Psi Wars Fashion: Battleweave Underwear

Ages ago (this post has been in draft for a long time), one of my readers commented on an odd discrepancy between the description of battleweave as “like underwear” crossed with the sheer weight of a body suit of it. Little did he know that this played in my broader obsession with sci-fi fashion. I’m sure I’ve discussed it years ago, but sci-fi fashion is fascinating, because each setting is distinct and different: there’s such a thing as “generic fantasy fashion” but it’s hard to describe generic space opera fashion (“It’s 1950s raygun gothic” “No it’s Star Trek jumpsuits” “No, it’s crystal spires and togas” “No it’s starwars rust and leather” “No, it’s Jupiter Ascending’s ridiculously high fashion”). I often stumble across this when reading up on sci-fi settings, as people don’t talk much about what people wear.

When I wrote this post originally, I wanted to dive deeper into fashion. I still want to. But I’ve been letting this languish and that’s a mistake, because as nice as fashion is, armor has a concrete impact on the game. So let’s pause the idea of fashion week for a later time. Still, here are some references I’ll use here, and when I get around to Fashion Week.

My sources might be interesting to those looking to create their own sci-fi fashion. Setting aside artistic resources like this one, I’ll be using the following books:

• GURPS Characters (for the basics of clothing)
• GURPS Low-Tech, High-Tech and Ultra-Tech for specific clothing rules by broad era
• GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 8: Treasure Tables, which includes a very specific list of fantasy clothing
• Fashion Forward from Pyramid #3/100, which is essentially just the Treasure Tables list updated for an ultra-tech setting, and where I’ll be getting most of my fine detail
• GURPS Steampunk 2: Steam and Shellfire, because it has the most extensive discussion on fashion in any GURPS book I can find.
• I’ll be using Pyramid @#3/96 Tech & Toys 4 for the armor design portions.

Why is Psi-Wars Armor So Heavy?

 

Mavrick pointed out on the Discord that Psi-Wars armor seems a bit heavy for its description, and asked why this was.

Generally speaking, Psi-Wars matches Ultra-Tech pretty closely, assuming a Battleweave armor is roughly on par with Energy Cloth with 2/3 the DR for the weight. An Energy Cloth suit is 8 lbs, and a Battleweave bodysuit is 8 lbs. There’s a bit of a discrepency in that the Energy Cloth suit covers “all” while the Battleweave body suit covers “body and limbs” and so is slightly heavier, but this is because the values in Ultra-Tech are a little generous when you work out their actual values in the armor design system (they’re likely Optimized despite their descriptions depicting them as Fabric), which is what I eventually did. So that’s the short answer: based on Ultra-Tech, the values are close enough to correct to not worry about the discrepancy.

Sci-fi “Armor”

But in the conversation, he raised a more interesting point: what does this have to do with clothing? I tend to picture battleweave bodysuits as skin-tight garments that super-heroes or super-spies often wear, that’s inexplicably tough because it’s the future! This hearkens to works like John Wick, where he can wear what looks like a perfectly ordinary suit yet is magically armored “because technology.” This allows the character to blend fashion with protection, which is a hallmark for Psi-Wars, especially maradonian characters.

(As an aside, I worry about this sometimes. There are a few elements in Psi-Wars, such as how Extra-Effort works with psi abilities, and the fact that anyone can have DR “for free” but only if you know about it. They represent little complexities that make sense, but are easy for a newbie to miss, and I hate creating “newb traps” in design. But on the other hand, I imagine most people will imagine their sci-fi character, at least those outside of the planetary romance realms of the Umbral Rim and the Sylvan Spiral, as wearing a full covering, and might be pleased to learn that this provides DR).

 

A More Accurate Weighing

Mavrick points to GURPS weights for clothes as better guidelines, but I’d like to go with something a little more specific: Pyramid #3/100 has an article, Fashion Forward, which discusses clothing weight in very specific numbers, and I’ll use that. For reference, GURPS clocks “normal clothes” at 2 lbs, but this might be a bit on the low side, but we can spot-check our values against that.

While we’re at it, how much should reconsider the weight of Battleweave. It is, after all, our party, and we can set the value at whatever we want. The initial conception of Battleweave treated it as inferior energy cloth, with an armor weight of 0.021 lbs per square foot per DR (vs energy cloth’s 0.014). However, in the many years between that initial idea and the present, Battleweave has lots a lot of utility. It now only protects against Burning and Piercing, making it an overwrought version of Bioplas, though I really think it should protect against Cutting too.  If we compare it to Bioplas, it should have a weight modifier of 0.015, while Monocrys might be 0.018. If we peg monocrys as our weight, and just treat it as “Psi-wars Monocrys” what sort of new weights do we get?

Body Suit

“Winter shirt?”

In practice, a bodysuit is actually going to be equivalent to a long-sleeved shirt combined with tights. If we use the Shirt, light and Tights, light, which matches the perspective of a diaphanous bodysuit, Fashion Forward gives us a weight of 0.7 lbs. I suspect Shirt, Regular and Tights, Regular would be closer to the actual thickness we’re talking about, and weighs 1.4 lbs. Finally, we might imagine this as a fairly thick garmet: even the sci-fi “armor” above looks like it has more thickness than a T-shirt and pantyhose, so we might go with a Shirt, Winter and Tights, Winter, which clocks us in at 3.5.  So, we might settle on something like 2 to 4 lbs for our Battleweave bodysuit.

Given coverage on all limbs, torso and neck (it’s a Psi-Wars thing) we get 17.85 square feet. Assuming the new 0.018 weight, DR 5 would give us 1.6 lbs (the thickness of a normal, long-sleeved shirt and tights) and DR 10 would give us 3.2 lbs, or a bit less than the “winter” weight. If we shrug and push it to DR 15, it clocks in at just under 5 lbs.

What would it take to get it up to DR 20? If the armor weighed 0.0045 (under a third of energy cloth) it would weigh 1.6 lbs, while 0.009 (still less than Energy Cloth) it would weight 3.2 lbs.

I think the weight values in the last paragraph are untenable. It’s better armor than anything in the GURPS book that isn’t a force field, and we might expect that space-kevlar is more dense than normal armor.  After all, one can wear chainmail so fine it starts to have a thickness similar to clothing, but it will definitely weigh more than clothing.  We might imagine that the battleweave has a similar density. For example, DR 15 might be roughly as thick as a long sleeve cotton shirt and tights, but the additional weight comes from the natural density of an armored material, and 5 lbs does look like a reasonable weight for a compromise between comfort and protection. It is about 1/10th of an inch. thick, by the way.

What about heavier armor such as a jacket or a longcoat?  A long coat clocks in at 5 lbs by itself, and a medium jacket is 1.2 lbs. By my math, I come to DR 20 for 5 lbs on a long coat (assuming the torso, thighs, and the arms are covered) and about 30 for 7.5 lbs. A jacket (arms and torso) is 1.9 lbs for DR 10, and a whopping 3.75 lbs for DR 20.

What about gloves? These tend to break the symmetry of most of the armor systems, and I’m not a fan of that: I’d rather know it’s DR X for the whole body than fuss with lots of specific DR values. But even so, Fashion Forward clocks them at 0.5 lbs. Surprisingly, DR 20 comes in at 0.25 lbs! You could go all the way to DR 40 to get gloves as heavy as Fashion Forward’s gloves!

Adjusting your Armor?

I honestly like the 0.018 value better than the 0.021 given that the armor is, in fact, less powerful than it is when it was first conceived, but I will note the weight savings you get with this are pretty marginal, especially given the labor that would be involved.

What about lowered DR values? That would justify more of the work, but battleweave already provides so little protection that I’m not sure. It would make battleweave a little more comparable to “space monster leather” as released in the Lithian armor section, and it would be a neat trick to point out that the armor really is literally about as thick/heavy as actual clothes would be.  The DR 15 does still provide some marginal protection: about DR 3 against typical Psi-Wars weapons, which is roughly on par with fantasy cloth, which is its best analogy, and most people use it as an afterthought anyway.

All told, if I look at it, it seems like a neat idea, but more of a nice-to-have than an especially important change.  I suspect it’ll bounce around in the back of my head for awhile, because I do find it an interesting idea, so it may get written up at some point, but it won’t be soon, I think.

Patreon Poll: Trader Tech

Back in the tail end of Iteration 5, as we worked on Alien Races, I invited my patrons (Companions and better) to vote on a new alien race. This resulted in the Traders, a race of clever and highly inventive space-wanderers with their own technological infrastructure.

