My runners are heading into the south american jungle for an extended run. They are all planning on going down there wearing their standard compliment of layer armor. Armored Jackets, FFBA, trench coats, etc. Which is all well and good in Seattle's temperate climate but it seems to me that they will suffer from the heat. So my question is, is there any canon rules for the penalties of being heavily armored out in the heat?

I don't have my books on me, but I would look in
Cannon Companion (doubtful)
Target: Wastelands (best bet)
Fields of Fire (2nd edition, not canon, but a good place to start if it has anything, which I'm not sure about either)

Check target wastelands for environmental efects, I'm sure it's either going to cover it or provide you some guidelines to bash your own house rules together.

Oh my... our group recently got back from the Amazon.

I don't recall if our GM used any canon rules, but basically we all had to give up our Long Coats and FFBA (I think Armor Clothing only) or we'd start taking stun damage or something like that.

I remeber that the Forbidden Fruit adventure in the Predator and Prey book had a rule that if any character wearing armor in the jungle would suffer one box of Stun damage for each point of impact armor they were wearing. Once night fell or the character took off the armor the Stun damage was recovered normally. However, that is a second edition adventure book. I don't know what the rules are for 3rd ed.

Armor and overheating.....Hmmmm sounds like a battletech question to me.....
Just kidding jeez.....

Why wouldn't they just acquire armored clothing types that are more area-appropriate? FFBA or Second Skin under Jungle Camos should cause no real problems, as I'm sure in 60 years there is some improvement in clothing ventilation.

Water (especially untainted) should be a bigger worry.

Just a flat amount of stun. I like it, that way the troll tank wont be able to resist it.

I'd say let them resist it, but with Athletics, not Body.
A little different, but favors metatypes a bit less.

I usualy stick players with situational modifiers when they are wearing inappropriate armor/clothing. The players didn't realize it, but in the last game I ran, their TNs for a number of physical/active skills were 1 higher if they were sweating profusely under a longcoat, despite the description of the day as "another steamer in Seattle."

There's nothing like a +1 or +2 to TN on combat skills because sweat is running into your eyes/your hands are slippery to ruin a streetsam's day and make him conisder taking the armored trashcan off.

This is exactly where I like to say the fire resistance option in Cannon Companion includes cooling systems.

I figure a good long coat with 3 points of cold protection and 3 points of fire protection should be comfortable in most climates. And if you don't need the active heating and cooling, you can say some of the pockets are hot or cold, so you can have a cold beer and hot roast beef sandwich waiting on those long stake outs.

I imagine that firefighter's suits are specially designed to deal with that sort of thing (ie, external heat), but they probably aren't designed to be worn for extended periods of time, beacuse if it blocks the heat from coming in, then chances are it'll block it from leaving, too.

I still don't understand why they wouldn't purchase jungle clothing. It would come in a variety of styles (just extrapolate from what is already in canon), and would be properly made for the environment so as to cause the least amount of distress. Usually the best of this type of clothing falls under the military tag, but it wouldn't in any way be classified or restricted.

The best bet is jungle fatigues [5/3] over the afformentioned FFBA.

Wear a hat!

Take salt tables/supplements!

And toilet paper!

Bug repellent could also be helpful.

Check any half-submerged logs twice before stepping on them.

For the mages:
Stop eating three days before the trek, and survive on only nutrition and fast spells.
Wear light clothing, as optimal for the lattitude.
Never get withing 20 feet of the canopy and definately not the gorund, keep your levitated self out of "jumping gaint mantis" range.

On second thought, hire a free spirit with astral gateway to go along with you astrally so it can make other PCs dual natured and thus viable targets for your magic.

Much body armour is designed to alleviate heat issues. I think it was explicitly mentioned for the form fit.

Long coats are out.

Edward

In low-humidity areas, layered clothing actualy helps protect against heat and dehydration. Jungles are more dangerous sbecause their high-humidity makes cooling through moisture evaporation much more difficult. Still, I would asume that proper hydration is several times more important that clothing choice even there. But, it wouldn't hurt for armor to have built-in air conditioning. TN modifiers would be much better than imposing damage.

If you want to hurt your PCs, there are more enviromental hazards in the jungle than just heat. Among other dangerous parasites,South America has the Bot Fly, whose magotts grow to matruity under the skin of living animals, and the dreaded
penis fish, a very good reason to never pee of the side of your raft. Just imagine awakened versions of those.

Target: Wastelands has rules for this in the desert section (with mention of jungles too). It is some amount of flat stun damage which can't be resisted but does heal normally. In fact, I think it's the same as in Preadtor and Prey - been a while since I read either.

