Descended Glitterboy?

[kevarin]

on page 120 of the revised rifts source book one it says archie released
supplies of glitter boys and other power and weapons for 20 years to
nema survivors

then for another 150 years he sent robots out the place caches of 6-24 glitter boys
all over the country your descended glitter boy pilots family could have found one of these
cashes and used the armor over time to make repairs when needed and replace hole suits
when one got damaged ?

[glitterboy2098]

one thing to remember about nuclear powerplants is that it isn't "20 years and then you have to replace it", but rather 20 years of use. the fuel itself (regardless of wether you prefer to use fission or fusion in your games) will last for centuries or longer. but when the system is actively generating energy, it runs through that fuel.

so a glitterboy's power system is basically rated for 20 years of activity before needing ot refuel. if the user isn't using it constantly, they could easily stretch the active lifespan out over several centuries. this would entail using the GB only in battle, and using other vehicles to move it when not fighting, and not running it when not actually needing it's sensors or weapons, but that does make for a more interesting roleplay.

spare parts are actually going to be a bigger issue. but there you can assume that wrecks and depots have been scavenged to keep the suit going. the GB in use by a descended pilot might be his families suit, but odds are there are parts of half a dozen suits inside it, repairs done to keep it going. loose half the MDC on the chestplate (main body?) swap it out with a mostly intact peice from another suit. HUD on the fritz? ditto.

while repairing the actual peices of GB armor is not a common skill, using uncommon resources, swapping out damaged for intact parts from other suits ought to be within the abilities of an operator.

[Prince Artemis]

They said archie was putting out caches of gbs and supplies, but they don't say how much. The fact is a broken glitterboy is still worth a mint as their parts are valuable for the guys that have them, and considering most mercs charge a premuim because they have glitterboys, they have the money to spare.

Also, don't make the assumption that descended glitterboys have been operating alone as the sole heroes of a town. I would actually doubt that happens at even small trading post towns were there is a singular protector.

Also, remember that many kingdoms actually incorperate the gbs into their defenses, so there's also a chance of a descended GB. As previously mentioned, the son or daughter of one of Whykin's GB defenders probably learned how to us a GB as their forebarers, however if they strike out on their own they likely aren't getting their parents GB. It's the cities property in those specific cases, or it may be they had siblings and the siblings are staying so they get the suit.

[Avatara]

Also there are and were tech places on rifts earth. Glitter boys can make a lot of money adventuring which would enable the pilot over the years to replace the nuke reactor. Or deals could be made with cities or towns with tech centers to have the engine replaced. I.e I defend town for x number of years you repair the toy. Id say the hardest thing to come by would be the armour repairs. Concidering that the tech for making the chrom armour was lost.

That said, I must agree that the decended pilot works much better as a character hook than an entire class.