What's a good reason for players to get out of their armor in an RPG? For the science fiction RPG I'm working on power armor and suits of flexible "plasteel" are viable forms of defense needed in the wild west like frontier environments (as protection against brigands, monsters and the elements). Combat becomes increasingly drastic as you level up and flesh and blood HP max out, so you'll want protection. However, if you wear armor all the time there are alot of interesting story and tactical situations that will be meaningless to you as you level. For instance, being in an armed standoff with a main rival is meaningless because there's no way a gun to your head is a threat (unless it's a REALLY BIG GUN, and it doesn't fit the feel of the game for everyone to whip out a bazooka). You also can never be caught flatfooted, which could lead to interesting plot situations (like in the movies where the bad guys imprison the good guys who then escape). Some possible thoughts:

• In metropolitan areas, wearing heavy armor is as illegal as carrying an M-60 downtown would be today
• In social situations walking around in power armor is like waving a weapon in somebody's face ("hey, man, watch those feet!!!!")
• Sleeping (to heal or level up) - Select the floor/ground and you sleep in your full suit, but can't level up; select a bunk/shelter and you take a few seconds to automatically "desuit" or "resuit" but get full benefits of sleep

The sleep one sounds stupid unless you consider: It's a tactical decision that applies to you AND NPCs. Are you a stealthy character too weak to go head to head with that powerful pirate who's taken over the town? He's gotta sleep sometime. This could work in reverse, too, though, making security, stealth skills and things like "Light Sleeper" as a character trait useful to you. Thoughts?

Just a few thoughts...

Doesn't power armor require energy to power itself? Maybe make the power cells rare and/or expensive.

If the armor is left on all the time, the heroes are never caught by surprise, but they run out of energy real quick.

On the other hand, if they only turn it on when they need it, they save their energy. BUT, they run the risk of being surprised. That is, an enemy can get a shot or two off before the heroes realize what's going on and have a chance to flick the "On" switch.

Also, consider giving your enemies EM weapons, which can quickly render power armor and reactive armor useless, turning it into simply a big suit of bulky clothing (which could actually hamper the heroes performance).

Finally, it seems like power armor would make it hard for your characters to sneak around anywhere. Maybe one part of the RPG involves the heroes sneaking into an enemy base of some sort, meaning they have to take their armor off and slip by the guards unnoticed.

Good luck.

-Gauvir_Mucca

I think it would be rather hard to handle weapons with gloves of that sort on, unless they were designed to be used with the armor. I would like to add a bit to what Gauvir_Mucca said, though. If you walk into a space ship full of precise electronic equipment with power armor turned on, isn't there going to be an interference or something to that effect? That would apply to almost any location, actually. Unless everything was shielded, anyway. Even some of the character's other equipment might not function correctly or at all when the power armor is turned on.

I can't think of too many reasons for the plasteel stuff, though. I imagine it would be really tough to sleep in a solid suit of armor, so the sleep thing is definitely in. It also adds an interesting piece to the strategy of the game, that of security while you're sleeping and all. I really like the idea. There could also be a sort of honor thing attached to it, like the OP mentioned, as far as rivalry between sentient races goes. Also, no matter how flexible the armor is (unless it's like invulnerable cloth) it's going to hinder movement somehow. This could make all skill/dexterity related activities harder.

I think that wearing a visible suit of physical armor and/or a form of power armor may as well be illegal in cities, if for no other reason than respect of the other citizens. But then again, if you're allowed to carry guns around in said cities then there's no reason to make it illegal.

I like the ideas mentioned so far. Here's a few more.

- Running around in heavy armor would make you tired faster, if you have some type of fatigue in the game.

- Swimming would be nigh on impossible...you'd either sink like a stone or get electrocuted, or both. Walking around in the rain could get you electrocuted too.

- Walking around in full armor might very well intimidate NPC's too much to get a useful response out of them.

Note powered armor to me means environmentally sealed, armored strength increasing with (some models anyway) built in weaponry. .. Hum, small mech (mechwarrior) in effect. I.e. a self-contained engine of war. Something akin to what is portrayed in the book Armor by John Steakley.



My 2c for thoughts presented (=

• In metropolitan areas, wearing heavy armor is as illegal as carrying an M-60 downtown would be today
  

Probable. Powered armor is for war; walking tank. I can easily see populaces trying to limit military hardware on the grounds that it *might* be used. Only in frontier towns might this be not so much an issue. (wild west where it was not uncommon to have a gun on ones hip.. er I think anyway).

• In social situations walking around in power armor is like waving a weapon in somebody's face ("hey, man, watch those feet!!!!")
  

I'd say more like driving a tank into the local grocery store. YOU might just use it for transportation but no one else is going to see it that way.

• Sleeping (to heal or level up) - Select the floor/ground and you sleep in your full suit, but can't level up; select a bunk/shelter and you take a few seconds to automatically "desuit" or "resuit" but get full benefits of sleep
  

... I don't like this, simple because powered armor must by necessity be designed for LONG duration habitation. (wars on hostile planets where there is nowhere to desuit.)

• Running around in heavy armor would make you tired faster, if you have some type of fatigue in the game.
  

In heavy armor I see this as a possibility. In powered armor there is no such possibility. (the suit is WAAY to heavy for you to move on your own)

• Swimming would be nigh on impossible...you'd either sink like a stone or get electrocuted, or both. Walking around in the rain could get you electrocuted too.
  

