Armor Types

## *Standard Template Power Armor*

*Standard Template Power Armor, usually shortened to just Standard Power Armor or even more simply Power Armor, is an extremely powerful and technologically advanced combat oriented exoskeleton designed to enhance human combat performance on every level by offering an impressive amount of weaponry and devices at their disposal. Power Armor is designed to dramatically increase all physical properties of the operator possessing it, including strength, speed, reflexes, agility and combat awareness. The armor features multiple layers which help enhance and protect the wearer. The suits visor can show upcoming threats even in smoke. Many power armored warriors will employ melee weapons in addition to their already fearsome abilities. It is a balanced and deadly combination of maneuverability, protection and power. During combat situations, the suits normally monitor their operator's vital signs, and is capable of providing a one-shot dose of emergency medications in order to keep the operator alive. In a truly dire situation, the armor's ejection system could be activated, blowing the suit apart and sending the operator flying off in any given direction. These suits could be salvaged afterward, but usually at great expense. Standard Power Armor models usually possess immune systems within them to help the wearer fight off computer viruses. As many suits require a cybernetic uplink to be fully utilized, this system also protects against attempts at mind control. Power Armor requires extensive training before being utilized in battle. This is because an inexperienced soldier using Power Armor is unable to operate the suit to its maximum potential, becoming extremely clumsy and slow. It requires months of tireless training to effectively utilize Power Armor in combat.*

*In addition to their impressive weaponry, the most advanced suits of power armor are equipped with potent defensive field generators. This comes in the form of a rechargeable shielding system which creates a protective layer around the armor and shields the user from most forms of heavy weaponry, unless the enemy weapon is within shield piercing range. Any attacks not traveling at a high enough velocity, like melee strikes from a blade, may not trigger the shield systems at all. With an internal air supply and full sealing against outside forces, the suit could provide full life support as long as there was power, providing protection against most extreme environments such as deep space. Despite the armor's immense size, the powered servos allowed the operator to move as freely as if wearing conventional armor, with no loss of speed. The size and bulk of some types of armor required frequent training to don efficiently. Depending on a suit's material state and the user's experience it could take three to twenty minutes to suit up. Constant drills allow experienced wearers to complete the task in just one minute. Building suits of power armor is no simple task and can often requite many rare resources depending on the suits specifications. They may be manufactured by the Clans of tech-smiths, mass production lines, or by independent craftsmen. Even within the massive complexes used to mass manufacture Standard Template Power Armor, it can take decades or centuries to build an individual Customized suit of Power Armor. These rare suits are called Relic Armor due to their scarcity.*

*Individuals deemed worthy of wearing Power Armor are frequently high-ranking soldiers, but may also be other skilled fighters, such as veteran mercenaries. Royalty or skilled warriors have the privilege of piloting a named suit of Power Armor with a legacy. These suits are usually far superior to standard variants and have been heavily customized. Utilizing Power Armor is a unique experience, given that the suit behaves as an extension of the body, one that can simply described as doing everything it's wearer is doing. This is accomplished either through the utilization of advanced cybernetic uplink technology that records nerve and muscle impulses or motion-capture technology that serves the same purpose(though, unlike with a cybernetic uplink, this method is unable to neurologically interface with the armor, and thus its bulk is much more cumbersome on the wearer). This information is relayed to a central processing unit, that manipulates the various motors and joint servos in order to mimic the wearer's actions. The armor amplifies a baseline human's strength to considerable superhuman levels, making the wearer roughly 30 times stronger. Naturally, the enhanced strength also allows the use of hard armored plating that would otherwise be impossible for the soldier to carry with ease. The suit is designed to withstand a great deal of physical damage, providing a great deal of protection against beings with strength far superior to that of even an augmented human. Despite this, the suit is not indestructible and can be incapacitated if it takes enough of a beating in battle.*

