Body Armor Repair cost categories

[Tor]

"MDC Body Armor Repairs" is a section on page 55 (right column) of the original Rifts Sourcebook and page 37 (left column) of Rifts Sourcebook 1 Revised.

These stats are unchanged between both editions

It lists 5 cost rates, all per 10 MDC repaired. I am not sure why it is not per 1 MDC. The credit costs are all in multiples of 10 (actually, multiples of 100) so it would have been feasible to do so, and taken less space.

Perhaps that means if you want to repair a smaller amount (1 to 9) it still costs the amount of a full 10 MDC ?

The 5 categories are named as follows:

Plated Armor (700/M)
Chain Armor (550/M)
Composite Armor (650/M)
Plastic Armor (630/M)
Fabric and Padded Armor (620/M)

The semantics here are not focused on in categorizing armor, far as I have seen. Some do contain descriptions to indicate a category, although some do not, or some may indicate multiple categories, introducing confusion as to which to use.

I was thinking, it might be an interesting group project of sorts for us to make a list of every suit of MDC Body Armor in Rifts and which of these 5 categories we can collectively decide they ought to go into.

Luckily for Power Armor (and Man-Size Robots, I assume non-vehicular) and Robot Vehicles, it's singular rates, leading to no confusion, just a very empty wallet (moreso with bot vehicles).

I don't know if we ever get any rates for repairing non-robot vehicles like hoverbikes or APCs or ATVs. I assume they'd be a bit cheaper than repairing a robot, but I don't know if they would be as cheap as repairing body or power armor.

Starting with RUE, I am going to propose what I think what category things are in and would like to know if anyone disagrees.

Per the SB/SB1R rates, from best to worst rates (from cheapest to most expensive to repair) is:

Chain > Fabric/Padded > Plastic > Composite > Plated

RUEp260: Dead Boy : called "lightweight ceramic", all I can figure is "Composite" may be appropriate ?
RUEp261: Dog Pack : unsure, no terms jump out at me.
RUEp267:

Gladiator - Full Environmental: "lightweight fiber .. resembles chainmail and light plates" initially thought either the Chain/Plated rates but I'm thinking that 'composite' may still be appropriate since it is technically 'fiber' and merely 'resembles' those styles

Crusader - Full Environmental: "armor plates and chain mail-like MDC materials" am thinking the most-expensive "Plated" rate since it merely is "like" chain mail but does explicitly have plates

Juicer - Assassin Plate Armor: I figure 'plated' since it's in the name.

RUEp268:

Urban Warrior - Padded Environmental Body Armor: I figure "padded" since it's in the name. Although in addition to "flexible padding" it is mentioned as having "light metal plates" too. GMs might want to adopt variable rates, like maybe a cheaper repair rate for early damage and a more expensive rate for later damage.

note between these two: so is there a diff between "environmental" and "full environmental" or something? =/

Plastic Man - Full Environmental Body Armor: the name makes me want to say the middle-tier 'plastic' rate, but it's actually described as being made of 'polycarbonate plate' so I'm not sure if that should be the most-expensive 'plated' rate or the 2nd-most-expensive 'composite' rate.

Huntsman - Plate & Padded Armor: "heavy plate" + "padded vest" + "padded armor" + "leg and arm plates". The semantics of this one are 3v3 equally split between the most-expensive plated and 2nd-most-expensive padded categories. This leads me to just want to say "composite" and be done with it. Or, like with the Urban Warrior, let the GM possibly propose differing rates depending on how much damage is suffered.

Bushman - Full Composite Environmental Body Armor: the name demands the middle-tier 'composite rate', but it's worth noting that it is listed as having both 'padding' and 'plate composite' in it. Perhaps, even though Urban/Hunts are not called composite, this is grounds to declare them to be composite-rate as well, since they also have a mix of pads/plates.

Continuing the UrbanWarrior/Huntsman/Bushman issue, I can actually think of this two ways. At first I thought "padding is weak and would be the first to go" so I was thinking the first MDC you take would be the least expensive to repair, and the more expensive rates would only begin as it neared destruction.

