Re: NBC Warfare

Just some more scribblings...

Thomas Barclay of the Clan Barclay wrote: (several interesting tidbits
left
out)

>
> Why couldn't you have a HUD in a vacc suit,
>
> ** You could. But are my neck joints flexible? For example, in today's
> vacc suit, I doubt I could lie down and fire along the ground or it'd
> sure be a rotten bugger of a trick. Now, 2183 Vacc Suits may be
> different.... but there are reasons our suits are bulky that might be
> hard to change (like the size of the air tanks). If not, maybe only
> obsolete gear without a HUD or bulky in nature have these penalties.

Ah, yes, good point. On the other hand we don't penalize figures in PA,
some
of the models I've seen seem to have rather inflexible neck joints, if
they
have neck joints at all!

>
>
> I'd think any visored helmet would
> do just great, or am I missing something?
>
> ** Ever shot through sights through a gas mask? I assume so. But did
you
> do it on a weapon with optics? For me anyway, I found sights (optics)
> plus a mask equalled less effective and accurate fire. Maybe not
> significantly so... but somewhat.

Ouch, I wear glasses. Gas mask + glasses (specially made for the mask) +
sighting = significantly less accurate fire :-)
I was sort of hoping we'd solve some these problems in the next 200
years,
but certainly there would probably be a difference between troops
buttoned
up and those not so, or perhaps ,again, between state of the art and
more
obsolete stuff. (I can't really see people fully suited fighting troops
without protection, though, not without one side feeling rather silly or
the
other very dead.)
I think that in this scenario with troops in obsolete gear, I'd give
them a
shift down in range band, so that regular troops would get a range band
of
6".

>
> ** And has the enemy dropped a suit-eating nanite in the area?
> Hmmm......

That's a nasty thought you have there. There's a confidence test for
just
thinking the enemy may have done that.

>  Or possibly light troops not
> adequately equipped should get some penalties, but I think that should
> be an
> exception.
>
> ** Benefits you mean. At least as far as fatigue, encumberance, and
> movement go and some parts of fighting. Though mind you the gas
attacks
> or even the bullet attacks if you shuck the armour tend to be far more
> lethal...

I was thinking in terms of light troops carrying lighter gear not only
suitable for survival, and getting home. They would seem to be very
vulnerable in a contaminated area.

> But what happens if a vacc suit is punctured? That would naturally
> depend on
> what is out there, but in extreme cases perhaps all wounds would be
> kills.
>
> ** I think this is the secret to hostile environments. Every hit is a
> black skull.

Or then again, perhaps not. The really terrible thing is to leave a lot
of
wounded for the enemy to take care of. (Awful pictures of long lines of
mustard gas-blinded soldiers being led away from WWI comes to mind...)

>
> And how to simulate a chemical attack? A reaction test for each figure
> caught in
> it,
>
> ** Assuming they even detected it.... if you were buttoned up you
might
> not even know. (Now yes, if you were careful and watched your
detectors
> or chemical indicators, you'd know....). Though dropping chem that
would
> fool the sensors might be a nasty trick too. Real stuff that won't be
> detectable or fake stuff that is and forces everyone to a high MOPP
> level...

That was why I proposed a reaction test instead of a quality of MOPP (a
new
acronym for me, wonder what it stands for ;)) kit roll. I assume fairly
good
detecting gear, automatic chemical sniffers or somesuch....but in the
end it
boils down to troop quality and leadership to get everybody buttoned up
in
time.

> shift down the die if not at all prepered (you can usually fit at
least
> two
> coke or beer cans where your gas mask should be),
>
> ** Or better yet, chuck the damn carrier and get rid of one more piece
> of kit. Plus if we talk about the future, figure gas mask = useless. I
> think they'd have gone to skin absorbed agents where any exposure is
> lethal.

I doubt that. I think getting the concentration of gas high enough for
it to
affect you through the skin will still be impractical. You would of
course
still have to watch out for fluid spray or on the ground of course.

> MAKE your enemy use the full MOPP suit if you're going to play
> that game. Doubly true if he only has gas masks.
>
> shift down one step if tired
> or exhausted, shift up two steps if in full BA? What happens if you
> miss,
> automatically dead if the units next action is not a reorganize
> (remember to
> take the right autoinjector)? I'm just rambling here, hope that's ok.

Or perhaps automatically wounded, with a special marker. If given
medical
treatment roll the die as usual: 1-2 = still unstabilised, 3-5 =
stabilised
6 = OK. This representing disabling chemicals, making the poor bastard
blind
or in terrible pain or hallucinating or whatever, specially made so as
to be
difficult to treat.

> ** My ideas: (Similarly rambling)
> 1) Both sides fighting high MOPP level: ignore it, everyone suffers
> equally as far as encumberance, effects, etc. If attacked with Chem
> weapons, roll quality of MOPP kit vs qualty of agent. If agent wins,
but
> does not double the defence die, wound results. Otherwise, death. If
the
> unit is unprepared, roll D4 for defender. Both sides may start
Fatigued
> if this fight has been going on for a while. If an unprepared unit is
> attacked, after attack resolution, it is considered prepared.
Similarly,
> if you enter a contaminated area, consider this a chemical attack with
a
> one negative die shift in effectiveness. This method also represents
the
> presence of active nanites or whatever in chemical attacks such that
> higher quality chem attacks have a likelikhood of compromising
> protection that would normally totally thwart chem attacks.

Yes, I like that, except that I think the units Quality should come to
bear
in the initial attack (did everyone remember to change filters?), and
that
there should be a bunch of confidence tests all round and reaction tests
for
entering contaminated areas. Silent death _is_ scary!

Henrix