# Does power armour make a SM faster or slower?



## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

If possible, relevant quotes would be appreciated 

Common sense would say it slows him down and makes him less agile but greatly boosts his strength...or does it?


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

Faster but it is a bitch to wear in a China shop.

In "The Emperor's Gift" a Chaos Space Marine is able to run and catch up with a Jeep that is speeding to escape.

What I want to know is how do they .. you know..... "do potty" ?


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Suit has recycling systems Magpie. 

Ever noticed they don't carry rations in long battles and campaigns? 

Yea. I'm not making that up.


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

oh .... and so does the bubble burst, THANKS SERP !


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## Rems (Jun 20, 2011)

It may not make them faster but it certainly doesn't slow them. It's the purpose of the Black Carapace implant. It neurally connects them to the armour. This means it acts as a second skin, not as encumbering armour. So rather than moving against the armour, the armour works with them, it's like not wearing armour at all. So for those without the Black Carapce power armour is encumbering.

Here's a couple quotes from Know No Fear. I recently re read it so they were fresh in my mind. There's heaps more out there but no specifics spring to mind.



> The Word Bearer is almost unrecognisable. For a nanosecond, the figure registers to Luciel as an unknown, a threat.
> Transhuman responses are already there, unbidden. Adrenaline spikes to heighten an already formidable reaction time. Muscle remembers. Luciel wears his boltgun, an oiled black pit bull of a weapon, in his thigh holster. He can draw, aim and fire in less than a second. The range is six metres, the target unobstructed. There is no chance of missing. Maximus plate, frontally augmented, might stop a mass-reactive shell, so Luciel will fire two and aim for the visor slits. The airgate skin-sleeve is self-repairing, and will survive las-fire damage, but a bolter shot will shred it open, so Luciel also braces for the explosive decompression of a ricochet or a miss-hit. At a simple, subconscious neural urge, boot-sole electromagnets charge to clamp onto the deck plates.
> 
> He can make a clean kill headshot in less than a second and a half, two rounds for kill insurance, and probably protect the atmospheric integrity of the airgate.
> All this, all this decided, unbidden, instinctive, in less than a nanosecond.





> There’s a fugging Ultramarine coming at them. Coming out of cover. Coming like a blue blur. The bastard’s huge.
> 
> The speeder kicks forward to meet the bounding Ultramarine. The fugger’s so fast. Something that big and heavy ought not to be able to move that f–


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

it speeds them up... with greater strength, enhanced reactions (sensory input and combat drugs) and quicker movement (again from drugs or just the servos helping them move).

... unless the power pack has been damaged/destroyed, then it slows them down massively and even with their enhanced physiology they struggle to move.

In Descent of Angles there's a techmarine who uses his suit to overload a security system but shorts everything out in the process... a short while later he's practically collapsing from the effort of moving without the armour's servos helping him to move while wearing it.


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## Igni Ferroque (Dec 7, 2010)

I'd like to just point out Lucius the Eternal and all his feats through out the Horus Heresy novels, even the older marks of Armour never slow him down in close combat.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Magpie_Oz said:


> oh .... and so does the bubble burst, THANKS SERP !


It's what I'm here for.


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## warsmith7752 (Sep 12, 2009)

Serpion5 said:


> Suit has recycling systems Magpie.
> 
> Ever noticed they don't carry rations in long battles and campaigns?
> 
> Yea. I'm not making that up.


Of course they carry rations, they neatly pack their sandwiches into their backpacks along with theor juice boxes in case emergency sustenance is required.


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## Over Two Meters Tall! (Nov 1, 2010)

Tim/Steve said:


> In Descent of Angles there's a techmarine who uses his suit to overload a security system but shorts everything out in the process... a short while later he's practically collapsing from the effort of moving without the armour's servos helping him to move while wearing it.


Based on the information from hailene below, it's interesting to get a practical idea about how much a suit of Astares armor weighs.



hailene said:


> Without power armor his SB drops to 8 and he can carry, lift, and push 675kg, 1,350 kg, and 2,700kg respectively.


