Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-27-2009, 11:57 AM   #1
pawsplay
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

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.
pawsplay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 12:18 PM   #2
Cybren
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

E) Stormtroopers don't wear armor, they wear cheapo flimsy environmental suits that were built after some kind of no-bid contract
Cybren is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 12:22 PM   #3
pawsplay
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cybren View Post
E) Stormtroopers don't wear armor, they wear cheapo flimsy environmental suits that were built after some kind of no-bid contract
Problematic.

Quote:
Originally Posted by http://www.starwars.com/databank/organization/stormtroopers/index.html
Stormtroopers abandoned individuality in exchange for their loyalty. They are completely encased in a white armored spacesuit shell, and are armed with blaster pistols or blaster rifles. Their helmets contain comlinks for long-range communications. Officers were denoted with colored shoulder pauldrons. Specific environments called for specially trained and equipped stormtroopers, such as the snowtroopers that besieged the ice world of Hoth and the lightly-armored scout troopers that patrolled the forests of Endor.
pawsplay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 12:27 PM   #4
dynaman
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

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.
dynaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 12:38 PM   #5
pawsplay
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dynaman View Post
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.
Right. I'm just trying to find a good compromise value, and come up with something that isn't too much work for me.
pawsplay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 12:43 PM   #6
LemmingLord
 
LemmingLord's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

I suggest making trooper armor a reflec armor with DR1 and when it is convenient for the plot, let it bounce stray blaster fire.
__________________
Villain's Round Table
LemmingLord is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 12:44 PM   #7
SuedodeuS
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

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.
__________________
Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat.
Latin: Those whom a god wishes to destroy, he first drives mad.
SuedodeuS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 12:51 PM   #8
weby
 
weby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

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.
weby is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 12:53 PM   #9
David Johnston2
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

It can drop a tree on one.
David Johnston2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2009, 01:17 PM   #10
pawsplay
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default Re: How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

Quote:
Originally Posted by weby View Post
Here is a good article on it: http://www.st-v-sw.net/STSWtrooparmor.html :)
Amusing. Not actually very helpful, since it focuses mainly on costuming problems, but nonetheless amusing. Still, it does provide some good evidence that the armor should be considered flexible.
pawsplay is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
star wars

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:41 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.