Author Topic: MechWarrior Standard Gear  (Read 7915 times)

Woe

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 105
MechWarrior Standard Gear
« on: 02 January 2015, 19:44:23 »
I've been steadily looking into mech stuff and recently found out about neurohelmets....and from then cooling suits. What else does a mechwarrior need to safely pilot a mech?

Cheers for any feedback.

 :)
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’

Bartholomew bartholomew

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 167
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #1 on: 02 January 2015, 21:18:05 »
Basically those. But the suits were newer tech that came in with the clans. At first it was just a vest and they basically wore just shorts, boots, and the vest with the helmet while in the mech.

The helmet was generally left in the mech. Most pilots carried a pack of clothing for outside the mech. Usually part of a survival gear pack. And most also brought some form of sidearm as well. Just in case.

Unless you are playing Kurita. Then you always have your sword.
« Last Edit: 02 January 2015, 21:20:39 by Bartholomew bartholomew »

Nav_Alpha

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3679
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #2 on: 02 January 2015, 21:41:13 »
Actually cooling suits and mechwarrior combat suits - bascially a cooling suit with built in neurohelmet that also acts as light body armour in case you run into trouble - were invented by the Star League.
The tech was lost after the fall of the League and only really came back during the tech rennasaiance of the 3050s.

For centuries mechwarriors typically got around in just a cooling vest, shorts and neurohelmet. Pretty skimpy attire that just fuelled adolescent fantasies...

The cooling suits, when they returned, make much more sense but don't appear to be that widespread.
I'd suggest only elite units and Solaris gladiators would use them much.
 


"Hold your position, conserve ammo... and wait for the Dragoons to go Feral"
- last words of unknown merc, Harlech, 3067

Carbon Elasmobranch

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 303
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #3 on: 02 January 2015, 23:58:08 »
There's a full-body combat cooling suit in MW2 that notes it was specifically developed by and for House Kurita's elite guard, in fact.

guardiandashi

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4826
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #4 on: 03 January 2015, 04:26:44 »
lore says....

ok you need a neural helmet of some kind, the basic ones, (succession wars era) the medeval torture device looking one was common, as it was the easiest to make

https://www.google.com/search?q=battletech+neurohelmet&biw=1008&bih=591&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=GLKnVLvXMM25oQTD3ILgAQ&ved=0CCUQsAQ

more advanced models usually focused on making them lighter and more convenient to use.

the "ultimate" neural helmets are either the SLDF combat neural helmet, or the clan one (they are different)

the SLDF neural helmet gives piloting bonuses due to super fast processing, and better receptors.

the Clan neural helmet is very similar to a modern pilots helmet, with the neural processing "stuff" in a removable module

https://www.google.com/search?q=battletech+neurohelmet&biw=1008&bih=591&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=GLKnVLvXMM25oQTD3ILgAQ&ved=0CCUQsAQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=y7eNYLHcSai_oM%253A%3BRb6YKhALE3bf6M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.oocities.org%252Fdvd3500%252Fneuro1.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmwomercs.com%252Fforums%252Ftopic%252F95636-please-explain-this-to-me-picture-in-mechlab%252Fpage__st__20%3B534%3B746

is a "progression" image set.

the cooling suit was the standard/preferred gear for the SLDF, and others had versions for their elites.  the lore says the compact coolant lines needed to make it were lost in the succession wars.  and was only recently rediscovered in the ~3050 era the clans however never lost that tech so they still use them as pretty much standard gear.

I believe personally that the main difference between the sldf cooling suits and the various house "elite" combat suits is in styling, and the amount of "armor" incorporated in the suits.  One thing that makes aspects of the "loss" of the tech to make the cooling suits a bit hard to swallow is the aerospace pilot's G/flight/space suits seem to incorporate basically all the tech needed to make a cooling suit work... (along with other stuff) but hey "lore"

personally if I was a MechWarrior and found out about the fighter pilot suits I would likely try to get one just "because" (its a whole lot better than the cooling vest...)

Woe

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 105
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #5 on: 03 January 2015, 06:01:22 »
Cheers all. It must really get hot in the mech then!
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’

Diamondshark

  • Lieutenant
  • *
  • Posts: 1292
  • Bringing back the enlightenment to the Star League
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #6 on: 03 January 2015, 09:05:49 »
Cheers all. It must really get hot in the mech then!

Hot enough in some circumstance that, in a couple of TW short stories, mechwarriors' sweat would flash evaporate on their skin. You REALLY want that cooling vest/suit
"We are the Clans, the Star League incarnate.
None can stand against us and survive."

