There’s more to staying safe than thick armor and fireproof underwear. Often, the best defense is not to be detected!
Camouflage – from the French camoufler, meaning “to disguise” – is a smoke-and-mirrors operation. It’s also highly technical, culminating in digitally generated patterns on infrared-suppressing clothing at TL8. To spot a camouflaged person, an observer must win a Quick Contest of Vision or Observation skill (p. B211) vs. his target’s Camouflage skill (p. B183). For hidden equipment, roll the same Contest but use the Camouflage skill of whoever deployed the camouflage.
Camouflage is often a tradeoff. A pattern may be excellent at close range but ineffective at long range. It may blend into one type of terrain but draw unwanted attention in another. Historically, armies and intelligence services have spent millions of dollars to find the right pattern for all-around use. Commercially available patterns sold to hunters are often more effective than military ones in highly specific environments, but sacrifice general utility.
Simple Camouflage (TL6). The most common variety of camouflage is khaki, feldgrau, olive drab, or something similar. It gives +1 (quality) to Camouflage skill. Clothing can have such a color or pattern at no extra cost. LC4.
Basic Camouflage (TL7). A pattern appropriate to the terrain gives +2 (quality) to Camouflage in that terrain – but -1 in other terrain and -2 in highly contrasting terrain (e.g., arctic camouflage in the jungle). Camouflage clothing at TL7+ incorporates dyes that mask or absorb light in the near-infrared wavelengths, too, providing +1 to Camouflage vs. observers relying on technological Night Vision or Infravision. Most recent military camouflage falls into this category: the USMC’s digital MARPAT, the U.S. Army’s woodland pattern, Vietnam-era “tigerstripe” for jungle warfare, etc. Costs 100% of clothing cost. LC4.
Advanced Camouflage (TL8). The best camouflage is highly optimized for one extremely specific terrain – “snowy deciduous forest,” “autumn hardwood forest,” “marshy bottomland,” etc. – and may even include 3D components such as die-cut texturing. It gives +3 (quality) to Camouflage in the intended terrain but -2 almost everywhere else. Examples include the products of top commercial manufacturers; e.g., Realtree, Predator, and Mossy Oak. Costs 200% of clothing cost. LC4.
Reversible Camouflage (TL8). Two different patterns – or one pattern and one normal color – can be printed on opposite sides of clothing, allowing a hunter or a soldier to switch patterns as he moves between terrain types. To find the price, total the additional cost; e.g., two advanced patterns add 400% to clothing cost. LC4.
A net covered with real or faux foliage. It works like any camouflage pattern, providing a bonus to the Camouflage skill in the right terrain. One net covers about 25 square yards. A simple camouflage net costs $20; more advanced designs have their usual effect on cost. 8 lbs. LC4.
This is a shaggy camouflage suit designed to break up the human outline. Users often attach bits of local foliage. Under ideal circumstances – in particular, when there’s plenty of vegetation to lurk in – it can make the wearer nearly invisible.
The basic suit gives +3 (quality) to Camouflage if it’s similar to the terrain in which it’s being used (equivalent to advanced camouflage, see above). Veteran hunters, snipers, and scouts normally customize their suits for further effectiveness; this requires a Camouflage roll. Increase the suit’s bonus by the margin of success, to a maximum total bonus of +8. If a team is working together to modify ghillie suits, the person with the best Camouflage skill may roll once for everyone. Regardless of quality, a ghillie suit gives -1 to Camouflage rolls in non-matching terrain and -2 in highly contrasting terrain.
A ghillie suit is hot and heavy. Treat it as an overcoat for the purposes of Fatigue Costs (p. B426). $500, 12 lbs. LC4.
Systems that suppress the user’s heat or scent “signature” are also available. They can be used alone or with camouflage.
A heavy fabric treated with dyes that block infrared (IR), with preformed slots to allow heat to escape. It gives +2 (quality) to Camouflage vs. thermographs and other Infravision. A poncho in a simple camouflage pattern (p. 76) is $500, 6 lbs. LC4.
