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Old 04-20-2020, 09:48 PM   #1
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Default In which I build a Monocrys Tacsuit (Pyramid #3/85: Cutting-Edge Armor Design)

Having learned that gambeson armour could reach at least 2 inches of thickness, and having recently got my hands on Pyramid #3/85, I decided to build my own Monocrys Tacsuit, with historical context and historically-reasonable weight of material. I also redid the Ultra-Tech Monocrys Tacsuit. Both of which, it seems, are either actually Nylon, or Magnetic Liquid Armour.

Name: Heavy Monocrys Tacsuit
Tech Level 11
Coverage: All locations *rules details snipped*
Number of Pieces: Suit (jumpsuit)
Material: Magnetic Liquid Armour *rules details snipped*
Construction: Optmized Fabric *rules details snipped*
DR: 90/45
Time to Don: 3 seconds
Concealment: No.
Weight: 49 lbs
Cost: $10,000
General Accessories: Biomedical Sensors *rules details snipped*

Code:
TL  Armour                  Location    DR      Cost    Weight  Don
11  Monocrys Tacsuit        Suit        40/20   $4,400  22      3
11  Heavy Monocrys Tacsuit  Suit        90/45   $9,800  49      3
Note: It's rather odd that the Ultra-Tech armour design system lists armour materials from TL6 to TL9. There also doesn't seem to be a way to calculate legality class, like there was for Blaster and Laser Design.
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Old 04-21-2020, 05:02 AM   #2
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Default Re: In which I build a Monocrys Tacsuit (Pyramid #3/85: Cutting-Edge Armor Design)

The lack of rules for legality seem to be an oversight, which was corrected in the third of the series, Ultra-Tech Armor Design (Pyr. #3-96). It's just a shot paragraph, and says much the same as you'd get from comparing with comparable armour in UT, or using the rules for Control Rating and Legality in Campaigns (B506-507) and asking "Who is this armour intended for?". Such a heavy suit as this would probably be 'military', but the only armour in UT that's LC1 is military powered suits, so I'd give it LC2.

By the way, I think you 'don time' should be 15, not 3 (single-piece, leg and other location, non-flexible), unless they're supposed to be flexible, in which case their don time should be 6.
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Old 04-21-2020, 05:52 AM   #3
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Default Re: In which I build a Monocrys Tacsuit (Pyramid #3/85: Cutting-Edge Armor Design)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Say, it isn't that bad! View Post
Note: It's rather odd that the Ultra-Tech armour design system lists armour materials from TL6 to TL9. There also doesn't seem to be a way to calculate legality class, like there was for Blaster and Laser Design.
The article you're referring to was, I suspect, originally intended to be something like High Tech Armor Design, but Pulver added some TL 9 options to keep with the "Cutting Edge" theme of the particular Pyramid it appeared in. The Ultra Tech Armor Design article came later, as mentioned by Rupert, and did indeed have monocrys as an option.

Additionally, I'll note that the armor design system in general assumes a maximum of 0.2" thickness for rigid materials, 0.5" thickness for flexible ones. Going higher than this should be possible, but should probably result in DX penalties. Personally, I feel Chest and Skull should have a higher maximum thickness, but I'm not certain if this should be +1 SSR (0.3"/0.7") or +2 SSR (0.5"/1"). Optionally, the knees, elbows, and neck* should probably have a reduced maximum thickness, but again I'm not certain if this should be -1 SSR (0.15"/0.3") or -2 SSR (0.1"/0.2").

*The neck could probably cheat by having something like an armored collar a bit away from the neck, allowing for full rotation, but that should have increased weight for its protection.
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Old 04-21-2020, 08:38 AM   #4
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Default Re: In which I build a Monocrys Tacsuit (Pyramid #3/85: Cutting-Edge Armor Design)

@Varyon: Letting the head, skull, and or face hit location have twice the max DR are part of the offical rules though I do agree that option should also be allowed for armor the covers the front torso as well (not so sure about the neck though. Not at lest without some DX penlty). I also agree that max DR should be read as max DR per layer, you can go higher but then get the DX penalty for layering armor.
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Old 04-21-2020, 09:56 AM   #5
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Default Re: In which I build a Monocrys Tacsuit (Pyramid #3/85: Cutting-Edge Armor Design)

Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Ryujin View Post
@Varyon: Letting the head, skull, and or face hit location have twice the max DR are part of the offical rules though I do agree that option should also be allowed for armor the covers the front torso as well (not so sure about the neck though. Not at lest without some DX penlty). I also agree that max DR should be read as max DR per layer, you can go higher but then get the DX penalty for layering armor.
The Neck I called out as potentially having lower MaxDR; the offset armor "hack" I mentioned would be to let it have the same thickness as normal armor. For torso armor, I'd restrict the boosted MaxDR to Chest, but I'd be fine with that applying to the back as well as the front (although historical armor tends to favor being thicker on the front). I feel the DX penalty should increase a lot faster than -1 per additional MaxDR, but I'm not certain what that rate should be (one thought I had was -1 per +20%, so you're at -5 with armor that's twice as thick as the nominal maximum). Restricting it to only a relatively small portion of a hit location (like modern ballistic plates, which are roughly comparable to pectorals) can probably let you get away with much thicker armor, but I don't know a good method for judging that.

I did recall seeing official support for increased MaxDR for certain hit locations, but couldn't find it with a quick read-through. Digging deeper, I see that this is only mentioned in the Cutting Edge article (I previously went straight to the Ultra Tech one, assuming it would have previous rulings as well). Personally, I favor restricting the boosted MaxDR to the Skull and Chest - while Face probably could get away with it, I like the idea of the Face being more vulnerable. Sort of a gamist preference, rather than a simulationist one (indeed, applying it to Chest is largely to make the Abdomen proportionally more vulnerable).
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Old 04-21-2020, 10:59 AM   #6
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Default Re: In which I build a Monocrys Tacsuit (Pyramid #3/85: Cutting-Edge Armor Design)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
Optionally, the knees, elbows, and neck* should probably have a reduced maximum thickness, but again I'm not certain if this should be -1 SSR (0.15"/0.3") or -2 SSR (0.1"/0.2").
If you're doing that the hands probably should, too. Going over the 'minimum' would attract Ham-Fisted.
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Old 04-21-2020, 12:56 PM   #7
Say, it isn't that bad!
 
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Default Re: In which I build a Monocrys Tacsuit (Pyramid #3/85: Cutting-Edge Armor Design)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert View Post
The lack of rules for legality seem to be an oversight, which was corrected in the third of the series, Ultra-Tech Armor Design (Pyr. #3-96). It's just a shot paragraph, and says much the same as you'd get from comparing with comparable armour in UT, or using the rules for Control Rating and Legality in Campaigns (B506-507) and asking "Who is this armour intended for?". Such a heavy suit as this would probably be 'military', but the only armour in UT that's LC1 is military powered suits, so I'd give it LC2.

By the way, I think you 'don time' should be 15, not 3 (single-piece, leg and other location, non-flexible), unless they're supposed to be flexible, in which case their don time should be 6.
Thanks, I was unaware of that article.

Yeah, despite being made out of flexible armour, I agree its thickness makes it effectively non-flexible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Ryujin View Post
I also agree that max DR should be read as max DR per layer, you can go higher but then get the DX penalty for layering armor.
I like this. Each layer would then apply the associated penalties automatically.

Looking at the layering rules on Basic Set page 286, an inner layer needs to be both flexible and concealable. Looking at the Concealable rules on Pyramid #/85 page 22, armour is only concealable up to one-half of max DR.

That gives us 1 inner layer each time we exceed 0.5 x max DR, or in this case, 3 inner layers and one outer layer.

The armour gives -3 to DX and DX-based skills.

Quick question, though: Does that total to -3 for, say, Broadsword, or -6? I've been thinking -3, but looking at it again, the wording sounds like it might be applied twice: Once to bring DX down by -3, and then an additional time to reduce, in this example, Broadsword by a total of -6?
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Old 04-21-2020, 05:23 PM   #8
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Default Re: In which I build a Monocrys Tacsuit (Pyramid #3/85: Cutting-Edge Armor Design)

I'm pretty sure it just means you take a -3 to all DX-based rolls. No double dipping involved.
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