DEFENSES

POWER SCREENS

The following power screens conform to all of the basic details (shape, size, etc.) described in the Defense, Power Screens section in the Alpha Dawn rules.

Simp Screen: A simp screen is similar to an albedo screen and even has the same silvery aura about it, but it protects against rafflur fire instead of laser damage. For every 6 points (or fraction of 6 points) absorved, 1 SEU is drained from the power source. For example, absorbing 21 points of daamge drains 4 SEU. Any weapon can be fired out of a simp screen. As long as the power holds out, the wearer receives no damage from a rafflur weapon.

Light Shift Screen: A light shift screen (LSS) sets up a light-bending shell around the individual or unit using it. The effects of the shell differ for each type of screen, but energy consumption and penetration are the same for all LSSs. LSSs use SEUs at different rates in different types of lighting. The following is a guideline for the referee on SEU usage in different light intensities.

Light Intensity
Artificial Darkness
Natural Darkness
Dusk, smoke, thick gas, etc.
Average room light, cloudy day,
minor smoke, etc.
Bright room light, partly sunny
day, etc.
Intense artificial light,
floodlight, sunny day
High intensity concentrated light,
powerlight, close proximity flare,
etc. SEU/10 turns
1/4
1/2
1

1.5

2

3

4

One SEU is drained each time the screen absorbs a point of damage from a laser.

Visible penetration of the shell is impossible while the LSS is on, but detection is possible in one of two ways. Infrared optics always show the proper heat image and location of an individual usuing a LSS. Ultraviolet optics show operating LSSs as areas of solid purple light.

Light shift screens are rare and expensive. Most civilized worlds forbid their use as they are prefereed devices of criminals, Sathar agents, etc.

There are three types of LSSs.

Type I: A Type I LSS bends all light away from the shell, thus creating a totally black area. This LSS types is usually used at night or by a character masking his identity.

Type II: The Type II LSS shifts the wearer's image away from his actual location to a distance of one to three meters in a fixed direction. The direction must be specified whenthe character purchases the device. Type II LSS devices that are found or taken from fllen foes can ahve their direction determined by using the Area Effect Weapon Miss Diagram. The shifted image that appears is an exact duplicate of the character using the LSS. This version of the LSS is often used by Star Lawmen and Landfleet officers to draw enemy fire away from themselves.

Type III: The Type III unit is a variation on the type II but instead of shifting a single image of the wearer it creates up to five images (at the wearer's option), all exactly the same. Type III LSSs always create the images in a side-by-side line, with up to three meters between each image. These LSSs are often used by Landfleet soldiers to draw fire away from themselves and to swell their ranks, thus confusing the enemy.

DEFENSIVE SUITS

Synthvelope: A sythvelope suit is a synthetic one-piece envelope that absorbs the damage from proton beam weapons (rafflurs). For each point of damage absorbed, the suit receives one point of damage. When it has accumulated at least 100 points of damage, the suit becomes useless. The suit must be stepped into from the back and zipped up, completely encasing the wearer's body except for the head. It isflexible enough even for a Dralasite to use.

Maser Mesh: Maser mesh is used to protect against maser attacks. It resembles chainmail and can be purchased in different sizes.

Full maser mesh, which almost touches the ground, is heavy and a bit cumbersome. While is completely nullifies the effect of maser fire, it is also easily picked up by scanners and radar.

Partial maser mesh, similar in size to a long shirt, is lighter and harder to trace than full mesh, but only absorbs half the damage from masers.

A character wearing maser mesh is vulnerable to electrical attacks and receives an additional 50% damage from them. Maser mesh does not adapt well to unusual Dralasites shapes.

Dead Suit: A dead suit is a black one-piece synthetic garment that resembles a wet suit. It masks the heat emissions of the character wearing it, thus preventing any IR devices or heat scanners from detecting the wearer.

Gridsuit: The gridsuit is probably the most unusual, sought after, and expensive of defensive suits. Like skeinsuits, it comes in both military and civilian styles. The military style is a camouflaged uniform that has convenient patch pockets. The civilian style can be any fashion desired, though this may increase the cost.

Much more important than the style is the inner lining of the suit, a nullifying absorption field circuit that absorbs and dissipates large amounts of energy. The suit can absorb up to 30 points of energy damage per turn from lasers, rafflurs, masers, bolt weapons, and electrical attacks before it allows damage to pass through to the wearer.

If attacks cause more than 30 points of damage in a turn, the excess damage is inflicted upon the wearer. The suit absorbs damage in this fashion every turn. It is destroyed after 100 points of damage are received from projectile or gyrojet weapons. It also comes in elasticized styles for Dralasites.

HELMETS

Helmets come in many shapes and sizes to fit all races. Most are made with modular sections that can be removed to add microphones, goggles, etc. The items in this section can be added to helmets.

There are eight ports on a helmet; only one item can be attached to a port. The cost for a helmet attachment is slightly more than for the normal item (add 20%). Items marked "(a)" are found in the Alpha Dawn rule book, other items are described in this book.