A ghillie suit can have IR-suppressing technology built in for an extra $500 without increasing weight.
This is a bigger version of the IR-suppressing poncho (above), plus a system of support poles. One net covers about 25 square yards. A net in a simple camouflage pattern (p. 76) is $800, 100 lbs. LC4.
This clothing treatment works like a sealed chemical protection suit in reverse: instead of keeping chemicals out, it prevents chemicals from leaving. The result is -4 to all Tracking attempts to follow the wearer wholly or partly by scent. Scent-masking technology is common on commercial hunter’s outfits and an option for most other clothing. Costs 200% of clothing cost. LC4.
A suit can be equipped with sensor-controlled active camouflage that changes color and pattern to match the local background environment, in both the visual and infrared spectra. This provides a bonus to the user’s Stealth skill when attempting to avoid visual and infrared detection.
At TL9, a chameleon surface’s bonus is halved against hyperspectral or ultraviolet vision. It is fully effective at TL10+.
The system can also be manually controlled, allowing the user to “paint” the surface with whatever color scheme or markings are desired (as Programmable Camouflage, p. 99), or to give a mirrored skin equivalent to reflec armor (p. 173).
This may be added to an outfit covering the entire body, or to a vehicle surface. It gives +4 to Stealth skill against ordinary and infrared vision, +2 against hyperspectral or ultraviolet vision, and +1 against extended high- or low-band hyperspectral vision. This bonus is halved (round down) if moving. $4,000, 4 lbs. (adjust for SM). LC3.
This version gives +8 to Stealth skill against ordinary and infrared vision, +4 against hyperspectral or ultraviolet vision, and +2 against extended high- or low-band hyperspectral vision. This bonus is halved if moving. $6,000, 4 lbs. (adjust for SM). LC3.
This version is identical to the multispectral chameleon surface, except that it is not affected by movement. $8,000, 4 lbs. (adjust for SM). LC3.
This version gives +4 to Stealth skill against extended high- or low-band hyperspectral vision, and +8 to Stealth skill against other hyperspectral, ultraviolet, infrared, and normal vision. $10,000, 4 lbs. (adjust for SM). LC3.
A large cloak that can be wrapped around a person or object to conceal it. It works the same way as a chameleon surface, but the bonus is halved again, cumulative with other modifiers (round down!) when moving! It can also be used just like any other large cloak. It is half the cost and weight of an equivalent chameleon surface. LC3.
This camouflage net works much like a large chameleon cloak, and can hide vehicles, heavy equipment, or campsites. It covers 25 square yards, and is 10 times the cost and weight of an equivalent chameleon surface. LC3.
These devices detect and mimic incoming active sensor pulses to give a distorted or false reading of the user. Most models can jam radar and imaging radar or sonar. Superscience versions use a “distortion field” that is effective against all active scans!
They can also be set to spoof rather than just jam. If so, there is no penalty to detection, but the sensor operator must succeed by an amount greater than half the detection penalty (e.g., 2 for deceptive radar), or he is fooled into detecting something else.
Deceptive Radar Jammer (TL9): This jams all types of radar signals: -4 to radar, -2 to imaging radar. Spoofing is only possible for non-imaging radar; successfully doing so can change the user’s apparent size and course by up to +/- 6 SM or 60°. $2,000, 2.5 lbs., C/10 hr. LC2.
Deceptive Sonar Jammer (TL9): This emits deceptive sonar signals: it gives a -4 to sonar detection. Successfully spoofing sonar can change the user’s apparent size and (if desired) course by up to +/-6 SM or 60°. $2,000, 2.5 lbs., C/10 hr. LC2.
Distortion Field Belt (TL10^): -6 to all active sensors. Successful spoofing can provide a pre-set, seemingly accurate, but completely false image (within the limits of the spoofed sensor) and/or change the apparent size and course by up to +/-6 SM or 60°. $10,000, 2.5 lbs., C/10 hr. LC2.
Holo-Distort Belt (TL10^): Combines a distortion field belt with a holobelt (p. 98). $12,000, 3 lbs., 2C/10 hr. LC3.