-- The Remembrance, Passage 272, Verse 8, Lines 18-19

Woe

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 105
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #7 on: 03 January 2015, 09:13:05 »
Wow fair do. :) Thanks for that dshark. That sets a cool image in the mind!
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’

Sir Chaos

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 3086
  • Artillery Fanboy
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #8 on: 05 January 2015, 15:48:18 »
For centuries mechwarriors typically got around in just a cooling vest, shorts and neurohelmet. Pretty skimpy attire that just fuelled adolescent fantasies...

IIRC, in Decision at Thunder Rift, when Lori surrenders to Grayson and gets out of her mech, it says specifically that she is wearing panties and nothing else. So, more like adult fantasies, really.
"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl."
-Frederick the Great

"Ultima Ratio Regis" ("The Last Resort of the King")
- Inscription on cannon barrel, 18th century

beachhead1985

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4066
  • 1st SOG; SLDF. "McKenna's Marauders"
    • Kilroy's Wall
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #9 on: 06 January 2015, 12:42:29 »
I made an infantryman-turned mechwarrior on the ragged edge in ATOW. He had captured a mech and just barely managed to make it combat-worthy with a few modifications out of necessity, but he had to take out a bank loan to buy a sidearm, neurohelmet and shorts and instead of a cooling vest, he used a Tanker smock, which is also cooled. The Smock was more expensive, but better fitted his style as a make-work and make-do improvisor.

Basically an infantryman who sunk the rest of his points into minimal skills and a big mech, but ended up with nothing else. Would have been cool to play, but after all the work of CG and making a char sheet, the very thought of figuring out how to advance him was enough to end it for me.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Woe

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 105
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #10 on: 06 January 2015, 15:15:28 »
That sounds like a brilliant character though! I would have thought, starting so low (having had to go down the minimal skill path) he would have had plenty to do and get up to.
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’

Archangel

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 5618
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #11 on: 06 January 2015, 18:04:55 »
That sounds like a brilliant character though! I would have thought, starting so low (having had to go down the minimal skill path) he would have had plenty to do and get up to.

There is plenty to do but when the character can't hit the broadside of a barn if he was in it or is constantly faceplanting his 'Mech by tripping over every little obstacle, slipping at every sharp turn, etc because the Success rolls are near impossible to achieve how much fun is it really.  You are talking about a warrior who is greener than green, perhaps newborn pink.
Detect evil first, smite second and ask questions later.

beachhead1985

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4066
  • 1st SOG; SLDF. "McKenna's Marauders"
    • Kilroy's Wall
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #12 on: 06 January 2015, 23:14:29 »
There is plenty to do but when the character can't hit the broadside of a barn if he was in it or is constantly faceplanting his 'Mech by tripping over every little obstacle, slipping at every sharp turn, etc because the Success rolls are near impossible to achieve how much fun is it really.  You are talking about a warrior who is greener than green, perhaps newborn pink.

He was a competent Infantryman (I think, ATOW is hard to tell), but a very novice mechwarrior. Honestly in a lot of ways; his tech skills were still better than his mech skills.

I found ATOW very intimidating as a system. I think by the end I had a basic idea how to play, but in my group I have to run all the games...and no, just no.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Woe

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 105
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #13 on: 07 January 2015, 03:08:52 »
Yeah I understand what you are saying. Interesting roleplay chances but of course if you can't hit diddly squat or pass any tests then there is no point. That's the game mechanics getting in the way though they mean well.
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’

beachhead1985

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4066
  • 1st SOG; SLDF. "McKenna's Marauders"
    • Kilroy's Wall
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #14 on: 07 January 2015, 09:49:50 »
As far as the subject is concerned though, we don't see much choice in starting gear.

There are a few types of neurohelmets aesthetically, but except for the SL and Clan models, they all work alike and a low-budget alternative like the neuro-crown/circlet described in some novels probably won't do for a battlemech. I mean, you could do it with a big piloting penalty, but I suspect the hookups are totally different and for the time and cost of the work, you could just get a normal neurohelmet.

The plasteel boots are optional and the shorts are almost a setting trope.

Coolant vests are the norm, but we've never seen rules for the ice-pack vest for low-tech and cheap alternative.

My idea of using a tanker smock makes sense to me, but there could be a down-side I haven't seen. in ATOW, it was even more expensive than a vest, but I just felt it to be a good thematic fit. For close detail it does provide more protection though, and I also wanted the advantage of more protection for my risen-infantryman when he inevitably gets frustrated with the impersonal feel of mech combat, or just need to get up close and personal and climbs out of his 100-ton behemoth to mix it up as a foot soldier again.