*Of note is the integrated hydraulic shock absorption system which allows the operator to jump from major heights without damage. The armor is fully sealed, allowing infantry to operate in heavily contaminated environments, such as under the gaze of a Chaos Star. Though Power Armor is bulkier and heavier than regular armor, the fact that it is powered and equipped with systems to enhance the wearer's strength, agility and reflexes make it possible for the wearer to function more effectively in combat than a normal person could, provide a higher degree of protection through the use of heavier but stronger materials and allow the wearer to wield heavy weapons and withstand the recoil generated by them. A soldier equipped with Power Armor would be as powerful as some vehicles in combat. The suit is strictly used only for its allotted usage and weapon assigned. Power Armors come in different variants, from the utility-minded rig of the engineer corpse to elite, heavily armored Commando suits. It is designed so that a normal human can readily "wear" it without modifications such as cybernetics and thus, can swap the outfit easily. However, certain training and sometimes limited cybernetic augmentation is required to allow the use of specific models. Power Armor is powered by a sole dragonist battery that needs to be periodically replaced after the last one runs out of power. Without the battery the armor can't function and soldier inside of it becomes immobilized. Though augmented humans, demihumans and especial Star Spawn are able to move in non-powered armor.*

## *Goliath Assault Armor*

*Reverse-engineered from ancient schematics of powered armored suits used by the Old Empire, the Goliath Assault Armor variants are powerful, militarized suit created to be the perfect modern weapon, designed to take on the most dangerous enemies that would ever assail humanity. The Goliath Assault Armor is several times larger than the standard suits of power armor from which it was derived, primarily due to its function as more of a bipedal tank. Instead of being worn like a traditional suit of armor, it is instead piloted from a small cockpit inside of the chest cavity, with at least the arms of the suit being controlled independently from within. The chest opens and the helmet swings back in order to allow its operator to enter and leave. Most of the suit’s motion are assisted by a set of powerful, external drive pistons visible on the suit’s legs, arms, and across its shoulders. The suit was designed to match the incredible strength of the various supernatural entities which assail humanity, being powered by over twelve dragonist reactors in order to grant the strength required. The Goliath Assault Armor gives its pilot superhuman strength, enabling him to lift up to 175 tons without straining the armor overly much. The most power variants of Goliath Assault Armor are able to hold their own against hundreds of thousands of lesser demons for a sustained period of time before being overwhelmed. Goliath Assault Armor can be deployed from an orbital drop pod if necessary. The armor was built to be much stronger than any previous suits, and to withstand extreme impact damage. Including falls from low orbit.*

*Similar to standard power armor, Goliath Assault Armor is constructed using Promethium, a super tough alloy of incredible strength, nearly indestructible except against the heaviest weapons that can be brought to bear on the battlefield. These suit are rather agile for their size, able to quickly catch up to and physically attack an enemy. However, they still have many of the lumbering motions expected of a suit its size and use of drive system. Most of the armor's weaponry are designed to be attached to the machine, unlike smaller variants of power armor, which has to carry their weapons separately. The armor is equipped with a belt-fed, 23mm, six-barreled gatling gun mounted to its right arm, a rotary grenade launcher mounted to its left arm, a shoulder mounted missile launcher, a laser-guided warhead, a stun device, and flight equipment. Its loadout can be modified with more exotic weapons such as duel shoulder-mounted gatling laser blasters and magnetic railgun with explosive shells. Due to its relatively archaic design and being reversed engineered from a much more advanced model, the Goliath Assault Armor's onboard computer systems have little navigational focus. In fact some very early variations of the suit possess no computer system. Though newer models have made smart targeting the HUD's primary component. For defense, the suit can project a powerful forcefield, and it's durable enough to withstand a battle against dozens of power armored warriors for a limited period of time. Its durability is also impressive, it can take lasers, missiles, and anti-aircraft weapons with absolutely no effect on it.*

*Goliath Assault Armor contains a full exo-skeleton and a complex arrangement of fiber-bundle muscles that allow a warrior to fight with deadly skill in close quarters, where agility is not of paramount importance. Developed to be deployed in environments where tanks and other armored vehicles would be less useful, Heavy Assault Armor stands between 15'0 ft - 20'0 ft tall. These units are suited to carrying and operating heavy artillery and transporting supplies over long distances or through mountainous areas. Its advanced composition allows the wearer to survive hits from firepower that could penetrate tank armor, and it is the heaviest form of combat armor in any Imperial arsenal, able to withstand tremendous punishment. Offensively, it provides the strength to maintain mobility while serving as a solid heavy-weapons platform in open-field combat. Being equipped with multi-barrel guns and several missile launchers, Goliath Assault Armor is extremely dangerous when encountered, whether it be at close, mid or long range. These heavier suits can deploy stationary shield walls at either side of the legs for other soldiers to take cover behind. Allowing them to absorb enemy firepower and protect allied troops as they advance toward enemy positions without sustaining too many losses in the process. It can even withstand the colossal impact of high speed orbital micro debris. It requires rigorous standard years of extra training to fight in Goliath Assault Armor. Each warrior so armored is expected to act as an example to the rest of his brethren by fighting in the most difficult of missions and performing beyond even the lofty standards usually applied to those deemed worthy of standard power armor.*

*Various sensory systems enable the operator to be fully aware of his/her environment, both externally and internally, and to monitor such things as radiation levels, proximity of biological entities and the life signals of the body. These operate in the same way as the support systems in power armor, although several other devices have been added to improve the protective aspects even further.  Threat detectors and motion sensors aid the pilot in avoiding enemy weapon emplacements and other situational dangers. In addition, the suit is fully equipped with a range of auto-senses and targeters, allowing the tracking of targets with the utmost accuracy. Goliath Assault Armor possess flight jets powerful enough to lift the massive suit. The flight jets can either be used during standard operation in short bursts to allow the suit to jump small distances, or the thrusters can reconfigure into a form of flight mode to allow sustained flight. While boasted to be superior to standard power armor, the armor has at least two key weaknesses: It cannot function at the freezing temperatures of the upper atmosphere, as it will freeze over and suffer a complete shutdown, and many of its core mechanics and wiring is setup on the suits exterior where it can be relatively easily damaged, something users of smaller, more agile power armor suits can exploit to disable its targeting system. These weaknesses can usually be negated as the armor would hardly be required to fly at such heights, and its vastly intimidating appearance and loadout would prevent conventional combatants from getting within close combat range.*

## *Spellforged Armor*

*Spellforged suits of armor are created through the use of an arcane enhanced metal called Spellplate, that has been endowed with the esoteric energies of a Chaos Star and shaped by a Spellborn tech-sorcerer. A product of the arcane science, Spellforged sets of power armor provide a level of personal protection unmatched by even the finest suits of armor created through more mundane methods. It is stronger than any known naturally occurring substance and harder to damage than promethium. High caliber projectiles clatter harmlessly against the arcane metal, leaving naught but a mild dent at best. Such is its strength that only the most powerful of weapons stand a chance of penetrating this hellish plate. Aside from being highly resilient to damage, Spellplates true power lies in its ability of self-repair. A testament of the armor's near indestructibility is that whenever Spellforged Armor is severely damaged it will summon the scattered components back to the rest of the armor as it repairs itself. The armor can become a living part of its wearer that can grow and heal organically at a rapid rate as if it were living tissue. In addition to its many other benefits, Spellplate can protect the wearer from the elements, speed the healing of wounds, and increases their natural durability. Spellforged Armor is capable of temporarily repairing debilitating injuries in the heat of battle: reinforcing broken bones and forcibly reallocating dislocated joints, reconstructing their injuries until their last drop of blood has been spent. Possessing many supernatural properties, its restorative powers are such that Spellforged Armor can even allow its users to regrow missing body parts. The armors restorative abilities also render the host immune to diseases and other forms of biological affliction, including those of a supernatural nature. The host's immunity also extends into resistance to majical attacks to the body or mind.*

*Spelforged Armor can heal its hosts of almost any physical wounds, even fatal ones such as torso impalement. This rejuvenating affect also heals psychological trauma endured by the wearer and gives them fortitude in battle. The armor bonds to and vastly augments the physical dexterity of the host wearer, even restoring lost physical attributes which can recede over time. Spellforged armor enables the wearer to survive in all but truly inhospitable environs, from the near limitless cold of the sunless side of a planetoid to the lifeless recess of deep space. The symbiotic nature of Spellforged Armor has the capacity to adjust and augment itself in order to better aid its wearer with new abilities. Some rare variant have the quality of sharpening a users senses to the point that they can see beyond the membrane of reality. The armor also has the capacity to view a persons truest self and secret desires to those whom wield it. Through a telepathic connection, the armor is able to interface with its master's subconsciousness and may also have access to his or her soul due to this neural-supernatural symbiosis. These hellish suits bond for life and become closely connected with their wearer. Linking directly to their host's central nervous system, the armor will listen to the needs and protect based on autonomic nervous system responses. Spellplate possesses adaptive features and will even move to protect the wearer from oncoming assaults against their person. Wearers can also physically interact with as well as disrupt the presence of supernatural ghostly, ethereal entities. The armor is able to damage incorporeal beings and is capable of slaying other-dimensional entities.*