Distortion Chip (TL10^): A small distortion field that protects a one-foot radius around it. It is usually hidden in clothing or luggage, or attached to a weapon or other device to evade or spoof Search rolls that use active sensors. $500, 0.05 lbs., A/4 hr. LC2. Increase the penalty by -2 per TL after introduction.
Except for the distortion chip, these jammers protect a roughly human-size area. Larger objects like vehicles need bigger jammers: multiply cost, weight, and number of C-cells by the square of the vehicle’s longest dimension in yards. (Substitute a D cell for 10 C cells, an E cell for 100 C cells, etc.)
This system reduces an object’s heat signature to defeat infrared and thermal imaging detection. It subtracts -4 (at TL9), -6 (at TL10), -8 (at TL11), or -10 (at TL12) from rolls to detect it via infrared vision or similar sensors. $1,500, 3 lbs. (adjust by SM). LC3.
This electronic-camouflage system allows the wearer to choose a color scheme from any of eight different patterns – desert, snow/arctic, jungle, forest, underwater, urban, black, or high-visibility orange, useful for rescue and underwater operations. The time required to reset the suit depends on TL: four seconds (TL9), three seconds (TL10), two seconds (TL11), or one second (TL12). A suitable camouflage pattern gives a +2 to Camouflage rolls, but a -1 to Camouflage rolls in non-matching terrain, and a -2 in highly-contrasting terrain (i.e., wearing an arctic pattern in the jungle).
Programmable camouflage systems are a significantly cheaper alternative to sensor-controlled systems, and are commonly used by civilians hunters, survey scouts or lightly-equipped military forces. This can be added to any outfit that covers most of the wearer: $1,000, 2 lbs. (adjust for SM). LC4.
Many suits of personal armor incorporate radar-absorbent material as part of their structure. This subtracts -4 at TL9, -6 at TL10, -8 at TL11 or -10 at TL12 from detection by radar, imaging radar, or terahertz (T-ray) radar. Integral radar stealth systems are incorporated with many armor suits. They may also be added to any sealed suit: $1,500, 3 lbs. (adjust for SM). LC3.
This works like a sealed chemical protection suit in reverse – instead of preventing chemicals from entering the clothing, it prevents chemicals from leaving. It provides +4 to Tracking when trying to cover your scent trail. Available for any sealed suit. $200, 1 lb. LC4.
This active optical camouflage system renders the user nearly invisible. Its fabric incorporates thousands of embedded nanocameras and projectors (or a quantum dot array) to create a seamless “projection stealth” system. Controlled by a fast dedicated computer, this captures images of the user’s surroundings, then displays photorealistic imagery that can fool observers from multiple angles and perspectives.
The user is invisible. He gets +9 to Stealth rolls in most circumstances. The invisibility is effective against living things and machines, and will fool cameras. The user casts a visible shadow. He also appears as a shadow when silhouetted directly against the sun or any other extremely bright light source (such as a searchlight); reduce the Stealth bonus to +3 under these conditions. When he moves, there’s a faint shimmering that others can spot with a Vision-6 roll, and target in combat at -6 to hit.
The suit can also function as a video display terminal. The user can “paint” the suit with any desired color or pattern; this reduces the power drain by a factor of 10.
At TL10, an invisibility surface is only effective against visual and infrared (or thermal) imaging.
At TL11, it is also effective against ultraviolet and hyperspectral imaging, unless that has either the extended high- or low-band options.
At TL12, it is effective against extended high- and low-band hyperspectral imaging.
Any suit that covers most or all of the wearer may have an invisibility surface. The cost and weight includes coverage for gloves, boots, and a helmet or hooded mask. $20,000, 4 lbs., 2C/30 min. LC2.
This optical camouflage cloak can be wrapped around a person or object to conceal it. This works like an invisibility surface, but provides only a +3 bonus when moving. $10,000, 4 lbs., C/15 min. LC2.
This invisibility cloak is large enough to hide vehicles, heavy equipment, or a base camp. It covers 25 square yards. $200,000, 50 lbs., 2D/8 hr. LC2.