Gas Masks and Attacks against them

[CptPatriot]

I was looking around at gas mask writeups and the majority of them are written similarly to this:

 

Gas Mask: Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing) (10 Active Points); OIF (-½),

1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Hour (-0). Total cost: 7 points.

 

The reason I'm posting this is that the writeup seems wrong. While the writeup works for the majority of inhalant based attacks, wouldn't most gas masks be more accurately written up as:

 

More Accurate Gas Mask:  LS  (Expanded Breathing: ImpurePoisonous Air) (5 Active Points); OIF (-1/2),

1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Hour (-0)

 

or this, if your GM is a bit strict:

 

Protective Filter Mask:  LS  (Self-Contained Breathing) (10 Active Points); Must Have Oxygen to Breathe (-1), OIF (-1/2)

 

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Archie

Edited January 27, 2017 by cptpatriot

[doccowie]

I think you are entirely correct.

Depending on what you are modelling, any of these could work perfectly.

The first build would basically be a sealed system with a limited attached oxygen supply. Walk through gas, go scuba diving - whatever.

The second would be a protection against hazardous atmospheres (depending on the hazard Life Support immunity to toxins may be more appropriate)

The third really seems like a defence against specific NND attacks - but again may be the most effective way of modelling.

As for which is the best option - maybe chat to your GM. Describe what you want to be immune to. If your GM suggests these hazards would be NND vs toxin, or NND vs selfcontained breathing, then you have your answer.

Skin-absorbed toxins will bypass the second choice, atypical tixins will bypass the first.

In the end, the GM can always get you :- )

[Ninja-Bear]

Well I guess on the gas mask. The first write up is more I think of a SCBA that hazmat and firefighters use.

 

The second is more of traditional army gas masks but instead of impure air perhaps poisened air. But that is semantics.

[bigdamnhero]

I confess I hadn't thought about it before, but you're right. Most "gas masks," as the term is commonly used, are air filtering, not air supplying, tho comics and genre fiction often blur that line.

 

So yeah, I think LS: Expanded Breathing works. LS: Immunity to [poisons], Limitation: "only vs airborne toxins," might be closer. That would also let you specify what a given mask does/doesn't work against, since different masks filter out different things. That's probably crunchier than you need for most games, but could really be critical in, say, a post-apocalypse world. For most genres, Expanded Breathing is probably close enough.