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Old 01-24-2013, 04:13 PM   #21
Kalzazz
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Default Re: What is a Average Armour for TL9 Space Opera

Its a flavor of the AK-47

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKM
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Old 01-24-2013, 04:38 PM   #22
Gold & Appel Inc
 
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Default Re: What is a Average Armour for TL9 Space Opera

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Originally Posted by TheCrispyBit View Post
Nah I want them to get hit, I want them to nearly die if they come close to combat. I think I will carefully limit weapon selection, and use a very minimal set of armours (no complex military armour) etc.

I want the players to fear for thier lives at all times a gun/laser is draw.

I do like the idea of carefully jiggling things behind the scenes to make it a hard scrape but not always fatal.
If you want potentially-but-not-guaranteed deadly rayguns that render armor pretty much irrelevant, you really can't go wrong with the Mk 1 Blaster (4e UT p 123) here. I know it's listed as TL 11, but you can make up whatever justification you want if you're the GM.

Then make sure that you're using the right cinematic rules for the effect you desire (if you want them to get hurt but not die, just sub Flesh Wounds for Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship) and you're good to go.
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Old 01-24-2013, 04:48 PM   #23
Kage2020
 
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Default Re: What is a Average Armour for TL9 Space Opera

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Originally Posted by Anaraxes View Post
*glances at Kage's avatar*
Wha? Red is always suitable. :D
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Old 01-25-2013, 01:35 AM   #24
fifiste
 
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Default Re: What is a Average Armour for TL9 Space Opera

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One staple of space opera is the idea that superscience weapons will slice through armour (making it for the most part pointless) yet your average hero can soak up a few hits before carking it. If that's your space opera, then have weapons with low damage but high armour divisors, in which case the question of armour becomes whether the skull motif helmet sets off the colour of death in the eyes of your legions of terror or not.
Actually there would be an actual realistic point in these kind of armors. Wearing this kind of armor forces your opponent to use speciacial armor piercing weapons/ammunitons (let say needler rounds etc.) which inicdentially will do much less actual injury.
If you wouldn't use the armor, your enemy would switch the settings on his gun and use soemthing that has no armor penetration but will cause massive injury.
So using armor=more likely to be alive. (The point of an armor)
You should just work out weapons ammuniton etc. that would allow this - like high armor divisor, low damage, and negative injury modifier on one hand, and high(er)* damage, positive armor divisor, and large positive injury modifier.
* not so high that it'll brute force through the armor of course
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Old 01-25-2013, 02:08 AM   #25
Mailanka
 
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Default Re: What is a Average Armour for TL9 Space Opera

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Originally Posted by TheCrispyBit View Post
Yeah I've got both Ultra-Tech and Space. I am enjoying reading them, I specifically chose GURPS because I wanted to build my own world and Rules. I am just a little hazy on some of the basic techniques...thanks for the pointers on weapons etc. Some stuff does seem to do absurd amounts of damage, some armour seems to be almost invulnerable.

Do Any of you guys build a "Shop table" for your world/universe, I was think of doing this for my players. Ie a list of available equipment: to save them trawling through the books only to be told NO.
First, UT does come with some pre-built-in limitations. For example, you could say "Any TL 9 non-super-science weapons," and that immediately removes disintegrators from the players' catalog.

But yes, I do recommend a "shop list," and I recommend it for a few reasons.

First of all, it helps you define the world. What are the standard technologies? Does everyone use little personal computers and AR contacts to sort of interact with a virtual world? Or is it a retrotech psuedo-medieval space opera were computers are only in the hands of the Clerisy? That's an important question and its answer will shape not only what the players can buy, but how the whole world works.

Second, Ultra Tech is less of a catalog and more of a build-you-own-device book. You should define not just what's available, but how it tends to be combined. Think in terms of doctrines and infrastructures. In my G-verse setting, for example, human power armor is typically standard Heavy Power Armor with excellent radar systems, a shoulder-mounted missile launcher and point defense systems, and usually armed with a heavy plasma or assault cannon. It's a weapon platform, primarily. The Quetzali, an alien race, prefer to use the scout version of the Heavy Power Armor, armed with shoulder-mounted machine guns and limpet mine dispensers, and armored with faceplates and a layer of reactive armor on the front, because their military doctrine puts their power armor in an assault role, forcing their opponent to react to a sudden and rapidly-moving presence that will flush it out for the snipers and those armed with heavier weapons.

Thus, the power armor in the book is just "generic." It's a starting point. You can and should layer gadgetry and modifications upon it, to help give your setting a very specific feel.

Third, when you combine the two above, you understand how the game will play. If players have access to powerful weapons and minimal armor, then combat is lethal, much like modern warfare. If, on the other hand, players have access to strong armor and stronger force fields that can be ablated, then you have a world where it takes quite a while to whittle someone's defenses down. You can shape gameplay with what devices you choose and which you do not.

Finally, as you say, building a catalog makes it far easier for players to arm themselves. I'd go further and suggest some common loadouts: Most soldiers come with X, most spies come with Y, most civilians have Z, etc.
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Old 01-25-2013, 10:19 AM   #26
TheCrispyBit
 
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Default Re: What is a Average Armour for TL9 Space Opera

Cheers for the thoughts Mailanka,

I am certainly going to do a standard "shop" roster for each Civ, I like the detail of it (especially when combined with homebrew Ultratech drugs and the like). Individual ports could have specialty items etc.
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