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Exo-suit usage in SARP

Rizzo

Rizzo

Well-Known Member
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I've been thinking about how even with SARP level tech in the setting not everyone in the sector is going to want to pay Mindy and Hostile prices to enhance their abilities. PMC, construction, and even recreational users would probably not need or want to pay what major military groups are paying for power armor strength.

I feel that this type of technology would be common on less developed worlds.
 
It's perfect for USO I would think. Corgan would definitely buy some for his guys. Also, Uso could give them to construction workers/miners and not really worry too much about them being used against her. Maybe make a version with basic armor attachments and you have a poor man's PA. I mean, there's always the Impulse, but buying those for more than a few people is kind of expensive. If I understood it correctly, that may be where Zack plans to go with his Pack Power Armor. I admit the name is kind of misleading.
 
Yeah there is a massive lack of personnel grade technology that's anything other than a pure weapon. Exo's and power suits have been totally skipped over. I think part of the problem came in trying to figure out where they would fall in terms of equipment, but the new system is better about that. Power Suits and small exos would land you likely in the T3 with hard suits. And if you had a large exo, and possibly extended limbs, you might make power armor grade. Though not much need to hit PA grade since if you're in the environment you need to budget you probably aren't going head to head with PAs anyway.
 
the way I see it, power armor resembles significant economic strength and investment. For example, when your armor is damaged you must fix it, the more advanced the armor is the more the repair will cost. So, a PMC probably will not be able to afford the maintenance bill on a PA but there may be situations where they really need PA level guns.

Here is a happy medium, it would be far more affordable to equip load-bearing Hardware to your styling muur armor so you can carry that HPAR and be able to manage the recoil, like power armor can. But but but this frame would have no armor, so if someone returned fire and scored a hit the damage would be against personnel level body armor, unless perhaps the operator equipped supplemental armor to the frame but I do not believe that should make it any more durable than a Daisy at the most.

This technology would be considered archaic but construction workers would love the crap out of them.

I would like to create an ultra modular exo-suit that is both affordable and adaptable to mission requirements.
 
Personally I say go for it. While I'm not sure it'll get up to Daisy level armor, as long as it's strength enhancing there probably wont be any question if it at least can equip class4, class 5 would be nice though. The only problem I see when making it though, is similar to shields, figuring out what is needed to protect against the environmental effects of PA class weapons, and making sure that is available on the market as well. Otherwise you still wont really be able to fire PA weapons.
 
I would love to have something like this to integrate into a pilot suit for my character in 188604.
 
Thinking on it, it might be best you put the suit in a company with large resources as well. Either that or use a very standardized system for attachments and modular parts. Because otherwise the modular part wont feasibly see a lot of variety.
 
That sounds like a good idea. Origin industries might be a good choice since they kinda serve everyone.

Also, I'm not screwing with the guidelines. I'll say again forever and always, I'm building technology, not a metagame. This design will have a weight capacity, not an imaginary damage limit. SADR v3 was specifically called 'a tool for GMs' and not a rigid game mechanic.

That being said, if an operator wants to carry a 100 lbs ADR 5, or whatever it is now, rifle and they do not equip a recoil management device of whichever type I create- well, he's going to break his shoulder.
If the operator wants to use an ABSR and doesn't have thermal protection- well, he's going to have one hell of a sunburn.
If the operator wants to use a bubble shield while he's wearing a bikini- well, he's gonna microwave himself to death.
The idea is that people are smart enough to think things through.

I'm going to offer a variety of parts. I'm thinking of three, maybe four levels of parts providing different load-bearing effects. Heavier servos equal more lifting power, if you have the most weight capacity allowed yes, you may duel wield machine guns. You're also a much bigger target and you'll need a garage door to enter a building, but hey- if that's what you want, fine. SARP tech can be for more ludicrous than that.

I'm not mad or anything, I'm just tired of constantly seeing people tell others 'you can't do that because SADR v3' which is a guide for classification, NOT HARD SET RULES.
 
SDR v3 wont limit this idea really. The core idea itself will work, it's individual modulars that'll be considered. And while SDR v3 isn't the hard set of rules. There are a set of rules above it that teh setting managers don't want broken. So sticking to SDR v3 makes things easier, it also makes it much easier for your technology to be used in plots not your own, cause it makes it easier to understand for everyone. You'll only be handicapped by the system if you're trying to do something intentionally 'cheap'.

Would say more but IRL stuff now can't talk more.
 
okay I have a moment to add to that. If you don't want to deal with trying to figure out what is what I can help you out. Also look up the replaceable component parts for the Impulse, they have their servos and stuff listed on a page, you can maybe use those as the shooting off point.
 
It's not a mechanic for play. It is for submissions.

A big reason exos and suits don't see much development or use is because a lot of what we do happens in space. Suits and exos don't tend to rate up to spacy operations. Power armor goes from spacy to aero without a hitch. Suits and exos, so far, haven't. What are they good for?

And we've had cheap enough armors at this point, and common enough ones, that exos and suits just don't see use.

I see niches and regions they're useful, but PAs rule.
 
