Alien TRPG: HARDCore Armor

Presenting the ultimate in Colonial Marine combat technology: the HARDCore Powered Armor Suit!

The Alien universe is grounded in realism and believable technology, hence why Marines (at least in the movies) carry assault rifles and not “blasters”, nobody runs around slicing up Xenomorphs with laser swords, there are (probably) no sexy green-skinned aliens and Earth is a shithole instead of a utopian paradise.

That said, who hasn’t looked at a Power Loader and thought “if you made that a bit smaller, put armor plating on it and seal it up with an O² tank, you could really stomp some bugs”? After all, the (likely apocryphal) story of a civilian dock-worker going toe-to-toe with an Alien Queen in a Caterpillar P-5000 is popular for a reason. Who doesn’t dream of wearing “power armor”?

HARDCore suits makes that dream a reality, acting as the final word (so far) in personal combat armor and allowing a soldier to survive in even the most hostile of environments and still remain fully combat-ready.

So, without further ado…

 

HARDCore Armor

Suit	Armor Rating	Air Supply	Weight	Cost	Comment
HARDCore Armor	8	6	–	$120,000	Air Supply 6, Power Supply 5, Built-In Comm Unit, Strength +1, Agility -1

Designed for use by Colonial Marine Hazardous Atmosphere and Radiation Detachment (HARD) Specialists, this hydraulically-assisted steel exoskeleton is covered with titanium plate armor and weighs about 600 pounds. It features a full range of articulated movement (hands, arms, legs, etc.) so long as it is powered, allowing tools and weapons to be used normally.

HARDCore Armor is fully pressurized, so it can be used in hazardous atmospheres, extreme temperatures and even in the vacuum of deep space. The suit features a full heads-up display, built-in comm unit and PDT. The onboard life support system and oxygen supply will sustain the wearer for 24 hours (stretchable to 72 hours in an emergency), while the internal power supply allows for 12 hours of continual operation. Power packs (Weight 3, Cost $200) are removable and rechargeable and provide Power Supply 5.

While wearing this suit, you must make both an Air Supply and a Power Supply roll every Shift, and after every strenuous activity like combat or a MOBILITY roll.

Armor Rating 8, Air Supply 6, Power Supply 5.

The powered servos increase the wearer’s STRENGTH by 1 but reduces AGILITY by 1.

Requires skill level 1 or more in HEAVY MACHINERY to be used.

Designer Notes

HARDCore Armor is taken from the 1991 “Aliens Adventure Game” RPG, by Leading Edge, with all stats are based off the descriptions and ratings printed in the original book. No photos or illustrations of this armor were provided and nothing equivalent has ever appeared (to my knowledge) in any Alien movies, novels or comics (the MOX/MAX Suits of Aliens: Tribes and Aliens: Berserker are much different, more akin to Warhammer 40k ‘Dreadnoughts’). The HARDCore suit is in fact – I believe – mostly inspired by the power armor of the original Starship Troopers novel (not the movie) written by Robert Heinlein.

Thanks to Daemontech for the suggestions, and to everyone else for the feedback when I first posted this on Reddit here.