Granted, the techmarine probably has armor that weighs much more than the standard, with their repair arms and other widgets attached.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

Faster. SM's running at full stick can reach speeds around 80kph. In full battle plate. Source: Void Stalker - ADB.


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

Stopping from the speed must be interesting.


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## Archon Dan (Feb 6, 2012)

The suits definitely have servos and power sources, enabling them to be as unencumbering as possible. Even Terminator Armour, once it gets moving, does not slow them much. It just has worse acceleration, hence no Sweeping Advance in game. In this case, stopping it must take great effort. Wall? What Wall? I do remember reading that a Space Marine in Terminator army did a back flip off a Rhino, which implies no loss of agility or dexterity. Sadly, I cannot recall where I read this. My only question is what condition was the Rhino in after that?


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## Garrak (Jun 18, 2012)

The Terminator back flip was in a Goto book I think .....which makes it suspicious at best.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

Garrak said:


> The Terminator back flip was in a Goto book I think .....which makes it suspicious at best.


Ahhh Goto... I often wonder what his first drafts (pre edit) would look like...

"And then the Blood Raven terminator captain went super saiyan, shot fireballs from his asshole and destroyed the advancing ork army... He then teleported back aboard his battlebarge and opened his navigators eye and lead the ship single handily through the warp back to Terra where he sat himself upon the golden throne and powered the Astronomican by way of his utter awesomeness. The end"


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## Lemanruss27 (Feb 16, 2012)

Brother Subtle said:


> Ahhh Goto... I often wonder what his first drafts (pre edit) would look like...
> 
> "And then the Blood Raven terminator captain went super saiyan, shot fireballs from his asshole and destroyed the advancing ork army... He then teleported back aboard his battlebarge and opened his navigators eye and lead the ship single handily through the warp back to Terra where he sat himself upon the golden throne and powered the Astronomican by way of his utter awesomeness. The end"



:grin::grin::goodpost:,Very funny brother


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

have a look at this, just scale it up and add armour to it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VpTN7EAd5yU


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## Archon Dan (Feb 6, 2012)

Garrak said:


> The Terminator back flip was in a Goto book I think .....which makes it suspicious at best.


Probably best I can't recall much of it then. As I said, a Terminator flipping off a Rhino would probably do damage to the Rhino. 



Brother Subtle said:


> Ahhh Goto... I often wonder what his first drafts (pre edit) would look like...
> 
> "And then the Blood Raven terminator captain went super saiyan, shot fireballs from his asshole and destroyed the advancing ork army... He then teleported back aboard his battlebarge and opened his navigators eye and lead the ship single handily through the warp back to Terra where he sat himself upon the golden throne and powered the Astronomican by way of his utter awesomeness. The end"


LOL



Oldman78 said:


> have a look at this, just scale it up and add armour to it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VpTN7EAd5yU


That is pretty awesome. It wont be long before bionic super soldiers stride the battlefields.


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## PallasApollo (Dec 3, 2012)

In William King's Space Wolf novel, Ragnar judges the excellence of his company based on his ability (or inability) to hear them getting into position. If Power Armour is supposed to make an Astartes in power armour practically silent, I'm going to say it also makes them faster, since a normal human who can be silent tends to be fleet of foot as well.


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

PallasApollo said:


> Power Armour is supposed to make an Astartes in power armour practically silent, I'm going to say it also makes them faster, since a normal human who can be silent tends to be fleet of foot as well.


ADB usually has the armor humming and making noise. Power armor is distinctly NOT silent, as it describes scouts as using carapace armor because they are quieter than a power armored marine.

Furthermore, when someone generally moves quickly, the more noise they make. Generally speaking.

Also, I would like to chime in a point about Space Marine armor:

Keep in mind that the suits themselves are designed to fight in almost any environment. That probably includes high gravity world.

If a suit was JUST strong enough to more or less keep a marine the same speed on a 1g world, what would happen when he has to fight a 3g world? He wouldn't be able to move.


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## PallasApollo (Dec 3, 2012)

I did not say one had to be silent and fast at the same time. My point is one's agility would be greater, contributing to either point. 

Perhaps 'silent' is dependent on 'battlefield'.


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

PallasApollo said:


> Perhaps 'silent' is dependent on 'battlefield'.


