Powering Your Armor Suit

Of course your suit is going to need energy to maintain all of the basic and advanced systems that you've decided to put on it. There are several sources of power that have been created for power armor. Each take up a variety of space and provide varying amounts of time (depending on how much you've put on your suit).

Sources

Internal

Battery: Batteries are the most common sources of power for armor. Most batteries are integral to the suit and are rechargable, either through suit rechargers or standard power supplies. Batteries take up more space and can rarely be replaced in the field. They are the most readily available power source for armor.

.....Standard: These are the standard batteries available for power suits. They are interchangable between many power sources utilities and are the most commonly found.

.....Custom: As with everything, someone decides they don't want the standard, so they have special batteries made. These are more expensive and are not found anywhere except where the designer made them. If a battery is damaged or lost, a replacement must be built. (see Securing Your Armor).

.....Nonrechargable: These are the most inexpensive of all batteries. They are one time batteries that breakdown as they are being used. Once they have expended their supply of energy they are useless and can be thrown away. These batteries have a longer shelf-life than a rechargable.

Power Cells: Power cells are fantastic sources of power for armor, although they generally provide the least amount of power. Some of the larger suits utilize power cells as back-up energy cells to their batteries. They easily snap to a power distribution belt and can be changed easily in the field. They are a bit costly, but require the least amount of space. Power cells come in the same Standard, Custom, and Nonrechargable configurations as standard batteries.

Solar: While solar power is widely used in buildings and vehicles, it is still in it's experimental stages for power armor. It requires a lot of space and provides limited power.

External:

GridLink™: This is very similar to the Gridlink™ system used by vehicles, although it is condensed for use in armor. To use the Gridlink™ power the suit must be equipped with a special absorbtion device. The power comes from a localized generator. This system is fantastic for use within compounds, large buildings, or other sights that require persons to go long periods of time without recharging. These are also used in places that have limited resources and suits are literally used 24 hours a day.

Hardwire: This is possible, but rarely used. Hardwiring entails an actual power cable being run from the power source directly into the suit. This can be used if the person wearing the armor is limited to a particular area and cannot move to other areas. For instance, a stationary guard may have a 20' hardwire, enabling him to remain charged and operable while plugged in. When he unplugs himself, his batteries or other power source kicks in. This helps keep heavily equipped armor ready for an 8 hour shift, without having to keep changing batteries.

Suit Requirements

Each developed suit will have different power requirements. Every user will have different uses for his/her armor. A Corporate Security Team may have to keep it's armor functioning for long periods of time, wheras a Police SWAT team planning on a quick assault may only need to be operational for periods less than one hour. It is up to the builder or designer of the suit to determine what the suit will be used for, as each power source connection does require Utility Slots, and some batteries require more slots than others. Power cells do not fit in Battery Utility Slots and so forth.

Before you can allocate your Utility Slots, it is best to figure out what your suit will need for basic power. Several things factor in to the powering of a suit. The first and foremost thing is the overall weight of the suit. Other considerations are the Strength and Quickness modifiers. Lastly, we determine how many of the utility slots are pulling power (NOTE: We do not include the batteries or power system slots as requiring power). To figure out the overall weight of the suit, just add up all of the weight categories from Armor, Body, Strength, Quickness, and Utility columns. (see Armor Chart)That plus the weight of the frame (see Frame Chart) will give you the total weight of the suit.

Once the weight of the suit is determined, we have to calculate how much power the Strength, Quickness, and Utilities are using. (NOTE: Body and Armor do not utilize power). Keep in mind that when figuring how many of your Utility slots are filled DO NOT COUNT Power Slots. The chart below will tell you how to calculate your suits effects on batteries.

Now simply take the weight of your armor and figure out what your divisibility number is. Once you have found your divisibility number you can simply divide that into the power supply time. For example, you have a battery pack with a 4 hour supply time and a divisibility number of 2. Your operational time becomes 2 hours with that battery. Now let's complicate things a bit.

Strength, Quickness, and Utilities utilize a significant amount of power. To figure out how much power is used by them off of a single battery pack.....use the following calculations:

Strength: Multiply the Strength Level by .25 and round appropriately.. That number will be added to your current divisibility number. For example, a level 4 strength would have a divisibility number of 1 (4 X .25 = 1). Add that 1 to the number you already figured from the Armor Weight Power Ratio Chart above. The suit we mentioned above with the divisibility number of 2, would now have a 3, thus changing it's power usage to roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes. (4 / 3 = 1.33). For the sake of the game, the GM can round the power to the nearest half-hour or hour.

Quickness: Multiply the Quickness Level by .50 and round appropriately. That number will be added to your current divisibility number. A level 4 Quickness would have a divisibility number of 2 (4 X .50 = 2). Add that 2 to the number you have accumulated already (The 3 from the above example.) Now you have a 5, which is equal to 48 minutes.

Utilities: Multiply the number of utility slots in use by .10 and round appropriately. That number will be added to your current divisibility number. A suit that is using all 6 slots, would have a divisibility number of .6, rounded up making it a 1. Continuing to use that suit makes it's divisibility number a 6. Now you have a 6, which is equal to 40 minutes.

Available Power Supplies

With portable power being utilized in everything from portable phones, to vehicles, to trid systems, to even cyberware components....many companies have developed compatable battery systems and power cells for armor. Some of these batteries were developed for other things and made adaptable by buildiers of specific suits.

Generic batteries require specific recharging from a charging unit, while other brand name batteries are equipped to be recharged from most power sources. Custom batteries are not included here. They are discussed in the Securing Your Armor Section. NOTE: Special Portable Charging units for Brand Name batteries are sold separately for 750¥. The recharging rate is 2/1 (meaning 2 minutes per every 1 minute of recharge, thus a four hour battery takes eight hours for a complete recharge on a portable recharger.)