*Spellforged Armor possess the ability to negate effects of certain types of majic and destroy creatures which are immune to more mundane weapons. Those clad in this arcane metal plate are granted superior strength as well, being able to carry objects 20 - 70 times heavier than what they normally could. Spellplate has the power to absorb and store vast quantities of energy for later redistribution. The armor has the effect of greatly enhancing a user's powers, Quasi equipped with such armor will have their already considerable physical and mental capabilities augmented beyond the norm. The symbiotic nature of Spellforged Armor has the capacity to adjust and augment itself in order to better aid its wearer with new abilities. It can also weaken the recovery abilities of its user's enemies, allowing the user to deliver killing blows. Another unique property of Spellforged Armor is its ability to habitually revive it's prominent wielders across the ages repeatedly. The user also remembers everything from their past lives up to the point of their rebirth. In addition to this, the suit is fully equipped with a range of auto-senses and targeters, allowing for the tracking of fast moving enemy targets with near-supernatural accuracy. Spellforged power armor contains its own independent power supply and fully enclosed life-support functions, enabling for survival without air for a limited time. Spellforged armor enables the wearer to survive in all but truly inhospitable environs, from the near limitless cold of the sunless side of a planetoid to the lifeless recess of space.*

*Ornate and weirdly wrought, it is forged from unknown materials that seem to writhe and change before a person's very eyes. Many tech-Barbarian warriors often affix their sets with crude and barbaric talismans that recall the traditions of their own tribes. Many a warband of Star Spawn and demihuman warriors have gone into battle enshrouded in great cloaks of furs, wearing necklaces fixed with human teeth and the fangs of yet other beasts that are simply better not to mention. As with more mundane power armor, Spellforged armor is capable of being outfitted with shields but also usually utilizes glyhs or runic spells of protection. The Preserved leering heads of fallen enemies, human and bestial creatures alike, stare accusingly at those brave enough to look upon them. Spiked trophy racks protrude from massive shoulders, the skulls of the enemy a barbaric testament to their wearer's martial prowess. The bestial bestial, yet ornate masks that are the helms often sport great tusks and fearsome horns. These adornments conspire to give the impression of an unnatural, predatory monster searching for its next meal. The wargear of these terrifying warriors varies dramatically, including weapons taken as trophies from slain foes, and arcane equipment carefully maintained for thousands of years. Typically they will utilize both close and ranged weapons. This deadly combination of devastating anti-personnel firepower and clout in close quarters fighting makes a warrior bedecked in Spellforged Armor a deadly and highly-feared opponent.*

### *Unique Variants*

*Runic Power Armor(Rushar & Gothmir)*

*Berserker Power Armor(Rushar)*

*Zsera Power Armor(Nimidians)*

*Draconys Power Armor(Nimidians)*

*Angelus Power Armor(Sanguinarians)*

## *Exosuits*

*Also called Tactical Combat Armor utulized, exosuits were designed more with enhancing a person's, agility, speed and dexterity to even greater extents than any previous renditions of power armor. Being much more form fitting and not as heavily armored. An exosuit also provides additional benefits such as built in weaponry and stealth camouflage. While most suits have armored, mechanical, or even robotic parts, the suits also have biological parts, such as artificial muscle tissue that could enhance physical strength and resilience. This type of suit was designed primarily to provide incredible protection against all forms of physical attacks, specifically crushing and ballistic impacts. As well as specializing in infiltration and stealth based missions, where bulkier power armor was at a greater disadvantage. The wearer is capable of superhuman feats of agility and reflexes, they are also granted superhuman running speed and jumping capabilities. The exosuit has the ability to greatly enhance a user's strength, making them up to 10 - 20 times stronger. The organic muscle fibers are capable of hardening, so as to better protect the wearer, though the exosuits still utilizes traditional ceramic armored plates attached over the suit's muscle fibers for added protection.*

