Adding upgrade slots to armor? / value of upgrade slots?

[Davelozzi]

Are there any rules for adding upgrade slots to armor? Or if not, does anyone know if there is a guideline to the value of an upgrade slot when designing new armor types?

A few more specifics, with some Dead Suns spoilers...

Spoiler:

In the current adventure (book 4, The Ruined Clouds), they have access to archaic armors. A sidebar indicates that they can add environmental protections to these archaic armors for 10% of the purchase price in UPBs, but gives no mention about adding upgrade slots, and none of the available armor include any slots at all. The second half of the campaign largely takes place away from civilized space, so shopping opportunities will be virtually non-existent from here out so...

I'd love let them supplement by using crafting to upgrade the gear they find, but wasn't sure if there were pitfalls that I might not forsee to letting them add upgrade slots to these armors, or how to balance the value of said slots against other published armors of similar item levels.

[Xenocrat]

There's a feat from COM to add an armor upgrade slot (it might have "adaptive" in the name) and there's the Upgrade Slot Graft species graft (an augmentation) that gives you the android ability to have an extra armor upgrade slot.

Androids of course can have an extra upgrade slot, and there are many class methods to get one - exocortex mechanic, operative exploit, some soldier fighting styles, etc.

[Davelozzi]

Thanks, but I was looking for something that permanently affects the item itself, trying to cover for the lack of shopping access in the later half of this AP. Maybe I will just have to wing it.

[Ravien999]

There isn't, but per your spoiler

Spoiler:

there's nothing that says they can't use the superbeacon of absalom station to go back home to buy new gear and sell the artifacts they find

[Davelozzi]

Yeah, I realize that’s an option, but the stakes are so high, it seems hard to justify story-wise.

[Davelozzi]

Yeah, I realize that’s technically an option, but the stakes are so high, it seems hard to justify story-wise.

[BigNorseWolf]

At one point its faster to pop back to absolom station, then improve the drift drive on your ship, and then head out into the vast rather than trying to go from vast to vast.

An armor upgrade is roughly valued at a feat or class ability (operatives can add an extra one)

[Davelozzi]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

At one point its faster to pop back to absolom station, then improve the drift drive on your ship, and then head out into the vast rather than trying to go from vast to vast.

An armor upgrade is roughly valued at a feat or class ability (operatives can add an extra one)

Excellent, thank you.

[ThainStar]

There are several class features which allow additional armor upgrade slots.

Operative Exploit: Armor Optimizer (Ex)

Mechanic Alternate class feature: Experimental Armor Prototype

Soldier Fighting Style: Armor Storm: Enhanced Tank

In addition, you can gain the Armor upgrade slot Augmentation, effectively replacing either an augment slot with an armor upgrade slot (arm, foot, hand, leg, or at the base of the spinal column)

The fastest way, would be to take a single level of mechanic as their feature is level 1. However multiclassing for an armor upgrade slot might be a bit much.