Killer Cyborg wrote:I guess they essentially used the "taking SDC damage while in MDC armor" rules into account for those numbers. Not that they would have necessarily thought of it that way.
I guess they did a lot of falling... or else a lot of Phase Weapons made their way to Tolkeen and we did not find out about it.
Or there is that whole GI Joe MDC breakaway already in effect and for some reason Tolkeenites opted not to vape unarmored guys and for some reason just sicked a bunch of SDC-inflicting animal familiars or non-Vibro-wielding skeletons to pummel them to death out of cruelty, wanting to spare them a quick death.
Or, pet theory: the Vanguard mass-infiltrated the CS infantry (via that Merc Adventures spell that masks them from Psi-Stalkers along with Invisibility Superior) and vandalized all the Dead Boy armor with Lifeward spells they somehow camouflaged to prevent them from being removed.
Considering that psychics work within the Vanguard, the Stalkers within Psi-Battalion could have been partially co-opted by the Vanguard enough to realize the benefit of the Lifeward and to turn a blind eye to it to improve the survival chances of their troops. Perhaps the Vanguard voluntarily offered some sweet PPE in exchange to convert growing amounts of Psi-Bat to be allies.
Killer Cyborg wrote:The CS retired 3.2 million old-style SAMAS when the new styles came out.
Which means that they have ~3.2 million SAMAS Pilots.
Not sure about that, it could be 2 SAMAS per pilot, or 2 pilot per SAMAS. Not sure there is any actually knowing the ratio. The number of power armor units produced could have exceeded the number of people propertly trained to use them. The CS may have over-estimated their recruitment drive or how easy it is to train illiterate scared people.
Having the number of PA exceed the pilots could allow you to replace a damaged SAMAS with an undamaged one more readily, keeping the pilots active while the suit is being repaired or re-armed (those mini-missiles need to be replaced, rail gun round drums re-loaded, etc)
Conversely, having 2 or 3 or 4 pilots share the same SAMAS would allow the suit to make full use of its nuclear capabilities through 24-hour operation in 12 or 8 or 6 hour shifts. So long as they did not get damaged or have to deplete their ammo through encounters, this would be a good idea to best utilize resources. But if they got in an encounter during the shift, their SAMAS-squad would need a fresh unit while the old one is sent to the CS-Operators to get an MDC replenish.
Not as if the CS is smart enough to acquire the Naruni Forcefields for SAMAS before deporting them, so repair down-time will be an issue. Not smart to send a damaged unit out on patrol when you can help it, so they would probably be taken out of circulation even when the damage is very minor to lessen the chance of losing them.
The CS may have simply realized how useful they were and amassed a huge stockpile...
I mean, for all we know the number of SAMAS may have exceeded the number of environmental Dead Boy armor!
I would not look in this so much as -we value human life and want to spend millions to preserve it- so much as -we burn through Dead Boy EBA quick an waste thousands of credits when they die, in some cases it is cheaper to make a SAM, the pilots are more mobile, cover more ground, can better kill opponents, etc
The reason they would produce more SAMAS than Dead Boy EBA (if my assumption proves true) is also why they might start cycling in the more effective units like the Super-SAMAS, better to keep the old stuff as back-ups and mass-produce the cutting-edge stuff which utterly outmatches most opponents and gets better mileage.
Although... if you are going to take out millions of SAMAS I hope they re-appropriate their nuclear batteries or find some way to pause their countdowns, otherwise the clock would be pointlessly ticking away on them.
Sureshot wrote:You do realize that's very likely a number that was pulled out of thin air right. Who makes that many suits of armor then suddenly retire and mothball them simply because newer ones are avaialble.
How much thought the author put into the number does not matter, it is canon and we must justify it within the world.
I consider them a reserve used if the CS is put on the defensive. It is more economic that way. The classic SAMAS is a wealth of kinetic weaponry, with a rail gun and mini-missiles. Newer units like the Super SAM on the other hand can pretty much fire indefinitely with their nuclear-powered plasma cannons, so they do not pay for ammo and can inflict more damage, stuff like that. They can inflict mass destruction on the front lines, but if the CS is ever invaded by mages enchanted by Impervious to Energy en-masse, they are going to have a bad morning with classic SAMAS are equipped to meet them.
They do not even have to Burst you. A classic SAM can simply use its speed to keep a safe distance and use the massive range of its rail gun to single-shot you with 1-4 MD at a time and whittle you down over several minutes. Sure, you can keep renewing your special magical shields, but maybe the CS will pepper your unshielded stuff, like your special hover-bike, instead. Or maybe they simply wait-out your shield and then begin to pepper your permanent armor with the single-rail shots. They seem so small... but they add up, and the SAMAS has a lot of ammo, and will not get tired, can fly around for hours and whittle you down. Or if they want, they can double-mini-missile you and inflict a decent amount of damage for the final blow.
Or heck.. a pair of SAMAS can close-range with you and begin attacking with body flip-throw. Good luck launching attacks at them even if you have some cool Battlefury blade if you have no -next attack- to ever initiate them. Their PA training will probably give them more melee attacks than the mage, so they simply body-flip until the mage runs out of attacks and then use their extra attacks to do a rail gun burst or punch you or pick you up and drop you from a high altitude (lessee what your AoI does gainst fall damage mages!)
Or maybe the SAMAS just fly a few dozen feet above you carrying a satchel of grenades (cheaper than missiles) and drop them on the mage. BOOM. The Super SAMAS forearm Glaunchers were probably designed based on retroSAMAS doing stuff like that.