Battledress Scale

[justacaveman]

Does Battledress use the same scale as vehicles. If so, then the TL-13 Medium Battledress on page 286 would have the same armor rating as a TL-10 Main Battle Tank. A TL-8 RAM HEAP grenade would be able to do no damage unless it scored a Critical Hit. A RAM HEAP grenade does 4d6 damage -5 dice for scale difference = 1d6-2 vs vehicles, and -5 AR for HEAP penetration means that it can penetrate up to an AR of 8 if a 6 is rolled for damage. An FGMP-15 does 9d20 damage - 5 dice for scale diffence = 4d20 vs vehicles (more than a TL-12 Light Fusion Cannon BTW)= 1d20-7 vs TL-13 Medium Battledress.

This seems a bit excessive for personal armor.

 

[tjoneslo]

You are correct in your interpretation. If you feel this is excessive, try this rule:

The damage reduction for a "vehicle" is based upon the size of the craft.

Medium: -0
Large: -2
Huge: -4
Gargantuan: -6
Collosal:-8
Enormous: -10

Since most vehicles i've designed so far are either Huge or Gargantuan, this fits with the -5 for the vehicles and -10 for starships.

So the battledress is only -2 (not -5) which helps some. It may help to thing of the suit as the heavy assault armor, and most battledress will be lighter than this.

 

[scurry]

I am relatively new to T20 (although years ago I played Traveller...many years). I have a question on Battledress:

The gunnery skill says it can be used with vehicles. Does this mean it can be used with Battledress? The gunnery skill seems geared for hitting starships...and I am worried that when we sit down to play that the rank/bonus-to-hit may be excessive for Battledress-scale combat.

 

[cmdrx]

My house ruling on this is that since Battledress requires an armour proficiency feat and not a vehicle feat it should be treated as personal armour.

 

[chron187]

Originally posted by cmdrx:
My house ruling on this is that since Battledress requires an armour proficiency feat and not a vehicle feat it should be treated as personal armour.

Hmmmmm I think Hunter made it act as a vehicle to better simulate complete and heavy cover like a vehicle however it requires armour proficiency because you still use your legs to mave and you use your arms too unlike a vehicle it is one of those strange exceptions I guess that is my theorum on why Hunter made it act like a vehicle instead of traditional armour

I hope I didnt confuse anybody

 

[Crashlogic]

If you have ever read starshiptroopers by Rober H. Heinlen, you will appreciate that battledress should be scary, even to guys in tanks. Battledress is not combat armour. I think of battledress troopers as more like mecha. Tanks are what you buy when you can't affored battledress.

GT talks about the marines as using tanks and APC's wich seemed sort of contrary. IMTU the Imperial Army is about tanks and such. Marines don't bother. Battledress infantry are fast and mobile, and assualt the planet with overwhelming naval superiority. Anything a Marine cannot take out can be killed by the navy from orbit. That to a marine, is one of the three things the navy does that is actually useful.

 

[Pickles]

My definitive vision of battledress has now (after XX years) been formed by the anime series Gasaraki.

 

[Crashlogic]

I had thougght that t-20 modern might provide a solution: trat battledress as a mecha of the smalles class, and use it in personal scale as opposed to vehicle scale. I haven't tested it out though as my campaign sort of avoids battledress by its nature.