Originally, I had given them that infrastructure, but with a focus on building all our military technology from scratch, I felt it time to revisit Traders as an exercise in building our own military doctrines and tech.  As with all these polls, the point is to get you thinking about what makes a military doctrine interesting, and what you need to make one happen.  Thus, while this will result in a new set of technology for our Traders, I hope it inspires you, dear Patron, to consider making your own military technology (as I know a few of you are working on races or factions that could benefit from it).

For the first round, we’ll focus on personal technology and broad outlines of doctrine.

• Trader Tech: Military Doctrines, where we ponder if the Traders would even fight and why and against who and what sort of obstacles they might overcome and what sort of goals they might focus on.
• Trader Tech: Unique Technologies: Once we know how they fight, we might ponder with what they fight.  Not every faction needs unique technologies, but Traders will certainly have some, and we do need to consider what makes a factions blasters and vehicles unique and distinctive from everything else in the galaxy. What makes Trader Tech Trader Tech?
• Trader Tech: Ground Doctrines: When building personal weapons and armor, for whom are Traders building them?  What sort of roles do they envision using their weapons? How do Traders fight their wars, when it comes to the individual Trader as part of a larger army?
• Trader Tech: Personal Weaponry: Rather than do line-by-line considerations of specific weapons, let’s first consider the broader approaches Traders might take to their weaponry: who do they build them for and with what ultimate aims in mind? If we combine these with the previous polls, we should have a pretty good idea of what sort of blasters they build.
• Trader Tech: Personal Armor: Traders famously wear “skinsuits,” tight, form fitting vacuum suits that keep them alive in case of a breach and protect them from germs and infection from outsiders.  Do they augment them with additional defenses and, if so, what sorts of defenses?

This will be part 1 of a multi-part series, and it’s available to all Companion ($5+) Patrons.  Don’t forget to leave a comment about how you see the Traders fighting.  I definitely make use of what Patrons talk about and try to integrate that feedback into the final results.

Elite Armor III: Shinjurai Armor

I’ve been busy with the posting of my Atlas, but I haven’t forgotten my tech series.  More warriors in the Psi-Wars galaxy get to enjoy the benefits of advanced armor than just the space knights and their imitators.  The advanced Shinjurai people also have their own secret armor systems, from the sleek cybersuits of the Syntech corporation to the heavy battlesuits of Wyrmwerks.  This armor tends to be less widespread, either because of intentional secrecy on the part of Syntech, or because of the loss of the Wyrmwerk foundries during the revolt of the Cybernetic Union.  Even so, both tend to find their way into the hands of the galaxy’s mercenaries, assassins and bounty hunters.

Syntech Armor

Syntech has long worked to develop advanced armor capable of stealth and evasion while under the watchful eye of the psychic aristocracy of Maradon. The results of such black projects tend to be available only to the royal family itself or to those working directly with the Syntech corporation. Of course, nothing stays secret forever, and the nobles of House Grimshaw know of some of the projects, as well as the criminal world that moves in and out of Denjuku; taken together, rumors and urban legends lend Syntech’s advanced armors an aura of mystique.

As with all “Elite” forms of armor, these can only be acquired as signature gear or as a temporary grant from a Pulling Rank request.

Syntech Cybersuits

Syntech “Ronin” armor system: The Ronin armor system consists of armored fiber that reacts with the wearer’s movements, augmenting them so that the armor seems to be weightless and, additionally, providing additional strength to the user (see “Cybersuits”, UT 184). The armor does not count against encumbrance and provides +8 striking and lifting ST, +1 Basic Move and Super Jump 1. Additionally, the armor is sealed, providing full vacuum support and extreme climate control, waste relief and a biomedical sensor. The integrated helmetincludes a filter mask, 8 hours of air, a tiny radio with a 10-mile range, hearing protection and ahyperspectralHUD (×8magnifier). The suit incorporates biomedical sensors (UT 187) anda waste relief system (UT 187). The armor also includes adynamic chameleon systems similar to that found in the Syntech Shadow Armor: this provides a +8 to stealth rolls in contests against normal or IR detection; this bonus is halved if the character is moving or against opponents with Hyperspectral vision.

Syntech “Dark Ronin” armor system: The Syntech “Dark Ronin” model is identical to the Ronin armor system, but also includes a psycho-optic filter mode for its visor (see PT 17), Mind Shield Circuitry (+4 vs Telepathic intrusion)and Improved Psychotronic parastealth: apply a -6 to any attempts to detect the character with psychic powers, but others may roll a basic vision roll to detect “something wrong” with the character (see PT 17). The “Dark Ronin” model increases cost by +$30,000.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Cell
Syntech Ronin	All	80*	$100,000	60	1	D/5 weeks

*Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

Syntech Hyperweave

Hyperweave is an advanced version of Battleweave, allowing higher DR for less weight at much greater cost. Syntech often tailors this extremely expensive material for use by the Royal Shinjurai family and their direct agents. They also integrate a very subtle from of Psychotronic Parastealth, granting a -2 to be detected by psychic powers; characters looking at the material will notice something “off” with the beguiling patterns with a Vision roll at -8 (See PT 17). Finally, all hyperweave garments are responsive, have variable patterns, and buzz fabric (see UT 39) and thus will fit anyone, remain perfectly clean and can be adapted with new colors or designs and even shape itself slightly for a new cut.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Hyperweave Bodysuit	Neck, Torso, Limbs	30/10	$20,000	8	4	CF
Hyperweave Jacket	Chest, Arms	30/10	$60,000	5	4	CFS
Hyperweave Trouser	Groin, Legs	30/10	$40,000	3	4	CFS
Hyperweave Gown	Chest*, Abdomen, Legs	15/5	$100,000	2	4	CFS

* Only protects against attacks from the front.

C: Concealable; may be worn under clothing or mistaken for clothing; may be worn with layerable armor (see note L) at no penalty.

F: Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

S: Stylish or Fashion Original

Wyrmwerks

Wyrmwerks factories issued several variations of fairly typical armor (especially battleweave tactical vests with cerablate inserts), but their most famous armors are their short-lived run of battlesuit systems. Those who purchased or inherited them do everything they can to keep the armor well-maintained, because there’s no buying a second suit of Wyrmwerks armor.

Wyrmwerks Battlesuits

WyrmwerksAngel (Mark II): Wyrmwerks built the Angelto maximize mobility. Its design proved successful, even if the armor proved to be a bit light, and the Valorian Empire, when it integrated the remaining Wyrmwerk facilities into the Directive used the designs for its own jet-pack equipped soldiers. Arsenalarmor integrates a battlesuit design that grants its wearer an additional +10Striking and Lifting ST; the armor’s weight does not count against encumbrance. The leftarmintegratesa modular wrist-mounted and shoulder-mounted weapon attachment pointswhich can carry up to 4 lbs of weapon each,that can be controlled “hands free” with the helmet’s HUD. The armor can fold out small carbide wings (2 ready actions) and fly using an integrated ion-thruster jet back; alternatively, it can deploy the jet-pack directly for faster speed and higher jumps (treat as Super Jump 2 and Basic Move +3).The armor is carbide laminate with EMA; triple DR vs plasma weapons and shaped charge rounds, except for the visor of the helmet. The helmetincludes a filter mask, a tiny radio with a 10-mile range, hearing protection and anightvision HUD (×8magnifier, +9 Nightvision). The suit incorporates biomedical sensors (UT 187) anda waste relief system (UT 187). When combined with a sealed helmet, the armor is sealed, provides total life-support, and 24 hours worth of air.

WyrmwerksArsenal (Mark III): Wyrmwerks built the Arsenal to maximize the firepower a soldier could put on a single target; their design worked exceedingly well (eventually). Today, however, it sees more use with pirates or mercenaries who don’t care much about collateral damage. Arsenalarmor integrates a battlesuit design that grants its wearer an additional +15 Striking and Lifting ST; the armor’s weight does not count against encumbrance. The both armsintegrate a modular wrist-mounted and shoulder-mounted weapon attachment pointswhich can carry up to 4 lbs of weapon each,that can be controlled “hands free” with the helmet’s HUD. An autonomous targeting system built into the Arsenal armor adjusts where these weapons are pointed, even subtly altering the position of the wearer’s arms if he has them raised in a firing position to assist with rapid deployment of his weaponry; halve the rapid strike penalty for any rapid strikes made with the Arsenal’s integrated weapon systems. The armor also offers superior jump capability with Super Jump 1 and Basic Move +1.The armor is carbide laminate with EMA; triple DR vs plasma weapons and shaped charge rounds, except for the visor of the helmet. The helmetincludes a filter mask, a tiny radio with a 10-mile range, hearing protection and anightvision HUD (×8magnifier, +9 Nightvision). The suit incorporates biomedical sensors (UT 187) anda waste relief system (UT 187). When combined with a sealed helmet, the armor is sealed, provides total life-support, and 24 hours worth of air. When fully deployed, the Arsenal combat system allows the user to bring an unprecedented amount of firepower with him to the battlefield, and masters of the armor can tear apart defense positions with ease.

