Battle Armor d20
From: Interactive Design Adventures
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
Battle Armor d20 is a new PDF Sourcebook from Interactive Design Adventures.
Armor has always been something of an afterthought in many sci-fi games, and d20 is no different. Many forget a key point when they get new and neat ways to take out their enemy – the enemy has access to those new and neat ways too. Although most d20 have some armor, not many have gone into detail like this supplement. An extra bonus this supplement has is that it is by a d20 regular, Owen K.C. Stephens. This supplement is meant for d20 Modern or d20 Future.
From the website:
“For centuries there has been a race between weapon and armor development. As soon as a new defensive technology is developed, weapons are built to overcome them.”
A total of ten different types of powered armor are presented in this supplement, and they range in genre from the far future to the pulp sci-fi of the 1930s. However, it first starts out with descriptions of several common equipment items in the armor suits that are presented – Equipment Mount, Gear Web, Ready Rack, and Weapon Mount. Not every suit has each of these items, but the author mentions these up front as important items that appear multiple times.
The ten suits included are: Centurion Powered Armor, Deathsport Uniform, Legionnaire Tactical Combat Suit, Long Rifle Assault Armor, Marauder Heavy Combat Armor, Predator Battle Armor, Shadow Suit, Sky Commando, Thinsuit, and Tin Man. Each armor suit is fully illustrated and stat’ed out. It is important to note that the defense bonus is given in terms of armor class bonus, but a conversion system to damage reduction value is supplied. However, each armor has a Progress Level (PL) stat.
Each is reviewed below.
Centurion Powered Armor is a PL 6 armor suit meant to be simple and versatile. Developed as an answer to the 21st Century’s new forms of warfare like small strikes against terrorist groups, urban battles against local warlords in disaster areas, and mid-size conflicts involving biological and chemical weapons, the Centurion was built with no weapons mounted. It has a slight strength augmentation built in, however, but had a limited power-cell. In general, it is a limited use powered armor.
Deathsport Uniform is an interesting PL 5 suit used in a dark future’s death games – futuristic gladiatorial games, a la Running Man. A cross between armor from Road Warrior and Roller Ball, this suit of armor is non-powered and simple, but stylish.
The Legionnaire Tactical Combat Suit was built as the ultimate combat suit (PL 5/6). Made of special light-weight and flexible material, it saw action in the military, police and mercenary teams. It is quite a multi-purpose suit of armor.
Long Rifle Assault Armor is a medium tactical suit of armor, PL 5. It was built to allow a single soldier to carry and use a heavy weapon into combat unaided while on the move. It has a weapons mount capable of carrying a huge weapon. Unfortunately, the design had its flaws, in that, the armor was not much armor at all. It focused on the weapons handling systems which left very little room for a lot of armor. It has a low armor class value.
Marauder Heavy Combat Armor is a heavy tactical PL 6 armor that is nothing but bruit-force armor. It has no mounted weapons but is a heavy powered armor suit.
From the website:
“With the release of numerous weapon compendiums for modern and sci-fi games, armors have been losing the race in d20 games. But now, Battle Armor strikes back to balance the odds.”
Predator Battle Armor is a leak PL7 heavy tactical armor suit that is light weight but packs a punch. It uses advanced technology, and it focuses on the “core needs of a soldier.” It is one of the more popular units of its time.
Shadow Suit is a light armor suit with a primary function of stealth. It has enhanced abilities to see in the dark and other obscuring situations and a stealth mode that gives it considerable bonuses to Hide and Move Silently.
Sky Commando is a PL7 armor suit that has gravity inducers, enabling it to fly, and built-in weapons. It created new levels of tactics with the advent of the flying soldier.
Thinsuit, as its name implies, is a thin suit that is easily concealed and worn under clothing. The suit itself is invisible to sensors and can distribute the damage of any heat or electricity attack to minimize the damage to the wearer.
Tin Man is a silly armor suit set in the pulp sci-fi era of 1930. Taken out of some Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers serial, this behemoth is a riveted steal heavy armor suit that saw action in the Second World War on both sides. Effective in many heavy assaults, the Tin Man also had its weaknesses.
In conclusion, this is a quality supplement that I would like to see more of. In fact, I would like to see a full sourcebook of this type of stuff for d20 Future. Well written and complete, it definitely left me wanting more.
For more details on Interactive Design Adventures and their new PDF Sourcebook “Battle Armor d20” check them out at their website http://www.idadventures.com/.
Battle Armor d20
From: Interactive Design Adventures
Type of Game: PDF Sourcebook
Written by: Owen K.C. Stephens
Contributing Authors: Lj Stephens
Developed by: Owen K.C. Stephens
Cover Art by: M. Newell Curlee
Additional Art by: M. Newell Curlee
Number of Pages: 20
Game Components Included: 1 PDF File
Game Components Not Included: d20 Core Rulebooks
Retail Price: $ 5.00 (US)
Item Number: IDA40004
Website: www.idadventures.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung