have it do anything but snap. Perhaps 5lb for the regular version, 10lb gyrostabilized? I doubt you can find any weapons that you would normally mount on a harness that weight as little as 10lb, so it seems like a reasonable minimum to me.

The harness is designed for a single weapon, and I would say that adding a second weapon would require about 50% more material and expense... so for a two-pistol rig you would be a minimum 7.5lb, 15lb gyrostabilized.

The harness itself will be bulky. Perhaps a Bulk of -2 or -3? Ordinarily this would be overshadowed by the weapon itself, but in this case it has to stand on its own.

The assumption of bracing is for a two-handed weapon with the harness acting as a third hand. If you wanted the bracing bonus, I would make some statement that the harness connects to your arms rather than floating in front of you, and would place some penalties on performing other actions while strapped in, as well as time penalties to get the harness on and off.

Not trying to muck up your idea (which I like, in a cinematic sense), just trying to figure out how to make it work without abusing the system.

[The Benj]

As the harness is optimised for bigger weapons, why not use bigger weapons?

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by hollybargle

Reading through Ultra-Tech, I came upon the articulated weapon harness (UT p.150). While undoubtedly a handy tool for heavy gunners on the mover, I note that it says that it is generally only for weapons bulk -4 or more.

Could it be conceivable to have one custom made for a lower bulk weapon? The character I am planning uses two magnums. Would a custom made dual-armed weapons harness be out of the question? I'm not really certain on how these harnesses would work, and the range of motion allowed on them.

!

Have you checked out eh Shoulder Servomount on the same page of UT? t sounds more like what you're l0ooking for. If you wonder what one (or two) look like I've seen them in the ads for that new Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow.

I could see a double pistol version strapped around the character's chest and under his arms, all hidden under a long coat.

If you need a visual reference for the gyrostabilized version of the Articulated Weapon Harness look to the heavy weapon's gunners in Aliens. That's absolutely where this item originates from.