Shake and Bake

[The Galactus Kid]

OK, am I the only one who found the shaker cannon of the tarantula glitter boy from Free Quebec to be a little crappy? After reading the description, I was expecting something on par or maybe a little weaker than the standard boomgun. Not only was it not nearly as effective a weapon, but the weapon itself is harmful to the person using it. Not cool. Is there errata on this, or is it meant to be a crappy prototype weapon?

[Danger]

OK, am I the only one who found the shaker cannon of the tarantula glitter boy from Free Quebec to be a little crappy? After reading the description, I was expecting something on par or maybe a little weaker than the standard boomgun. Not only was it not nearly as effective a weapon, but the weapon itself is harmful to the person using it. Not cool. Is there errata on this, or is it meant to be a crappy prototype weapon?

Can't say that I recall. I'll have to take a look at this one tonite.

[Dead Boy]

Generally speaking, I wasn't all that impressed with the alternate weapons on any of the FQ Glitter Boy variants. Other than logistics, why on earth would you want to use anything else? Oh sure, that one with the mortars is pretty nifty for shooting over terrain and obstacals from the safety of cover, but other than that, what's the point?

[The Galactus Kid]

While we are at it please feel free to discuss the weapon for the GiGi glitter girl.

[Jefffar]

To my understanding, most of the GB weapons in FQ got nerfed signifigantly.

A few other things got left out entirely, like the Glitter Tank

[Scooter the Outlaw]

I thought most of the new Glitter Boys were a waste of space. They should have just made the old one modular with swappable equipment on hardpoints. The two I didn't mind were the Side Kick and Taurus, they were kind of neat and looked cool. I just found most of them to be inferior to the standard GB, so what was the point? If they'd just given GBs some equipment packs those Reload Teams could have been trained in swapping in mid-combat, that would have been much better, and cooler, than what they did by introducing so many stupid variants.

That said, I wasn't adverse to everything about them. I just felt they were redundant. I like the Glitter Girl's gun, for example--something lighter and more subtle, a little more versatile. But making it a curvy, chromed-up power armor nerd's wet dream was pretty weird, if you ask me.

[The Galactus Kid]

OK, well I spent 8 hours on a plane yesterday so I read FQ from cover to cover. Here are some problems that I have.

1) Shake and Bake is touted to be a massive cannon to replace the boom gun, but it is more of a liability than an asset. Not a fan.

2) GiGi gun. Good Idea. weak as hell

3) Taurus. good. I wished it had a hand to hand listing, even if it said "same as traditional GB"

4) Violator. laser causing problems? poop. not gonna use that rule.

Don't get me wrong, there is alot that I like, but there are things that I don't agree with. thoughts? opinions?

[Jefffar]

Like I said, most of those weapons got nerfed sevrely compaired to the origional.

For example, I think the GiGi's gun might have been 4D6 (FQ has access to Triax Pump Rounds remember) and capable of bursts and sprays.

Most of the other guns probably were origionally at least double their damage too.


Things got nerfed in hopes of stopping the Power Creep.

[The Galactus Kid]

I still think it's lame. I think I'm going to post varient damages, ranges and rules within the next few days

[grandmaster z0b]

I've always wondered why nobody thought to put any kind of weapon the the GB's left hand, I mean apart from hand to hand combat it serves little purpose. It could hold a large vibro weapon, in fact some sort of hand2hand weapon should be standard issue.
Or it could have the two-shot mini missile launcher that SAMAS have if not a launcher with more ammo.

Why did they nerf the GBs? If there was one thing that was standard from the original book it was that GB had the most impressive and damaging weapon available. I can understand why one would want to nerf overly powerful hand guns but if anything I feel that the GB was a great example of what power armour should be; something to be feared.

[Comrade Corsarius]

That's why the Triax GB is much better than the standard. It can fire the BG without using it's hands as it can be voice-operated, leaving the hands free for other weapons.

