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#1 |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Ok, another Star Wars question. How to handle armor? In Star Wars d20 or D6 it's not such a big deal, since enough enemies can overwhelm someone in armor because of the scaling. But GURPS is more, shall we say, realistic. This raises a problem because armor has to be capable of stopping certain attacks based on what we know the armor is for, but at the same time, it's pretty obvious that cinematically armor provides little benefit to its wearer.
First, let's present the basics. Assuming, for now, we base Star Wars armor on Ultra-Tech. The most likely candidates are Ablative Nanoplas armor (because it's laser-resistant and flexible, and less effective against spears) or ballstic armor worn with a Light Clamshell (for laser protection). The scenarios: Episdode 1: Ewoks versus Scout Troopers A gang of ST 7 teddy bears attack a Scout Trooper armored with spears. With the ablative armor, things go pretty much like you would expect, with the relatively paltry damage gradually building up as they exceed the ablative armor's conventional DR. With the Light Clamshell and helmet option, it becomes difficult to explain how a spear or rock poses a threat on a head shot. Episode 2: Han versus the Scout Trooper In Return of the Jedi, Han punches a Scout Trooper in the stomach. If the armor is flexible and ineffective against punches, he might be able to pull this off if I implement some kind of mook rule or a sucker punch possibility: http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...2&postcount=71 If it's the clamshell, no luck. Scout Troopers are one thing, but what about stormtroopers? For them to take damage from rocks, I would have to assume that their armor is, contrary to appearances, either flexible or simply ablative nanoplas anti-laser armor. Going by the Star Wars databanks, it should probably be a Combat Hardsuit with a sealed Combat Infantry Helmet. That is somewhat plausible from a standpoint of blasters (3d6 with a divisor of 5 is about half the damage you would need), but Stormtrooper armor is evidently not heavy duty. So decision time. Should I...? A) Use the UT figures and tweak them based on what I can tell about their relative effectiveness (i.e. Stormtrooper is similar to a combat hardsuit, but might lighter with about a third the DR). B) Assume all stormtrooper armor is albative nanoplas (TL10) armor or something similar. C) Start eyeballing numbers and come up with completely independent numbers, using UT mainly for artistic inspiration, and assume exotic materials are not as cheap/light/whatever in Star Wars as your typical TL11 GURPS world. Perhaps armor is more likely to add Hardened as TL goes up rather than higher DR. D) Dispense entirely with reality and declare that all armor in Star Wars is actually medieval TL 3 metal or leather armor that just LOOKS like high-tech armor. Heck, maybe Stormtroopers just have Gadget-based Infrared and Telescopic vision and the Quirk, Wears Armor. Keeping in mind that whatever I decide, Darth Vader's armor has to exist somewhere in the same reality. |
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#2 |
Join Date: Mar 2006
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E) Stormtroopers don't wear armor, they wear cheapo flimsy environmental suits that were built after some kind of no-bid contract
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#3 | ||
Join Date: Sep 2007
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#4 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Let me rephrase your problem.
You have two math texts, one says 2+2 = 5 and the other says 2+2=3. You are basically trying to get them to agree. The fact is you can't, so choose which text you wish to use and stick with it. |
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#5 |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Right. I'm just trying to find a good compromise value, and come up with something that isn't too much work for me.
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#6 |
Join Date: Jul 2005
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I suggest making trooper armor a reflec armor with DR1 and when it is convenient for the plot, let it bounce stray blaster fire.
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Villain's Round Table |
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#7 |
Join Date: Sep 2008
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In the movies, armor does nothing. It's just a uniform that dehumanizes the soldier. If you want to have the campaign function just like the movies, you'll want to go with the last bit of D. If you want a campaign that actually makes sense, ignore how the armor "works" in the movies and have it actually do something. This will make it so that teddy bears with small rocks and stone spears won't be able to harm armored ultra-tech soldiers without making use of effective traps - or finding weak points in the armor (Targeting Chinks). In any world resembling our own, this is as it should be.
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Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat. Latin: Those whom a god wishes to destroy, he first drives mad. |
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#8 |
Join Date: Oct 2008
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Here is a good article on it: http://www.st-v-sw.net/STSWtrooparmor.html :)
In my starwars game that does not have stormtroopers but does have lots of people in armor(It is set approximately to same era as Kotor 1&2) I have just scaled down armor values and ranged weapon and lightsaber damages. Basically armors are DR 3-11 and blasters are in the 1d to 2d damage range mostly with a (2) armor divisor. This makes quite well for the feel in the games where melee is a viable option and most people survive multiple hits. If I wanted to model the feel of the movies, the damages would have to be higher to allow for one shot srops on every vitals hit, but even there the armor does not appear to give any real protection. |
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#9 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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It can drop a tree on one.
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#10 | |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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