Yeah, though it looks like we've got a stronger independent environment this time around, so we're seeing a lot more land action than in past years, at least than I've been here. I think it'll make a good 'setting' item too, it's be good for GMs to use on plots for enemies, where they already know they're not going into space (unless the players strap them to a rocket for some reason)
 
I agree, PAs have far better utility and overall they rule in combat. But sometimes that's just too much. For example, your trying to keep a low profile. You can conceal a light exo-suit far more easily than a Mindy, so body guards would probably appreciate these suits. Naturally it couldn't compete with a Mindy, there's no contest since it isn't armor, it's just a load-bearing prosthetic but if that's all a small, low tech government can afford it'll make a huge difference. But this technology isn't really made for battle, it's been adapted into the role as a poor man's PA and like anything its a tool.

And something like this could easily be used in space if it's wearer was in a space suit. I imagine Nepleslia would probably appreciate this device when it comes to maintaining their Heavy PAs and loading ordinance on various jet things and cannons.
 
With the development of more civilian RP, I can see where these have a place that's more pronounced than in years past.

My concern, and how I have read the v3 rules, is that these suits aren't power armor and don't rate the same. But people want them to rate, matching them up other equipment meant or designed for PA.

That leaves the same problems as before, but the solutions are supposed to be more clear. If it's a hardsuit, it's a hardsuit and that's what it has.

But we also have the rule that lets units use weapons meant to damage higher-rated targets. Could that apply to defenses too? We don't have the clearest possible framework for that, but it's by design.
 
Well Rizzo did say it's not meant to actually compete with PA. So it might stay as a T3 Hard suit that has strength enhancement strong enough to let you use PA weapons via the buy up rule, but mostly that strength is for labor?
 
It's Tier really doesn't matter if the guy gets shot anywhere not metal. It's an unarmored load-bearing apparatus. You character's overall Defense T is completely dependent on what your wearing. This isn't armor, it's prosthesis.

I plan on treating weight something like this:
So your arm and shoulder servos have a weight capacity of 200 pounds. Now the user is a heavy weapons specialist and is carrying a 78 pound guass bazooka which is well within carrying capacity.

Now we need to address recoil, I'm going to assume that anything propelling a 50 x 200mm has some strong recoil, enough to knock this here 300 lbs exo-suit soldier on his back side. This is where recoil mitigation comes in handy. I intend for there to be a miniature graviton projector to mount on the shoulder hardpoints that will resist the weapon when firing, essentially countering the force of firing with an opposing force to mitigate some of the recoil.
 
Ah so you want it to literally just be a strength enhancing rig plus hard points to attach modular pieces too. I thought you wanted it to still be 'armored' just minimally. Okay yeah if it's not even armored on its own that might even make it easier to get through NTSE cause it's literally just a strength enhancing system. Not much to really check there, just making sure it's a reasonable number for how much strength it gives.
 
That's exactly it!
Now the hard points will be capable of equipping armor modules but weight is going to determine everything. If you want to carry a heavier handheld weapon you'll need heavier duty arm servos which weigh more thus requiring heavier duty leg servos which are less mobile and since you have no armor nor shields mobility equals life. This opens the way for specialized suits for different roles.
Riflemen could build their suit with a focus on speed and tactical positioning.
Demo guys could build their suit with a focus on protecting the bombs they carry.
Snipers could build their suit with a focus on recoil mitigation and stealth.
Gunners could build their suit with a focus on armor coverage and ammo capacity.

Naturally there's going to be a desire to put shields on it, and I'm thinking at that point Defense T might matter. We can cross that bridge when we get there but I don't think shields will be as important as mobility, strategy, and positioning.
 
Yeah I say leave the shields and armor for 'attachable parts' and do those probably last. That way you can just build those based on whatever is on the market at the time. Like if you notice that you ended up with a lot of ideas for mobility increases and not as many strength increases, you probably want to focus on lighter armor mostly. Or you ended taxing the power supply a lot with configurations, you'd probably want to make a supplemental power supply before introducing a shield to the market and so on.

My personal suggestion for working order is, figure out how you want it to be controlled first, like do you want neural linking, thought reading, or motion prediction, or maybe something else? Once you know what you'll do with that you can figure out what type of systems you can use for strength augmentation. For instance, ridgid servos wouldn't be that good with motion prediction, because the lack of give in the system would likely break limbs, nanomuscle would probably do better. Once you decide that, you can think of the basic strength levels. you want and how many hard points you want and where on the rig.
 
... Once again, this means that we have a framework that's submitted and approved as one thing, then modified to become something else.

I understand the idea of doing that, but ... hm. Lemme put it this way.

Words matter. If you take your hardsuit, then uprate it into what qualifies as a power armor, that might require a resubmission. We've got a long history of justification for requiring that, so it might be better to say, at the get-go, "this is a hardsuit/exosuit/mobility unit that acts as the basis for a power armor. Starts as a hardsuit! Becomes a power armor." Then we see all the stats we need to see at the initial submission.

Picking up a PA-grade weapon is one thing; purposefully uprating your hardsuit into a power armor is another.
 
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