Powered Armor

**Powered Armor**, sometimes referred to mistakenly as **Powered Suits**, are infantry battle armor suits used by various different factions in the New American Wasteland. Powered by a variety of sources, from electric batteries, diesel engines, and hydrogen fuel cells, the armor is supported by a hydraulic servo-system to lift heavy ballistic plating onto the frame. In addition to the protection, Powered Armor can also provide myriad of benefits to the users capabilities, such as increased strength, shoulder-mounted weapon systems, VTOL systems, and advanced on-board computer systems.

In the New American Wasteland, Powered Armor is sought after for it's ground combat capabilities. Many view the legendary military suits, such as the M-32a Samson, with an almost mythical quality. In reality, most people will only ever see the often misidentified Powered Suits, a separate form of protective hydraulic servo-suits that are used for other forms of work. Due to Powered Suits also having protective plating in certain circumstances, they often get mistaken for proper Powered Armor, as real Powered Armor is quite rare. In addition to rarity, Powered Armor requires a large pool of resources and specialized manpower to maintain and field. If special materials, such as hydraulic fluid, are unable to be sourced, than Powered Armor cannot be fielded.

When logistics are met for deployment, Powered Armor can be outfitted for a variety of roles, with a large variety of manufactures meeting niches. From shock-troopers utilizing melee weapons in close-quarters, to long range support fire platforms, Powered Armor often makes the difference in combat. Most types of Powered Armor are rated against small arms fire, and often can take incoming fire directly it's armored plates. Heavy weapons, explosives, and subversive tactics are required to defeat Powered Armor. Most fighters, be they bandits or highly-trained soldiers, fear both facing enemy and losing friendly Powered Armor. In such cases where belligerents both fear too great of losing their high-quality Armor or seasoned pilots, they may try to simply leverage the *idea* of fighting rather than actually fighting.

## History of Powered Armor

For as grand in design as Powered Armor is, it had humble beginnings in the early mid 2020s. Toyota had unveiled the Model-1 HEWS (Hydraulic Exoskeletal Work Suit), a simple strength enhancing frame designed initially for warehouse work. Further iterations would later increase the weight limits, and by 2025, Toyota had small line of Rōdō-sha HEWS' for physically strenuous work conditions. Many other companies would rush to create their own versions of the Rōdō-sha HEWS, with varying levels of quality. Companies with military contracts would see an opportunity to create a new type of weapon's platform that seek to do more than mere strength enhancements.

General Electric would release the the first Powered Armor in 2027, with the M27 PCA (Powered Combat Armor, more or less the company's nomenclature for Powered Combat Armor). The line wasn't perfect, notably with the lack of cooling unit's for both it's pilot and it's onboard electric battery. It was obvious it's development was fast tracked to meet with the U.S Armed Services demands for new hardware to counter the rising Dominion threat. This would later be remedied months later with the M27a PCA, featuring much needed cooling. It would release along with the M27b PRA (Powered Riot Armor) for police units, featuring a streamlined design and riot paddings in lieu of ballistic plates.

The failing United States did not seem to slow the development of new Powered Armors, with 2028 seeing the development of the simpler Powered Suit, an in-between of Powered Armor and Exoskeletal Frames. Many companies were picking up on this phenomenal technology, every company capable of making heavy machines would create their own version of Frames, Armor, and Suits. With the U.S pullback, most proper Powered Armor was either sent back or destroyed in asset denial operations. Without the restrictions of bureaucracy, however, civilian models of Powered Suits would be modified for combat.

## Powered Armor vs. Powered Suits

While often mistaken for each other, the difference between Powered Armor and Powered Suits lies in the frame. Powered Armor frames are built specifically to support heavy ballistic plating, and are limber enough to make more dexterous maneuvers. Powered Suits, by contrast, are only built for the work they were designed for. This means that modified combat Powered Suits tend to be more temperamental when additional armor and weapons are welded to it. The power supply and motors breakdown, the frame buckles and weakens, and more dexterous movements can lock up. Modified Powered Suits often need more maintenance to simply walk, let alone perform any combat role.

## Powered Armor Classifications

Powered Armor is classified by the weight the servo-skeleton can support.

### 11K-F (11,000 Pound Frame)

Armor Frames (Power Armor) in the New American Wasteland can range from lumbering heavy weapon platforms using crew-served weapons, to terrifyingly nimble close-combat nightmares. As a standard, lifter frames use two of three major tiers in their design and capability.