*Though, the muscle fibers still offers relatively less protection when compared to its Power Armor counterpart, this is understandable when considering the suit was not designed for use on the frontlines. These muscle fibers can also inject a cocktail of performance-enhancing narcotics that are readily absorbed into the blood stream through the wearers skin. This allows the wearer to fight on even when mortally wounded and further enhances their physical abilities. Exosuits protect the wearer from other harmful factors including radiation, energy blasts, blunt trauma, kinetic force and renders any gas weapon useless. Most exosuits possess a cloak mode that renders the wearer almost completely invisible from the human eye and most electronic sensors, emphasizing their purpose as a stealth suit. The Exosuit incorporates a small internal oxygen supply for underwater activity or when the wearer is outside of a breathable atmosphere. Exosuits possess several magnetic holsters on the suit for weapons storage and management. It also has in-built ammo pouches to carry large amounts of munitions and explosive devices that exosuit users may require for use in hostile environments.*

*The exosuit incorporates an array of "thrusters" that allow increased speed when sprinting, as well as high maneuverability when submerged. Similar to Powered Assault Armor, exosuits can also directly interface with the wearer's brain. This allows the wearer to use the suit's processors as like a part of their own brain, essentially making most of their thought processes happen outside of their own brain. The interface allows the wearer access to most of the suit's internal systems and is capable of significantly improving the data transfer rate between the motor cortex of the wearer and the exosuit processing unit, further improving the wearer's already lightning-quick reaction time. Exosuits are powered by special dragonist cores located in spinal region. The destruction of the core will result in the exosuits destruction as well. Like power armor, Exosuits can be enhanced with magical runes, glyphs and wards for added benefits. Such as increasing the armors effectiveness against supernatural foes that otherwise would be extremely difficult to defeat by more conventional means. Spell enhanced exosuits are estimated to be at least twenty times superior to the original exosuits and are known to improve virtually all the weapons of the suit.*

## *Bio-Armor*

*Bio Armor was designed as an all-purpose environmental suit for the specific purposes of the wearers. Although classified as armor, Bio Armor also changes many aspects of the hosts biological system, including the removal and rearranging of organs. Besides increasing the powers of a wearer when he/she wears it, it also shields them from telepathic commands and attacks. This unique form of armor was first created for and is most often utilized by the Homunculus, better known as the Dushkaari, though the technology has fallen in to the hands of a few other races as well, such as the Sanguinarians. Though the armor operates at its best when paired with a Dushkaari, having been designed specifically for their needs. Bio Armor is crafted from a material of unknown origin and chemical or molecular structure that possesses the extraordinary ability to regenerate almost all damage instantaneously, "flowing" back together as if it were a liquid while closing bullet holes, mending gashes and tears, or even reattaching severed pieces with little delay. The material is also adaptive in some unknown fashion and can learn to repair itself given enough time from nearly any form of damage. While extraordinarily resilient, an activated suit of Bio Armor can still be damaged, even destroyed with the proper tools. Similar to most suits of power armor, Bio Armor is humanoid in form - mostly because all known hosts are humanoid. The organism that composes the majority of Bio Armor is capable of repairing and regrowing any part of itself or it's host at an extremely high rate. Bio Armor possesses the ability to regrow approximately 50% of the host's brain and skull in a matter of minutes.*

*The most recognizable power of Bio Armor is its ability to cover its host in protective armor, that adapts depending on how much damage the user is receiving. The armor itself is incredibly strong and is impervious to all manner of firearms, explosives and even energy blasts. Bio Armor can form various close quarter weapons weapons ranging from swords and other stabbing weapons, to hooks, chains, shields, etc.. The material is also adaptive in some unknown fashion and can learn to repair itself given enough time from nearly any form of damage. It is unbelievably resilient, and can absorb incredible amounts of damage and then reform all tears or punctures over a period of time. Bio Armor itself is semi-sentient being essentially a living creature and can act on its own in a limited capacity if its host is unable to consciously control it. In this mode, it usually acts only in self-preservation towards a perceived threat. Bio Armor usually demonstrates this function after its host has been left unconscious follow the bonding process. It is also this semi-sentience that prevents the host from disengaging the armor if they have sustained injuries that would prove fatal without the Bio Armor's protection and ability to rapidly heal from damage. The first suits of Bio Armor were the result of experimentation conducted by the creators of the Homunculus eons ago on the effects of the armor unit that had successfully bonded with their newly bioengineered humanoid weapons. The results were astonishing, but the newly-developed psionic shielding liberated the Homunculus subject from her creators' control. The newly-created creature turned on her creators and eventually destroyed their entire civilization in a devastating interstellar rebellion that killed countless billions.*