FQ GBs have a left-arm mounted system, but you have to wonder how useful any paired weapon is, especially with such a huge weapon. With the triax system you can 'lock on' and leave the weapon to track by itself, but remember that PA is just a human hand in a metal-augmented sleeve. This means that you can only fire left-handed if you are left handed. Not that many people are ambidexterous. I mean, try shooting two rifles at the same time and getting any hope of accuracy.

To add to the GB's system you need some fire-and-forget system like missiles (once again, the Triax GB has this)

[Svartalf]

To my understanding, most of the GB weapons in FQ got nerfed signifigantly.

A few other things got left out entirely, like the Glitter Tank

You gotta love Kevin, he's got that, like, respect, for the work of others...

I understand that he nerfed Carella's stuff in Phaseworld... some of it still looks munchkinny... but nerfing down and overediting Free Quebec? now I understand why I feel I got stolen from... and I'm STILL waiting for the end of Rifts Australia...

[The Galactus Kid]

about the triax GB, if you can let the boom gun track and fire on its own, how many APM does it have?

We ruled that if you are using the boomgun that you get your WP bonuses etc, but if it was on its own, it didn't get the WP bonuses. It doesn't make sense for it to take the pilots APM of it is automatic, so we ruled that it had half of the pilots APM. I still don't even like that number as it should be a constant number. 5 sounds good. Alas, another thing detailed in the description and then dropped from the actual weapon text.

Speaking of which, what is the rate of fire for the mini-missiles of the glitter-boy killer? OH YEAH...THEY AREN'T LISTED. i cried.

[Phadeout]

Don't post much on these forums, mostly I skulk around Now I do have to say, FQ was a disappointment to me.

First, my thoughts on the Glittergirl: Ever seen the one from South America? That is a much much better representation of a Female Type GB. Use it?

No rules on how GB combat really works. I.E. any dodge modifications due to pilons? Naw, you can fire and move as you wish without even a negative to dodge. And no one can fire the same time as you, right before or after, so you can still dodge... Love that lack of rules... Hell, we'll even give you a dodge bonus!

Now, onto the Tarantula. I love this GB. I just think it's cool. It's neat!
I did laugh myself silly on the piddly piddly damage that this thing could do. 2400ft range, causes heat soak, maximun number of shots per round 3!?! Ok, so based on this I make the damage:

4d6x10 M.D.

Why so much? 3 shots per round, 2400ft range, enough kinetic force to knock over a cyborg that tries to use it... 4d6x10 is the same damage that the Particle beem rifle used by the Glitterboys in Rifts: Space.

A hand held c-29 hellfire can do 1d6x10MD for cripes sakes.


Love how consitent rifts is. I really love rifts, but it gets annoying when Kev can't make things mesh a little better, and the fact that there is an ENTIRE book called the GMG that could have fixed a few nice errors like this... but... NO. We will just copy paste.

Ok, that's it for now... have to go have a laugh at this...

[Phadeout]

Ok, a little more insight:

I also find it funny that the Silver Wolf GB's little Particle Beam does 1d6x10+6 (hhhhmmmm, the EXACT same little weird number used for the damage on the Tarantula) and can be fired 200 times in a row before you have any problems. Copy paste happy on that damage?


I'd almost be tempted to turn the Tarantula's weapon into a giant version of the Plasma Thrower from Mercenaries, or at least make the plasma or M.D.napalm thrower a secondary weapon that is carried by the GB.

And, I'd make the Tarantula take 50% less damage from Plasma/Heat based attacks. Which would be a nice treat for all those Plasma missile happy CS Teams that thing their missiles will roast GB's at will.

[R Ditto]

Don't post much on these forums, mostly I skulk around Now I do have to say, FQ was a disappointment to me.

First, my thoughts on the Glittergirl: Ever seen the one from South America? That is a much much better representation of a Female Type GB. Use it?

IIRC, the GB in South America was a GB that had each one "form fitted" for each pilot that got one. The art was simply of one form fitted to a female pilot.