WyrmwerksBrute (Mark IV): Wyrmwerks built the Brute as an answer for front-line combatants facing psychic opponents; while the design proved extremely popular for the Slaver Empire (who would go on to reverse engineer some elements of its design) and bounty hunters or pirates, military forces generally passed on the chaotic warmachine. Brute armor integrates a battlesuit design that grants its wearer an additional +15 Striking and Lifting ST; the armor’s weight does not count against encumbrance. The left arm integrates a modular wrist-mounted and shoulder-mounted weapon attachment pointswhich can carry up to 4 lbs of weapon each,that can be controlled “hands free” with the helmet’s HUD; the right arm is over-armored and has additional strength reinforcement, a “grav fist,” granting an additional +10 striking ST with that arm and uses strike-activated pressor field to increase the power of its melee strikes. The legs have been lengthened to grant longer strides and the armor integrates a jump-thrust system that grants the wearer Basic Move +3 and Super-Jump 2. The armor is carbide laminate with EMA; triple DR vs plasma weapons and shaped charge rounds. The helmet, sometimes called a “rhino” helmet, is visorless and as heavily protectedas the system’s torsoarmor, and integrates includes a filter mask, a tiny radio with a 10-mile range, hearing protection, nightvision HUD (×8magnifier, +9 Nightvision) and psycho-optical filter mode(PT 17). The suit incorporates biomedical sensors (UT 187), a waste relief system (UT 187), a portable Overload field (PT 17), and a trauma maintenance system loaded with both first-aid drugs and a combat drug code-named “Rage.” When combined with a sealed helmet, the armor is sealed, provides total life-support, and 24 hours worth of air. The result is a power-house front-like combat system that can shrug off even force sword strikes, unleash devastating attacks with its fist, is virtually impervious to pain and psychic intrusion, and his presence triggered random uncontrollable surges of psychic power from him. On the downside, Rage can make Brute-users unpredictable, paranoid and as dangerous to their allies as to their enemies.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Cell
Wyrmwerks Angel	All	120/80	$100,000	190	1	D/30 weeks
+ Angel Helmet	Head	120/80*	$4,000	10	1	—
Wyrmwerks Arsenal	All	150/100*	$150,000	230	1	D/30 days
+ Arsenal Helmet	Head	150/100*	$5,000	15	1	—
Wyrmwerks Brute	All	180/120†	$230,000	300	1	D/30 days
+ Brute Helmet	Head	180†	$20,000	20	1	—

*The higher value protects the torso and skull and a single arm (generally the right); Triple DR vs Shaped charges and plasma.

†The higher value protects the torso, full head and a single arm (generally the right); Triple DR vs Shaped charges and plasma

Wyrmwerks Armor Features

Autonomous Targeting System(Arsenal): An integrated computer pairs targeting information and tracking software and controls the armor directly to assist in firing the Arsenal’s integrated weapons. This halves the rapid strike penalty for firing any integrated weapon mounts.

Grav Fist(Brute):The Grav Fist applies an additional +10 Striking ST to strikes with it, and adds +2d of crushing damage; treat all damage from a Grav Fist as having double knockback. Alternatively, the character may execute a “gravity pulse” typically by striking the ground. This is an All-Out Attack at a -2 penalty (which may be bought off as a “Gravity Pulse” technique) and applies a -1 damage per die penalty to the attack, but the attack gains the explosive modifier.

Integrated Weapon Mounts (All): The Angel and Brute all carry integrated weapon mounts on the shoulder and forearm of the left arm (or both, in the case of the Arsenal system). These can integrate up to 4 lbs of specially designed weapon systems. The shoulder mount requires an integrated HUD to aim and suffers a -2 if fired without a HUD. The forearm weapon can be simply be pointed by moving the arm, but suffers a -1 accuracy without a HUD.

Ion Drive Jetpack(Angel):With the wings fully deployed (2 ready actions), the Angel can fly. This provides it with a move of 10/45, a Hand/SR of +0/2 and a stall of 10. The wings have a penalty -2, and have 80 DR and 10 HP. If the wings are disabled, reduce Hand/SR to -2/1.

Rage Combat Drugs (Brute): The Brute trauma maintenance system integrates a combat drug code-named “Rage.” Rage can be taken in multiple doses at a time. Each dose increases the user’s Willpower by 1 and grants +1 to HT for the purposes of stun or unconsciousness rolls. Roll HT at a penalty equal to the numberof doses taken over a 24 hour period. Success means the character’s Will and his HT bonus against pain, stun and unconsciousness is raised by 1 for (25-HT)/4 hours (or, more simply, 4 hours). If the roll fails, his traits only gain a one dose bonus, regardless of how many doses he took, for one hour; on a critical failure,the character gets no benefit but still suffers from the side-effects and the GM may offer the character the opportunity to take the side-effects on permanently. The side-effects for Rage are Berserk (15) and Bad Temper (15), or a worsening of either by one self-control step, for twice the duration of the drug. Poor quality of black-market Rage can be addictive. Injection. $50/dose.

Trauma Maintenance (Brute):The armor integrates a bio-monitor, an injector system and an integrated ESU. It automatically detects if the character is critically injured and begins to administer emergency care. The armor automatically performs first aid with First-Aid-12; if the character is mortally wounded, it acts to stabilize the armor-wearer, and applies a +2 to all rolls to prevent death after being mortally wounded. The Brute Trauma Maintenance system also includes ten doses of Rage.

Elite Armor II: Imperial Knight Armor

Over on my Patreon, I did a poll some time ago about the elements of the Emperor’s mystical conspiracy, those aspects of the Empire that are beyond the control of generals and bureaucrats, that answer directly to him and know of his command over Dark Communion. One such element is the Imperial Knight, a small cadre of elite psychics who have studied at the feet of the Emperor himself and deploy their psychic might in a dark mirror of the Maradon Space Knight or, more accurately, as a dark mirror to the Templars of Communion.

In Tinker Titan Rebel Spy, we had a player who wanted to bean imperial knight (even before Imperial Knights were a thing), and wanted to know what sort of armor they would have. I gave him some hacked together version of what I had designed for Maradon Space Knights, but it required a few different features, such as a unique material (diamondoid laminate, in this case). When I rebuilt the materials, he expressed sadness that I had removed their unique material (replacing it with Carbide Laminate, which is “common” now for the soldiers of the Empire). What this says to me is that his armor mattered to him. And why shouldn’t it? An Imperial Knight is as defined by his armor as a Maradon space knight is.

So, if I’m going to give Maradon space knights cool armor options, should I not give the same to Imperial Knights? More, this is an opportunity to show off some of the other options made available to the Cult of the Emperor, what secret technologies he uses to empower his most prized minions.

Imperial Knights are an order of magnitude rarer than Maradon Space Knights, but where most space knights play at war with their dueling while warrior over-priced fashion-original armor, the Imperial Knights are titans of psychic power with access to Dark Communion and thus make up for quantity with quality. So while this armor is unlikely to see much use throughout the Empire, those who wear it are such key NPCs, or the armor is sufficiently interesting to PCs, that its definitely worth diving into at great length.

Imperial Knight armor is elite armor. It may not be purchased with money, only as signature gear.

Imperial Knight Armor

Imperial Knights have the whole of the imperial industrial might at their disposal when crafting their armor, thus all Imperial Knight’s have armor customized to their precise specifications. Below are three variants to represent the possible directions an Imperial Knight might go with. All such models provide vacuum support with 8 hours of air and bio-monitors. Furthermore, this armor is tailoredto the wearer; anyone other than the intended wearer, or someone with an extremely similar build (a clone or a twin) will suffer -1 to DX and DX-based skills while wearing it. An armorer might be able to modify armor for someone else of roughly similar build to wear, but this would take days.

Imperial“Juggernaut” Armor: The heaviest form of armor available to Imperial Knights, it closely resembles older “crusader” armor, but it replaces the gleaming diamondoid plates with precisely machined plates of carbide laminate over a heavy battleweave body sleeve. The result offers impressive protection for its weight. This tends to be preferred by Imperial Knights who see themselves as the mailed gauntlet of the Emperor, taking the fight directly to his foes.

