DEMP grenades and power armor.

[garhkal]

When someone in a power armor suit gets hit by the blast of a DEMP grenade, what does his armor roll to resist? Also, if it gets completly shut down, can he still move, or get out? What would the time to get out be??
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[Boomer]

I have the armor roll its protection by itself.

Once the armor is knocked out, the answer to the other questions depends upon how exactly it works.

The armor might lock up completly. In which case he needs to worry about how tight it is. In most cases the form fitting nature of the suit will completly trap the character until outside help pulls the suit apart. They might be able to move enough to begin pulling their limbs back to sections they can than unlock and detach, in which case they might open it up and climb out themselves. Or the suit may not be put togethor over the character like standard armor and the exit of the power armor is simply inaccesible, requiring outside assistance.

The armor might merely go dead. Without it's own power, the person than contends with the weight of the armor in all actions, which for most powered armors is considerable. Than getting out of the armor depends on how you exit it normally, and if that can be done while it is dead.

In the end, it does all depend on how you view the armor functions. There is always a way out without actually breaking the armor, but the one inside the armor will not always be able to do it himself.
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My backpack has jets!
I'm Boba the Fett!
And I bounty hunt for Jabba Hutt,
to finance my 'vette!

[Akari]

In case of armor that relies purely on servos, like Dura or even Dragon armor, I would think they might have an interior emergency discard switch that blows the joints with miniature detonations for just these situations. Otherwise you would be forever stuck in it after a simple power failure.

Lighter power armor however, like most Bounty Hunter types might still be able to move without power, depending on the strength of the person inside...

[Exoviper]

Boy that would sure suck if you were inside a fully sealed powersuit.... and all alone somewhere.

A good plot mechanism for GM's:
Let's say a character uses signature power armor like Boba Fett does. A group of enemies could intentionally lead the character into an abandoned area which is rigged with a remote-detonated EMP. They set it off and leave the player to die. Later, someone walks along, minding their own business and saves the character. Add one new PC or NPC to the team.

OR we could reverse the situation. Let's say there's an unbeatable villian in power armor that is nigh invincible. All the PC's have to do is lead him into an area pre-rigged with an EMP. It'd make for a short fight....
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"Save a tree, boycott toilett paper!"

[Pel]

This actually came up once. Our resident bounty hunter had some snappy powered armor and was fighting some assassin droids with a DEMP gun. During the fight there was a brawl, the droid came up with the DEMP and blasted him. I followed the previous example and rolled the armor's Str all by itself. It locked up (incapacitated result) and the bounty hunter took some damage before he could extricate himself.

Thinking further along these lines, I believe only power armor with Str or movement bonuses should be severely affected by EMP. Other armor might not work quite as well (blast, my wrist lasers are out! better use the blaster rifle!) but it would not hinder movement.
I think the notable exception to this is Spacetrooper Armor. Since they zip around in space combat zones where EMP is likely, it stands to reason that their armor is shielded against it. Otherwise, unless the player specifically modifies the armor to be EMP resistant, I'd say it at least affects some of the systems.
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Aha!

[Boomer]

Why would Spacetrooper armor be shielded against EMP? What does a space combat zone have to do with requiring EMP resistance?
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My backpack has jets!
I'm Boba the Fett!
And I bounty hunt for Jabba Hutt,
to finance my 'vette!

[Pel]

Engine exhaust, solar flares, radiation spikes, etc. can all cause varying degrees of electromagnetic interference or outright EMP. Planetary magnetic fields and shipboard shields protect people and systems from most of it, so "normal" armor probably doesn't possess much or any shielding against EMP.

Since Spacetroopers regularly operate without the benefit of planets and shipboard shielding with armor that is essentially a mobile armed lifeboat, I thought it silly that they wouldn't possess any sort of protection from EMP or other radiation.
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Aha!

[garhkal]

[Boomer]

Space has no phenomenon similar to circuit destroying EMP. Radiation shielding is one thing, but EMP is more like all the magnetism from a bolt of lightning.
And in space, nothing is grounded. EMP, like pretty much everyother weapon, has greater range.

So space-trooper armor is not naturally or logically EMP shielded. There is no reason for it to be. Same with every other craft floating through space.
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My backpack has jets!
I'm Boba the Fett!
And I bounty hunt for Jabba Hutt,
to finance my 'vette!

[Pel]

[Pel]

Boomer, I disagree. We may have to agree to disagree on this matter and run our own campaigns how we like, but I'll try to clarify a bit more.

Space combat zones are, I believe, littered with EMP. Radiation surges caused by battle damage, reactor explosions, and proton torpedo detonations are prevalent. Since radiation surges, particularly in the gamma and x-ray range, produce EMP, I believe this is quite plausible.

The effect of ion cannon is quite similar to that of EMP, if not identical. I'm not suggesting that Spacetrooper armor is immune to the effects of such a directed and powerful attack as an actual ion cannon, just that the armor is resistant to a character-scale attack by a DEMP gun. Is it completely impervious? No. Several shots from a DEMP would probably cripple the systems, but if the Spacetrooper stands there and takes it, he deserves his fate.

Further, natural radiation surges in space, such as those produced by solar flares, can effect similar results. Satellites, especially those in high orbit, possess specifically shielded circuits to prevent their destruction. This is what lead to my belief that the Spacetrooper armor possesses some similar type of EMP hardening.

According the official and fan-based literature I've perused, Spacetroopers are effective and feared combatants. If these highly trained and equipped units can be incapacitated by a common solar flare, then I don't believe they would be very effective while just flying around, much less when the hard radiation starts flying in earnest.

Having said all that, this has never come up in any game I've played or heard of. I had never considered the situation until reading this thread, and the idea occurred while writing my reply. Take of it what you will.
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Aha!

[garhkal]

[Pel]

Oh. Right. Um, I'm not sure.

There are "electronic" components inside blasters, I believe, so yes, they're probably affected. Maybe the guy in the example should go for his knife instead.
Good catch.
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Aha!

[Phalanks Balas]

Well, Pel and Boomer...
I would like to ask you a question :
Are you discussing about the total immunity of space trooper'armor versus "natural EMP effect" in space or discussing about resistance ? In the fist case no roll has to be made, in the second case a hull resistance vs EMP damage roll is needed. If you thing the armor is immune vs natural EMP effect, why decide that it's immune versus weapon ? Starships are protected vs natural EMP effect but it can be shut down by ion canon or ionnized gas in a nebula...

I considere mostly nothing is immune vs something in Star Wars. That don't mean I request roll every time. D6 rules allows do to impossible things, remember you can shoot down a Tie fighter with a throwing knife

To match with the subject of the threads, EMP damage can disable all power suits. GM has to decide what occurs when a power suit is disabled. Well designed power suit should allow the user to extract itself manually. Armor of stormtroopers are not affected by EMP effects because it isn't a power suit.
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Phalanks

A day you will be facing the guns of the Black Pearl. You will know what means damned pirates !

[Pel]

Actually, it's due to the natural EMP shielding of the Spacetrooper armor that I believe it is also resistant to intended EMP. That supposition led to my whole line of reasoning. It makes sense to me, and my admittedly skewed view of the universe.

A disclaimer:

All posts made by Pel, henceforth referred to as 'me', are intended to be helpful and are of a purely recreational nature. Please do not operate heavy machinery or thermonuclear weapons while reading my posts. Small cars and regular atomics are just fine.
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Aha!