Hybrid Mecha Suits Power Armour

Steam powered armor chugs and hisses like a locomotive. It is heavy, made of thick iron, and includes a boiler, engine, and gear box. A typical suit of heavy steam armor weighs over one thousand pounds. The engine that drives it is usually carried on the back, like a backpack. Steam powered armor can operate for long periods of time without the hassle of winding that clockwork suits require. However, they are extremely cumbersome and cannot be worn while sleeping so they still have to be powered down and removed on a daily basis.
Powering Up: Steam powered suits can operate continually for weeks straight as long as they have fuel and water. Realistically, however, they can only be worn for several hours at a time. Operators cannot sleep in it so it is usually not worn for more than 16 hours straight. Included in the time required to don the armor is the time it takes to get the boiler up to temperature and to get enough pressure in the compression chambers to operate the suit. A typical water tank holds enough water for 12 hours of operation.
Maintenance: Although steam powered armor can operate for very long periods of time, at some point it must be shut down and given preventative maintenance (cleaning, oiling, changing filters, etc). A suit of steam armor that is not maintained at least once a month suffers 1 point of damage per month until it is cleaned and oiled. Performing the monthly maintenance requires a Craft (mechanical) check (DC 10).
Torsion suits draw their power from a tightly wound spring and a complex clockwork mechanism that makes a constant, rhythmic ticking sound. These armors are built with reliable technology that provides hours of smooth, continuous power with much less maintenance than the heavier steam suits. However, clockwork armor requires winding, which can be very hard to do without a machine. The main coil spring of a torsion suit will provide power for twelve hours of normal operation when fully wound. Powering Up: Winding up a torsion suit by hand is hard work. Anyone can wind it half way (6 hours of stored energy) but this requires twenty minutes of work and the character must make a Constitution check (DC 12) or be fatigued for 10 minutes afterward. To wind the spring one hour tighter requires 10 additional minutes of work and a Strength check (DC 12 at 7 hours, DC 13 at 8 hours, DC 14 at 9 hours of stored energy and so on to a maximum of DC 18 at 12 hours of stored energy). Any character that fails one of these checks is fatigued and cannot attempt to wind the spring further until they rest for 10 minutes. Anyone succeeding at all of these checks has spent a total of 90 minutes winding the spring. Winding the spring manually also requires the use of a large key. Many keys are interchangeable, so several soldiers can share a single key. If one is lost, a replacement is easy to find. But without one, the spring cannot be tightened by hand A character can wind a suit that someone else is wearing, but they cannot wind a suit that they are wearing themselves. Suits can also be wound while not being worn. A soldier traveling alone must remove his suit, wind the gear box manually, then put it back on to keep from losing power (or carry a power block with him). A better way to wind a torsion suit is to use a machine. There are many different options available and most knightly orders, military units, mercenary bands, and law enforcement agencies have powerhouses and torsion blocks that are used to keep their suits and other torsion machines powered. Winding the spring of a clockwork suit to full power with another machine takes 10 minutes and no checks are required. The operator simply connects the suit to the power source’s flywheel, PTO shaft, or gear box and waits. Maintenance: Torsion suits are very low maintenance compared to steam powered suits. They rarely need cleaning or oiling and can be relied upon for years without much maintenance. Nearly all repair work that is done on clockwork suits is due to combat damage. Basic cleaning and maintenance should be done once per year. A suit of torsion armor that is not maintained at least once a year suffers 1 point of damage per year until it is cleaned and oiled. Performing this annual maintenance requires a Repair check (DC 10).
Hybrid: As the power is either magic or tech, these armours can be used anywhere on the planet, both on Prima Magi and everywhere else.
All mecha power armor, are defined in the following terms.
Type: Power Armor
Class: The type of armor the suit is classified as, either light, medium, or heavy. Also any other defining characteristic such as its power type or special purpose is listed here, such as Steam Powered Aquatic or Clockwork Exoskeleton.
Size: While most power armor is the same size as the wearer, a few suits are larger than the wearer, bordering on giant robot status.
HP: The armor’s number of hit points. When it has half these hit points it becomes broken. Occupants: Most power suits have only one occupant, the operator. Cargo: The amount of cargo space the mecha has. Most power suits have no cargo space, though some suits designed for work may have special carrying compartments.
Damage Reduction: Power armor has damage reduction which applies to all damage affecting the armor and the operator.