As of 2035, most powered frames in the New American Wasteland are some degree of modified equipment. Purpose-built military rigs are virtually unheard of. If they exist, they are experimental prototypes, and not fielded in any significant numbers. As such, powered frames have limited sustainability in combat, due to it’s power source. High-capacity batteries power most suits, but the batteries are also the most dangerous part of the suits (thermal runaway). Adding more batteries or larger batteries is doable, but adds impractical amounts of weight and mass. More battery = Slower, heavier suit. Because of their design flaws and generally short shelf-life of replacement parts, all power frames must be regularly serviced, and usually requires a trained team of maintainers to keep operational. Operators can also be cross-trained as maintainers and vice versa, but for the best results they should focus on their main skill sets.

Because of their mass, armor frames generally cannot re-arm themselves if using crew-served weapons. Unless the frame is a more agile or dexterous model, they cannot reload their own weapons. Ranged weapons used by framed soldiers can vary between heavy-caliber assault rifles, belt-fed machine guns, shoulder-mounted recoilless rifles or rocket launchers, depending on size. When ammunition is depleted, these weapons will need to be reloaded by a support team that can access the rigs' additional ordnance storage.

## Powered Armor Balance Triangle

Despite their reputation as wonder weapons, Powered Armor Frames are limited by 3 factors in their construction Balance Triangle:

### Serviceability:

How easy a suit is to service, and how quickly it can return to combat after a mission. This also governs how replaceable parts may be. For example: a common commercially available cargo lifter will be more serviceable than an experimental military prototype with custom-machined parts.

### Durability:

How long a rig can remain in combat or under stress without failure or danger to the operator. This is governed by how simple the design is, and how tolerant to damage vital parts like hydraulics/battery/controls may be. For example: A bipedal tractor stacked with armor plating will be more durable than a suit designed for quick traction.

### Agility:

How fast and how nimble a suit is in combat. This is governed by the quality of parts, both mechanical and electrical. Better machined parts with tight tolerances for performance, or highly advanced CPUs and RAM that are responsive and powerful will make a suit more agile, but much less durable or serviceable.

Armor Frames can only have TWO of the Three traits in the Balance Triangle. As Powered Armor Frames are cutting-edge technology, but still very much prototypes, their designs can only be so capable.

## Powered Armor Frame Examples:

### Siege Frame:

A serviceable and durable Armor-Frame. Siege types are larger than most vehicles and other Armor-Frames. Able to withstand damage and deploy the heaviest weapons that can be mounted on Armor-Frames. They feature simple steel armor plates that can be scavenged from other assets and rapidly replaced by maintenance crews. The components and engineering of these Armor-Frames are extremely simple, making them very reliable. However, they will not be fast or responsive enough to perform melee combat or advanced maneuvers. These Frames are easily swarmed in combat and are extremely vulnerable to coordinated infantry teams and ambushes in urban environments. Due to their slow and lumbering nature these Armor-Frames excel in heavy weapons. Typically mounted with crew served and anti-material weapons. Siege types can also be seen in logistic roles thanks to their ability to transport heavy loads in adverse terrain.

Siege Frames hard counter Strike Frames in the open, Siege Frames country Recon Frames in the open with Infantry Support. Siege Frames are countered by all other frames in Urban combat without infantry support.

### Strike Frame:

A durable and fast Armor-Frame. Strike types are extremely fierce combatants capable of quick maneuvers, melee attacks, and sporting above average armor. Strike Frames stand several heads taller than infantry and are commonly referred to as “Super Soldiers”. Their high-performance nature will require high tech maintenance facilities, expensive or unavailable parts, and an extremely competent crew of maintainers. Strike types can be outfitted with a variety of weapons. Ranged armament can feature.  heavy shotguns, large caliber assault rifles, and general-purpose machine guns. Melee weapons are not common but have been documented in combat. Although armored, penetrative damage to the low-tolerance mechanical parts or electronics can lead to months of repairs and back orders of parts. These Frames are prohibitively costly to field and are the rarest of all types. Generally, only large factions can afford Strike Frames let alone deploy them.

Strike Frames hard counter Recon Frames with/without infantry support in all environments unless clearly outnumbered. Strike Frames can soft counter Siege frames in urban environments.

### Recon Frame:

A serviceable and fast Armor-Frame. Recon types feature cheap mass produced or scavenged mechanical parts paired with looted CPUs. Maintenance turn-around time is quick, and repairs are often improvised. Recon Frames are extremely vulnerable and offer almost no ballistic protection, Cover, concealment, and mobility are the only ways Recon frames can avoid lethal damage. These frames are suitable for intel gathering or ambush missions and can mount most small arms or bladed weapons. Recon Frames can also function as “Heavy Recon” Frames and are much more oriented towards ambush and assault in close combat.

Recon Frames were the first Armor Frame types reported in the New American Wasteland, and they remain the most common Armor-Frame in service despite their vulnerabilities.

Recon Frames hard counter Siege frames in all environments unless caught in the open. Recon frames can only soft counter Strike Frames with distinct numerical advantages.