Random Thoughts 5.

[Rathorc Lemenger]

Here's an interesting question for all of you folks: If you could soup-up/adjust any of the Power Armours in any of the Rifts Books, what would you do with what ones? (side note: This is tied into the similar question over on the Dimension Books Thread.)

Signed,
Rathorc Lemenger.

[taalismn]

Here's an interesting question for all of you folks: If you could soup-up/adjust any of the Power Armours in any of the Rifts Books, what would you do with what ones? (side note: This is tied into the similar question over on the Dimension Books Thread.)

Signed,
Rathorc Lemenger.

The Northern Gun books already pretty much souped up the Samson with all the variant power armors, and revamping the Chipwells takes away some of the charm of bargain-basement kludgetech. Souping up Glitterboys comes to mind, with an eye towards addressing the problems of mobility, and certainly they have the size and space for a lot of add-ons with a sufficientlly advanced techbase to work with.

Hmmm....I'd go with the basic vanilla SAMAS as a project to upgrade...move the mini-missile launcher(s) to the wings, soup up the speed, and add a modular weapons pack to the freed-up forearm space ...that's pretty basic and reasonable improvement right off the bat there.
Once you start adding contra-gravity and techno-wizardry, though, it can go munchkin REALLY fast....

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

By soup-up do you mean....

make a better version?

add new tech stuff to the existing PA to make it better?

Add new (magic) stuff to the existing PA to make it better?

Those are all very different things.

[Rathorc Lemenger]

Well, what I meant when posing the question was stuff like adding more armour or different weapons or anything that would change it while still keeping the basic frame/body of it. Heck, you could even add an extra set of arms or even wings to, say, the Glitterboy.

Signed,
Rathorc Lemenger.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

Well, what I meant when posing the question was stuff like adding more armour or different weapons or anything that would change it while still keeping the basic frame/body of it. Heck, you could even add an extra set of arms or even wings to, say, the Glitterboy.

Signed,
Rathorc Lemenger.

Triax already did that =P

[dragonfett]

I don't remember seeing that.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

I don't remember seeing that.

Triax 2.

X-710 Hell Angel, Flying Glitter Boy. Not only can it fire its Boomgun while flying (in fact, it must be flying, as it has no pylons, and requires the armor to be in the air with the rockets engaged to stabilize it), it also has a pair of powerful Plasma ejectors (one on each forearm) and carries a PA/Robot sized particle beam rifle that hits for 1d6x10+10 that can be cabled into the armor for unlimited payload. And it can carry any of the new TX-H series hand-to-hand weapons.

There's also the X-700 Fat Boy, which has more armor than many Robots, and its main gun is a PAIR of Boom Guns that fire in tandem in a single housing.

As for what PA id alter....

The Striker SAMAS, just a little.

1 - remove the reference to the C-40R. Its obvious the thing doesn't carry one.
2 - add Northern Gun's UEL system to the Striker, to power the particle beam rifle it carries. Now that they are allies, i cant imagine NG not selling the system to the CS (or the CS just copying it and telling NG to whistle for it if they complain).
3 - replace the mini-missile launcher in the left arm with a modified Q4-44 "Drummer" (from Free Quebec) - i mean, it's a simple system - its just an auto-fed double-barrel shotgun. Fill the armor area/ammo with a 50/50 split of Plasma and High Explosive shotgun rounds. This gives the armor a non-energy weapon with a decent payload (i'd have to imagine you could fit about ~80 rounds into that arm housing even with the action for the shotgun in there) that can also allow them to clear areas with good radius-effect weapons.
4 - mounting space for a good Vibro Sword.

Thats really all it needs. It's already one of the best (barring Triax 2 shenanigans) man-sized infantry PAs out there, and it can fly, packs a lot of missiles, and has great armor for a non-Triax PA.

[boring7]

Modular add-ons to the lower-tier armors that represent someone who is progressing from the bargain-basement to something better.

One idea i’ve Been toying with for a while is the flying drone that makes a ground-pounder into a poor-man’s SAMAS.