Coolant suits have kinda become lost in the fiction shuffle. They are mentioned so rarely in the fluff that they show up much less often than they should; IMO they should be standard issue for the clans and phone companies. The Mechwarrior Combat suit is the logical next generation, but I'd only see SLDF, lucky Lostech prospectors, maybe RAF and WOBM using them.

At current, to the best of my knowledge there is no in-game advantage to any kind of coolant suit and the added protective values only come up in ATOW. If it was me? I'd let you ignore some pilot damage from heat or head hits or both if your PC had a suit vs a vest, but that's just me.

Maybe a vest and Neurohelmet is the stock for the rules.

The ice vest maybe degrades over time? Pilot damage for long games?

The Neuro-circlet/bandana/crown gives you a -2 penalty to piloting.

The Tanker Smock works as well as a vest and *maybe* gives you the ability to ignore 1 or 2 head hits, but probably gives you a -1 piloting roll.

The cooling suit allows you to ignore pilot damage vs heat to a certain extent and the Combat Suit does the same, but also ignores head hit and falling damage to an extent.

The advanced neuro helmets give you +1 piloting or +1 gunnery, possibly both, but it would vary by type and I am not sure which would go to which.

Now an ASF pilot's suit would work like a cooling vest and neuro helmet, but be lighter and more comfortable, but seal vs vacuum. The SLDF Exo-suit would provide additional protection and a piloting bonus and the neuro interface could give an extra +1 to piloting and +1 to gunnery.

All this extracted from my thinking-nethers and in no way official.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

guardiandashi

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4826
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #15 on: 07 January 2015, 20:06:54 »
As far as the subject is concerned though, we don't see much choice in starting gear.

There are a few types of neurohelmets aesthetically, but except for the SL and Clan models, they all work alike and a low-budget alternative like the neuro-crown/circlet described in some novels probably won't do for a battlemech. I mean, you could do it with a big piloting penalty, but I suspect the hookups are totally different and for the time and cost of the work, you could just get a normal neurohelmet.

The plasteel boots are optional and the shorts are almost a setting trope.

Coolant vests are the norm, but we've never seen rules for the ice-pack vest for low-tech and cheap alternative.

My idea of using a tanker smock makes sense to me, but there could be a down-side I haven't seen. in ATOW, it was even more expensive than a vest, but I just felt it to be a good thematic fit. For close detail it does provide more protection though, and I also wanted the advantage of more protection for my risen-infantryman when he inevitably gets frustrated with the impersonal feel of mech combat, or just need to get up close and personal and climbs out of his 100-ton behemoth to mix it up as a foot soldier again.

Coolant suits have kinda become lost in the fiction shuffle. They are mentioned so rarely in the fluff that they show up much less often than they should; IMO they should be standard issue for the clans and phone companies. The Mechwarrior Combat suit is the logical next generation, but I'd only see SLDF, lucky Lostech prospectors, maybe RAF and WOBM using them.

At current, to the best of my knowledge there is no in-game advantage to any kind of coolant suit and the added protective values only come up in ATOW. If it was me? I'd let you ignore some pilot damage from heat or head hits or both if your PC had a suit vs a vest, but that's just me.

Maybe a vest and Neurohelmet is the stock for the rules.

The ice vest maybe degrades over time? Pilot damage for long games?

The Neuro-circlet/bandana/crown gives you a -2 penalty to piloting.

The Tanker Smock works as well as a vest and *maybe* gives you the ability to ignore 1 or 2 head hits, but probably gives you a -1 piloting roll.

The cooling suit allows you to ignore pilot damage vs heat to a certain extent and the Combat Suit does the same, but also ignores head hit and falling damage to an extent.

The advanced neuro helmets give you +1 piloting or +1 gunnery, possibly both, but it would vary by type and I am not sure which would go to which.

Now an ASF pilot's suit would work like a cooling vest and neuro helmet, but be lighter and more comfortable, but seal vs vacuum. The SLDF Exo-suit would provide additional protection and a piloting bonus and the neuro interface could give an extra +1 to piloting and +1 to gunnery.

