[HOE] Additional revised powered armor rules. [SHANE, sorta]

["Kai Tave" <kaitave@harborside.com>]

First, some additional revised rules from my fevered brain.  Then, a
question for Shane (and it's actually related to the topic!).

-Revised armor degradation.

Something that came out of Road Warriors was the categorization of different
weapon types into four groups, each of which affected vehicles differently.
A small bullet fired from a handgun doesn't have the same destructive power
as a 75mm armor-piercing rocket, so the categorizations reflect this.  This
means that vehicles aren't very likely to be taken down with a 9mm (unless
some lucky called shots are made).

So, it makes sense to use this system when dealing with powered armor as
well.  Powered armor is just as tough, if not tougher, than your average
vehicle.  However, the rules for armor degradation are pretty harsh; each
wound taken reduces the armor level by a point.  For heavier suits, like the
Wolverine, this isn't as big a problem, but some of the other suits have
anywhere from 2 (Skirmish Armor) to 4 (LatAm Diablo, USA X-Suit) points
"only" (that still isn't a bad amount).

Another problem is that vehicles have Durability ratings, numbers which are
evenly divisible by five; powered armor has armor ratings all the way from 2
to 8.

So, this is the revised system for armor degradation.  It's still based on
wounds taken, but it uses the weapon categories to make distinctions based
on the source of the damage.

All small arms weapons (most personal weapons up to, but not including, .50
Browning Machine Gun) cause one level of armor degradation for every three
wounds caused by such a weapon.

Light weapons (.50 BMG up to 25mm) degrade one point of armor for every two
wounds inflicted.

Heavy weapons (30mm up to, but not inlcuding, 75mm) cause degradation on a
straight one-to-one point basis.

Anti-vehicular weapons (anything 75mm and higher, armor-piercing explosives)
cause degradation on a one-to-one point basis AND cause an additional point
of armor loss automatically (apply this point after the damage roll, not
before).

Additionally, if a suit of powered armor is struck with an anti-vehicular
weapon that has an AP rating higher than the armor value of the suit, the
armor at that location is destroyed outright.  Thus, if a Wolverine
battlesuit (AV 7) is struck in the torso by a 125mm APFSDS tank round (AV
8), the torso of the battlesuit is vaporized (probably along with the
operator).

These rules apply to cyborg-grade armor as well as standard powered armor
suits.

Note that these rules make powered armor a lot tougher than it already is.
You won't really be able to wear a suit down without heavy weaponry or
massed fire (preferably both).  However, the most important limiting factor
for powered armor in Hell on Earth shouldn't be having to make constant
repairs, it should be trying to keep the suit powered.  It may be tough as
all get-out, but that doesn't matter when the power gauge drops below the
red (yes, I realize this doesn't apply to cyborgs, but it's a good idea to
use anti-vehicular weapons against them ANYWAY).

*                    *                    *

And finally, my question for Shane, should he happen to read this.

A long while ago, it was mentioned that the Denver sourcebook would contain
more information on the Robohunters, powered armor, and possibly a new
Junker power that would let you add step values to Traits rather than just
flat ratings.  Is this still something that's going to be included in the
book?  Are the rules for powered armor going to be revised or stay the same?
Just curious.

--Kai Tave