Camouflage Paint

By IE5-O, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

The entry for Camouflage Paint states:

Quote

This thick paint comes in small tubes holding five applications and is intended to camouflage exposed skin, but can be used on everything from weapons to personal gear. In the container, the paste appears an almost colorless gray, but photoreactive pigments allow it to match the color and visual texture of its surroundings once exposed to air.

CN-21 Camouflage Paint adds automatic 1 failure to all checks made to detect items concealed by it. Note that camo paint does not have any of the advanced circuitry that provides concealment from electronic scanning and surveillance. Camouflage paint only works for items or individuals with a silhouette of 1 or smaller.

At least it says that on http://sparkofrebellion.wikia.com/wiki/Camouflage_Paint

So, given it says it can be put on anything, can my droid pc just paint himself and expect the paint to stay on unless washed off? Adding one automatic failure to all non electronic checks to detect me seems very cool, especially given it only costs 40 credits for 5 applications and has a rarity of only 2.

Is there any reason why I shouldn't use this?

Yeah go crazy, it says it works for individuals with a silhouette of 1 or smaller

As for if it stays on unless washed, thats up to your GM

More precisely is how relevant does it stay? Once it reacts it doesn't say it can change to a different environment. This GM wouldn't allow it to.

Also something to consider: What would the application time be? I'm thinking at least 20-30 minutes if not an hour

1 hour ago, 2P51 said:

More precisely is how relevant does it stay? Once it reacts it doesn't say it can change to a different environment. This GM wouldn't allow it to.

So then people would have to apply it on-site, or risk having their camouflage look like the inside of their prep area? No putting it on in the dropship, or you're only camouflaged inside a dropship?

I'd imagine a reasonable assessment would be that it remains relevant until the GM comes up with a reason for it to no longer be relevant.

Not allowing it to be an 'apply it once' and get a free failure for life is a reason. Your points are pedantic efforts at side stepping that issue.

2P51 pretty much nailed it. As an Army veteran who has actually used real life camouflage face paint, you do actually need to know the environment you'll be working in in order to apply the right colors and patterns. I would conclude that the SW version would also need to be applied in that environment in order be able to match it. Thus, if your mission is going to take place in a wooded environment, you would need to apply the face paint in when first entering the woods, and so on for whatever environment your mission takes you.

Not so much pedantic as the logical extension of what you said. Not side-stepping anything, rather pointing out direct result of what you said. If you feel those are acceptable, or that their consideration is excessive for a narrative driven game more power to you, it's your table.

It just doesn't seem like that's the intention to me based on how it's described.

This is a pretty cool piece of kit, that will go well with my Rebel PCs on their raid on Whisper Base.

I look forward to the Wookie PC explaining how the paint will work without a shave down :P

9 minutes ago, Reylan Mass said:

Not so much pedantic as the logical extension of what you said. Not side-stepping anything, rather pointing out direct result of what you said. If you feel those are acceptable, or that their consideration is excessive for a narrative driven game more power to you, it's your table.

It just doesn't seem like that's the intention to me based on how it's described.

So you run into a building and it changes to gray, you go into an ice cream shop with fruity sherbert on sale and start looking like a rainbow, down the hall to the florist, and you're a scene in The Sound of Music........gimmee a break. It's meant for a single environment.

16 minutes ago, 2P51 said:

So you run into a building and it changes to gray, you go into an ice cream shop with fruity sherbert on sale and start looking like a rainbow, down the hall to the florist, and you're a scene in The Sound of Music........gimmee a break. It's meant for a single environment.

Stranger things have happened, and it's not like technology doesn't attempt to mimic nature. But seriously don't take it personally, if you don't agree I just think it's intended to be more like analogue adaptive camouflage, rather than a more convoluted version of regular facepaint with more restrictive use.

http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/9303/36940594.ca/0_b5bba_dda3dc2a_L.gif
Edited by Reylan Mass
format shenanigans
1 hour ago, Reylan Mass said:

So then people would have to apply it on-site, or risk having their camouflage look like the inside of their prep area? No putting it on in the dropship, or you're only camouflaged inside a dropship?

That is precisely how I would rule it.

The mention the flavour text that it changes colour when exposed to air would seem to suggest to me that once it's applied, it won't change.


If you want to sidestep the narrative awkwardness of applying it on-site, maybe rule that it has a curing period of five minutes or so where it still adapts?

