Re: "Suited" Soldiers, was Re: [DS] Irregular NSF Figures

Hi,

On Monday, April 28, 2003, at 03:45 AM, Glenn M Wilson wrote:

> The idea of space suited soldiers brings up an issue or two:
>
> How much capacity would space-suited soldiers needs?	"8" like PA? 
"6"?

Depends on what you mean by space suited. Space suits could mean the 
clunky
michelin man suits of today, full power armour or even the skin suits 
worn in
the Honor Harrington universe. So I would say everything from 4 to 8 DS2
capacity points. In SG2 I would use 1, 1.5 and 2 per 
soldier/marine/sailor.

> What kit would a soldier required to fight either under water and/or
in
> domed sites have to have and what capacity would this require the
> "Assault-sub Personnel Carriers" for a fire team?  Would SEAL style
> equipment be enough to subdue an armed hostile population in a sea
dome
> hamlet?  What about body Armor?  What kind of weapons do you use in
the
> water and/or the domed cities ("Oops!  Uh, Sarge I  uh, "missed" the
> vehicle with the [insert GMS name]...")?

I would say that power armour would be the most practical. I could see
the manufacturers brochures claiming the ability to operate in a variety
of pressure, temperature, radiation and atmospheric conditions.

To get any appreciable range in water, you would need to use some
sort of torpedo, either rocket or propeller driven. Concussion would be
the most effective way to deliver damage to the target, instead of 
relying
on penetration or shrapnel. A rocket propelled grenade that contains all
the fuel for combustion may prove most effective for PA that is expected
to operate in space, air and water.

Domed cities underwater would be extremely vulnerable to attack.
Heavy weapons would likely be unused unless one side could care
less about the dome's integrity. If that was the case then sabotage or
stand-off weapons would be a more likely scenario. Without heavy
weapons, you are left with things like shotguns, flamethrowers,
chemical weapons and the like. Tune to suit your proposed dome
safety factors.

Cheers,
Tony Christney