What modifications would need to be made to a set of power armor or light power armor to not need the backpack power source and be limited in how long we can operate it. Was thinking of something similar to dragon armor, but wouldn't be interfacing with implants due to being made for non tech-priests.

Due we have stats somewhere for Imperator armor such as worn by Saint Sabbat?

No, but you could probably just make something up.

-K

I remember that Luddite (forum user) had made up a lot of power armour stuff. Perhaps you ask him via pm. I can´t find my copy anymore, but i remember that I really liked his workings.

Except you can't PM on this forum. Oh Luddite, where are you, hehe.

Gregorius21778 said:

It's posted on Dark reign, reading through it, its pretty good.

http://www.darkreign40k.com/downloads/dark-reign-supplements/index.php

It's the 41st millenium, those backpacks probably have tiny nuclear reactors providing continuous power for hundreds of years.

Letrii said:

The onther aspect you need to consider is that Dragon armour has a power source - the Tech Priest's Potentia Coil

Without making something up on the fly as it were, there wont be many/any examples of Power armour that doesn't have a power source

Hmm...

In the rules i wrote,

'Power armour also incorporates decentralised energy capacitors that store emergency energy supplies, allowing the suit to continue operation for 1d5 hours even in the event of a complete power failure.'

So, potentially, the armour could be 'powered up' from a separate source and then used for say 5 hours, wthout a backpack.

Personally i'd say a Tech Priest would need to make some tech rolls to remove the backpack ( Oliphant-pattern stacked sub-atomic chain, cold-fusion micro-reactor that utilise Helium-3 (He-3) non-radioactive isotope cells ) without damaging the armour and to hook the armour up to a power supply...and his potentia coil isn't going to have stored enough energy in my opinion...

But i'd say it is possible.

Of course, if you know a friendly Jokaero, he could no doubt build you a suit of power armour that fit like a body glove and had a power reactor the size of a small coin...

Military power armoured units such as Space Marines and SoB's have sub atomic power supplies in their large back packs (which also includes long term life support etc).

I don't remember ever hearing about the limits of Spacemarine power armour but it must weeks if not months at least.I don't remember ever hearing about the limits of Spacemarine power armour but it must weeks if not months at least.

Inquisitors models in power armour don't tend to have large backpacks. I don't know if that suggesting they are working off smaller but inferior power storage or better and smaller sub-atomic supplies.

So my answer would be, as usual anything is possible if they have the funds for it.

My personal, if somewhat outdated, interpretation of Adeptus Astartes Power Armour had a radioisotope power generator (my preferred interpretation of a "stacked atomic chain power plant") and a backup battery system for about 8 hours. Make of that what you will.

Kage

I would go to an RTG Powered by Plutonium 238 that has a half- life of 87 years, so it will still have 50% power output after 87year and running of radioactive decay (thats contained in the reactor), nuclear eksplosion is avoided since there is no chain reation. that is possible with our feeble tech,so a guess it can be done better in 38k years.
That would keep the power armour well powered for the length of any standard mission.

PS: dont swallow fuel core its hot and may cause corruption points, and death.
PPS: sorry i know a bit of physics.

Which, amusingly enough, other than the specific element selection, I used in the post directly above yours, Sarius.

Cool.

Kage

Ups Didnt notice that infact was the same type of power supply you were referring to, kage.

But my post still give a possible life exspectency.

I would say a generator for the Light power armor would have a a wait of roughly 15 kg , while the normal Power armors generator would be 20kg( it do after all need heat radiators to keep the temperature differance that allowed the heat to electricity conversion to happen.

So do your character care to carry that much extra weight?

Sarius said:

Except, erm, surely the point of power armour is at least to offset its own weight?

Kage

Some might want to wield a heavy weapon like an autocannon, and might not be able to carry another 20kg when they also need ammo and other stuff, and go for the "the tech priest is my generator" insted of an rtg.

Erm, yeah, but for those power armour patterns that are designed to be used with a power plant? But then again I don't inherently see power armour as "modular," in that you can just bolt on a power supply and leave it at that. (I also have trouble with the "potentia coils" powering them, but I guess that depends on how much power you see power armour requiring...)

Kage

Actually the energy consumption is pretty low and wouldnt need a nuke reactor strapped to your back or anything so fanciful.

Way I figure it, an average 75kg human being uses about 150jules a second just walking which is 150watts

Using an example of say the light power armour which weighs 40kg and is capable of offsetting its own weight + its adding about 75% of the strength of the average human being (giving that +20 Str) you're only looking at about maybe 130watts just to keep it, upright and walking around. That of course will jump up to about 5 times that under some serious duress and factor in about 20% loss due to heat and resistance, it'll still run on something the equivalent to a really decent computer power supply.

Keep it up and running for a few hours? Thats probably only going to take about 20 or so Lith-Ion batteries, which if I was engineering it, would use much the same principle of the old russian nuke subs used to use and integrate them in between the hard external armour plates, the skeleton and softer ballistic armour/environmental sealing so they could use their mass to absorb impacts and decentralise it as someone else mentioned. Add the backpack in and you can easily squeeze out a fair few hours.

Basically, we're not moving a car here, its fairly light.

The fact that PAs provide a mere +20 strength is a joke anyway - modern day exoskeletons manage a fivefold increase compared to the human norm, meaning that at least an Unnatural *2 should be added in.

As for the 1D5 hours, I've liked the idea put forth by Luddite's supplement that this is meant for damaged military PAs that have lost their reactor and are essentially permanently running on their emergency condensators which is why they are up for sale on the civilian market.