Defense: The defense rating of giant robots and vehicles. Power armor does not have a defense rating. Instead, it improves the operator’s Armor Class by the value listed here. Strength (Bonus): The strength of the mecha or, in the case of power armor, the bonus to the operator’s Strength. Maximum Dexterity Bonus: All mecha are heavy, bulky, and ponderous. With their steam and torsion powered systems and lumbering weight, they can be slow to respond to an operator’s movements and their weight can limit his reaction time. This value indicates the maximum bonus an operator can get from his Dexterity while wearing the armor. Armor Check Penalty: The penalty to the operator’s Dexterity and Strength based skill checks. Not all armors impose a penalty. A few offer bonuses to these skill checks. Land Speed: the land speed of power armor is expressed in tactical scale movement (feet per round). Handling: Vehicles and giant robots have handling stats expressed as a modifier to initiative and to maneuverability, such as -2/-2 or -1/-4. Power armors do not have a handling rating. Accessories: Any special devices or attachments the armor has are listed here. These special devices are discussed in Part II. Defects: The armor’s defects, as detailed in Part III. Weaponry: Any standard or built-in weapon system the mecha typically comes with is listed here. This does not preclude the mecha or operator from carrying additional weapons. Required Feats and Skills: The feats and skills required to operate the armor without penalty. New feats are covered in Part IV. Weight: The approximate weight of the mecha. The first value is the actual weight of the armor, the second (in parentheses) is the felt weight of the armor when it is operating normally. Cost: The gold piece price of a mecha is roughly the square root of the mecha point cost. Characters purchase nonworking mecha and devices from scrap dealers at discount prices and do the repairs themselves, thus saving about 40% of the cost.
DAMAGING ARMOR Each time an operator takes damage (i.e. the armor’s damage reduction is overcome) the armor itself takes 1 point of damage. If it reaches half its hit points it becomes broken. When power armor has the broken Condition its AC bonus is halved, the Strength bonus is halved, and the penalty to Strength and Dexterity based skills is doubled (or reduced to zero for jungle suits). If a suit’s HP are reduced to zero it stops functioning (no strength bonus, no special functions, and the armor check penalty triples (non-working jungle suits gain negative modifiers equal to the positive modifiers they usually have, +4 becomes -4, for example). Armor can also be directly attacked in an effort to disable the suit and render the wearer trapped inside. This is a lot harder than it sounds since armor is designed to protect against these sorts of attacks. To damage a suit of armor directly, the attacker must bypass the armor’s hardness rating (damage reduction). If they can do that, they inflict one half of their normal weapon damage to the armor. The operator wearing the armor suffers no damage from these attacks.
DONNING ARMOR Donning and removing power armor takes much longer than regular armor and often requires assistance as indicated on the table below. armour /don/don hastily/remove
Infantry armour 45/30/20 Heavy assault 60/45/30 Strength suit 20/20/10 skirmishers or cold surface suit 10/5/5
DEVICE SLOTS A suit of armor has five slots that may be used for auxiliary devices or weapons. Up to two additional slots can be gained by replacing the armor’s hands with weapons or devices. Typically, no more than one hand is replaced in this way. Devices, light weapons, and one handed weapons each occupy one slot. Two handed weapons occupy two slots. Small cannons and mechanized weapons are usually mounted in the forearms while large cannons are mounted on the shoulder with the barrel extending down the side of the arm.
ITEM SLOTS A suit of power armor is larger and bulkier than any normal suit of armor and has to be completely intact to operate. A suit of medium or heavy power armor occupies three item slots on a character’s body; the armor, head/helm, and boots slot. A suit of light power armor occupies the armor and boot slots only. However, in exchange for giving up these additional item slots, the operator gains five additional slots on the armor for devices and weapons. Additionally, one or both of the armor’s hands can be removed and replaced with weapons or devices, functioning as two more optional device slots on the armor.td]Defects

						Power Armor
Item Name	Size	Class	Hit Points	Speed	Damage Reduction	Weight	Defense	Armor Penalty	Cost	Accessories	Defects	Weapons	Notes
HEAVY ASSAULT ARMOR (Combat Power Suit)	Medium	Heavy	80 (160 MP) Str : +6 (18 MP)	40 x4* (24 MP)	10 (50 MP) Max. Dex: +0	2000 lb (180 lb)	+12 (144 MP)	-10	389,000 gp (624 MP)	5-way Com Link (LR) X5RA (89 MP), auxiliary gear box (49 MP), emergency clotting system (49 MP), flux field condenser (20 MP), illuminator X5RA (32 MP)	None	Integrated Large 7th level spell cannon (49 MP)	This is the heaviest type of armor available. It takes a long time to put it on and power up and it is very cumbersome, but it is also extremely powerful. Heavy assault armor has a thick outer casing of iron that protects a secondary layer of iron which covers the machine’s drive shafts, pistons, valve chest, and gears. This particular model features a long range com link that can stay in constant communication with up to 4 other individuals that are within 560 feet of the operator. This suit also features a Large 7th level spell cannon that replaces the right arm. *When running in heavy assault armor, increase the operator’s speed by 1 multiple for each round he spends running (x1 on the first round, x2 on the second round, etc.)
