Building Power Armor

[Mike W]

One of the PCs in my game is about to learn how to build power armor. Until now, he's scavanged a few things and basically stayed low tech - but now his "supply source" is becoming problematic and the characters are about to graduate from the original street level concept to a more four-color level. The thing is, I'm not sure what scientific skills are needed for what systems and I think it would be beneficial to sort it out more precisely than usual. Normally, when I build a power armored character, I just rip off Tony Stark's skill set and buy 8 or 10 scientific skills with a technological slant and don't worry about what equals what. But this character is buying skills in game to learn how to make the armor, so for the first time, I'm actually confronted with figuring out exactly which skills let you build which systems. I was thinking something along the following lines, but I'd be curious to see what the more scientific people on this board would say:

 

Basic armor form: Metallurgy, Engineering

Force Field: Electrical Engineering

Biological weapons: Biochemistry, Chemistry

Flight: Physics, Engineering

Targeting and Guidance Systems: Computer Programming

Enhanced Senses: Electrical Engineering

Lasers and other "high tech weapons": Weaponsmithing, Engineering, possibly Physics

 

Anything I'm missing?

[Force]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

Electronics, Mechanics and Inventor. Possibly Systems Operations.

[Mike W]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

How would you divide that up for different systems? Why not require Weaponsmith for the weapon elements?

 

I may waive inventor since he's managed to get a template to study from.

[gojira]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

This may not be what you are looking for, but the skill set he needs to get a powered armour suit is:

Five Finger Discount

 

Which is kinda fun for powered armour because then you can have him try to figure out all the suits "systems", enhance them (without breaking the suit), etc. This give the player a clear, if capricious, enhancement route, and lots of room for player motivated adventure as he tries to upgrade (or even just understand) a piece of equipment that he doesn't understand. The suit can be Unique and Unbreakable, which avoids those anoying "Why doesn't this thing take damage?" questions. You have a great plot device. The suit can do absolutely anything you want as GM, since the owner isn't supposed to understand it. And the effect doesn't need to be repeatable, for the same reason. Need to get the whole team to another dimension or planet? Just have the suit develope a "little glitch" that sends them off. Now if only the player could figure out how to do that when he actually wants to...

 

Obviously, your player wants to be an inventor type character and that's great, my favorite PC type in fact. But stealing at least part of the technology for the suit is very much in genre. It prevents him from building an army of Power Suit Clones, for one thing.

[Victim]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

Well, that depends on how much he's going to make himself. A character would probably need some PS type skills related to actually manufacturing the armor if he's making it himself. On the other hand, if he can pull some predesigned systems from existing stuff, then he won't need so many science skills.

 

I'm kind of against an infinite proliferation of skills, though.

[Outsider]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

I like the "scrounge and scrape" aspect, and think he should stick with it, only taking skills that allow him to integrate found (or bought) objects into his armor. He can get away with a lot fewer technical skills that way.

[Vondy]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

/Warning, those who didn't like some of the character's in Champions:NM should not read this post.

 

Contact: Team Defender (four goofy but obscenely brilliant kids in hard-science graduate programs), Very Useful Skills +3, Roll: 13- (Cost: 10)

 

I didn't make them an organization because, well, four college kids working in a basement isn't, well, an organization.

 

And for the record: I like Team Defender. Four brilliant science geeks to make the gizmo go, and one jock to operate it. I don't think they should be on the Champions per se, but seeing Team Vangaurd or some such as a resurgence in the current Champions Universe would be cool.

[Black Rose]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

/Warning, those who didn't like some of the character's in Champions:NM should not read this post.

 

Contact: Team Defender (four goofy but obscenely brilliant kids in hard-science graduate programs), Very Useful Skills +3, Roll: 13- (Cost: 10)

 

I didn't make them an organization because, well, four college kids working in a basement isn't, well, an organization.

 

And for the record: I like Team Defender. Four brilliant science geeks to make the gizmo go, and one jock to operate it. I don't think they should be on the Champions per se, but seeing Team Vangaurd or some such as a resurgence in the current Champions Universe would be cool.

 

As far as I'm concerned, they were probably the best thing about C:NM. Not having read a kiloton of comics like some, I've probably missed it, but AFAIC, that was original and well worth stealing. It makes so much sense; why pay for all the skills to maintain your suit when you can have some geeks do it for you?

[Trebuchet]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

As far as I'm concerned' date=' they were probably the best thing about C:NM. Not having read a kiloton of comics like some, I've probably missed it, but AFAIC, that was original and well worth stealing. It makes so much sense; why pay for all the skills to maintain your suit when you can have some geeks do it for you?[/quote']Agreed. Besides, those geeks make for a great "collective" DNPC!

 

He could do it like Batman Beyond did and have the guy wearing the suit in radio communication with the support staff if he needs help operating a power or capability of the armor...