No rules on how GB combat really works. I.E. any dodge modifications due to pilons? Naw, you can fire and move as you wish without even a negative to dodge. And no one can fire the same time as you, right before or after, so you can still dodge... Love that lack of rules... Hell, we'll even give you a dodge bonus!

I think dodging would be effectively impossible when the GB is anchored to the ground. By the time the recoil system was done, the pylons would be able to retract quickly, meaning the GB might only be 'immobile' for 2-3 seconds when it fires. The GB is humanoid, is fairly agile for its size/weight, and having a dodge bonus for "elite" training makes sense to me.

Now, onto the Tarantula. I love this GB. I just think it's cool. It's neat!
I did laugh myself silly on the piddly piddly damage that this thing could do. 2400ft range, causes heat soak, maximun number of shots per round 3!?! Ok, so based on this I make the damage:

4d6x10 M.D.

Why so much? 3 shots per round, 2400ft range, enough kinetic force to knock over a cyborg that tries to use it... 4d6x10 is the same damage that the Particle beem rifle used by the Glitterboys in Rifts: Space.

So, you only have a problem with the plasma gun?
No complaint about the laser or rail gun of the QST-333 "Shaker" Tri-Cannon?

Okay, so the plasma gun portion of the "Shaker" Cannon has a few bugs, but it is still slightly more powerful and better ranged than many other plasma weapons. That is quite an achievement in and off itself, especially considering there is also a laser and rail gun crammed in there.
The recoil problem is likely related to improved range and damage, by accelerating the plasma to higher speeds.
But overall, the description does say the "Shaker" cannon has its share of problems.

It is good compared to plasma weapons on other PA and vehicles, many of which can barely compare to infantry scale plasma weapons. Then again, many PA and vehicle energy weapons sometimes seems to have trouble comparing to infantry scale weapons.

That 4D6x10 is insanely overkill. If it was meant to be that powerful, they wouldn't have bothered to also mount a laser and a rail gun in the "Shaker" cannon.
I could see the damage increased up to 2D6x10 MD since it is the heart of the "Shaker" cannon, but not any more than that.

The orbitals from Mutants in Orbit are apparently far more advanced in some areas, and even that powerful PBC can only fire a limited number of times and has a slow recharge rate for those limited shots. That and the PBC is built into the GB Mk IV, and isn't a rifle. It also happens to be a particle beam, not a plasma weapon like in the "Shaker" cannon, which means there is a major difference in how damage is inflicted.
I might also note that the orbitals had over 2 centuries to develop that GB, while FQ hasn't had as long and doesn't have access to as much intact pre-rifts tech. On a scary side note, the GB Mk IV had been in use for 75 years as of 101 PA.

A hand held c-29 hellfire can do 1d6x10MD for cripes sakes.

E-clip based weapons can put out a lot of power in a short period of time, something nuclear powered things can't exactly do without one really large nuclear power source. As I mentioned before, many PA and vehicle mounted energy weapons seem to have trouble comparing to infantry scale weapons powered by e-clips.

Heck, look at the one 'anti-armor' laser rifle that drains an entire e-clip in a single shot and packs more punch than many weapons out there, infantry or vehicle based.

*snip*

Ok, a little more insight:

I also find it funny that the Silver Wolf GB's little Particle Beam does 1d6x10+6 (hhhhmmmm, the EXACT same little weird number used for the damage on the Tarantula) and can be fired 200 times in a row before you have any problems. Copy paste happy on that damage?

Copy paste damage?
That's an interesting way of putting it.
I don't see any problem with the damage.

The description says the weapon has trouble overheating after 10 minutes of heavy use, or roughly 200 shots.
That basically comes out to firing 5 times or more per melee round for 40 melee rounds. Even then, it only has a chance of shutting down for a few minutes due to overheating.
After that, it's bck up and running and ready to go shooting stuff up again.
I can understand why the weapon has such problems.
Hand held particle beams don't have problems since you have a lot less armor holding heat in and you have to stop to reload them, giving them a little extra time to cool off. Vehicle based ones will have better cooling systems, preventing such problems.