Imperial“Warlock” Armor:Patterned after the ancient “Gothic” model of armor, this sacrifices some of the baroque psychic geometries of that older armor for more elegant psychotronic circuitry. The resulting design of carbide laminate and battleweave integrates the circuitry directly into it. The resulting design is cleaner, but carries an ominous air about it. This is preferred by those Imperial Knights who see it as their duty to employ their psychic powers in defense of their Emperor, or to ferret out the secrets of his enemies. This armor provides +2 to a single psychic power, or the bonus can be split up (+1 to two different powers simultaneously) as per a universal psi-amplifier (see PT 13). The psi-amplifier also reduces the cost of extra-effort to 1 fatigue rather than 2 fatigue. See PT 12.

Imperial“Rogue” Armor: This armor most closely resembled Imperial trooper armor, though usually of a much darker cast and sculpted so closely to the body of its wearer that the integrated carbide laminate plates and battleweave seem to hug the wearer’s curves. The resulting armor offers minimal protection, but enough to deflect a stray pistol or carbine shot, and is extra-ordinarily light for the protection it offers. This model of armor tends to be chosen by Imperial Knights who wish to serve their emperor from the shadows, infiltrating the enemy or assassinating his enemies.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Cell	Notes
“Juggernaut” Armor	All	130/90*	$150,000	50	2	C/5 days	SV
“Warlock” Armor	All	90/70*	$140,000	35	2	C/4 days	PSV
“Rogue” Light Armor	All	80/60*	$120,000	25	2	C/5 days	SV

*The higher value protects the torso only; Double DR vs Plasma or Shaped Charges.

P: Universal Psi-Amplifier: +2 to single psionic power or +1 to two different psi-powers

S: Sealed with helmet

V: Vacuum protection

Imperial Knight Sealed Helmets

Just as with Space Knight armor, Imperial Knight armor is functionally a heavily armored vacc suit; with the inclusion of a sealed helmet, it offers full vacuum protection and a sealed system. While any such helmet can be used, Imperial Knights generally have helmets that come with their armor. All of the following helmets provide a complete seal airmasks (allowing them to provide filtered air rather than relying on separate air stores), a tiny radio with a 10-mile range and a nightvision HUD (×8 magnifier, +9 Nightvision) and offers both protected vision and hearing. They also include Psi-Shield circuitry, providing a +5 to resist any telepathic intrusions or afflictions!

Imperial Knight Mask: Patterned after the Maradon masque, this system consists of a battleweave “hood” that hugs tightly to the skull and seals an armored mask to the face. This is light, thus preferred by those wearing Warlock or Rogue armor, and the mask itself is satisfyingly intimidating, if far simpler and cleaner in lines than the Maradon version.

Imperial Knight Helm: This far heavier helm is a typical helmet crafted of Carbide Laminate, offering increased protection at the cost of greater weight; those who wear Juggernaut armor tend to choose the helm.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Imperial Mask	Head	60/20*	$1500	3	3	ANS
Imperial Helm	Head	130/90†	$5000	8	2	ANS

* The higher DR protects the face; the lower DR is flexible

† Lower DR protects the face

A: Contains an air-mask and filter, allowing it to remain sealed while breathing atmosphere without airtanks.

N: Nightvision HUD (×8 magnifier, +9 Nightvision)

S: Completes a seal

Imperial Knight Armor Customization

The Emperor custom crafts each Imperial Knight’s armor to exacting specification. In addition to tailoring them to their exact dimensions to ensure a snug fit, he also chooses what various options to integrate. Imperial Knight armor is notmodular, rather, the player (or GM) may select from the following options to represent customization options selected to individualize their armor.

The Emperor outwardly embraces Neo-Rationalism and thus often makes a point of integrating advanced Shinjurai technology into his Imperial Knights’ armor. The Emperor and his cult also have access to unique techno-occult technologies, derived from his own understanding of Communion and knowledge stolen from ancient alien races, that integrate psychotronics with path-like resonances to create subtle and dangerous communion-like effects.

Advanced Psi-Amplifier Prototype (Armor): This doubles the amplification effect of the Warlock model of armor, or grants a +2 to a single psychic power for the other models of armor. However, if the wearer rolls a critical failure while using an amplified psychic power, in addition to the normal effects, it may generate a Broken Communion miracle, at the GM’s discretion. +$20,000, +2 lbs.This reduces the armor’s endurance to 4 hours (80% duration). 
 
Deep Engine Reactor(Armor): This reactor provides total power to the entire armor system, giving it indefinite endurance. This costs the wearer nothing, nor requires anything special of the wearer, though if the reactor is destroyed, it releases a pulse of Broken Communion energy that can create a wave of uncontrolled Broken Communion miracles at the GM’s discretion. +$20,000, +2 lbs.

Dynamic Chameleon (Armor): The armor integrates a dynamic chameleon effect. This provides a +8 to stealth rolls in contests against normal or IR detection; this bonus is halved if the character is moving or against opponents with Hyperspectral vision.: +$12,000, +3 lbs.

Hyperspectral Visor (Helmet):Replace the Nightvision HUD with a Hyperspectral HUD, with the same magnification. +$1500.

Mag-Lanyard (Armor):Built into the gauntlet of the armor, this is designed to magnetically resonate with a given weapon (typically a force sword). It pulls your weapon to your hand as long as it is “loose” and within 2 yards of your character; this functions like a technological version of TK-Tether (Psi 56). +$500.

Path Resonance (Armor): The armor is designed with to resonant with a particular path. This requiresit to be highly stylized so as to naturally evoke a reaction from those who see it appropriate to the path. Furthermore, it include occult symbols that naturally resonate with a particular path, such as appropriate colors or imagery for the path. This grants the wearer the effect of +1 Legendary Reputation for one singlepath, chosen when the armor is designed. This bonus is cumulative with any Legendary Reputation they already have. This applies to both Communion rolls andto reaction rolls, if the reputation bonus is applicable. Characters who not have access to Communion tend to develop the Aspect advantage naturally over time, and the GM might consider giving them “free” miracles everyone in awhile to represent the armor’s spooky, occult nature. The paths of the armor mustbe either Dark Communion paths, or Broken Communion paths; True Communion paths are not available. The Emperor prefers to use the paths of the Rebellious Beast, the Beautiful Fool, and Death. Triple the cost of the armor (+2 CF).

Psychokinetic Exofield (Armor): The armor integrates a psychokinetic field that augments the wearer’s natural ST. These offer bonus Striking ST, Lifting ST, a level of super-jump, and offer a bonus Psi Talent for Tactile TK only. If active, it reduces the endurance of the armor to 1 hour (20% duration). Three options exist:

• Light Psychokinetic Exofield: +5 ST, Super Jump 1, +1 Talent; +$30,000.
• Medium Psychokinetic Exofield: +10 ST, Super Jump 2, +2 Talent; +$60,000.
• Heavy Psychokinetic Exofield: +15 ST, Super Jump 3, +3 Talent; +$100,000.

Psychotronic Battery (Armor): The armor integrates psychotronic storage and circuitry to allow the character to both store and use psychic energy. See PT 13 for more. Note that characters may spend multiple turns drawing energy from the battery if they want to create an especially powerful effect, and that they can refill it with energy borrowed from Dark Communion, if they have access to Dark Communion. This has a capacity of 10 fatigue; +$10,000.

Sensor Visor (Helmet):The helmet no longer has any eye-slits that can be attacked, but instead transmits information to the character via very tiny cameras located elsewhere on the helmet (these cameras can be attacked at -10, which will destroy the camera but cause no harm to the character). +$500.

Synthetic Relic (Armor): The armor integrates psychotronic circuitry laid out to invoke occult symbolism to allow the character to access specific Dark Communion miracles with some reliability. Using Techno-Communion psychotronics requires a successful Electronics Operations (Psychotronics) roll and the wearer accumulates 1d of Corruption whether or not the roll succeeds. Success allows the character to invoke one of the following Dark Communion miracles (chosen when the armor is built): Dark Charisma, Dark Confidence, Hunter’s Eyes, Psionic Focus, or Unstoppable. +$50,000; +$25,000 per additional miracle (only one miracle may be active at a time). This reduces the endurance of the armor to 4 hours (80% endurance).

Trauma Maintenance(Armor):The armor includesan injector system and an integrated ESU. It automatically detects if the character is critically injured and begins to administer emergency care. The armor automatically performs first aid with First-Aid-12; if the character is mortally wounded, it acts to stabilize the armor-wearer, and applies a +2 to all rolls to prevent death after being mortally wounded. + $10,000, +2 lbs.

Elite Armor I: Maradon Space Knight Armor

While working on armor, I came to a few realizations.  First, increasingly, armor is the signature of a few factions, especially the Maradonian space knights.  One thing I’ve noticed my readers really enjoy is the idea of a fully armored space knight, rather than the lightly-clad space samurai of Star Wars.  I don’t think they mind the latter so much as see the former as an element that stands out.  As such, I want to really bring an emphasis to that armor.

Psi-Wars feels like fantasy, but isn’t.  From this, certain forms of Space Opera gain a lot of interesting tension, so I wanted the armor of the setting to merge tropes of each.  On the one hand, they should be obviously “plate armor,” perhaps with relic suits worn by ancestors and maybe with magic psychic powers embedded into them.  But at the same time, if you look through the designs of armor in Star Wars: the Old Republic, or even just Star Wars itself, you find glowing buttons and tubes and wires.  What does all of that do?  I want to evoke a feel of the space marine who lovingly attends his armor, runs diagnostics over the whole thing before closing it about him with an atmospheric hiss and a click, and then ignites his force sword with a crack and prepares for battle.

All of this means that I need to give Space Knight Armor additional attention and, perhaps, ways of differentiating them.  Ideally, given its nature, each suit would be perfectly unique, as is true of all forms of Low-Tech armor from which it draws its inspiration, but asking your players to design their own suits of armor is a bridge too far, so I offer a few models and a few modification options below.

All forms of Elite Armor, including Space Knight armor, are sufficiently unique that one cannot buy them; they must be purchased as Signature Gear.

Maradon Space Knight Armor

While the Maradon Houses pool their industrial resources together for ARC, they do not trust ARC to handle all of their industrial needs for them. One core reason Houses control the means of production is so that they can use them for their own purposes, and one such use is the creation of personal armor.

The armor of a Maradon space knight is deeply personal. When a noble decides to commission armor, he approaches his Guild foundry (or asks politely to borrow a Guild foundry from an ally or friend) and they scan his physique to create a perfectly tailored suit of armor to his needs. Then the noble selects what sort of armor he wants and works with the Guild to design his armor his way. Finally, the foundry assembles the armor, generally using advanced and proprietary materials, especially diamondoid (though some heavier armors will use a carbide core). The results is a glittering, magnificent work of art that provides nearly unparalleled protection.

Several variations of Space Knight armor exist, noted below. All are at leastStylish, and provide 8 hours of air and, with a proper helmet, are sealed and provide vacuum support. Furthermore, all armor is tailored to the wearer; anyone else attempting to wear it (unless they have very similar builds; GM’s discretion) suffers a -1 to DX and those attempting to attack chinks in the armor gain a +1 to do so. It can be modified by an armourer to fit another wearer, provided the wearer is somewhat similar in body size and shape as the original wearer, but this takes days.

Maradon “Crusader” Model Armor (Any): When Alexus Rex first waged his war on the Galaxy, his Space Knights wore “full plate” diamondoid armor. The armor was constructed entirely out of diamondoid, bound together via intricate joins and very thin sections of battleweave. This armor most strongly resembles plate armor, with some additional attachments and tubing on the back that handle power and air supplies. Designed for practical use in combatrather than style, this fell out of fashion during the heights of Maradon power. Today, though, it enjoys a resurgence as traditionalists seek their roots and war-focused knights look for something that will offer them superior protection against the armies of the Valorian Empire. House Grimshaw and house Kain are especially likely to use this model.

Maradon “Gothic” Model Armor (Any):At the height of the Alexian Empire, Maradon armor began to shift away from a purely martial role. This model integrated psi-amplifier circuitry into its design, as well as a thinner, more comfortable armor, and exaggerated features such as taller collars, pronounced vambracesand, typically, a long skirt covering the legs, as well as a very complex set of tubing, fins and psychotroniccircuitry running along the back of the armor. In addition to providing its usual benefits, this armor grants its wearer a +3to the use of a single psionic power (for example, Electrokinesis or Telepathy or ESP). Today, it’s a less popular option, preferred by those who wish to expand their esoteric abilities over their martial prowess. House Grimshaw and House Sabine are more likely to use it than other Houses.

Maradon “Cavalier” Model Armor (Any): After the fall of the Alexian Empire and during the war between the houses, knights began to shift from a front-line role to a more ceremonial position. They still fought, but preferred lighter armor that gave them greater agility and allowed them to defeat other force-sword armed opponents, or engage more easily in raids behind enemy lines. This armor consisted of a battleweave “arming garment” with embedded diamondoid plates, giving it a very sleek appearance. This also inspired modern Imperial armor, and later developed into Duelist armor, which abandoned diamondoid anywhere but the arm and face. Today, this is most often commissioned by House Sabine or House Elegans.

“Caliban” model Armor (Kain): While the rest of the Maradon nobility evolved their armor away from the orignal “Crusader” armor, house Kain returned to it and perfected it. Given their stronger physiques and their propensity for cybernetic augmentation, they created even heavier armor and integrated the duelist gauntlet innovation into their design. Their armor is almost force-sword proof on the torso, helmet and on their fighting arm, and those who have combined their gauntlet with a cybernetic arm have been known to reach through force sword blades to grab and crush an opponent’s force sword!

Maradon “Duelist” Armor (Any): With the Federation, war nearly vanished from Galaxy for centuries, allowing the knights to turn their attention to sport with one another. The armor of the era evolved to support this. Duelist armor is less a cohesive set of armor and more of a combination of armor pieces. It consists of a heavy battleweave bodysleeve with a very heavy and very stylized diamondoid gauntlet/vambrace that covers the whole of the duelists’ right arm with sufficient protection to ward away a force sword blow. This remains very popular with modern space knights, as most space knights trained in their formative years win the armor, though its practicality in an actual war is highly questionable. Only house Kain disdains it entirely. The Gauntlet may be worn separately, or layered with the armor at no penalty.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Cell	Notes
“Crusader” Armor	All	120/80*	$175,000	35	2	C/5 days	OSV
“Gothic” Light Armor	All	60/40*	$140,000	35	2	C/4 days	OPSV
“Cavalier” Light Armor	All	80/60†	$85,000	25	2	C/5 days	OSV
“Caliban” Heavy Armor	All	150/100†	$200,000	65	2	C/5 days	OSV
Duelist Body Sleeve	All	40	$35,000	15	3	C/5 days	FOSV
Duelist Gauntlet	Arm	120	$25,000	5	2		O

*The higher value protects the torso only

†The higher value protects the torso and a single arm (generally the right)

F: Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

P: +4 to single psionic power

O: Stylish

S: Sealed with helmet

V: Vacuum protection

Maradon Sealed Helmets

Space Knight armor is functionally a heavily armored vacc suit, similar to a Combat Suit from GURPS Ultra-Tech. This means that they need a helmet to seal the suit. All of the following helmets provide a complete seal airmasks (allowing them to provide filtered air rather than relying on separate air stores), a tiny radio with a 10-mile range and a nightvision HUD (×8 magnifier, +9 Nightvision) and offers both protected vision and hearing.

Space Knight Masque: Generally worn with duelist armor, either with a battleweave hood or with the rest of the head free, this is a highly stylized, diamondoid mask, similar to the Maradon Masque. It does notprovide a complete seal on its own, but may when combined with a battleweave hood, which does provide a seal.

“Cavalier” Helm: This light helmet is preferred by those wearing the Cavalier or Gothic model of armor. It offers more protection than most helmets but is not extraordinarily burdensome. It has no visor, but instead has eyeslits (which often gleam when the night vision is active) and a highly stylized face.

“Crusader” Helm: The original helm and generally worn with Crusader or Caliban model armor, this provides extraordinary protection to the head of the wearer. They have no visor, but instead have eyeslits, similar to the Cavalier helm, though they tend to be less baroque in design.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Space Knight Masque	Face	80/40*	$3500	2	3	ANO
“Cavalier” Helm	Head	80/60*	$9000	4	2	ANOS
“Crusader” Helm	Head	120/100*	$20,000	10	2	ANOS

* Lower DR protects the eyes only (-10 to hit)

A: Contains an air-mask and filter, allowing it to remain sealed while breathing atmosphere without airtanks.

N: Nightvision HUD (×8 magnifier, +9 Nightvision)

O: Stylish or Fashion Original

S: Completes a seal

Maradon Armor Customization

Maradon Space Knight armor is notmodular: a space knight cannot change his armor “on the fly,” but they are highly individualizedand customized. When choosing a space knight armor, you may also select from the following options. Some options are proprietary. This means that they’re generallyassociated with one specific house. This does notpreventmembers of other houses from gaining access to the option, rather, the associations are illustrative of how different houses tend to customize their armor. After all, the houses have been swapping secrets and marrying one another for centuries!