Power helmetpack
Gas mask (a)
Infrared (IR) goggles or visor (a)
Magnigoggles or visor (a)
Poly-vox (a)
Radiophone (a)
Sun goggles or visor (a)
Electromagnetic goggles or visor
Infralight
IR high resolution goggles or visor
Powerlight
Solar goggles or visor
Starlight goggles or visor
Ultraviolet (UV) goggles or visor
Sonic headphones
Minigrenade launcher
Helmet rafflurs
Computer link (see Computer section in this book for helmet additions)

Visors can have up to three functions, such as electromagnetic, infrared, and ultraviolet capabilities. These combination visors are more expensive than normal ones (the cost of all three types is +20% of the total cost).

Sonic Headphones: These headphones are only found in a helmet and are useless if removed. They provide a natural, non-powered sonic baffler that protects the ears and head from sonic damage. Any character wearing a helmet with sonic headphones only receives half damage from sonic attacks, unless otherwise stated. Extremely strong sonic attacks, such as boomer grenades or sonic warheads, affect the entire body and sonic headphone have no effect on those.

Minigrenade Launcher: This device can hold six sonic marble grenades and has a range of 25 meters (no range combat modifiers apply). Up to three grenades can be launched per turn. This grenade launcher is activated by a jaw-tension mechanism and is an action that can be performed in addition to ther actions that round. (Referees should note that if the player is firing a hand-held weapon that round the grenades must be launched in the same direction as the player is looking.)

A minigrenade launcher cannot be affixed to a helmet that is already equipped with helmet rafflurs. The minigrenade launcher can launch a total of 60 grenades per microdisc.

Helmet Rafflurs: These double projections (one on each side) on the helmet are actually two rafflur M-1s that are activated by a jaw-tension mechanism. The range is 12 meters maximum (no range combat modifiers apply) and a single attack roll is made for both rafflurs.

Each rafflur has its own microdisc power source. Helmet rafflurs cannot be affized to a helmet that already has a minigrenade launcher attached.

OPTICAL DEVICES

Electromagnetic Optics: EM optics are used to spot the tell-tale pale blue or purple sheen surrounding all force screens and fields, whether caused by a device or a Mentalist discipline. Pressor beams, used for lifting and moving cargo, can also be seen by EM optics.

Floodlight: This extremely powerful light comes in many shapes and sizes, but is usually cylindrical, 60 cm long with a 60 cm diamter. It is most often mounted on vehicles, larger robots, and installations.

A floodlight must be powered by either powerpacks or parabatteries. One SEU is required every ten minutes of operation. A floodlight can cast a beam of light up to 600 meters. If it is directed at a character's eyes (requiring a Resolution Table roll on the Level 1 column each turn), the character cannot see clearly and suffers a -2 Column Shift combat modifier to all attacks made that turn.

Holo-Projector: The holoprojector operates in similar fashion to a holo-screen (see Defenses in Alpha Dawn), but can send the image on a high intensity laser beam up to a distance of 20 meters. The projector is the size of a 30-cm cube.

Infralight: This form of powerlight emits an infrared beam that can only be seen by those using IR optics. All other statistics are the same as a powerlight. It is generally used as an invisible signal or search light.

Infrared High-Resolution Optics: IRHR optics allow a character all the advantages of normal IR optics plus the ability to see maser fire. Unfortunately, it also adds the penalty for microwave blindness. A character wearing an IRHR optical device is blinded for 1d10 minutes if struck from the front by a maser blast. If the result is a 10, roll 1d10 again. If the second roll is also a 10, the character is permanently blinded (though he may have bionic optics replace his eyes).

Omnoculars: This optical device resembles a large binoculars and combines the abilities of magnigoggles with an automatic range and vector readout that gives the exact location of any object in view. The maximum omnocular range is three kilometers.

Various features can be added to omnoculars: IR, IRHR, UV, EM, and starlight capabilities can all be added as lens attachments (at the feature's normal cost plus a 20% installation fee).

A spotter using omnoculars adds a +1 Column Shift to the attack of a long-range weapon, such as a grenade mortar. This is a delicate piece of equipment with a built-in computer and should be treated carefully. Omnoculars are microdisc powered for 100 hours of use.

Powerlight: The pwoerlight is a cylinder 60 cm long by 20 cm in diameter. Its beam has a range of up to 300 meters and it operates for 400 hours on two microdiscs.

Solar Optics: Solar optics look like giggles, but have a thin layer of polarized material between the glass that instantly darkens when brilliant light appears. Though the reaction is too slow to prevent the wearer from suffering the effects of a flash grnade, solar optics do help a character looking into floodlights and powerlights. This type of optics is used extensively by starship personnel.

Starlight Optics: Starlight optics are a product of pre-Frontier technology. When using starlight optics, night scenes are viewed as clearly as if it were daytime. This is because starlight optics greatly amplify even very low levels of lighting to almost daytime intensities. Therefore the character suffers no penalties for darkness. The only time starlight optics do not work is when the sky is heavily overcast and no artificial light is present.

Ultraviolet Optics: UV optics are useful in detecting anything printed or written in UV ink, paint, or dye (commonly used by Star Law to mark valuable objects), a LSS in use, or any object that emits UV waves.

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