Upon thinking on it further though: for comfort reasons, I would expect to see plating on the outside and padding on the inside, so perhaps the most expensive repairs would be the first MDC you take and the least expensive repairs would be the last MDC you take. This means it could make economic sense to not repair it to full MDC and keep it below half MDC or something along those lines so that you can get cheap repairs just for the padded cores of these armors.

Does anyone have an ideas for MDC body armor in other books?

[dragonfett]

New West

[guardiandashi]

re the armor repairs.
The 5 categories are named as follows:

Plated Armor (700/M)
Chain Armor (550/M)
Composite Armor (650/M)
Plastic Armor (630/M)
Fabric and Padded Armor (620/M)

my view is that the coalition armor (light heavy and dog pack) are all "plate" style they might fall under the "composite" option but personally I doubt it.

Gladiator is most likely to be chain or composite IMO

crusader would be the same, although it MIGHT fall into plate (at least partially) but unlikely.

plasticman is the plastic option (duh)

urban warrior would be the fabric and padded option

juicer plate armor

huntsman is likely to boil down to composite overall more or less but the "plate" sections would be repaired as plate armor, and the padded sections as padded/fabric.

bushman is obviously "composite"

[dragonfett]

There really should also be a "leather" option for people that have armor made from the hides of MD creatures (such as fury beetles, etc.).

[Blue_Lion]

There really should also be a "leather" option for people that have armor made from the hides of MD creatures (such as fury beetles, etc.).

I would count that as possibly fabric or padded for leather. fury beetle I thought was organic plate.
Although organic armor may not be repairable without magic.

[dragonfett]

I would think that you could patch it like cloth.

[Tor]

If Crusader/Gladiator counted as chain mail then I'd be all about getting them for that sweet cheap repair cost.

[spatulaodoom]

I'd call Gladiator composite, since it's a mix of various types, but the picture for crusader shows it to be almost entirely plate despite mentioning the chain skirt, so I'm comfortable calling it plate.
Urban warrior appears and is described to be primarily fabric, easy pick there.
Plastic man is obviously plastic armor since pollycarbonate is effectively a type of plastic.
Huntsman describes and shows a lot of plates and padded, so it looks like it's a composite too.
Bushman, though it looks like it could be plate by the picture, fits comfortably in the composite category by description.
Juicer Plate - Plate
Dead boy is plate (all the various types including CWar campaign stuff), and I suppose the Dog Pack armor is probably the same, given it's generally depicted appearance would probably be plate too.

RIFTS Canada
Legion Tundra Body Armor - Cloth, that's pretty clear.
Thermal-Armor Body Suit - Also Cloth

Mercenaries
Camouflage Variable Armor - Not sure, neither description or pic seem conclusive. That given, I might go with composite.

Mercenary Ops
GAW Mark 1 Flight Suit - Cloth
GAW Mark 2 Battlefield Armor - Unclear, not described or depicted.

Triax and the NGR
T-10 and 11 and 12 and 13 - All plate
T-40 plain clothes armor - Cloth
T-41 Riot Armor - Plate
T42 Commando Armor - Unclear, not described or depicted.
T-43 Explorer - Composite
G-10 Soldier - Plate

Northern Gun 2
Huntsman line - Cloth for the SH-150 and MH-500, composite for the rest.
Streetwolf line - Cloth for all but the Tank Trench Coat and Combat Trench Coat, which are composite.
Arrow Ride Armor - Fabric.
Bullet - Composite (or possibly fabric)
Cannonball - Composite
Roadrunner - Cloth
Viper - Plate
Juicer Ultra-Armor - Plate
Maveric Riding Armor - Composite
Patrol Armor - Cloth
Range Rider - Cloth
Robot Command Armor - Composite
Scout Armor - Unclear, may be cloth, may be plate
Soldier Body Armor - Plate or Composite, probably plate.
Anti-Ballistic Armor - Plate, though due to the nature of the armor I might charge more.
Bullfrog - Plate
Deep Zone Walker - Plate
Mud-Skipper Cloth
Buffalo Riding EBA - Composite
Bushman Trooper - Composite. Maybe plate.
Mega-Juicer - Plate
Peace Keeper - Uncertain.
Stalker Suit - Cloth
Titan Plate - Plate
Trekker Pilot - Composite
Vibro-spike Juicer - uncertain

[Tor]

Cloth would be under Fabric I guess. Probably ideal to aim for. Seems like nothing is Chain unless you get a Kuznya to make it up for you or something.