[13eowulf]

In-game, and over time, I had a character with a Flying Titan that managed to add a pair of FIWS, Naruni Force Field, Power connector to run energy rifles or power handheld railguns indefinitely, additional missiles on the legs, and enhanced power and engine speed.
I wanted to attach an A.I. and autotargetting feature to the wing lasers for point-defence on missiles, never got there.
Also added a holster for a sidearm, just because, and silver-plated the FIWS blades.

[boring7]

CA-F3 "Kazooie"

Nicknames: Backpack Birdy, Lifter

M.D.C. by Location:
Laser Turrets (2; front and back) — 20 each
Forward windscreen (2) —7 each
Sensor Pods (2) — 8 each
*Directional Jets (6) — 12 each
Wings (2) — 17 each
Rear Jets (2) — 40 each
Main Body — 90

Flying: 300 (260) mph top speed. "Charging speed" is considered 120 mph. Secondary number is top speed while carrying an armored passenger.
Flying Range: approximately 1200 miles with passenger, functionally unlimited when unburdened and operating at or below 120 MPH. Operational ceiling of 20,000 feet.

Power source: Electric, with solar panels built into the wings. As long as the vehicle is running under 120 MPH and carrying less than 200 pounds (and it is daylight) its batteries do not deplete

Statistical Data
Height: 3 feet
Width: 12 feet
Length: 8 feet
Weight: 200 pounds.
Maximum load: 1000 pounds

Power System: Nuclear, average energy life is 20 years.
Cost: 90,000 credits.

Weapon Systems
1. Extended-range Pulse Lasers (2): a pair of lasers (1 forward, one back) with a 180 degree arc of fire

Mega-Damage: 2D6, 6d6 for burst fire
Range: 3000 feet (548.6 m)
Rate of Fire: 4 attacks per round, or by pilot
Payload: capacitors hold enough charge for 24 shots and can charge up at a rate of 1 per hour as long as flight speed is limited to "charging speed"

1. Spy Camera Array: The camera array is equipped with several different cameras and lenses for both wide angle and zoom close-ups; it can film up to 48 hours of video and shoot tens of thousands of still photo images. Unless programmed to do otherwise, the drone transmits a live video feed to its primary operator as well as stores it in a digital format.
2. Long-Range Laser Communications: Receive and transmit radio and video. Range 1,000 miles (1,600 km).
3. Advanced Radar: Extended radar range of 200 miles (320 km) and can track 20 targets simultaneously.

The Kazooie is designed to interface with most kinds of power armor and provide means of getting quickly (and relatively cheaply) to battle, providing aerial recon once present. A pilot straps herself and her armor lengthways along the drone's belly, lowers the aerodynamic windscreen, and is ready to fly. With the sensitive instrumentation of the drone communicating directly with her armor's HUD and the rather smart piloting software handling the specifics she can quickly fly to a danger zone, detach from the carrier like a bomb from a bay, and make a soft landing with the rechargeable "jet boot" retro-rockets that come standard with any new drone (replacements cost a mere 2000 credits from any reputable Chipwell Armaments dealer). When not being used to ferry its pilot/payload from one place to another the Kazooie can provide aerial reconnaissance and even fire support (though this is not recommended, as it is a fragile bird). It is even relatively stealthy, when operating at 10,000 feet or higher it has an effective prowl skill of 56.

Cloned a lot of parts from other vehicles. Like the NGR spy drone, and sky bikes.

[taalismn]

CA-F3 "Kazooie".

Now if only it wasn't Chipwell...

[RockJock]

I love the idea of an Archie updated SAMAS and Glitterboy.

For a SAMAS take a SIlver Eagle with two mini missiles on each forearm(from the Samurai SAMAS), four minis in the shoulders(USA SAMAS), Black Boxes( Wild Weasel SAMAS) with an AI to do the jamming, and a Shemarrian Short Railgun with small drum(Shemarrian origin). Alternatively trade the railgun and Blackboxes for a missile backpack(USA SAMAS option) and a handheld M-90(Semper Fi).

Not too different for a GB. Head lasers (Mark V from space), a handheld M-90(Semper Fi), Black Boxes( Wild Weasel SAMAS) with an AI to do the jamming(alternately using a targeting computer like the Triax GB for the railgun and a handheld Shemarrian Rifle run by the pilot.

Things like this are always fun to plot out.