 January 2, 2018 - 2:00pm | I like to limit the ultratech/wonders in sci fi games.AD does that nicely with screens. Why can't a character even wear two screens, with one switched off? My idea is that screens kept too long in contact or close proximity, even switched off, suffer failure and nasty malfunctions. Trying to nerf anotehr guy's screen by bumping yours into it won't work, though, because it's prolonged proximity of two screen belts that causes the problem, not momentary contact or proximity in a fight. Screen belts are stored in hardened and insulated boxes/lockers. |
January 2, 2018 - 2:01pm | Is this stuff already detailed someplace I missed? |
 January 2, 2018 - 8:45pm | I personally allow for more than one screen worn at a time (albeit with only one activated at a time). The way I see it: you only have a limited amount of gear you can carry (re: encumbrance rules = ½STR in kg), so if you want to stack up on extra screens and power sources then so be it --- anything beyond a powerclip is ridiculously heavy, and a screen requires at least a belt-pack. |
 January 2, 2018 - 9:54pm | If I remember correctly, issue 15 of Star Frontiersman magazine featured some vehicle rules by Larry Moore. He included a new energy screem he called the shimmer screen. I adapted it for personal use. Shimmer Screen. This type of screen is available after the Second Sathar War for public purchase. This specialized, power-hungry shield protects a character from all types of damage for short periods of time. The screen shifts between albedo, gauss, inertia, sonic, and simp defenses. There is a small chance that a hit penetrates the shield during the instant it shifts from one defensive type to the next. Any hit roll of 01-05 ignores the shimmer shield’s effect. Although this screen offers the best protection, no weapons can be fired out of the shield when it is activated. It uses 5 SEU per minute of operation and each hit drains 5 SEU. Joe Cabadas |
January 2, 2018 - 9:56pm | Personally, I'm not a great fan of all the different defensive suits and screens. The polyplate armor that's in the Alpha Dawn remastered rules can be heavy, but does a good job of protecting a character. I'd pair that with either the albedo of shimmer screen and maybe an exoskeleton and away you go. Joe Cabadas |
January 2, 2018 - 11:27pm | Hmmmm... I suppose if you want more of a ''hard sci fi'' feel, you can perhaps cut out inertial screens entirely and use polyplate instead. Looking in AD Remastered, I see that wearing a full suit of polyplate is similiar in effect to stacking an i-screen with a skeinsuit. 1/4 damage from inertial/kinetic type attacks. I do like i-screens, though. |
January 3, 2018 - 12:30am | TANGENT ALERT Ideas for tweaking things and adding fluff that gives a somewhat more hard sci fi sensibility ------------------------------------------ Freeze fields:Cryobiosis webbing/caul and med-comp with nanite factory and injector system. Spray freezing goop on the injured guy.It works just as described in the game rules. Inertial screens:Absent, but polyplate armor exists to fill the gap in protection Albedo, gauss, holo, sonic screens: All of these are nanite swarm tech combined with advanced energy technologies. Work as in game rules. If one wishes to add a screen to replace the absent inertial screen, I suppose some kind of anti-nanite nanite swarm might make sense. I’m assuming nano-weapons are pretty much just fancy chemical or biological weapons, in effect, not magical gray goo that disintegrates stuff. ----------------- |
January 3, 2018 - 9:06am | The inertial screen makes sense for a lot of things. If you remember the Dark Side of the Moon module, the large Vrusk monorail is equipped with such a large screen for crash protection... I don't know why. I suppose they expect derailments with a terrorits organization running around the planet. And then, the Sathar had some sort of inertial wall in the final battle to hold off an Ul-Mor cavalry charge until the PCs can knock it out. So, maybe SF vehicles -- those that cost more than the basics -- would have inertial screens for crash protection. They might not always be on, but vehicle sensors could detect an impending crash and activate the field... Again, this would make SF vehicles more costly... kind of how 1980s cars were way cheaper than today's cars. Joe Cabadas |
 January 3, 2018 - 12:27pm | The inertial screen makes sense for a lot of things. If you remember the Dark Side of the Moon module, the large Vrusk monorail is equipped with such a large screen for crash protection... I don't know why. I suppose they expect derailments with a terrorits organization running around the planet. And then, the Sathar had some sort of inertial wall in the final battle to hold off an Ul-Mor cavalry charge until the PCs can knock it out. So, maybe SF vehicles -- those that cost more than the basics -- would have inertial screens for crash protection. They might not always be on, but vehicle sensors could detect an impending crash and activate the field... Again, this would make SF vehicles more costly... kind of how 1980s cars were way cheaper than today's cars. I'm guessing that the life boat in Crash on Volturnus lacked the inertia screen crash protection. Cheep tramp freighter! I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 3, 2018 - 3:49pm | Cheep tramp liner! Fixed that for ya. Freighters don't allow for more passengers than cargo.  |
 January 28, 2018 - 6:30am | I liked the idea of the Grid suit, as I believe it protected from both beam and inertia attacks. It just did one job better than the other. And when a group is in the field screens can become a burden when you can't easily re-charge your power packs. So I tend to favor a defensive suit that can handle the more common attacks, sure it leaves you vulnerable to the disruptor you didn't expect that pirate to be carrying. But why not make defensive suits based on your preference of defense? 50% anti-laser 50% inertia 25% anti-laser 75% inertia 30% anti-laser 30% inertia 31% anti-sonic Make it where there are trade offs. What game did I try that had that... Battlelords of the 23rd Century? In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
January 29, 2018 - 9:51pm | I liked the idea of the Grid suit, as I believe it protected from both beam and inertia attacks. It just did one job better than the other. And when a group is in the field screens can become a burden when you can't easily re-charge your power packs. So I tend to favor a defensive suit that can handle the more common attacks, sure it leaves you vulnerable to the disruptor you didn't expect that pirate to be carrying. But why not make defensive suits based on your preference of defense? 50% anti-laser 50% inertia 25% anti-laser 75% inertia 30% anti-laser 30% inertia 31% anti-sonic Make it where there are trade offs. What game did I try that had that... Battlelords of the 23rd Century? I like it. Though, doesn't the polyplate armor from the Alpha Dawn remastered rules fill this role? Joe Cabadas |
