Resistweave Cloth Coveralls

[cosmicfish]

Just as a quick note, TMP is full of technologies for which we do not have any current explanation. Is the goal in this thread to reduce resistweave to something that current science can at least roughly explain, or is the goal to provide a characterization of the material that would allow for a more detailed usage? Because the first sacrifices game effect in order to gain an explanation while the second sacrifices explanation in order to gain a game effect.

[mmartin798]

My leanings are more like Sgt's. The description of a cache often lists replacement coveralls. This means they can and do wear out in some fashion, there is a need for extra coveralls (but why call them replacements then), or the team members take them off and forget where they put them. The latter two seem less likely than the first. So, how the coveralls work give some insight as to the degree of wear to expect.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by mmartin798

So, how the coveralls work give some insight as to the degree of wear to expect.

I understand that, but it is still fiat. Resistweave is a fictional supermaterial that is already clearly unlike any existing material or any material on our current technological horizon. It is suitable for coveralls (and presumably similar outerwear), it provides a certain level of protection, and it is provided without any information about wearing out other than the existence of replacements (which exist for literally everything).

Rather than guessing about which cutting edge technologies might be impossibly twisted to get something that isn't quite resistweave, why not just hammer out some rules and see if they sound reasonable?

For example:

Resistweave (and other personal protective gear, which would reasonably just be made of more layers of this wonder material!) loses one SP every 2 years or for every 5 points of penetrating E-Factor (meaning that SP 7 armor hit by an E-Factor weapon would see 3 points penetrate). Keeping track of initial damage, half of it can be repaired at the expense of ten minutes and one patch (standard issue) per penetrating point.

How does that look? It make no suppositions on what the material actually is because anything that exists even on the horizon would seem to contradict the game effect, but it still provides a framework for game play.

[bobcat]

the reason that the resistweave uniforms need replaced isn't ballistic degradation it's CBRN contamination. remember the mission was supposed to happen 5 years after the boom which means lots of stray fallout and undispersed chemical and biological contamination all over the place. if you're going to be working with survivors and don't want to bury half of them you need to replace the uniforms frequently enough to not track contamination all over the place.

[mmartin798]

That may be part of the reason, but it certainly is not clear. 3rd edition states the coveralls are water and gas resistant while 4th edition only states water resistance. Though you are very correct that there is most likely, in either case, an activated carbon inner lining to mitigate casual contact with harmful substances when not wearing a hazard suit. That would give a reason to replace them regularly.

[dragoon500ly]

Always had issues with a set of armor/NBC coveralls as daily wear. Wear and tear will always leave the NBC side compromised when you must need it, and as anyone's who has spent any time at MOPP Level 3 can tell you, it is hot, sweaty, and damned uncomfortable to spend the day in.

I go with a set of BDUs in resist-weave, reinforced with a vest and helmet when needed. Players are issued NBC clothing in sealed pouches for when it is necessary.

One final note for coveralls as everyday wear, when moving by vehicle over rough ground, living on a diet of dehydrated rations and chemically purified water, with some fresh local veggies and maybe that rabbit you shot earlier, your digestive tract is going to become quite active, Montezuma's Revenge, the Marine Quick Step, the Tanker's Trot, you get the idea. Now, just picture our suffering hero, wearing his coveralls, his web gear and weapon, unassing his vehicle, ducking into the local undergrowth and trying to get undressed for that emergency download...

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

Always had issues with a set of armor/NBC coveralls as daily wear. Wear and tear will always leave the NBC side compromised when you must need it, and as anyone's who has spent any time at MOPP Level 3 can tell you, it is hot, sweaty, and damned uncomfortable to spend the day in.

Yep, this should add a level of fatigue, a level of difficulty, and slow movement in physical tasks....... such as movement to contact through the woods.

In winter not so much, but come summer the TMP members are going to keel over with heat exhaustion in the first kilometer of movement.

Unfortunately, just like real life, this leans toward a tendency to drive a vehicle all the way to the objective.

[mikeo80]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

Just as a quick note, TMP is full of technologies for which we do not have any current explanation. Is the goal in this thread to reduce resistweave to something that current science can at least roughly explain, or is the goal to provide a characterization of the material that would allow for a more detailed usage? Because the first sacrifices game effect in order to gain an explanation while the second sacrifices explanation in order to gain a game effect.

I have always played TMP science as a "Handwave" type of existence. I mean, fusion power, resist weave, lasers, Med Bed, med kit, CBR, cryo sleep, etc., etc., etc. Heck the whole idea of TMP working like a massive Manhattan Project is WAY out there.

So why play? Because it is FUN!!! I am a role play geek from WAY back. (V1 D&D) I can imagine the shock and horror of waking up in a freeze tube and discovering that something went FUBAR. What do you mean it's 150+ years AFTER we were supposed to wake up??!!??!! And no Prime Base. And no support teams. And nothing else we were expecting. So let's lock and load, roll out and see what we CAN do!

My $0.02

Mike

[mmartin798]

I am good with a healthy dose of handwavium in my games. Black sphere generators, PGMP-13 and FGMP-15, and even the gauss rifle require generous doses of it to take items from Traveler. Morrow Project is a little different.
Here, we talk about technologies that are not just flights of fancy or on the fringe of theoretical science.

We understand the physics of fusion, non-Newtonian fluids and the like. I don't have a problem with a 1 MW fusion reactor that fits in the backseat and trunk of my car. I do have a problem with the neutrons from a D-D reaction being stopped by shielding in such a small package. He3-He3 solves that and I use a great deal of handwavium in finding source of He3 and a fusion reactor to use it. Likewise liquid body armors exist and have some great advantages over Kevlar plates. A major disadvantage for some is being much heavier than Kevlar plate of comparable protection. Add some handwavium and we can imagine that there is a shear thickening fluid that uses advanced nanostructured silica particles that lock and unlock with shear forces that is much lighter and in a fluid that allow them to stay in suspension for 4 months. So now we have fusion power vehicles and resistweave coveralls.

Cosmicfish asked what the goal was and had two outcomes. My rationale is for a third. If something happens that is not described through game descriptions and is not something common, I need to have an understanding of the basics of how it might work to make a reasonable ruling. Because we all know what happens when a round strikes a rifle and damages the receiver. Gun will not function. But because I know a rifle is a long metal tube with a serviceable handle, if my player wants to use it as a club it would function as one, even though this use is not listed as a game effect. This is the kind of understanding I want with resistweave. Afterall, why not use a layer of resistweave sandwiched between leather on the boots? Resistweave coveralls have AV B7 NB4, but boots only have AV B4 NB4. Real world body armor works best with a firm fit against the body. Too loose or tight and it sacrifices some measure of protection. Are the coveralls loose fitting or like a spandex body suit if fit matters. Granted, these questions have no immediate affect to any game I run. But trying to figure these kind of things out helps for unusual circumstances and I need to make a ruling.