All this extracted from my thinking-nethers and in no way official.
I know I in one game where I played a char that was cross trained (effectively LAM capable) had "cheaped out" and had aerospace pilot suit for use as both piloting gear (if she got a unit that required it) and for use as a vac/space suit.  of course I tend to try to make my chars "wealthy" in the skills/gear area as a general rule, I hate having a char who can't afford more than a flack vest, and auto pistol and 100 cbills or the equivalent...

beachhead1985

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4066
  • 1st SOG; SLDF. "McKenna's Marauders"
    • Kilroy's Wall
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #16 on: 08 January 2015, 10:23:23 »
I know I in one game where I played a char that was cross trained (effectively LAM capable) had "cheaped out" and had aerospace pilot suit for use as both piloting gear (if she got a unit that required it) and for use as a vac/space suit.  of course I tend to try to make my chars "wealthy" in the skills/gear area as a general rule, I hate having a char who can't afford more than a flack vest, and auto pistol and 100 cbills or the equivalent...

I find ATOW to be very rough in that aspect.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Wrangler

  • Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 24875
  • Dang it!
    • Battletech Fanon Wiki
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #17 on: 08 January 2015, 10:49:03 »
I find ATOW to be very rough in that aspect.

Funny thing is my group I'm in is using Shadowrun 5's system and adapted some of the skills sets to work with the setting. I've played ATOW campaign, once you get past character recreation is works okay, but I found Shadowrun 5 game system little better to play.  I just depends on how your group works I guess.

Anyways, I found that from reading all the fiction.   Low-tech MechWarriors usually have the cooling vest, blocky Neurohelmet, heat resistance combat boots, hold out pistol, shorts/sports bra shorts (if your lady), survival gear stored in your ejection seat, and your jump suit the pilot walked into the cockpit with and stashed into small locker

TechManual actually, highlights what actually in the cockpit on page 39-43. the fluff of the ejection seat mentions the survival gear.  Its interesting stuff if you want know the nuts and bolts of things.
"Men, fetch the Urbanmechs.  We have an interrogation to attend to." - jklantern
"How do you defeat a Dragau? Shoot the damn thing. Lots." - Jellico 
"No, it's a "Most Awesome Blues Brothers scene Reenactment EVER" waiting to happen." VotW Destrier - Weirdo  
"It's 200 LY to Sian, we got a full load of shells, a half a platoon of Grenadiers, it's exploding outside, and we're wearing flak jackets." VoTW Destrier - Misterpants
-Editor on Battletech Fanon Wiki

Woe

  • Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 105
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #18 on: 08 January 2015, 15:50:39 »
Cheers Wrangler and all you decent folks. That's given me plenty to read up on and get my head into! Let the fun begin!
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’

Go For The Throat

  • Warrant Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 529
  • I would rather not be known as the underkill guy.
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #19 on: 14 January 2015, 14:13:23 »
Do not forget that just because you cannot get something in character creation, does not mean you cannot have it. A character can, and likely will be issued some equipment by their unit, especially House troops.
Victor Davion, proof that even with the technology available in the BattleTech Universe, it still takes 104 years to get rid of VD...
IlClan: Where Clan Tech is given, not earned.

Giovanni Blasini

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 7103
  • And I think it's gonna be a long, long time...
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #20 on: 14 January 2015, 14:43:35 »
This does make me wonder, though, if there's any reason why a MechWarrior wouldn't be able to use a fighter pilot suit or spacesuit of some sort, especially when operating in microgravity or an airless environment.
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes / When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
-- Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

Liam's Ghost

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 7856
  • Miss Chitty finds your honor rules quaint.
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #21 on: 14 January 2015, 14:47:34 »
I would expect that LAM pilots at least would have a pilot's suit rather than standard mechwarrior gear.

Do not forget that just because you cannot get something in character creation, does not mean you cannot have it. A character can, and likely will be issued some equipment by their unit, especially House troops.

In fact it's specifically mentioned in the rules. You get assigned equipment appropriate for your job. Most likely basic stuff.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

beachhead1985

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4066
  • 1st SOG; SLDF. "McKenna's Marauders"
    • Kilroy's Wall
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #22 on: 15 January 2015, 10:12:46 »
This does make me wonder, though, if there's any reason why a MechWarrior wouldn't be able to use a fighter pilot suit or spacesuit of some sort, especially when operating in microgravity or an airless environment.

I swear that was mentioned somewhere---MWs wearing vacuum suits in their cockpits in case of a breach. I think that it made piloting harder.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Maelwys

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4872
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #23 on: 15 January 2015, 20:10:40 »
I think its pretty hit or miss. I recall something like that as well, but at the same time, one of Aiden Pryde's opponents isn't wearing one during the Trial of Bloodright, which leads to his death while fighting on a moon.

On the other hand, the writeup of the original Star League cooling suit in Star League handbook stated "When properly worn, the uniform was airtight and had its own air supply. This gave the warrior much greater confidence when fighting on a world that had no atmosphere or one that was poisonous."

So some of the suits atleast have been fluffed as being airtight. As for using a space suit, I'd think the bulkiness of the suit would cause problems, but ultimately other cooling suit ideas would be up to the GM.

Wrangler

  • Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 24875
  • Dang it!
    • Battletech Fanon Wiki
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #24 on: 15 January 2015, 20:21:35 »
Personally, i think MechWarrior cooling suit should have degree of limited extravehicular abilities.  Though not common, a MechWarrior going be piloting in space or tainted atmosphere conditions.   I know we have little game background reason for not having them be like that but it be nice have a suit with that capacity, specially in later were in now and coming up.
"Men, fetch the Urbanmechs.  We have an interrogation to attend to." - jklantern
"How do you defeat a Dragau? Shoot the damn thing. Lots." - Jellico 
"No, it's a "Most Awesome Blues Brothers scene Reenactment EVER" waiting to happen." VotW Destrier - Weirdo  
"It's 200 LY to Sian, we got a full load of shells, a half a platoon of Grenadiers, it's exploding outside, and we're wearing flak jackets." VoTW Destrier - Misterpants
-Editor on Battletech Fanon Wiki

Liam's Ghost

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 7856
  • Miss Chitty finds your honor rules quaint.
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #25 on: 15 January 2015, 21:19:12 »
I think its pretty hit or miss. I recall something like that as well, but at the same time, one of Aiden Pryde's opponents isn't wearing one during the Trial of Bloodright, which leads to his death while fighting on a moon.

On the other hand, the writeup of the original Star League cooling suit in Star League handbook stated "When properly worn, the uniform was airtight and had its own air supply. This gave the warrior much greater confidence when fighting on a world that had no atmosphere or one that was poisonous."

So some of the suits atleast have been fluffed as being airtight. As for using a space suit, I'd think the bulkiness of the suit would cause problems, but ultimately other cooling suit ideas would be up to the GM.

Mechanically (as in A Time of War rules) you can wear non-encumbering armor over top of your standard mechwarrior gear (which would raise your total encumbrance to very encumbered). A clan set lets your wear even encumbering suits (because the neurohelmet isn't as bulky). This means either side can wear a standard flight suit (with environmental sealing) if necessary, but they suffer the penalties of encumbrance.

Also the helmet on the mechwarrior combat suit can itself be sealed.

Finally, if you want to get nuts on the protection, you can wear a marine environmental combat suit over your standard mechwarrior gear.  Though the total weight (from 33 to 38 kg for inner sphere gear) might force you over encumbrance all together, and the marine suit alone runs 15,000

Note, of course, that this is entirely based on the rules, not necessarily on common sense.  A canny GM might object to stuffing the famously bulky inner sphere neurohelmet into the helmet of a marine environmental combat suit. Not to mention applying the negative penalty for being very encumbered. Consider arguing for some sort of integrated suit rather than separate pieces.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Maelwys

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4872
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #26 on: 15 January 2015, 23:05:11 »
I would think most GMs would object to helmet over a helmet :)

One of the issues with various suits over the years is the changing fluffs as things were revised and condensed and what not.

Nikas_Zekeval

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 1624
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #27 on: 23 January 2015, 00:28:13 »
Personally, i think MechWarrior cooling suit should have degree of limited extravehicular abilities.  Though not common, a MechWarrior going be piloting in space or tainted atmosphere conditions.   I know we have little game background reason for not having them be like that but it be nice have a suit with that capacity, specially in later were in now and coming up.

The write up in MWII of the MW combat suit mentioned the helmet had about a half hour air supply and a comm unit built in.  Probably also had hook up for extra air bottles.

idea weenie

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4855
Re: MechWarrior Standard Gear
« Reply #28 on: 24 January 2015, 19:56:19 »
So some of the suits atleast have been fluffed as being airtight. As for using a space suit, I'd think the bulkiness of the suit would cause problems, but ultimately other cooling suit ideas would be up to the GM.

Depends on the suit:
Current NASA suit
Prototype suit

The fun part would be making sure the neck of the Neurohelmet mated properly with the suit itself.  A Star League suit would have all sorts of bells and whistles.  A basic suit would have no bells, and only one whistle.  If you hear the whistle, get inside fast because your suit is leaking.

 

Register