Type 3 robot exoframe and Armor rating

[weirdguy564]

So I don't play the Heroes Unlimited series that much, despite owning them. My group plays Rifts for the most part where armor rating doesn't really come into play that much, if ever.

In Heroes Unlimited there is one hero category for Robots, but one of the types of 4 robots are type-3, exoframe power armor. They have an armor rating just like all of the other robots do.

It seems to me to be a bit unfair if the power armor acts like regular armor, such as knight armor or bulletproof vests. In other words, if you role a 1D20+strike bonuses and get a 1-4, you miss, if you roll a 5 to the armor rating you hit the body armor, and if you roll over the armor rating, you hit the guy inside.

None of the other types of robots have that issue. There you roll a 1D20+strike bonus, and a 1-4 is a miss, 5 to the armor rating bounces off and does nothing, and a hit above the armor rating hits and does damage to the robot SDC.

My guess is that the type-3 exoframe is meant to be just like the other robots and can bounce shots off of it, and the pilot is only at risk after the SDC of the exoframe is all gone.

Right?

[Yukon]

That's how I do it. All robots I treat the same as "Natural Armor".

[syntheticlife4m]

Yeah, that's how I treat it as well, otherwise there's no point to that sub-class if they're still injured as if wearing regular armor.

[Stone Gargoyle]

Wouldn't it depend on if the exoframe covered the entire body or just was an open set of arms and legs? I guess it should be Natural AR, but wouldn't you make exceptions?

[drewkitty ~..~]

snipp...
In Heroes Unlimited there is one hero category for Robots, but one of the types of 4 robots are type-3, exoframe power armor. They have an armor rating just like all of the other robots do.

It seems to me to be a bit unfair if the power armor acts like regular armor, such as knight armor or bulletproof vests. In other words, if you role a 1D20+strike bonuses and get a 1-4, you miss, if you roll a 5 to the armor rating you hit the body armor, and if you roll over the armor rating, you hit the guy inside.

...snip

After looking through the HU2 core book, I can't find what you are saying above.

far as I can find ALL the types of robots...from bot to android... Get Vehicular AR (Nat. AR but for vehicles built for combat).

That is unless they are just the frames like the mecha (called a 'loader' there) Ripply piloted in the movie 'Aliens'. Then the char would have to make-due with body armor listed in the equipment section of the core book.

[Stone Gargoyle]

snipp...
In Heroes Unlimited there is one hero category for Robots, but one of the types of 4 robots are type-3, exoframe power armor. They have an armor rating just like all of the other robots do.

It seems to me to be a bit unfair if the power armor acts like regular armor, such as knight armor or bulletproof vests. In other words, if you role a 1D20+strike bonuses and get a 1-4, you miss, if you roll a 5 to the armor rating you hit the body armor, and if you roll over the armor rating, you hit the guy inside.

...snip

After looking through the HU2 core book, I can't find what you are saying above.

far as I can find ALL the types of robots...from bot to android... Get Vehicular AR (Nat. AR but for vehicles built for combat).

That is unless they are just the frames like the mecha (called a 'loader' there) Ripply piloted in the movie 'Aliens'. Then the char would have to make-due with body armor listed in the equipment section of the core book.

The Robotics rules do not differentiate between the types of robots and AR type, except to say that an exoframe/power armor has less of a maximum AR available to it. In the fluff text for power armor in the Robotics section, it uses Ripley's loader as an example. Yet another reason someone needs to rewrite Robotics.

[drewkitty ~..~]

PB Trivia: In the HU:AU book in the equipment section the Exo-Frames and power armors are listed separately.

[Stone Gargoyle]

PB Trivia: In the HU:AU book in the equipment section the Exo-Frames and power armors are listed separately.

Regardless, in the Robotics category they fall within the same classification. Not that anyone I know would settle for just an exoframe when they could build power armor.

[drewkitty ~..~]

PB Trivia: In the HU:AU book in the equipment section the Exo-Frames and power armors are listed separately.

Regardless, in the Robotics category they fall within the same classification. Not that anyone I know would settle for just an exoframe when they could build power armor.

Which is why it is listed under the "PB Trivia" heading. And I was a why to inform those not in the know that they are there.

[Stone Gargoyle]

PB Trivia: In the HU:AU book in the equipment section the Exo-Frames and power armors are listed separately.

Regardless, in the Robotics category they fall within the same classification. Not that anyone I know would settle for just an exoframe when they could build power armor.

Which is why it is listed under the "PB Trivia" heading. And I was a why to inform those not in the know that they are there.

AU does not specifically address whether exoframes have normal AR or Natural AR though. I would think they would have normal AR since they don't really cover one's body at all.

[drewkitty ~..~]

The AR listed...I would take the AR of the Frame itself & thus VAR.....at least for the lt Exo-F. The utility and combat Exo-F's are up in the air like you said, because they say they are list to have armor. This is one thing I would like to see changed. To have the AR for Robots and Vehicles listed as R.A.R. and V.A.R. respectively. This is one of the "Confusion Issues" that could be easily fixed in a 'new printing' of a book. So newbs don't have to hunt to see if R/V AR is meant or normal AR is meant.

[Yukon]

As an option, what if robotic frame AR was treated as a halfway point? If the attack misses the frame (over AR) and hits the person, damage gets subtracted from SDC and HP. If rolled under the AR, the frame is hit, and no damage is dealt to either. Not sure how I feel about this myself, but just throwing it in there for something to think about..

[Stone Gargoyle]

As an option, what if robotic frame AR was treated as a halfway point? If the attack misses the frame (over AR) and hits the person, damage gets subtracted from SDC and HP. If rolled under the AR, the frame is hit, and no damage is dealt to either. Not sure how I feel about this myself, but just throwing it in there for something to think about..

That's pretty much how I've been doing it in my house rules. The exoframe will only take damage if it is specificallt targeted. If the roll is over the AR and under the roll needed to damage the exoframe, it hits the person.