Ancestral Memory Gem(Helmet; Elegans): A borrowed Keleni technology, this gem sits visibly in the forehead of the helmet, and contains some of the memories of one particular ancestor. This provides any telepathic or empathic character the ability to communicate with fragments of the ancestor’s memory. This functions as a version of Wild Talent and Racial Memory, but limited to the skills and memories of that ancestor. Many Elegans experience this as the presence of the ancestor as a “ghost” or “imaginary friend.” Many Elegan’s helmets include a second crystal on the inside of the helmet that will take on the memories of the wearer should he die, and thus these are sometimes called “Death Gems.” +$20,000.

Blind Masque (Helmet; Sabine):House Sabine often integrates a featureless, eyeless faceplate on its helms or its masques. This removes any eye-slit vulnerability, but these are notsensor visors: they blind and deafen the wearer to the outside world! However, the resulting sensory deprivation provides a +1 to all psychic powers and+3 levels to the AwarenessESP ability, and +3 to Blindfighting. +$10,000.

Bio-Intensifier (Armor, Elegans):Another technology derived from their exposure to the Keleni, some Elegans armor integrates a system that augments the mind-body connections to allow their will to liveto overcome physical hardship. A Bio-Intensifier adds the wearer’s Will/5 to their HT for any rolls to heal, to avoid death after suffering a mortal wound, or to resist diseases or poisons; it also adds the same bonus to any psychic healing or esoteric healing roll made to heal them. This only works if the wearer wishes to live. Those who wish to dieinvert this bonus into a penalty to the same rolls. +$25,000, +3 lbs; halves power endurance.

Electrotronic Bodyshield (Armor, Grimshaw):If the character has the EK shield ability, this option doublesthe EK shield value for as long as it is active. This is visible as a shimmering in the air, and becomes bright and colored if condensed into a single area via a Power-Block, giving observers the impression that some Grimshaw knights have “hand’s free” force bucklers! +$20,000, +1.5 lbs; reduce the power cell to 1 hour while active.

Electrotronic Reactor (Armor; Grimshaw):While not as masterful as Alexian secret technologies, House Grimshaw has mastered the ability to use their natural electrokinesis to power their armor. If the character has Electrokinesis Talent +1 or better orthe Lightning or Surge ability orthe Power Generator perk, they can use an integrated Electrotonic reactor to power all systems on their armor indefinitely. +$10,000, +2 lbs.

Fashion Original (Any):Maradon aristocrats with money to burn might create fanciful and awe-inspiring designs, often highly ornate, with a crystalline or a sparkling appearance. +4 CF.

GestalticInterface (Helmet; Sabine):House Sabine sometimes includes Psiberfaces in their helmets. This allows the wearer to gain a psychic link to other characters with a GestalticInterface within 20 yards. This psychic link provides a +2 to any telepathy powers meant to affect someone else wearing a gestaltic interface and open to contact, but more importantly, it allows all wearers to immediately enter a Gestalt with no skill roll as though they had Gestalt Familiarity with one another, and may maintain their gestalt as long as they remain within 20 yards of one another. House Elegans often borrows this feature as well! +$35,000.

Lightning Gauntlet (Armor or Gauntlet, Grimshaw): An example of a dedicated psi-amplifier, this system consists of a small backpack unit with wiring/tubing connected to the arm of the armor or gauntlet and a slightly oversized forearm vambrace to channel additional psychic energy solelyfor the purpose of the Lightning ability. This increases the character’s Lightning by three levels, provided they already have at least one level of the ability. +$10,000, +5 lbs

Mag-Lanyard (Any):Built into the gauntlet of the armor, this is designed to magnetically resonate with a given weapon (typically a force sword). It pulls your weapon to your hand as long as it is “loose” and within 2 yards of your character; this functions like a technological version of TK-Tether (Psi 56). + $500.

Psionic Mind-Shield Circuitry (Helmet; Any):Maradon knights often face psychic opponents and integrate psionic mind-shield circuitry into their helmets; This adds +5 to any IQ or Will rolls to resist telepathic invasion or affliction! Increase the cost of the helmet by $1000.

Trauma Maintenance(Armor, Kain):The armor integrates a bio-monitor, an injector system and an integrated ESU. It automatically detects if the character is critically injured and begins to administer emergency care. The armor automatically performs first aid with First-Aid-12; if the character is mortally wounded, it acts to stabilize the armor-wearer, and applies a +2 to all rolls to prevent death after being mortally wounded. + $10,000, +2 lbs.

Psi-Wars Armor

This took longer than I thought.  Thank you for your patience!

This should be an all-inclusive list of all generic armor, readily market-available,in the Psi-Wars setting. If more arises, I’ll add to it. Most of the armor is presented as generic; the lack of inclusion of various corporations (especially Colt and Han & Kord) does not mean they do not produce armor, rather that the armor they produce is no different from the armor noted below.

There will be additional armor, but not included here.  This will represent “rare” and exclusive armor, typically taken as signature gear rather than purchased off the market.

Battleweave Armor

Battleweave is an advanced flexible armor similar but inferior to energy cloth. It protects against all forms of damage equally exceptcrushing, against which it protects with 1/3rd its DR. Battleweave armor generally takes the form of a battleweave body suit, a skin-tight garment that can fit beneath any form of armor or clothing, which often serves either as a last layer of defense, or a base upon which to affix additional armor.

Battleweave may be layered. The garments so layered must be reasonable, and the GM is free to overrule combinations he finds unreasonable (“I’m wearing four bodysuits!”). As a general rule, up to DR 20 can be worn beneath clothing or any garment and has a silk-thin thickness, similar to a bathing suit or sheer lingerie. Up to DR 40 is the thickness of cloth and while it cannot be worn beneath clothing, it can be worn asclothing. More than DR 40 is obviously thick “cloth” armor, though up to DR 60 might be mistaken for thick outerwear (the thickness of a coat or a heavy jacket). Any layering that takes the character beyond 80 DR is either disallowed, or suffers the layering penalties on B286: each layer beyond DR 80 applies a -1 to DX and all DX-based skills.

Generic Battleweave

The Battleweave Bodysuit is the standardby which armor is measured. While not everyone wears it, those who want some level of protection often begin with a layer of Battleweave. It’s comfortable and sits close to the skin, so can be worn beneath clothing; the only real downside is the weight. Those who want additional armor typically layer it with at least a longcoat or jacket, and perhaps trousers. Battleweave gloves and combat boots round it out for a typical “civilian” form of armor.

Maradon Battleweave

When adopting generic battleweave, Maradonians might augment it, typically by making it stylish(+4 CF); they typically augment it with jewelry, naturalistic patterns (leather or cloth) and interesting designs. They also weave the flexible armor into very stylish patterns, allowing them to wear armor in their gowns and suits. Examples include long “opera” gloves, hooded cloaks, or the jacket, trousers and gown below. While they don’t offer much armor, they might blunt a vibroknife, or turn a lethal shot with a blaster pistol into a merely injurious one.

ARC also issues armored combat uniforms, typically meant for officers, which allows them to command from front of the battle lines while in full “dress” uniform, making them stand out and inspiring their soldiers, while still maintaining a modicum of protection.

Shinjurai Battleweave

The Shinjurai who wear battleweave tend to augment it with a variety of technologies and gadgetry. The most common are the Varicloth and Buzzcloth (both UT 39). The former allows multiple interesting patterns, often ranging from eye-catching to garishly neon, and the latter allows it to be worn for multiple days or to shed any incriminating stains or evidence that might have collected on them. Military versions often include bio-monitors (+$200, 0.5 lbs)

Syntech issues a few interesting battleweave garments, typically gloves and footwear.

Westerly Battleweave

The Westerly tend to be sparing with any armor, as they need it to be flexible enough to cover their needs, durable enough to endure the harsh conditions they often find themselves in, and cheap enough that they can afford it. Most small Westerly communities have at least one armor-weaver on hand who can build suits, and the most common alterations to battleweave are the addition of a camouflage pattern typical to the local environment (+2 Camouflage for the proper terrain; -2 for other terrain; +0.5 CF) and climate control systems (+$50, 1 lb, 10 days/C). The Westerly are known for their excellent hiking boots.

