[HoE] Junker Amor

[Abdullah Oblongota <toadpooka@usa.net>]

<<Okay, a Kevlar Vest costs 750 "dollars," is AV 2 (except against
certain
  attacks), and only covers the Guts.
<snip>
 << Here is where it gets a little tricky. How do you figure Component
costs?
  Do you do so based on the total of Armor Slots _plus_ "dead space"
slots (64
  + 17.2 = 81.2), or just the Armor slots (17.2)? The Armor entry isn't
  clear.>>
You figure component costs based on the slots used by the power, not by
the total in the device.  That's in the rules for constructing devices,
it wasn't necessary to reiterate it for Armor (look at it this way, if
you were using the Armor power in building a car, you would only figure
components from the slots that Armor used, not the passenger
compartment)

<<To be on the safe side, I went both ways. However, the latter strikes
me as
  more reasonable - why do you need chemical components to build/include
"dead
  space"??

  Both sets of slots: require base 13 Structural + 9 Structural + 9
Chemical.
  Total "base" component cost: (13 + 9) x $2 per Structural = $44. (9 x
  $7/chemical component) = $63. Total cost = $107.

  Armor slots only: Base 7 Structural (Size 3) + 2 Structural + 2
Chemical.
  That works out to...$18 + $14 = $32!!!>>
As above, the latter way is right.

<<Now, I tend to cheat a bit on costs, as I use an "average" component
cost of
  $6. This makes Junk-stuff a bit more expensive, since most of it is
  Structural, which is below average. I also double the cost for
components,
  typically, since there's like, well, risk of collecting the parts,
  expenditure of chips to improve Stablity and use Flow, etc., etc.

  So typically, when I "build" a Junk-device, I'll just add up the total
of
  components and multiply by 12. I've found this to typically generate
costs
  close to "book price" non-junk items that do the same thing, so it
seems to
  be relatively accurate.>>
OK, this makes things a bit inaccurate, but the heart of the argument is
still there...

<<Ummm, does anyone see a problem with this? You need to pay $750 to buy
a
  Kevlar vest which has much less protection, and loses a pt. of armor
against
  certain attacks.>>
No. No problem at all.  First, junker armor loses Durability, and has to
make Stability rolls.  You may have a very good Stability roll, but any
decent burst fire weapon could make you take 3 checks or more PER
ACTION.  Second, it's all in the markup.  A junker builds stuff, then
sells it for what he can get for it.  Take a look at production costs
relative to retail costs for anything nowadays, and you'll find that
kind of price increase not unusual at all.  if I knew how to build my
own car, I wouldn't be spending $15,000 on it, would I?

<<The junk-armor above weighs 35# (17.2 slots x 2# a slot, round up).
I'm not
  sure how significant a factor this is, since there aren't a lot of
  encumberance rules. A Kevlar vest probably weighs less. Than again,
  encumberance is rarely a factor if you're dead because you spent more
  "money" on less-protective armor. ;)>>
Not a lot of encumbrance rules, yes.  But, enough encumbrance
rules...also yes.
After all, what about the...

<<"load" rules (page 85) suggests that basically, all that heavy
  armor is going to do (and 35# isn't _that_ heavy) is going to, tops,
reduce
  your pace to 25%. Not the best thing in the world, sure, but without
  whipping up Strain/encumberance-inducing rules and stuff, not going to
be
  very harmful, either>>
Huh?
Hmmm, only being able to move at 1/4 the usual rate isn't bad?  I
suppose it's not, if you plan to stand in one place and let the Black
Hats blow your ass up.  How's about that fact that reducing your Pace to
25% means that the rest of the group has to slow down to accomodate you
clunking around inside a pile of car bumpers and benzadrine?
You want encumbrance that costs Wind? Here ya go:
Walking around with a 35-pound backpack over a distance isn't a problem
for most folks.  But when the fit hits the shan and the group gets
chased down by some mutated baddie or whatever, guess who's gonna be
spending most of his actions and Wind on pickin' up the pace?  I see the
man in the armor suit trying to raise his hand...
Plus, wasn't there some unofficial encumbrace eratta posted to the list
by Hopler that involved using Wind for lifting really heavy weights?
--
From Whom it May Concern,
Rich Ranallo, The Man They Couldn't Hang

"And there never was an apple, in Adam's opinion, that wasn't worth the
trouble you got into for eating it."
 -Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, Good Omens