I'd almost be tempted to turn the Tarantula's weapon into a giant version of the Plasma Thrower from Mercenaries, or at least make the plasma or M.D.napalm thrower a secondary weapon that is carried by the GB.

It's a three in one weapon, the weapon would have to be totally overhauled and redesigned to do something like that.
On a side note, while I heard of it before, I didn't have much like finding anything about a Plasma Thrower in Rifts Mercenaries. Where is it listed at?

And, I'd make the Tarantula take 50% less damage from Plasma/Heat based attacks. Which would be a nice treat for all those Plasma missile happy CS Teams that thing their missiles will roast GB's at will.

The Tarantula is a Glitter Boy, it's armor is laser reflective, not heat resistant. The thing has heat resistant plates and cooling systems to deal with the heat of the weapon.
There is no mention of MDC type damage from the heat, only that it can cause all sorts of heat related problems to anything else like if it was mounted on a vehicle.
To take half from heat based damage, the thing would have to be using actual armor designed to resist heat, and not just some extra insulation and cooling systems.
Being able to resist heat that can soften welds and mess up electronics is one thing, being able to resist temps that can likely vaporize steel in the fraction of a second is another matter all together.

[Phadeout]

First, sorry on the Mercenaries thing... The M.D. Napalm and Plasma thrower are on page 72 and 73 of World Book 10 Juicer Uprising.

Ok, back to the damage thing... After talking to my players, they think, hey, make it the same as the regular GB. 3d6x10 MD.

Now, if you think 1d6x10+6 is fine, then go for it... Now let's take a look at the Super Samas. Hmm, it has built in Unlimited firing 1d6x10 cannons... ohoh... and you can fire them both at the same target for 2d6x10 damage. There is no way it would be out done by the Super Sam which has compartivily small plasma weapons (and there are Lasers built in to the same weapons). This throws your idea of the built in P.A. not being able to handle it. Heck, the Super Sam can deal out 2d6x10 M.D. and can throw the Sam through the air at 500MPH.
[granted, we do know the super sam is very very high powered]

The Shake and Bake is a Unique plasma weapon. It can only be effectively used by the Tarantula or a Supernatural Fire Impervious creature (could see a fire dragon loving this thing if you could get power to it).

Due to it being Unique, it has limitations even beyond the Boom Gun. Extremely short range (granted, it is Plasma), 3 shots per round, and the heat signature it's gonna leave will stick out like a flare on a moonless night.

It has been mentioned before, the FQ book was Nerfed. Keep that in mind.


--1d6x10+6 way too little. The built in rail gun is more useful than the build in plasma gun due to it's limitations. Obviously this was not the intended purpose of the Shake and Bake. The 1d6x10 MD rail gun was meant as a Secondary weapon. Most built in Secondary weapons have 1/2 to 1/3 the damage of primary and usually have up to 2x the range.
--2d6x10 reasonable, though not enough for a 3 shot per melee limit, if you could fire at will - with say a 200 shot limit like the Silver Wolf, then I'd say 2d6x10.
--3d6x10 sounds about right, they made a weapon that can do as much damage as a boom gun and would suit the fact that it is a GB and there for on par with a regular GB. You can do the damage of a boom gun with a bunch of negatives (like heat signature instead of sonic boom, can't stand near most things without them melting, AND 3 shots max per round, and 1/4 the range of a boom gun).
--4d6x10, ok, maybe a little much...


On the Resistant to Plasma thing? Well, the Shake and Bake does 1d6 M.D. to anyone other than the Tarantula when they use it... Which means the Tarantula itself must be able to soak up 6M.D. without trouble (which means it can soak up to say about 8M.D. at least 3 times per melee).

1. You could say that plasma weapons then do one less die of damage (to a minum of 0).
2. You could say that plasma does 1/2 damage (like the laser resistant armor - same rule).
3. You could say that the amor negates the first 1d4+6 points of M.D. fire damage (or just go with .

I use 2 or 3 [with the -8 MD].

[grandmaster z0b]

Is the 4d6x10 MDC for the dual artilery GB? Or is that the Taurus?