Armor Reference

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Battleweave Bodysuit	Neck, Torso, Limbs	20/7	$2000	8	4	CF
Battleweave Longcoat	Torso, Arms, Thighs, Neck	45/15	$3500	13	3	F
Battleweave Jacket	Chest, Arms	45/15	$2500	10	3	F
Battleweave Trousers	Groin, Legs	30/10	$1000	5	4	CF
ARC Combat Uniform Jacket	Chest, Arms	30/10	$8000	6	4	CFS
ARC Combat Uniform Trousers	Groin, Legs	30/10	$6000	5	4	CFS
Maradon Weave Cloak	All, Skull	20/7*	$5000	4	4	CFGS
Maradon Weave Jacket	Chest, Arms	30/10	$35,000	6	4	FCST
Maradon Weave Trouser	Groin, Legs	30/10	$30,000	5	4	FCST
Maradon Weave Gown	Chest*, Groin, Legs	15/5	$20,000	3	4	FCST

*Protects attacks from behind/sides only;

C: Concealable; may be worn under clothing or mistaken for clothing; may be worn with layerable armor (see note L) at no penalty.

E: Ablative vs energy attacks; 1/3 DR vs all other forms of attack.

F: Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

G: Characters can target gaps/chinks on this armor.

S: Stylish or Fashion Original

T: Tailored; -1 DX to anyone wearing it other than the original recipient (or someone with nearly the same body build)

Gloves

Syntech “Dodger” Gloves: From the Neon line of body armor and clothing, these light gloves are fingerless and have no palm, and thus protect only the back of the hand. Opponents should be able to “target gaps,” when attacking them, but at the same time, characters wearing them should never be subjected to any penalties for bad grip or an inability to feel something through his gloves. The gloves also have a Karatandfunction, hardening the knuckles when made into a fist: this grants +1 to damage from hand strikes.

Syntech “Silk” Gloves:Part of the Black line and technically an offering to law enforcement, these excellent gloves sometimes find their way into the hands of spies or thieves. The Silk glove system integrates a primitive form of Sensor Gloves, which grant +2 to feel anything through the gloves; this pairs with an adhesive system that gives grip similar to a bare hand, which means the glove never suffers penalties for feeling or for grip. Furthermore, like the Dodger gloves above, they have a Karatandfunction which harden the portion of the glove when striking, which grants +1 damage to the unarmed strikes

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Battleweave Gloves	Hands	20/7	$50	Neg	4	CF
Syntech “Dodger” Gloves	Hands	20/7	$200	Neg	3	CFGK
Syntech “Silk” Gloves	Hands	20/7	$1500	Neg	2	CFK1
Maradon Long Gloves	Hands, Arms	20/7	$2000	1	4	CFS

C: Concealable; may be worn under clothing or mistaken for clothing; may be worn with layerable armor (see note L) at no penalty.

F: Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

K: Karatand

G: Characters can target gaps/chinks on this armor.

S: Stylish or Fashion Original

1: Sensory Glove bonus

Footwear

This section covers all forms of foot armor not explicitly integrated into a cohesive armor system; generally most items are made of Carbide or Battleweave.

Westerly Hiking Boots: Battleweave boots with a carbide sole to protect against traps or mines. This grant a +2 to hiking rolls, due to the excellence of their construction.

Syntech “Catspaw” Slippers: Part of the Black line, these battleweave garmets resemble thick toe-socks and practically adhere to the fleet and offer equivalent grip to bare feet. They’re designed to dampen sounds, granting +2 to stealth rolls by any character attempting to move quietly in them.

Maradon Combat Heels and Long Boots: Crafted from Battleweave and with a carbide sole, the heel is designed to maximize comfort and grip, allowing it to perform as well as flat shoes in most cases, without sacrificing a more fashionable look. Maradon Longboots are battleweave boots with a carbide heel or sole that go up past the knees. Worn by both men and women, they may or may not come with a high heel, depending on the wearer’s preference

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Battleweave Combat Boots	Feet	40	$200	1	4	CF
Carbide Combat Boots	Feet	80	$250	3	3	CF
Westerly Hiking Boots	Feet*	80/40	$800	3	4	CF1
Syntech “Catspaw” Slippers	Feet	20	$1000	Neg	3	CF2
Maradon Combat Heels	Feet*	20/0	$300	1	4	CS3
Maradon Long Boots	Feet, Legs	20	$1000	1	4	CFS3

*The higher DR value protects the sole only.

C: Concealable; may be worn under clothing or mistaken for clothing; may be worn with layerable armor (see note L) at no penalty.

F: Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

1: +2 to hiking rolls

2: +2 to stealth rolls when attempting to move silently and resisting someone’s ability to hear.

3: This armor has the equivalent to High Heeled Heroine; the character never suffers from any penalties due to the heel.

Head Protection

This covers all forms of head gear that are not explicitly meant to seal a system.

Battleweave Hood: This hood is similar to a balaclava and is typically worn with eye and/or face protection. It’s primary purpose is to provide additional protection for the face and skull.

The Carbide Helmet: Typically a form of “pot helm,” this also covers rimmed helmets, such as a conical metallic hat, or a helmet with an extended piece meant to protect the back of the neck. Treat such details as cosmetic (if they offer some real protection, increase the price by +0.5 CF and the weight by +10%)

Syntech Hypervisor: Part of the “Neon” line, these resemble “wraparound shades” that provide a modicum of armor to the eyes and also grant the wearer hyperspectral vision.

Syntech Cryptmask: Part of the “Regal” line, Syntech designed the Cryptmask with Maradonian customers in mind. This thin, featureless laminate mask covers the face (it will adhere to a bare face with a simple application of pressure, and can be removed by simply pulling it away, but is more often worn with a battleweave hood) and grants the wearer hyperspectral vision, voice distortion (if he activates it) and filtered air.

Maradon Masque: Maradonian aristocracy enjoy the romance of a well-designed mask, similar to the decorated faceplates of aristocratic battle armor or duelist armor. This represents a lighter version of such armor, crafted of carbide rather than diamondoid, but still with intricate, beautiful and individualized decorations and designs. Like the Cryptmask, this adheres to the face with a simple application of pressure and can be removed at no risk to the wearer, but is more often worn with a battleweave hood.

Westerly Goggles: A simple set of goggles meant to protect the wearer’s eyes from damage, glare or blasting sand. Often worn with a simple air mask.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Battleweave Hood	Head	20/7	$200	1	4	CF
Carbide Helmet	Skull	45	$300	3	3
Syntech Hypervisor	Eyes	20	$4000	0.2	3	H
Syntech CryptMask	Face	40/20*†	$5000	2	3	AHV
Maradon Masque	Face	30	$4000	2	3	ANO
Westerly Goggles	Eyes	20	$100	0.1	4

* Double DR vs plasma or shaped charge attacks

†The higher DR protects against frontal attacks only; halve the minimum value if attacks are made to the eyeslits

A: Contains an air-mask and filter, allowing it to remain sealed while breathing atmosphere without airtanks.

C: Concealable; may be worn under clothing or mistaken for clothing; may be worn with layerable armor (see note L) at no penalty.

F: Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

H: Hyperspectral HUD (×8 magnifier)

N: Nightvision HUD (×8 magnifier, +9 Nightvision)

O: Stylish or Fashion Original

Combat Armor

Even soldiers might base their armor systems on the battleweave systems above, but military forces augment their armor with something heavier. The following systems are not sealed.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Battleweave TacVest	Torso, Groin	60	$4,500	7	3	FI
+Cerablate Inserts	Torso	60	$150	6	3	E
Carbide Clamshell	Torso, Groin	60	$2,500	18	4

E: Ablative vs Energy attacks; 1/3 DR againts all other attacks

F: Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

I: May carry tactical inserts

Environmental Gear, Sealed Armor and Vacc Suits

The following armor is sealedif closed with a sealed helmet (see Sealed Helmets below). All Vacuum Suits have at least vacuum protection, internal air systems, extreme climate control, vacuum support, pressure supportand waste relief.

Traditional Westerly Survival Suit: Local Westerly communities tend to create their own survival suits based on the local environment. A community based in a desert might integrate desert survival gear into their battleweave, while those who live in a jungle might have some sort of cooling system built into clothing that also wicks away moisture and sweat to keep the body relatively clean. These tend to be highly efficient and well-maintained. This example is a broad one: it contains climate control, (120ºF to -40ºF), Waste Relief, and a Desert survival system that extends water supplies 60×. It also provides +2 to hiking rolls and has a camouflage system well integrated into the local environment for +2 camouflage (but -2 in inappropriate environments). Other examples are possible.

Syntech “Shadow” Armor: Part of the Syntech “Black” line, this skin-tight battleweave garment is sealed and contains a Biomonitor for tracking the vitals of the wearer. It also integrates dynamic chameleon systems: this provides a +8 to stealth rolls in contests against normal or IR detection; this bonus is halved if the character is moving or against opponents with Hyperspectral vision.

