1. Some_Bloke

    Some_Bloke Active Member

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    Issue with weapons and armour (science fiction)

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by Some_Bloke, Nov 26, 2014.

    With weapons, I can get the description just fine (they may not be perfect descriptions but it's enough in my opinion), it's more so an issue surrounding a certain type of weapon I'm having some issues with.

    https://www.writingforums.org/threads/stuck-on-names-for-two-alien-races.135026/

    ^ In this thread I've already talked about the humanoid tribal species that descended from birds (still haven't come up with a name yet), and the weapons they use. Other species will use the weapons the bird-like people created for close-quarters combat and stealth (most notably the weapons are used by space pirates)

    The problem I'm having is how to make the use of the weapons believable. I have come up with several concepts such as the weapons being made of a specific material native to the planet of the bird-people or the weapons themselves being enhanced by various forms of technology.

    The weapons should be able to cut through materials that other average swords, axes (ect) would fail at.

    For example, some members of the antagonist species have several tubes on their helmets and armour that allow them to breathe, so an effective way of killing them in close quarters is to slice through the tubes, cutting off their breathing.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Armour is a different issue altogether. While I can make the armour believable (for the most part) it's the design I struggle with. Not of armies or species, such as humans having armour that resembles armours we have today, the bird-like people having lightweight armour covered in various carvings and tribal marks and pirates having armour they've scavenged (rusty, worn versions of other armour sets)

    Armour belonging to a specific character(s) is what I'm having trouble with.

    One character in particular has had his armour for a while and thus has made various modifications to it to resemble an armour worn in human history (mostly due to his obsession with pre-WWIII times and culture). I'm just stuck on a warrior for him to base his armour off of. It would essentially be a futuristic and lightweight version of an armour worn in the past.

    Other characters will possibly wear futuristic versions of armours that have been worn in the past, but for now I'm just focusing on Gregory.

    Any suggestions?
     
  2. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    Japanese Lamellar armour...all those small plates, laced together...and, in your time period, each generating a force-field to cover an area, so if one plate is compromised, the remaining plates sense the failure and increase their output to cover the vulnerability.
     
    matwoolf and Some_Bloke like this.
  3. Some_Bloke

    Some_Bloke Active Member

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    That's a fantastic idea. Thank you.
     
  4. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Hmmm.... The avian people... I'm interested to know how you will make the armor wearable to them if they are a species descended of birds. A human or human analogue is rather easy to put into clothing or armor because for the most part our skin is smooth and what structural emergences we have (hair) is very thin and pliable, it doesn't really impose a problem. You need some soft, smooth underclothing between you and the armor to reduce chafing, but that's about it. If a being were reptilian, the same would be true. Are your avians still fully feathered? A feather is a strong and stiff quill imbedded in the skin and in some areas, tied into the underlying bone. How would your armor take this into account? I could see it becoming terribly uncomfortable on a feathered creature, even if it were lightweight, just by dint of the pressure it would place on where the feathers enter the skin. Movement in fighting would only exacerbate this more.
     
  5. Fighting Kentuckian

    Fighting Kentuckian New Member

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    For your sword that can cut anything I'd recommend some type of space katana.

    For the armor, I'm extremely biased towards the look of the Ancient Roman Lorica Segmentata. I like the shiny steel, but if you want lightweight I'd recommend the leather variant.

    http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/images/Product/large/AH-3851L.png
     
  6. NeighborVoid

    NeighborVoid Active Member

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    Why not just wear a heavy suit of armor over a powered exoskeleton? Swords cannot slice through armor made of the same material. The historical problem with wearing heavy metal armor was that it obscured the wearer's vision and restricted movement. With the advent of power armor and displays (oculus rift), all the disadvantages are nullified.

    Warhammers would be devastating in conjunction with the augmented strength of power armor. However, what's more effective is a good old-fashioned ballistic weapon. A gun. Soldiers with that strength would be able to handle the recoil of much more powerful firearms. Soldiers would probably be covered from head to toe in reactive armor plates to counter armor piercing projectiles. THB melee weapons wouldn't be effective against walking tanks.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2016
  7. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    Perhaps the birds are covered in a tar substance? Like the birds we see on news articles, retrieved by well-meaning folk, and taken to the sanctuary. Once coated in these oils, fluffy avians become rock hard, crash from the skies.

    Also steel-tipped beaks, helmets over Starling eyes. They are known as 'Starlings,' of course. When the humans face such fowl-avian devastation they fire molten beams at the birds, birds erupt into flame, phoenix or G-Force.
     

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