INFANTRY ARMOR (Combat Power Suit)	Medium	Medium	50 (100 MP) Str : +4 (12 MP)	30 x4 (12 MP)	8 (40 MP) Max. Dex: +4	600 lb (40 lb)	+7 (49 MP)	-6	33,000 gp (182 MP)	Basic illuminator (14 MP)	noisy (-5 MP), reduced endurance (several hours) (- 20 MP), start up time 1 hour (-8 MP), volatile (-12 MP)	None	Infantry armor is the most common medium weight steam powered armor available. Once mass produced for the athisian legions, there are examples of it on every inhabited planet in the system. Frequently customized, modified and upgraded, infantry armor has nearly as many varied appearances as there are suits in operation. The most common upgrades for this armor include emergency aid kits, targeting systems, micro-metallic tensioners, photo-kinetic replicators, and weapons.
SKIRMISHER ARMOR (Combat Power Suit)	Medium	Medium	30 (60 MP) Str : +2 (6 MP)	45 x4 (15 MP)	5 (25 MP) Max. Dex: +4	255 lb (25 lb)	+4 (20 MP)	-4	17,000 gp (130 MP)	Emergency aid kit (20 MP), targeting system (14 MP)	Slightly noisy (-2 MP), reduced endurance (several hours) (-20 MP), start up time 1 hour (-8 MP)	None	The skirmisher armor’s coil spring puts out a lot less horsepower than a steam engine, but it is cheaper and much easier to wear than heavier armors. Although the armor does not come with any weapons attached, the suit has a PTO shaft in both forearms for powered weapons and shields to be attached separately. Skirmisher armor is the most common power armor to be found across the system. It was standard issue for the thousands of athisian soldiers in ages past. The technology is also common among other people, including the kraylarians. The example here has an EAK and a targeting system attached, both are common accessories on this type of armor. Other common alterations to this armor include increasing the armor plating (defense bonus and DR), over-torquing the torsion spring (Str bonus), and reinforcing the chassis (HP). A base model with no accessories is about 9,000 gp. A non-working base model may be as little as 6,000 gp
STRENGTH SUIT (Industrial Power Suit)	Medium	Light	25 (50 MP) Str : +6 (24 MP)	30 x4 (10 MP)	4 (20 MP) Max. Dex: 6	500 lb (30 lb)	+4 (20 MP)	-3	32,000 gp (180 MP)	Auxiliary gear box (49 MP), reinforced support rigging X5RA (45 MP)	Noisy (-5 MP), reduced endurance (several hours) (-20 MP), start-up time 1 hour (-8 MP), volatile (-5 MP)	None	While nearly all suits of power armor offer strength enhancements, the strength suit is specifically designed for extremely heavy industrial work. These suits are always steam powered. The base strength bonus is substantial (+6), and can be enhanced further with the auxiliary gear box which comes standard on all models. The entire frame is overbuilt with reinforced joints and additional load bearing struts. It is intended to offer some protection from the hazards of working in a heavy industrial environment. While it is not intended or combat, it can be more than effective in that role. Some models come with a crane attached to the back.
SURFACE SUIT, KRAYLARIAN (Survival Power Suit)	Medium	Heavy	75 (150 MP) Str : +4 (12MP)	30 x4 (20 MP)	10 (50 MP) Max. Dex: +2	1500 lb (25 lb)	+10 (100 MP)	-8	127,000 gp (356 MP)	Weather guard system (20 MP), ice shielding (20 MP)	Slightly noisy (-2 MP), reduced endurance (several hours) (-20 MP), start up time 10 minutes (-4 MP)	Integrated bolt throwers (x2) (10 MP)	The kraylarian surface suit is a clockwork powered survival suit for kraylarians who are traveling to the frozen surface of their own world or to other worlds with unfavorable environments. These suits are much larger than the kraylarians themselves, verging on giant robot status. A typical surface suit is 7 feet tall, while kraylarins are barely 4 feet tall. The model shown here has a pair of integrated bolt throwers mounted in the forearms. Bolt Thrower: These light, ranged weapons shoot metal bolts at a rate of one per round. They automatically reload. A character armed with two integrated bolt throwers may shoot them both each round, suffering a -4 penalty on both attack rolls (or -2 with Two Weapon Fighting.) The bolts have a range increment of 60 feet and inflict 2d6 points of damage.
SUN SUIT Survival Power Suit	Medium	Light	22 (44 MP) Str : +2 (6 MP)	40 x4 (8 MP)	4 (20 MP) Max. Dex: +5	120 lb (10 lb)	+3 (15 MP)	-2	11,000 gp (107 MP)	Weather guard system (20 MP), heat shielding (20 MP)	Slightly noisy (-2 MP), reduced endurance (several hours) (-20 MP), start up time 10 minutes (-4 MP)	None	The clockwork powered athisian sun suit was originally designed for surviving the hottest parts of the gythianan wastelands. It is often used for enduring blistering temperatures on other planets as well. The sun suit is lightweight and features a thermal reflective overcoat and a cooling system. It has both a weather guard system and heat shielding, enabling it to operate in temperatures of up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit with no perceptible change for the operator. Adding a class B filter can make it useful on several other inhospitable planets of the Inner Belt as well.