GURPS Heavy Gear - Page 6

Mark Skarr · 03-18-2010, 02:33 PM

I sat down to try, once again, to convert Heavy Gear to GURPS. I am aware that, hopefully, in the near future we’ll hear something about the new edition of SILCore. But, me, I’m anxious.

I discovered, and I don’t know why I never saw this before, that Heavy Gear’s armor rating is based off of a measurable number: Base Armor Value = Square Root (mm of Armor Grade Steel). Heyyyyyyy, we have a value for that in GURPS. Checking their weapons, they also list the weapons Maximum Effective Range (sounds like our ½D range) and a penetration value (how many mm of armor grade steel they can regularly penetrate).

So, a Gear’s frontal armor rating would be DR (((AV²)/25.4)×70). So, an HACS-01MG-MP Hunter’s frontal armor value of 15 would be a DR of 620.

Alright, the Hunter also masses 6,627 kg, so that would give it a ST/HP of 98. I'd wind up calling it 100, but that's just me.

Weapons become a bit more problematic:

The M222 Autocannon Rifle (LAC) that the Hunter carries as its primary weapon has an armor penetration of 65mm. That means that an average hit will only penetrate 179 points of DR (it’s roughly a 5dx10 pi++ weapon). That’s not nearly as problematic in Heavy Gear as it is in GURPS, since damage in Heavy Gear is a multiplier that is based on your Margin of Success.

The LAC in Heavy Gear has a Damage of x8. So, a hit by 1 means you plink off the Hunter’s armor, but a hit by 2 does a light damage roll to it. But, no matter how much damage you roll, you’ll never hurt a Hunter with its own gun in GURPS.

If you consider the RP-109 Pepperbox (LRP/24) the Hunter primary weapon, things get slightly better. It has a penetration of 140mm which allows it to penetrate DR 386 on an average hit (fundamentally, it’s a 5dx22 cr ex weapon). That’s better, but it would still require a phenomenal hit to do much more than scratch the paint on a Hunter.

Also, in Heavy Gear, you can buy Armor Piercing ammo for a weapon. This trait halves the armor value of the target (much like a GURPS Armor Divisor of (2)). However, it prevents the ability to overkill a vehicle, the best you can do is get a heavy damage, as the attack will over-penetrate.

So, my problem becomes: do I tack a (2) to each weapon, even though this would cause heavier weapons to obliterate the Hunter (like the Junglemower-10 which has a Damage Value of x15 [230mm armor pen], and does 6dx30 pi++)? Or does anyone else have any suggestions?

The reason I chose an HACS-01MG-MP Hunter, is that it is the ubiquitous Gear.

03-18-2010, 02:33 PM	#1
Mark Skarr Forum Pervert (If you have to ask . . .) Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Somewhere high up.	GURPS Heavy Gear I sat down to try, once again, to convert Heavy Gear to GURPS. I am aware that, hopefully, in the near future we’ll hear something about the new edition of SILCore. But, me, I’m anxious. I discovered, and I don’t know why I never saw this before, that Heavy Gear’s armor rating is based off of a measurable number: Base Armor Value = Square Root (mm of Armor Grade Steel). Heyyyyyyy, we have a value for that in GURPS. Checking their weapons, they also list the weapons Maximum Effective Range (sounds like our ½D range) and a penetration value (how many mm of armor grade steel they can regularly penetrate). So, a Gear’s frontal armor rating would be DR (((AV²)/25.4)×70). So, an HACS-01MG-MP Hunter’s frontal armor value of 15 would be a DR of 620. Alright, the Hunter also masses 6,627 kg, so that would give it a ST/HP of 98. I'd wind up calling it 100, but that's just me. Weapons become a bit more problematic: The M222 Autocannon Rifle (LAC) that the Hunter carries as its primary weapon has an armor penetration of 65mm. That means that an average hit will only penetrate 179 points of DR (it’s roughly a 5dx10 pi++ weapon). That’s not nearly as problematic in Heavy Gear as it is in GURPS, since damage in Heavy Gear is a multiplier that is based on your Margin of Success. The LAC in Heavy Gear has a Damage of x8. So, a hit by 1 means you plink off the Hunter’s armor, but a hit by 2 does a light damage roll to it. But, no matter how much damage you roll, you’ll never hurt a Hunter with its own gun in GURPS. If you consider the RP-109 Pepperbox (LRP/24) the Hunter primary weapon, things get slightly better. It has a penetration of 140mm which allows it to penetrate DR 386 on an average hit (fundamentally, it’s a 5dx22 cr ex weapon). That’s better, but it would still require a phenomenal hit to do much more than scratch the paint on a Hunter. Also, in Heavy Gear, you can buy Armor Piercing ammo for a weapon. This trait halves the armor value of the target (much like a GURPS Armor Divisor of (2)). However, it prevents the ability to overkill a vehicle, the best you can do is get a heavy damage, as the attack will over-penetrate. So, my problem becomes: do I tack a (2) to each weapon, even though this would cause heavier weapons to obliterate the Hunter (like the Junglemower-10 which has a Damage Value of x15 [230mm armor pen], and does 6dx30 pi++)? Or does anyone else have any suggestions? The reason I chose an HACS-01MG-MP Hunter, is that it is the ubiquitous Gear. Last edited by Mark Skarr; 03-18-2010 at 02:58 PM. Reason: Wrong operator in DR formula.