Form fitting armour is designed to be breatable, so I never apply a penalty for it under almost any situation - but normal clothes I sure as hell would. It gets hot in fatigues and webbing and a pack on your back with a rifle and possibly a sidearm. It's not as bad as a fire fighter but it'll still make you sweat and cause you to fatigue easier.

I think Target: Wastelands includes some specialised gear for the environment, but if memory serves getting high armour is gonna cause you too be fatigued. Course, you could modify some of the stuff in SOTA63 to work in the heat - I'm sure there's hand warmers and such so perhaps. And if not, I think either Wastelands or Target: Awakened Lands has Dune style 'still suits'.

As for armour modifications, Thermal Dampening would cool you somewhat, but that property is only finite and takes a couple of hours to 'reset' after being worn for a while, so I'd say it only helps you while you're getting a TN mod from it. Fire Resistance is not, by the description (and nowadays stuff), cooling in any way, and if the stuff in SR is anything like nowadays it'll make it heavier than ever.

In the jungle or desert, I'd definately adhere to the encubmerance rules - heat makes you fatigued very easily, and carrying anything is gonna make that worse.

Why do people think that the jungle is hot? It isn't, no more hotter than working in a construction yard or in a shipyard. Cooler actually, since the jungle canopy provides shade. There isn't a direct correlation between heat and jungle, unlike that of the desert.

Okay I have 2 groups running the same ission in the Amazon. This is how I work the Heat exhaustion.

Take balistic + impact .
Unmodified body

Eg Armour Jacket 5/3
Body include Cyber say 7

5+3=8
Soke a 8m Stun Every hour with there body.

It works as they will where minimal armour.

Ever been to a jungle Toturi?

While it might not be much above 30 degrees, the humidity is around 99%. So it makes the jungle feel much hotter.

Sure, I can tolerate 30 degrees in low humidity, but that same heat in higher humidity is much worse. Dehydration becomes a greater factor, since despite the fact that you aren't losing heat when you sweat, you still sweat. At jungle levels of humidity you've possibly got problems breathing, and carrying any weight is gonna make you sweat even more.

To be honest, I'd rather be in a desert than a jungle. But then again I've a natural pseudo cold weather climitataion genemod :o)

If you are saying that Antarctica is a desert, yes, you may be right. But it doesn't fit the SR defination of desert.

Doesn't Target: Wastelands say it's a desert? I think it does mention that, but not sure.

Toturi, you're acclimatised to the humidity and heat levels. However, a runner from the Sprawl is going to suffer from heat and humidity just as much as I would, quite possibly more cos isn't Seattle further north than London?? And since 99% of shadowruns won't allow time for acclimatiation it's probably gonna be harsh.

But okay, I'll admit I didn't see your location - I assumed you were spouting. Apologies.

What is the average humidity in Seattle anyways?

T:WL mentions that Antarctica is dry cold as opposed to Artic wet cold.

But it is in a different section from the "normal" hot deserts.

It doesn't matter much what the relative humidity is when you're talking about temperatures far below the freezing point of water. At 100% relative humidity in -20 degrees C the absolute humidity is 1/10th that of room temperature in 50% relative humidity, or about 1/50th that of 100% relative humidity in +38 degrees C.

The average relative humidity in an arctic climate is said to be 50-60% here. Comparing that to the relative humidity figures here makes me wonder why antarctic areas would be any dryer than arctic areas in the 2060s. So your sweat will evaporate just fine in both, assuming it doesn't freeze.

Its all about being aclimated. I spent 8 years in Tucson playing paintball year round. I wore Full camo over lightweight clothes (T-shirt & shorts), plus a hood and full mask. Its 105F and as long as you have water, you're fine. My friends came over from San Diego CA to play and nearly dropped dead. You live in central Brazil, Thailand or any other country with constant high humidity and lush jungles you could get away with heavy armor in the jungle. Seattle to Amazonia, the runners are probably in trouble.

I lived in an area where Temp ar between 32 and 42 C humidity 75% to 80%.

I now live in an area where Temp is between 28 and 37 C humidity 20 to 45%

I will tell you some thing, that is different.

High Humidity you sweat and it stays, you get so wet with sweat that the salt in your sweat cause major chaffing on back packs. This make it uncomfortable. You will dehydrate just as quick, but are warned by sweat saturation.

Low Humitity you have a dry nose your lips dry out your sweet evapourates, cooling your body. Your body is hot but not generating enough sweat so you dehydrate quicker, with out knowing.

Both are bad.

Factor body salts and electrolites. In both conditions body armour is uncomfortable.

just have each of the soldiers drop a clip from their loadout, cray. at a pound and a half each, that's sure to lighten their load!