*The primary ability of Bio Armor is that the organism that composes the majority of the suit is engineered to adapt, conform, and enhance the physical characteristics of the host lifeform as to maximize their full genetic potential. By comparison, during the war that ravaged their society, the Bio Armor-equipped creators of the Homunculus were vastly inferior to the equipped Dushkaari(who were engineered as weapons themselves). In this fashion, the powers and capabilities of an armored organism are dictated by their host genetics. In general the armor will most likely boost all of the physical capabilities of its hosts without distinction and raise the strength, speed, stamina, endurance, and reflexes of all its hosts. The armor will also protect any host from harsh environments that could hurt or even kill the host. The Bio Armor organism partially merges with the host, augmenting the host on both a genetic and cellular level. Though the host's bones and muscles aren't replaced, they are biologically enhanced by this merger, increasing their cellular growth to peak (meaning muscle and bone density are increased to peak levels; this is why the host's physical conditioning is irrelevant) and infused with energy that both helps fuel the host's biology and increases the host's density and thus grants the host superhuman strength. The physical alterations, like the replaced heart and lungs, provide for far greater blood flow, super oxygenated blood, and super efficient metabolism. Bio Armor can show its host scenes of great trauma, and allow the host to relive experiences from past wearers as dreams. Certain senses are heightened; such as the ability to literally feel a person's footsteps from several yards away, even while underground. The hosts can occasionally perceive a person as they really are, beyond the glamour of humanity.*

## *Semi-Power Armor*

*Semi Power Armor is a lighter, less bulky version of Standard Power Armor and a far step above more common patterns of armor. Being issued to high ranking regular army soldiers or even nobles, Semi Power Armor serves as a means of extra protection. Like all suits of Power Armour, Semi Power Armor consists of an ingenious merging of thick adamant protective plates and a complex system of muscle-like, electrically motivated fibrebundles to augment the user's movements and strength. Semi Power Armor does not augment the wearer's strength or speed to nearly the same degree as Standard Power Armor, it provides protection from all ballistic and directed energy weaponry, and even light shrapnel/explosive protection. Semi Power Armor also provides light protection from the environment and other elements. As well as being capable of having a shield generator. Although this shielding is generally inferior in strength to the shielding systems of suits of fully powered armor. Though unlike standard Power Armor, it is not(at least without additional gearing)fully environmentally sealed or designed for extended operations. Like all true suits of power armor, Semi Power Armor consists of an ingenious merging of thick protective armored plates and is tailor forged uniquely to its intended wearer to allow for their complete freedom of movement, so as to augment their reaction speed. The boots are also magnetized. Created initially as a cheaper and much more easily produced alternative to actual power armor, this lighter variant of armor provides excellent protection with little to no reduction in movement speed or agility.*

*Although, as the wearers are not implanted with either a cybernetic uplink or the sophisticated motion capture capabilities of true power armor, that allows users to cybernetically interface fully with their own armor, they must forego the more advanced life-support systems and strength-enhancing abilities used by the Standard Power Armor as well. The suit has an integral backpack power supply that can last for up to a week of continuous combat operations (if the armor is not being used in combat, its power supply can last for far longer). The suit’s removable helmet contains the equivalent of integral, high-quality photo-visors (providing the user with nightvision and the ability to see in multiple spectrums of light, as well as making the wearer immune to the effects of flash grenades). The armors helm also contains a rebreather, allowing the wearer to operate in total vacuum for limited periods. When the helmet is attached, the suit has a self-contained life support system that allows the bearer to ignore toxic atmospheres and gasses, and even survive underwater for a short period of time. The system operates as long as the armor has power. A noticeable advantage over Standard Power Armor is that if the suit becomes unpowered, the wearer can still move around relatively easily. The visor provides full hearing protection, allowing the wearer to fight on where a less well-equipped warrior would be rendered insensible by adverse battlefield conditions. Suits of Semi Power Armor are considered to be quite valuable and many are maintained for centuries or millennia as much as religious relics as protective gear.*