[Comrade Corsarius]

4d6x10 is the 'space' glitter boy, an impressive machine.

The Taurus is the one with two guns (neither of which is as powerful as the BG) for use as an artillery platform. However, there is a picture of one shooting down a PA as counter-air, so go figure.

IMHO, the two 'alternate' GBs are a bit of a waste of time. The Tarantula uses a really daft system of wings to offset recoil (kind of like holding a parachute in front of your standard glitter boy and saying 'the air pressure will offset the recoil'). The Taurus is supposed to be used as an Arty platform, but seems to be used for just about everything, and is not as efficient as the standard USA-G10. The 'shake and bake' system seems okay in concept, but is stupid in application. Why have a system that uses three different weapon systems? Why especially when all are inferior to the RG-14 'boom gun', especially when the tarantula is supposed to have the same battlefield job as the USA-G10? It seems a waste of effort to have multiple weapons (requiring extra training for maintenence, as well as needless problems of supply and repair). Remember that FQ doesn't have the resources of a military as we know it. That means that they would likely use just a single unit that works well, rather than multiple units that all do the same job. (In WWII, the Italian Air Force had several different fighter aircraft operating at the same time, each of which did the same thing, but each of which required different spares and maintenence! It was one of the downfalls of the Regia Aeronautica).

I'd just scrap the Taurus and Tarantula and go with the Silver Wolf (a VERY nice unit indeed), the USA-G10, or QGB-100 (a 'near perfect' design, and the benchmark by which all other ground-pounding Powered Armours are set), the T-550 or QGB-5-50 (an even more superior GB system with enhanced weapons and capability), the QBG-2-20 'glitter girl' with a less-nerfed weapon (I'd put it in the range of the shemarrian rail gun), and the QPA-98 'sidekick' (an excellent addition to the Glitter Legions).

As for weapons? The Taurus with it's hopeless high-powered mortars doing all of 1d6x10 each (and with only six rounds per gun to boot!) or twin 'high-powered' laser cannons doing a lazy 1d4x10 each (at only 4000 feet) is ridiculous and illogical with the rest of GB development, let alone the 'semi-experimental' shake'n'bake monstrosity.

Let's put this into perspective: In this modern world aircraft such as the MiG 1.42, the F-22 and the F-35 are currently in development (well, the MiG is in development purgatory on its way to hell, but never mind). Now assume that for whatever reason there is a global war. Ask anyone for a reason if you can't think of your own. Now would we suddenly throw the F-35 into combat conditions without development, or would we continue to produce the impressive Harrier IIplus or Sea Harrier mk II, which fills the gap nicely and has all the bugs worked out of it to boot? Of course we'd continue to develop what we hope would be a superior system, but we're not likely to be re-equipping whole squadrons out there with them, are we?

[grandmaster z0b]

I would have been happy for the Taurus to do huge damage to an large area I mean it is artillery (the King of the battlefield) after all.

[R Ditto]

I like the extra GBs. It gives versatility, which is handy. A it better than simply trying to make a single type of unit be able to handle just about any type of situation. Sort of like US WWII aircraft, more or less having something designed for each type of task instead of just having a few things that do a lot. Stupid in some ways, handy in others.

Those Taurus Mortar rounds have got to be packing at least 10 pounds of explosives. Using something comparable to the basic NG type explosives would put it at a max of 160 MD per round, or go with more potent stuff that does up to 2 MD per ounce, then you can get a nice 5D6x10 out of those mortars...
Pack in something comparable to NG 4 (1D4 per ounce @ 160 ounces) and you got 1D6x100.
Toss in something comparable to NG 6 (1D6 per ounce @ 160 ounces) and you got something like 2D4x100+160 MD.

Toss in proximity, timed or variable fuses.
See Super SAMAS, see Super SAMAS point and laugh and Taurus, see Super SAMAS panic when round doesn't pass by and explodes just 10ft away, catching it with a few hundred MD blast... See Super SAMAS pry self from impression in ground and wondering what the heck just happened.

