Goodman Games

Just got the Mech Manual and i've got some questions about mech armor. If I understand it right any damage dealt hits the pilot, but he still benefits from the hardness of the mechs armor as DR. Can normal armor be worn under mech armor, as with standard mechs? What are the changes to the design process between mech armors and standard mechs? Do all mech armors have to be hybrid man-powered or not?

I'd say that mech armor is regular armor -- think of it as a mega-enhanced suit of hydraulic armor for your character, rather than as a very small mech. It's like wearing steam-powered plate mail. You can't wear other armor underneath it for extra protection, just as you can't wear studded leather under your chain mail (unless your GM has gone nuts). The design process is radically different than designing a regular mech, even a small one; mechs are vehicles, while mech armor serves a different function.

As for whether they have to be man-powered, that's the default assumption. If you come up with alternate rules for that, I'd be very interested in seeing them.

That makes them suck pretty bad compared to standard hydraulic or clockwork armors. All of them have negative armor modifiers and wouldn't usually increase strength more than the standard armors either.

consider it a price to pay for wielding larger weapons and gaining up to 20 points of DR

notice, also, that the emcha rmor is only utilized by two factions:
the primitive orcs
the honor-bound iron-tooth clans

both of these are soscieties that put an emphasis on personal prowes in combat, and mech armor provides the ability to demonstrate that, and augment it to a small extent