[JmOz]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

Original topic:

 

Power Armor Engineering

[Hawksmoor]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

I am ashamed to admit it but I liked the little bit I played with C:NM. It wasn't Champions, but it was interesting.

 

That said Defender and Team Defender were very cool, original and so worth stealing. Kudos for bringing them up.

 

Original Question.

 

Armorsmith

Weaponsmith

Inventor

SS: Physics

SS: Chemistry

SS: Computer Science

Computer Programming

Systems Operation

 

No need to go ultra specialized, just cover the basics. In fact Armor and Weaponsmith are not required. After all we (read as HERO) allow Defender (5e and 5er) to build *his* armor.

 

Hawksmoor

[Scifi_Toughguy]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

I am ashamed to admit it but I liked the little bit I played with C:NM. It wasn't Champions, but it was interesting.

 

That said Defender and Team Defender were very cool, original and so worth stealing. Kudos for bringing them up.

 

Hawksmoor

 

I'm not ashamed at all. I liked C:NM. I like it enough to use it as the basis for my campaign world.

 

According to the team defender write up in that book, the jock they got to operate the suit is no dummy. He's simply not as nerdtatstic as the rest of the team.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

Computer science and cybernetics for controls

Biology/Exobiology for artificial musculature?

Biophysics?

[Mike W]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

Well, he's already got a lot of the "stolen technolgy" the problem is that the guy who has been helping him fix/adapt it is The Tinkerer(Marvel Comics villain), and now the Tinkerer needs some "favors" so the hero has decided he needs to figure out how to build his own suit, since he feels he can no longer trust the equipment he has been using. But because of the haphazard, piecemeal approach the character has always taken to his equipment, when he puts his power armor together, it will likely have a similar feel - so sorting out which skils go with which systems is much more likely to be necessary than normal.

 

Thanks to all who have responded so far. Keep them coming, and I'll start repping whoever it will let me.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

So is he taking classes? Or trying to learn from books?

[CDad]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

SS: Optics for Enhanced Senses and Targeting.

 

 

 

My suggestion - if the character doesn't have a skill you feel necessary to build Power Armor from scratch, have him outsource it - he'd then owe several favors (READ plot devices)

[Mike W]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

The character is decently smart and has access to some decent labs at the team base(and if he talks fast, maybe Hank Pym's which, of course, would be first class). He has basic technological/computer skills and is essentially one of those people who learns by taking stuff apart, seeing how it works, and then learning from it. He's actually pretty smart and can fix a lot of the stuff he has now(basically, foci he picked up at crime scenes). But now he's looking to upgrade to actual power armor. So he's basically trying to accumulate enough "parts" to study that he can figure out how to build his own armor. He may have to outsource some things, or at least borrow Pym's lab once or twice to get the job done. If he relies on others too much, it will come back. I specifically make contacts a two way street, especially hero level types.

[JmOz]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

What tidbits you have said it sounds like you are running in a modified marvel verse where your characters are Avengers.

 

If the above is correct maybe he can find an old version of IM armor or schmatics there off...

[Vorsch]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

If you wanted to have evey skill needed to make power armour youd have a larger skill list than destroyer.

 

I mean skills are not well defined and can be general or very specific.

[Mike W]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

Marvel/DC combined universe. They aren't Avengers but the guy building the armor would like to be. They do have a couple of Avengers as contacts though.

[Scifi_Toughguy]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

There is also the cheap way out. Instead of having this character buy loads and loads of skills you can just simplify it to a few. An easy out would be PS: Power Armorer or PS: Power Armor construction. If thats too easy you can double the cost of skill levels for that skill only.

 

If the character already has the tinker and related skills I say just let him roleplay the whole thing. Why complicate matters? Like someone said before, they let Defender build his own armor. Don't get caught up in the detials.

[JmOz]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

There is also the cheap way out. Instead of having this character buy loads and loads of skills you can just simplify it to a few. An easy out would be PS: Power Armorer or PS: Power Armor construction. If thats too easy you can double the cost of skill levels for that skill only.

 

If the character already has the tinker and related skills I say just let him roleplay the whole thing. Why complicate matters? Like someone said before, they let Defender build his own armor. Don't get caught up in the detials.

 

I agree and disagree, my disagreement is on two small and nitpicky levels:

 

It should be called Power Armor Engineering and it should be a Science skill, otherwise I agree with you

[Scifi_Toughguy]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

Sorry, I'm still a newb! Your suggestions do make a ton of sense. We'll combine the two and take half credit.

[JmOz]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

I did not realise you were new, welcome, you've posted a lot in the last month. Don't feel like I was being critical, PS is a valid build, the differences are small detail things. SS would be more about cutting edge stuff while PS would be more day to day operations.

[Scifi_Toughguy]

Re: Building Power Armor

 

Oh, no offense was taken. I know I'm new and still pretty unfamiliar with this system. Your 'critique' was very valid and I appreciate the perspective on the system that it gave. Good points all around.