[spatulaodoom]

Well, if you're paying lip service to physics then no chain probably isn't all that common in a sci-fi type setting, unless we talk about magic or medieval tech armor. Either way we've hardly gone through all the books so far, so there might be some out there. Speaking of which, the next book is... (reaches randomly into shelf)

Japan
AT-A11 kuru Street Armor (and H-brand knock off) - Fabric mostly.
AT-A14 Infantry brody Armor - Composite
AT-A15 Heavy Combat Body Armor - Plate
IA - 1000 Infiltrator - Fabric or maybe composite.
IA-130 Sumo body armor - Plate
HA-4&5 - Cant say, might default to composite, maybe plate
HA6&7 Frontiersman body armor - Uncertain. No pic or description
HA-20 Juicer armor - Uncertain. No description, but picture looks like a composite of plate, cloth, and scale/chain.

Atlantis
Kittani Explorer and centaur/horse - Composite

[Tor]

Those last 3 are power armor, power armor has its own rate higher than any kind of body armor.

[spatulaodoom]

Nope. Check lower left part of page 138.

[dragonfett]

I would honestly call any armor from Naruni alien and therefore not subject to the listed repair rates (unless taken to an armorer experienced with Naruni armors, such as Naruni Outfitters) in which case I would say 800 credits/MDC.

You also skipped over the Gladius Exo-Skeleton in Mercenaries, which even at the repair rates for power armor, it would be cheaper to fully repair it from completely destroyed than buy a new one (a new suit costs 150,000 credits, at a repair rate 800 credits/MDC, it would cost 144,000 to repair all 180 MDC of the suit, as per the prices listed in Mercenaries).

[spatulaodoom]

Skipped over it intentionally. The text doesn't really clarify whether it's normal body armor or power armor, but the Gladius is listed with power armors in the Northern Gun books, so that's what I'm considering it.

[Tor]

Nope. Check lower left part of page 138.

I don't have to, you made me rethink and I remembered, I at first thought you meant the manling/centaur/serpent stuff. I would say 'barding' rather than centaur/horse though

[spatulaodoom]

Do that if you want, but the book calls it Centaur body armor. Barding's for horses and centaurs aren't horses.

[Blue_Lion]

There where two armors with the crusader name. The original was medium armor 55 MD with no prowl penalty described as mdc chainmail.

[Tor]

RMBp209 says "chain mail like MDC fiber" and is described as "full fiber". Although since 'fiber' doesn't fall under anything I'm inclined to go with chainmail.

[guardiandashi]

I was thinking about this some more tonight and I am going to somewhat modify my previous opinion.

coalition armor is still going to be plate

bushman for instance is going to be composite.

my justification for bushman being composite is that the armor from the pics and descriptions is really a flexable undersuit (cloth or leather equivalent) with strap on plate reinforcement pieces. in "medieval terms it is more like a suit of "reinforced" leather or chain than a suit of plate /articulated plate.

In thinking about it some more my view is that repairs should be mostly considered either piecemeal repairs, or generally considered in a somewhat conservative fashion IE it doesn't get the "plate" rate unless the suit is almost ALL Rigid "plate" sections. composite is frankly more of a catchall for stuff that doesn't clearly belong in a different category. Chain covers many of the "flexable" armors made up out of smaller rigid materials I know in at least one computer game I played the "chain" category was used to cover what was fluffed or described as "chain reinforced chain, banded, scale, and several other armor types"

I am not trying to say I am an armor authority, just expressing my opinion of what I think the authors were describing.