Traditional Westerly Vacc Suit: Many Westerly live space-based lives, spending their days as asteroid miners or freightliner pilots. Various communities and Westerly corporations have perfected the Vacc suit for long duration. In addition to the normal benefits outlined above, the Westerly Vacc Suit provides internal air and water sufficient for 3 days.

RedJack “Scrapper” Armor: Designed, in principle, for asteroid miners and space welders, this intimidating armor sports very heavy frontal armor capable of totally defecting blaster rifles. While not intended for pirates or for space-assaults, it nonetheless finds it way into the hands of pirates with astonishing regularity! In addition to its standard vacc suit benefits (see above), it provides 3 days of internal air and water.

Syntech “Shrike” Pilot Suit: This pilotuses an advanced bioplastic design to greatly reduce its cost and weight. In addition to the standard vacc suit benefits (see above), it provides 3 hours of air and water (and has a nozzle and support bay for 1 additional air tank; increase the duration of any air added by 10× thanks to its filtration system), a biomonitor and grants +1 to resist high-G maneuvers. It has cablejacks allowing it greater integration with ship-board systems when paired with the “Shrike” Helmet.

ARC “Star Mail” Armor: the “Star Mail” defense system is one of the standard foundry templates managed by the ARC corporation, though it can be customized, mainly to show house colors and heraldry. The elite gendarmes of the Houses wear these heavily armored vacc suits for their boarding operations, and also in parade formations to impress the population and to provide their noble his proper gravitas. This armor is stylishand, in addition to the normal benefits of vacc suits, provides 8 hours of air.

Imperial Directive A–ES3X Modular Guardian System:The Empire needs to fight on multiple fronts and on many worlds. Rather than create a single set of armor, it has created a modular armor system to replace the older armor systems. At its base is a battleweave body sleeve, slightly thicker than a basic battle weave body suit, sealed and run through with wires, tubes and attachment points necessary to attach the various modules. The basic armor includes a biomonitor, basic climate control, 30 minutes of air (with an attachment point for additional air) and reprogrammable camouflage (+2 to camouflage). It may be loaded with any of the following modules:

• Light Carbide Plate: the most common attachment, this covers the wearer’s body with carbide plates; these are not trauma plates, as they do not sit in pockets, but hook up to attachment points and form a complete carapace. Mutually exclusive with heavy carbide plates.
• Heavy Carbide Plates: As light carbide plates, but much thicker; these are too heavy to be compatible with the base-layers reprogrammable camouflate. Generally used by assault troops or elite guards. Mutually exclusive with light carbide plates.
• Extreme Climate Module: This integrates additional warming and cooling elements and moisture-recapture systems to allow the soldier to endure extreme climates and increases the soldier’s water supplies by 60×; Mutually exclusive with the Vacuum module. +2.5 lbs, +$1500; halve the power-duration.
• Vacuum Module: This integrates pressure support, additional air (lasting up to 8 hours), and waste relief, allowing the soldier to endure long periods of exposure to vacuum. Tend to be worn by ship-born soldiers. Mutually exclusive with Vacuum module. +4 lbs, +$1500; halve the power-duration.

Imperial Directive A-SS9G Pilot Suit: This pilot suit is inspired by early Shinjurai pilot-suit designs, and in addition to the normal benefits provided by a vacc suit, also grants the wearer a +1 to resist high-G maneuvers and 8 hours of air.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Cell	Notes
Battleweave TacSuit	All	45/15	$9,500	15	2	—	FIS
+Cerablate Inserts	Torso	+60	+$150	+6	3		E
Westerly Survival Suit	All	30	$8,000	14	3	C/month	FS1
Syntech “Shadow” Armor	All	20	$9,000	13	2	–	CFS2
Generic Vacuum Suit	All	20	$3,500	13	4	C/12 hours	FSV
Westerly Vacc Suit	All	45	$13,000	20	2	C/10 days	FSV
RedJack “Scrapper” Armor	All	100/60*	$10,000	70	2	C/10 days	SV
Syntech “Shrike” Pilot Suit	All	15	$4,500	7	3	C/5 days	FGSV
ARC “Star Mail” Armor	All	80/60†	$20,000	40	2	C/5 days	OSV
Imperial A-ES3X Modular Guardian System	All	20	$6000	9	2	C/10 days	FMS
+ Modular Light Plate	All	+60/30†	+$12,000	+25	2
+ Modular Heavy Plate	All	+80/40†	+$15,000	+31	2
Imperial A-SS9G Pilot Suit	All	30	$10,000	16	2	C/5 days	FSV

*The higher value protects the torso from the front

†The higher value protects the torso only

C: Concealable; May be worn beneath clothing, or may be mistaken for clothing

E: Ablative vs Energy attacks; 1/3 DR againts all other attacks

F: Flexible; 1/3 DR vs crushing;

G: +1 to HT to resist high-G maneuvers

I: May carry tactical inserts

M: Modular; may be upgraded with specified options

O: Stylish or Fashion Original

S: Sealed with helmet

V: Vacuum protection

1: +2 to hiking rolls

2: +2 to stealth rolls when attempting to move silently and resisting someone’s ability to hear.

Sealed Helmets

All of the following masks will can complete the seal of sealed armor (above); they also include hearing protection tiny radios with a range of 10 miles and are glare-resistant.

Generic Full Helmet: Commonly worn with both vacuum suits or on its own, as it provides air filters.

Redjack “Scrapper” Helmet: Generally worn with the “scrapper” suit, it has a reinforced front-plate and eye-slits through which the character can see, rather than a full visor.

Syntech “Panopticon” Helmet: This helmet has no visor, but small cameras which provide hyperspectral vision to the wearer.

Syntech “Shrike” Helmet: Worn with the rest of the Syntech “shrike” vacuum suit, it integrates with onboard systems to provide full, three dimensional holographic AR imagery of what surrounds the ship. At the GM’s discretion, this can provide a +2 to visibly see something around the ship.

Imperial Helmets: The helmets are generally interchangeable with one another. The D-EH7 is generally worn with modular guardian system when either no plate modules are attached, or when the light plate module is attached; the D-EH8H “heavy” helmet is generally worn with the modular Guardian system when the heavy plate module is attached. The D-SH9V is almost identical to the D-EH7 but lacks air masks, which streamlines its appearance and makes it a bit lighter. This is generally worn either with the imperial pilot suit, or occasionally with the modular Guardian system when the vacuum module is attached.

Armor	Loc	DR	Cost	Weight	LC	Notes
Generic Full Helmet	Head	30/20*	$400	5	4	A
Westerly Vacc Helmet	Head	45/30*	$600	6	3	A
Redjack “Scrapper” Helmet	Head	80/40†	$400	7.5	2
Syntech “Panopticon” Helmet	Head	40	$6,000	5	2	AHS
Syntech “Shrike” Pilot Helmet	Head	20	$2,000	2.5	3	NS
ARC “Cuirass” Helmet	Head	80/40*	$4,000	9	2	AO
Imperial D-EH7 “Standard” Helmet	Head	80/40*	$3,500	5	2	AN
Imperial D-EH8H “Heavy” Helmet	Head	100/80*	$,4000	6	2	AN
Imperial D-SH9V “Pilot” Helmet	Head	80/40*	$3,000	4.5	2	N

* Higher DR protects against attacks to the skull; lower DR to attacks to the face (via the visor)

†The higher DR protects against frontal attacks only; halve the minimum value if attacks are made to the eyeslits

A: Contains an air-mask and filter, allowing it to remain sealed while breathing atmosphere without airtanks.

H: Hyperspectral HUD (×8 magnifier)

N: Nightvision HUD (×8 magnifier, +9 Nightvision)

O: Stylish or Fashion Original

S: Contains a sensor visor; the “cameras” can be targeted at -10 to hit (equivalent to eyeslits)

Force Screens

Syntech “Shield Wall”: This mobile force screen emitter can be secured to the ground and then activated in a total of 3 seconds. Once the screen has fully stabilized, it presents a “wall” large enough for up to two humans to crouch behind. This force screen provides 150 ablative, hardened DR that regenerates 1/10th of its DR every second. $15,000, 20 lbs, D/20 minutes.

Wyrmwerks Bulwark System: Worn as a belt, when activated (takes 1 second to activate), this generates a force screen that covers the front of the user. He may still fire through it as normal. This force screen provides 75 ablative hardened DR which regenerates 1/10th of its DR every second. If it is ever reduced to zero DR, it must roll HT of 9 or the wearer’s Armoury (Force Screen), whichever is better, or be permanently shorted out until repaired (ten minutes and an Armoury (Force Screen) roll). $1500, 6 lbs; C/5 minutes.

Maradonian Force Buckler: see Reflective Force Shield, UT 192.