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 01-23-2022, 02:31 AM   #11
Ulzgoroth
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
That is exactly why I thought they wouldn't work.
Were you not inquiring about the "more rigid, less maneuverable vacc suits" on the theory that those would be more suitable? What I'm saying is that they'd be equally useless as far as something you can pull on over a dress.
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident.
Ulzgoroth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 04:02 AM   #12
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: Vacc Suits

You could ditch the whole vacc suit idea and go with pressurized personal ATVs or walkers. A civilianized TL9 Combat Walker (Ultratech p. 182) could be used with the most modest outfit and might better fit with the whole retrotech vibe.

Failing that, what's to keep you from combining the functional stats for a TL9 Vacc Suit with the bulk of a TL7 space suit? It would be easy for people to preserve their modesty with loose overgarments which can be easily removed or pushed aside as part of "suiting up." Polarized or "Chameleon" helmet visors provide the same effects as a hijab or veil.

Clothing in this culture will be specifically designed to cope with the need to wear vacc suits - undergarments will be designed to work with waste relief systems, head coverings double as helmet liners to keep loose hair out of the way in low-G situations, and the outer layer of clothing will be designed to integrate into vacc suit systems (possibly using the Computer Clothing or similar options from UT).

As another idea, keep the standard UT vacc suit stats, but devise functional overgarments which preserve modesty and act as useful survival equipment. For example, a chadoor which incorporates a solar-powered wearable computer and acts as a Survival Blanket.
Pursuivant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 01:18 PM   #13
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Most Portalenhos never or hardly ever go outside; at the altitude of Pavonis Portal, radiation exposure is comparatively high, and a practical suit doesn't give a very high protection factor. Instead, they spend a year at a time living in extensive tunnels. Loss of pressure is a comparatively rare risk (note that local laws are CR2 for most things, but CR3 for firearms and explosives that might breach the seals—and being arrested is safer than being caught by a street crowd, for which it's more like CR4).

So most people don't actually own personal suits, which are expensive and rarely needed if you stay inside; that's especially true of the many recent immigrants. Owning a suit that has to be form-fitting is unusual, and wearing it around is more so. (Apartments here in Lawrence, Kansas don't have tornado shelters, for comparison.)

A lot of what people rely on for protection is bulkheading and rooms that can be sealed and pressurized. For small leaks, sealant kits are widely available, provided by neighborhood associations (a cross between a condo association and a town government). (Question: What skill would be used for that sort of damage control? The sealant kits would be designed to be simple to use, with skill bonuses, but there ought to be some basic skill requirement.)

People who do own vacuum suits normally keep them at home, or at pressure locks that lead to the surface. In an emergency they'll strip off their outer clothes (in a hurry, without worrying about damage!) and get in; if it's not an emergency there are coverall garments, which don't have skirts or coat tails or anything like that.

I've done some online research, and I find that current suits that don't rely on MCP weigh around 30 lbs., if they can provide life support for 10 minutes or so; I found a Chinese suit that weighs 120 pounds and provides around 6 hours life support. So that gives me a design benchmark.

All the discussion here has been helpful and is appreciated.
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.

Last edited by whswhs; 01-23-2022 at 01:21 PM.
whswhs is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 01:40 PM   #14
Farmer
 
Farmer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Sydney, Australia
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
(Question: What skill would be used for that sort of damage control? The sealant kits would be designed to be simple to use, with skill bonuses, but there ought to be some basic skill requirement.)
It seems like something you would grow up learning or be inducted into when arriving (or before arriving), and would likely be part of a wider set of protocols and knowledge about how to live safely in such an environment. I'd make it an IQ/Easy that covers all such things at a basic level - how to use a sealant, where to find emergency suits, how to call for help/raise the alarm, where to find safe spots, etc.
__________________
Farmer
Mortal Wombat
"But if the while I think on thee, dear friend
All losses are restored and sorrows end."
Farmer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 01:52 PM   #15
Agemegos
 
Agemegos's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Oz
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
The setting of my campaign, Pavonis Portal, is culturally Brazilian and has not undergone 20th-century modernization; women mostly wear skirts or dresses, and even men wear elaborate layered clothes—and there are ideas about modesty that would hinder taking off one's clothes in an emergency to put on a vacc suit.
Is that plausible? Wouldn’t society adapt to necessity?
__________________

Decay is inherent in all composite things.
Nod head. Get treat.
Agemegos is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 02:29 PM   #16
ericthered
Hero of Democracy
 
ericthered's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Quote:
Originally Posted by Agemegos View Post
Is that plausible? Wouldn’t society adapt to necessity?
They will, but throwing up your hands and throwing out tradition is rarely how it happens.



It seems to me that the obvious solution to environment suits that make you look naked is to put your clothes over them rather than under them. You may require a different set of clothes for wearing with a suit, or the clothing may be built into the suit. Its just a cloth facade, but so much of clothing is anyways.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic

Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog

Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!
ericthered is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 03:26 PM   #17
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Quote:
Originally Posted by Farmer View Post
It seems like something you would grow up learning or be inducted into when arriving (or before arriving), and would likely be part of a wider set of protocols and knowledge about how to live safely in such an environment. I'd make it an IQ/Easy that covers all such things at a basic level - how to use a sealant, where to find emergency suits, how to call for help/raise the alarm, where to find safe spots, etc.
That's plausible enough. But is there an existing skill that covers those tasks? Or is it so basic that it would just be an IQ roll?
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 03:33 PM   #18
thrash
 
thrash's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: traveller
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
That's plausible enough. But is there an existing skill that covers those tasks? Or is it so basic that it would just be an IQ roll?
In the RAW, this would be an instance of the Crewman skill (p. B185). At the TL and state of terraforming depicted, there is probably no need to distinguish it from the Spacer version.
thrash is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 03:58 PM   #19
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Quote:
Originally Posted by thrash View Post
In the RAW, this would be an instance of the Crewman skill (p. B185). At the TL and state of terraforming depicted, there is probably no need to distinguish it from the Spacer version.
Well, for people in spacecraft, yes, certainly. But for people in, say, a Lunar colony, most of Spacer wouldn't apply, would it?
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2022, 04:09 PM   #20
thrash
 
thrash's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: traveller
Default Re: Vacc Suits

Quote:
Spacer/TL: The skill of working with airlocks, docking clamps, hull patches, pressure doors, etc. on a large spacecraft or space base.
I submit that living quarters on Mars (pre-terraforming) qualify as "space bases." The only part that doesn't obviously apply to most people is working with docking clamps, and even that might be common if (e.g.) surface vehicles are left outside and connected by docking ports.

Quote:
It includes familiarity with “shipboard life,” knowledge of safety measures, and training in damage control (the use of emergency equipment to control flooding, fight fires, patch the hull, and so forth).
This is what Farmer suggested and you agreed was plausible, with the understanding that "shipboard life" in this context implies "living in a habitat."
thrash is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
pavonis portal, social engineering

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 08:42 AM.


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