Or fire it and have it set to where it explodes a meter past an obstacle it fired over, or have a bunch of them set on timers and fired a bit in front of an enemy... even if it doesn't explode in the middle of them, having explosions popping up or seeing apparent duds in the ground will stir things up.

I do think it's neat that each Taurus is assigned it's own reload team, which packs something like 96 mortar rounds in their vehicle. Not to mention the GG assault gun for a backup weapon and a side kick to watch over the Taurus and reload team.

First, sorry on the Mercenaries thing... The M.D. Napalm and Plasma thrower are on page 72 and 73 of World Book 10 Juicer Uprising.

Ah, ok.

*snip*
Heck, the Super Sam can deal out 2d6x10 M.D. and can throw the Sam through the air at 500MPH.
[granted, we do know the super sam is very very high powered]

The Super SAMAS is 2.4 tons and can fly 500mph, with half that weight just being the flight system... that is a lot of power there, and those are some really big air intakes.
Since the weapons are practically on the flight system part of the PA, it likely uses the air intakes and all that raw power to be able to take in an super heat a whole lot of air, creating a lot more effective plasma since it can draw in more "matter" to super heat. That means more efficient plasma production allowing for more to be done in a smaller area.

The Shaker gun apparently has a no such massive air intakes or huge extra power source to aid in plasma production.
That, and it doesn't seem like FQ is going to be cornering the plasma weapon tech market anytime soon.

The Shake and Bake is a Unique plasma weapon. It can only be effectively used by the Tarantula or a Supernatural Fire Impervious creature *snip*

One thing I think is funny, it says the weapon is tied into the Tarantula's power source, then it says it can be used by a cyborg.
Since when is a cyborg going to be packing the kind of power source a GB has?
Makes me wonder if it is supposed to be 1D6x10+6 after all...
Especially with the line that says it sacrifices the 'unparalleled' range and power of a boom gun for greater versatility.(line just above 'primary purpose')

I don't see any mention of it having its own power source, so that means it can't be used by something unless it happens to have a nuclear power source to tie the weapon into.

Due to it being Unique, it has limitations even beyond the Boom Gun. Extremely short range (granted, it is Plasma), 3 shots per round, and the heat signature it's gonna leave will stick out like a flare on a moonless night.[.quote]

Looking at other plasma weapons, and some other energy weapons, the Shaker is not as short ranged.

It has been mentioned before, the FQ book was Nerfed. Keep that in mind.

Yeah, which is why I think 2D6x10 seemed like a good number, now I'm not so sure.
It looks like a lot of numbers were simply halved for a few things, like those explosive rounds that do only 2D6 but are supposed to be based on the Triax pump weapons (apparently same sized round) that does 4D6.
If the weapon did have damaged halved, then it would be 2D6x10+12, still a nice amount of damage, but still weaker than a Boom Gun.
The thing about it being useable by borgs has me wondering if 1D6x10+6 is the right number after all.

Another factor to think about is listed under payload for the weapon.
It seems the weapon does indeed have an overheat problem, firing more than 3 times in a melee causes it to shut down, and overriding the failsafe can likely lead to the weapon exploding for a good amount of damage and slagging the weapon.
A nice little blast considering the power of the weapon
Another factor is that it is mounted in the same housing as two other weapons. If it was two powerful/hot, it might accidentally mess up or even cook the other two weapons.

--1d6x10+6 way too little. *snip* Most built in Secondary weapons have 1/2 to 1/3 the damage of primary and usually have up to 2x the range.

As far as the 'secondary weapon' comparison, that's an interesting way of looking at it. Although I don't know if that argument is one that will fit every situation.
Especially since they are not "secondary" weapons. It says it's a triple function weapon, but I don't see much indicating the plasma weapon is the "main" weapon. I think the Shaker Cannon as a whole is supposed to be the "main" weapon.

--2d6x10 reasonable *snip*

There is still the matter of heat generated by the weapon. The cooling systems appear to be able to only handle so much.