I'd have to agree with that.

On the beach will have quite a different sound to an un-sprung timber floor, or a steel deck or a chandelier shop.


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

PallasApollo said:


> I did not say one had to be silent and fast at the same time. My point is one's agility would be greater, contributing to either point.


I think the ability to move quickly is not really attached to moving silently. Or even the ability to move silently.

It requires a totally different set of skills.

I mean, I've trained as an athlete for over half my life. I learned to be quick--explosively quick. Agile, to say it in a word. I have no better idea of being sneaky than a normal person.

Agility is reliant on explosive power. Stealth is something entirely different.

Are there stealthy, fast people? Sure! Does being fast help you be stealthy? I don't believe so.


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## PallasApollo (Dec 3, 2012)

hailene said:


> Agility is reliant on explosive power. Stealth is something entirely different.


I think I've been playing D&D too long, then.


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

PallasApollo said:


> I think I've been playing D&D too long, then.


Yup . Think of all those track sprinters. Are they fast? Hell yes. Do you think they're any better at sneaking around than a normal person?


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## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

Magpie_Oz said:


> Faster but it is a bitch to wear in a China shop.
> 
> In "The Emperor's Gift" a Chaos Space Marine is able to run and catch up with a Jeep that is speeding to escape.
> 
> What I want to know is how do they .. you know..... "do potty" ?


I wondered this just yesterday!


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

They don't.

The suit filters their blood. No waste.

I recall somewhere that someone said that the suit recycles the waste and the marine may reingest it. It wouldn't make ALL that much sense since marine digestive systems are super effective already, but who knows, right?


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## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

hailene said:


> They don't.
> 
> The suit filters their blood. No waste.
> 
> I recall somewhere that someone said that the suit recycles the waste and the marine may reingest it. It wouldn't make ALL that much sense since marine digestive systems are super effective already, but who knows, right?


I always try to go right before throwing on my wetsuit. Inevitably, I have to go again as soon as I get into the water and if you go through the wetsuit you will never get the smell out so I just go on in discomfort... SM's rarely take their armor off...


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

cheeto said:


> SM's rarely take their armor off...


Not on a battlefield (for obvious reasons) but they do when they're not on a war footing.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

Baron Spikey said:


> Not on a battlefield (for obvious reasons) but they do when they're not on a war footing.


Which begs the question, do they go potty when not in their battle plate? And if not... i.e. they never need to go potty. Then the next local question would be... Do they even have anus'?


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

Brother Subtle said:


> Which begs the question, do they go potty when not in their battle plate? And if not... i.e. they never need to go potty. Then the next local question would be... Do they even have anus'?


Wait, what? Why wouldn't they have an anus? They're human. The reengineering has never touched on the anus...

Anyway, I decided to dig up the source about the waste disposal system, from the Deathwatch rulebook:

"Filters in the armour capture and pruify body waste, reconstituting it into a nutrient solution that is intravenously returned to the body."

Whether it waits for the waste to come out and catch it, or it somehow filters the body directly, is not stated.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

hailene said:


> Wait, what? Why wouldn't they have an anus? They're human. The reengineering has never touched on the anus...


Well if they don't need an anus, why bother having it. And no, they are not humans. Not anymore.

Imagine a Space Marine dropping a massive log in an oversized dunny reading a copy of the Codex Astartes?


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## MEQinc (Dec 12, 2010)

Brother Subtle said:


> Well if they don't need an anus, why bother having it. And no, they are not humans. Not anymore.


Just because they don't have a use for it (which they probably do) doesn't mean that you need to go to the trouble of removing and sealing it. Marines don't have or lack anything that isn't added or removed specifically to make them more efficient killing machines. Their anus has no impact on their killing efficiency so there is no reason to even think about altering it.


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

Brother Subtle said:


> Well if they don't need an anus, why bother having it. And no, they are not humans. Not anymore.


Even if they didn't need an anus, why would the fleshsmiths bother to even remove it? It's not like it hurts anything.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

LOL you guys... seriously? Haha, I'd love to hear the opinion of someone from GW on the subject of whether SM have sealed anuses


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