Hum, swimming.. Yes more like walking on bottom of liquid body. .. Optional floatation extras or some such for fluid environments I would think thought.

• Walking around in full armor might very well intimidate NPC's too much to get a useful response out of them.
  

As mentioned above, PA is like a walking tank. Very probably get law enforcement called in on you I would think.

• Doesn't power armor require energy to power itself? Maybe make the power cells rare and/or expensive.
  

If it is rare to power then half of my thoughts do not apply because powered armor would not have evolved as I am envisioning.

Nonetheless this would seem a viable option.

• If the armor is left on all the time, the heroes are never caught by surprise, but they run out of energy real quick.
  
• On the other hand, if they only turn it on when they need it, they save their energy. BUT, they run the risk of being surprised. That is, an enemy can get a shot or two off before the heroes realize what's going on and have a chance to flick the "On" switch.
  

These thoughts strike me as a personal defense shield, not powered armor.

• Also, consider giving your enemies EM weapons, which can quickly render power armor and reactive armor useless, turning it into simply a big suit of bulky clothing (which could actually hamper the heroes performance).
  

Powered armor that has no power is a coffin.

Given that I could see EM weapons or the like developed as a counter measure to these engines of destruction.

• Finally, it seems like power armor would make it hard for your characters to sneak around anywhere. Maybe one part of the RPG involves the heroes sneaking into an enemy base of some sort, meaning they have to take their armor off and slip by the guards unnoticed.
  

Hum, sneaking.. I tend to agree.


Anyway, my 2c

Even if the armor was super flexible, it wouldn't allow you to move as naturally as without it.

1. You would not be able to move as fast. (Kinda obvious, but since nobody else mentioned it...)
2. Even if you could move fast, I don't think your arm joints would be able to be used properly. The wearer wouldn't have the benefit of aiming where he wants (For example, you could only aim upwards at a low angle). An intelligent foe would simply have to move somewhere where you couldn't hit him easily.
3. Although the top thing could be solved by putting less armor around the joints, then the armor would have a weak spot. A smart enemy would simply aim at the less protected joint.

Just my two cents,

~Dakar

Pretty much depends on where you want your idea of powered armor to be headed. Why not cater to the full spectrum of protection and armor, ranging from the barely noticeable civilan version with concealed built in extras to the heavy-duty military stuff which for all intents and purposes is a walking tank.

Areas or situations where certain kinds (or all kinds?) of armor are not permitted would of course apply, but to some extent I have to agree with the anonymous, don´t invent new rules to make up for the imbalance. There´s enough to be had from the subject without adding rules just yet..
I´d approach the whole subject from a this angle:

Powered armor is made for a purpose. If the general idea is to make the wearer mean, strong and tough there will be a few things he certainly will not be.
Armor plating will lead to greater bulk and mass, which will mean less agility and flexibilty, greater inertia (which will be interesting when trying to dodge things) as well as a certain ungainliness which will probably cause the unskilled wearer to bump into stuff a lot and break things.
Strenght enhancements are great for ripping open bulkheads or mashing rocks, but in other situations these advantages become problems.
What good are hydraulic leg enhancers if you splat yourself against the nearest wall because you´re suddenly way faster than you used to? You might be able to crush a skull between your fingers, but how about holding a glass? What about opening a door the old-fashioned way? Placing a phone call? Using navigational controls in a spaceship?
And what about military-grade suits that go for maximum destructive force? Suits that are so strong that if improperly used they could tear themselves apart? (the mecha sequence in "Ghost in the Shell" comes to mind)

So, in short:

- powered armor requires skill to use properly, probably even more than driving a tank does. people with less than optimal motor control need not apply. The high-end suits would probably have to be made to fit, so they´d be prohibitively expensive.

- some things you just can´t do. if you want to be able to steer a ship or get a drink you´ll need to leave the military stuff on the shelf and go for the suit with the removable gloves. The further our the enhancements go, the more pronounced drawbacks you´d get.


There´s a ton of interesting books touching on this subject. "Armor" has already been mentioned but personally I very much liked the idea of armor in Haldemans "Forever War", where there´s a fairly lengthy sequence describing how recruits would learn to handle the armor whithout getting killed in the process (by the armor and the environment).
Another interesting idea is put forth in Peter Hamiltons "Fallen Dragon", where combat armor is called "skin" and linked to the wearers bloodstream.

Simple cheap machines that are large and heavy that can only take out armor as long as it functions.

Bring one it, turn it on, guy's armor goes down. But guy can immediately turn and shoot at the machine and he's got armor again!

I think that works well too.

I like the idea of Power Armor portrayed in the Starship Troopers book. It's big, powerful, and quite agile. However, it consumes fuel of some sort and as has been said before: Power Armor without power is a coffin.

I would suggest that PA NOT hamper a character's speed or agility. Actions requiring subtelty of movement would be a problem though, as the suit basically amplifies the movements of the wearer, making each punch a battering ram and each flex of the wrist a bone shattering backhand.

Why do people get undressed in real life? Why would armor be any different? Just make sure you get a good artist ;-)

Also, even wearing armor, the player can be captured and stripped of armor and weapons, and then escape and have to build up his arsenal again. This happened in some incarnations of Tomb Raider, for example.