--3d6x10 sounds about right*snip*

I think even 3D6x10 is a bit much.
There is a lot involved in a plasma weapon.
For a rail gun, you just need to accelerate some metal at high speed.
For plasma, you need to take some sort of matter, such as air, superheat it to the point it goes from liquid to gas to plasma (which takes energy), while containing the whole process (which takes a little more energy), and then accelerating the mass of plasma as a whole (which will take more energy).
While I'm no expert, there has got to be tens of thousands of degrees of temperature needed to create plasma.
Staring at the weapon and thinking of its "guts", I'm starting to wonder more and more if the damage is correctly listed.

On the Resistant to Plasma thing? *snip*

I somehow missed the 1D6 damage thing for when it's used by a cyborg.
I also see mention that it only does 1 MD when used by a GB or a GG. There is mention at one point about the heavy laser resistant armor being protected from it. Not sure if by GB the mean the Tarantula or GBs in general.
I wonder if that heat damage is partly affected by the Tarantula's special cooling system.
There is also the fact the heat is apparently spread out, and not focused, like a plasma weapon.
Maybe the GB armor, while very strong, also has a high melting point.
Not enough to make it impervious to plasma/heat focused in a small area, but enough to make it resistant to extreme heat in general. Add in extra heat shielding and cooling... well, I guess it makes some sense, sort of.

As I think about it, the Shaker cannon is putting out heat in general over an area, while plasma weapons have heat focused in a much smaller area or otherwise have a lot of hot plasma directly transferring heat over a wide area, which is a lot more damaging than just radiating heat. The heat resistance might not have any effect on plasma weapons at all.
Sort of like comparing an oven to a blow torch.

[Phadeout]

Ok.

I can agree, that simply doubling the damage to 2d6x10+12 is perfect. That would work nicely.

To make the heat resistant thing work... I'd just rule that the Tarantula negates the first 10 M.D. of heat damage. Why? Cause it's simple and makes sense. If it gets "clipped" by the edge of a mimi-missile plasma explosion (10 M.D.) the PA absorbs, deflects and cools enough to not even notice it. But a big direct explosion (120M.D. from a medium missile) would still do 110M.D.

[making it take half damage from heat I can agree is toooo much... after a certain point, it's just more heat than the suit can handle. Could make it cancel the first "die" of damage, but that is just too much of a Pain in the arse to use.]

Works for me, how about you? If 10MD seems like to much, 5 would also work fine...

[R Ditto]

I'm still a bit against the heat resistance thing allowing for reduction in damage from plasma weapons.

Other GBs, which lack the extensive cooling system and heat resistant plates of the Tarantula, only take 1 MD.
Offering protection against something like a plasma weapon doesn't make much since with the gun simply putting out a lot of heat, which oddly enough, is simply heat radiating out through the air, while plasma (unless I'm mistaken) is actual super heated matter transferring heat through direct contact.
It would be like comparing a 400 degree hot oven to a 200 degree pot of boiling water. Boiling water is going to do a lot more damage a lot faster.


At present, I'm trying to figure out why a GB takes 1 MD from firing the gun and no damage mentioned to anything nearby, but a Borg takes 1D6 MD along with anything else next to or behind the weapon.
A GB/GG doesn't pack the cooling system the Tarantula does, which makes me scratch my head.
Could be the molecularly bonded chromium stuff simply has a high melting point/heat threshold, but that doesn't explain why there is no heat damage to nearby things when a GB is firing it...
Either that, or else it's one of those things in Rifts where something in a book contradicts something else in the book or even something on the same page.

Back to the heat resistance idea, -10 seems to much, but -5 stills seems kind of so-so for me.
At best, I would go for -1 to -2 points of effective heat resistance, which would apply to just about any heat damage, be it MD fire, or from plasma or laser weapons.
Or for a combo, half damage from anything doing 5 MD or less (or 10 MD or less for "area of effect" damage since it's spread out) due to the hefty cooling system preventing the armor from being to affected by built up heat, and then -1 or -2 off of that due to the heat resistant plates.