How Do You Build A Silent Radio

[Acroyear II]

One of my players wants his superhero character to have a radio in his armor that when used by him cannot be heard by anyone except by those receiving his radio transmission. He says the military uses throat mics and ear pieces for these kind of radios. So, would I just have him buy High Range Radio Perception with the IIF limitation (hidden throat mic and ear piece). Will this cover the fact that when he speaks into the throat mic no one standing nearby can hear his transmission, or does he have to buy Invisible to Hearing Group on the HRRP? That would not make sense, would it?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Acroyear II

[Monolith]

You can buy the HRRH with the Concealed ability. Thus each 1 point would give a -1 to Hearing PER rolls for someone to try and hear him speaking into the radio.

[Acroyear]

You can still hear someone speaking with a throat mic. It's basically just a microphone strapped to your neck. You can speak more softly, but you're still speaking (some are good enough that you can whisper).

 

The benefit of this kind of mic is that it cuts down on a lot of ambient noises and allows the voice to come through more clearly (kind of like a stethascope) and it's usable while you are wearing things like a gas mask or something.

 

The concealed ability is best to simulate a real throat mic.

 

If he wants to be totally unheard, say, he's in some armor and the helmet is soundproof or something (perhaps he speaks through a voice modulator externally) he should buy HRRH with invisible power effects to "hearing." HRRH is technically a radio sense and such communcation can only be heard that way, anyway without the visible lim, but if the GM rules a radio can be heard with normal hearing then this is the way to go - most radios as we depict them are actually normal hearing AND radio based. That is... we communicate in hearing, it's "converted to radio" and sent back out in hearing. When you listen to a radio station, the signal to the machine is radio hearing... but it broadcasts that to you in normal hearing.

[DocMan]

I'd just rule that he can talk normally and risk being overheard, or if he wants to keep things quiet he can use a skill called "Subvocalize". This would allow him to buzz his vocal cords enough for the mike to pick up, but not be heard. A failed role would indicate either that the message did not make sense to the listener, or that he failed to be quiet.

 

Doc

[austenandrews]

I'd just call that a SFX decision. No points involved.

 

-AA

[DocMan]

I considered looking at it as SFX, but in my opinion there are definate advantages involved, and the skill use seemed the proper way to approach it.

 

YMMV.

 

Doc

[Derek Hiemforth]

Try buying it as Mind Link, any one mind, recipient must also have Mind Link. The fact that it's "really" a radio is just SFX.

[Rick]

Ummm....Mind Link

[Rick]

That's what I get for not reading through every post. Sorry man.