## *Carapace Armor*

*Carapace Armor is a form of basic non-powered armor for infantry units that provides them with much better protection. The suits of armor are made from lightweight composite alloys. Carapace Armor consists of large rigid plates molded to fit parts of the body. It can range from complete armored suits to individual pieces such as chest plates, helmets, greaves, etc. Full suits allow soldiers to become more resistant to damage and immune to the effect of radiation, allowing them to walk over entire irradiated fields without any ill effects. More advanced versions of the armor have coolant systems to prevent overheating, and also include enhanced breathing filters inside the helmet. The armor could take some modular attachments, like a backpack for a medic or small flamethrower. The armor suit can also be modified for vacuum environments, allowing the wearer to continue to fight outside of spacecraft for a short time (though recovery is needed). Some versions of Carapace Armor are customized to fit the planet's conditions. Carapace Armor is stronger and thicker than the Ballistic Armor and provides the wearer a much higher chance of surviving a direct impact with standard small-arms rounds, though it does little to protect against stronger weapons.*

*Fully enclosed versions completely protects the wearer's body and features a suite of advanced technologies. These variants feature both a respirator and flash reactive eyepieces built into the helm, granting extensive eye protection. The suit of armor also has a built-in respirator, and photo-visor. The helmet is equipped with a breathing system, photo-visor, encrypted communications systems and a clip attachment to the side for a light source or vid-recorder accessed via wrist display and attachments for a parachute. Carapace Armor is also designed for the rigors of ship-to-ship combat, there being a pressurized version for this very task. The power for these systems is provided for by a small power pack, which allows for a week of continuous use before requiring replacement. Carapace Armor is used by a wide variety of the armed forces, including elite special operations troops. The most notable disadvantage of Carapace Armour is that it can be tiring to wear during extended combat. Carapace Armor is widely used by the authorities of various factions throughout the galaxy, including being utilized by the private retinues of powerful noble houses. The armor can be decorated with symbols and iconography to designate the faction they fight for.*

## *Ballistic Armor*

*Ballistic Armor is a light and relatively simple form of body armor used by the military and civilian forces of humanity. It is used as standard issue body armor for the countless millions across the galaxy. Being the easiest to manufacture by far. Many layers of ablative and impact absorbent material go into making each suit, enough to deflect or negate most low-level attacks such as small arms, shrapnel, and proximity blasts. Solid hits from high impact weapons can generally negate it, but given that it is relatively lightweight, cheap to produce, and dependable in most combat situations, many veteran mercenary groups prefer it to the higher maintenance forms of power armor. Regular soldiers can be issued a ballistic vest enclosing the entire torso, locked on the sides, usually used with additional armored panels on the front, a life support unit on the back, armored plates worn on the legs and a helmet. The helmet has a large, transparent faceplate, with an integrated air scrubber/filtration module, communications equipment, a heads up display, a flashlight and retractable antennae on its right side. The design is highly modular, allowing for easy customization, which includes a special medic helmet connected to the field medical pack, a grenade dispenser and a jump jet with an integrated cannon for jump jet infantry. Engineer corps also had their own modifications, with backpacks containing all the necessary tools they needed.*

*Ballistic Armor is manufactured from multiple layers of ablative and shock-absorbent materials that are primarily ceramic in origin and are intended to deflect and absorb the kinetic energy of a weapons strike or blow. The armor provides little protection from a direct weapons strike, though the protection it provides is sufficient to deflect damage from shrapnel, adjacent, though not direct explosions, and ricochets. The ablative properties of its ceramic construction are also excellent at heat dispersal, thus providing a small measure of protection from glancing hits with directed energy weapons. Thermal-absorbent materials, applied to the armor's outer layer, can reduce the thermal signature of the soldiers using it and provide an enhanced capability to remain invisible to enemy forces during night reconnaissance missions. Although Ballistic Armor is overall a relatively low grade of personal infantry armor, it is incredibly cheap and easy to manufacture, thus making it among the most popular forms of personal protection in the galaxy with a variety of the starfaring races. Due to the sheer diversity of military formations that make use of Ballistic Armor, there is no standardized format for it. Many infantry regiments and mercenary formations customize their armor as a result of their own specific cultural and environmental needs.*