16 hours ago, Reylan Mass said:

Stranger things have happened, and it's not like technology doesn't attempt to mimic nature. But seriously don't take it personally, if you don't agree I just think it's intended to be more like analogue adaptive camouflage, rather than a more convoluted version of regular facepaint with more restrictive use.

http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/9303/36940594.ca/0_b5bba_dda3dc2a_L.gif

16 hours ago, Vorzakk said:

That is precisely how I would rule it.

13 hours ago, Tom Cruise said:

The mention the flavour text that it changes colour when exposed to air would seem to suggest to me that once it's applied, it won't change.


If you want to sidestep the narrative awkwardness of applying it on-site, maybe rule that it has a curing period of five minutes or so where it still adapts?

That's pretty much how I read it as well. Once it's exposed to air, it adapts to the specific surroundings it is currently in and sets once dry. It's not adaptive camouflage, and nothing in the text suggests that it is.

Unless you plan on air-dropping directly into the enemy base (thereby pretty much eliminating the need for stealth in the first place) there is no conceivable reason why the players can't just stop 3 minutes out and slap on some camo paint before they begin encountering enemies.

To be fair, I did wonder why for 40 credits you get 5 applications. If it is even semi permanent and can change colour then you don't need more applications you just buy another batch.

If as has been suggested above it simply adapts once it dries to the environment it is in, the 5 applications make more sense.

My droid pc is currently bright red. Despite the indistinguishable talent helping me look just like another red droid, it would be cool if when we arrive on an ice planet I can paint myself white. And then when we go to a desert planet I can change to a sand camo.

3 hours ago, IE5-O said:

My droid pc is currently bright red. Despite the indistinguishable talent helping me look just like another red droid, it would be cool if when we arrive on an ice planet I can paint myself white.

I imagine your droid looking like this. ...

military-humor-funny-New-Winter-Camouflage-soldier-snowman.jpg

Edited by Randy G

And that's 5 applications to less than 10% of a normal humanoid as clothing is worn covering the rest of the body. So, really just the face and maybe the hands and breakup the gear like the blaster. To cover a droid would be 1 or more whole tubes and an hour or more to paint it on. More if the droid has no helpers given how poor their agility tends to be in the movies.

On 2017-5-28 at 10:10 AM, Kallabecca said:

And that's 5 applications to less than 10% of a normal humanoid as clothing is worn covering the rest of the body. So, really just the face and maybe the hands and breakup the gear like the blaster. To cover a droid would be 1 or more whole tubes and an hour or more to paint it on. More if the droid has no helpers given how poor their agility tends to be in the movies.

Well that makes no RAW sense. What good would camouflaging your face and hands do if your clothes are still the same colour? If it's 5 applications and up to silhouette 1 then it should cover a droid. Might need a coordination check to apply it, luckily I got a mechanic who can paint it on... Only trouble is he's addicted to bluepaint.

4 minutes ago, IE5-O said:

Well that makes no RAW sense. What good would camouflaging your face and hands do if your clothes are still the same colour? If it's 5 applications and up to silhouette 1 then it should cover a droid. Might need a coordination check to apply it, luckily I got a mechanic who can paint it on... Only trouble is he's addicted to bluepaint.

A soldier would be wearing camouflage clothing, much like the poncho worn by Luke and Leia in RotJ, Han's trench coat or even a full set of Army BDUs.

OK, I understand this from a non RAW perspective, but as written it states that it can be used on anything up to silhouette 1. Unless this means 'the face and hands of anything up to silhouette 1'? So no face paint for Rancors... Otherwise it suggests that any object up to sil 1 could be covered.

Given your example of clothing, would a GM award a single failure to identify if someone was wearing camouflage clothes that hid their face and hands?

2 hours ago, IE5-O said:

Well that makes no RAW sense. What good would camouflaging your face and hands do if your clothes are still the same colour? If it's 5 applications and up to silhouette 1 then it should cover a droid. Might need a coordination check to apply it, luckily I got a mechanic who can paint it on... Only trouble is he's addicted to bluepaint.

" This thick paint comes in small tubes holding five applications and is intended to camouflage exposed skin , but can be used on everything from weapons to personal gear. In the container, the paste appears an almost colorless gray, but photoreactive pigments allow it to match the color and visual texture of its surroundings once exposed to air. "

When you wear clothing, you don't have much exposed skin. So, it is 5 uses for a silhouette 1 character to cover their bare skin, not their naked body. On larger characters it will take more applications to get the same coverage. So, per RAW it only covers about 10% of the body in one application for a silhouette 1 being.

:huh: :blink: :rolleyes:

Sheesh, people. Overthinking much? Use one application, get an automatic failure on enemy Perception and Vigliance checks to notice your character, and get on with the game. Don't make something this simple and straightforward into something needlessly complicated.