How can an Ewok take out a Scout Trooper?

pawsplay · 06-27-2009, 12:57 PM

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.

06-27-2009, 12:57 PM	#1
pawsplay Join Date: Sep 2007	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.