Adamantium is a ferrous alloy, the composition and manufacturing process of which is a highly classified state secret, owned by the United States government and shared with only a select few chosen close allies (most notably Canada and the United Kingdom). The largest producer of this metal is Stark Industries, who has licensed the formula with the agreement not to sell more than a limited amount on the open market.
The metal is for all practical purposes indestructible. It has to be created in vats and kept in liquid form at extremely high temperatures, and unlike most other ferrous alloys needs to be cast instead of worked. If allowed to cool to a semi-solid state it can be sharpened to a nearly mono-molecular edge, but once it cools to a solid it cannot be cut or reheated. At that point, only technology that can affect matter on a molecular level can affect it or change its shape (those who can manipulate metal through superhuman means, such as Magneto, can shape adamantium, but it still resists shaping in this manner). Thick plats of adamantium can withstand incredible blows, not denting even when attacked by the Hulk; one dome made of adamantium was used to contain a nuclear explosion, though the explosion was only that of a small atomic fission bomb, not that of a larger hydrogen fusion bomb. Many cells in the federal prison for superhumans known as the Vault, as well as in state penitentiaries in New York, California, Illinois, Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, are made of adamantium.
Adamantium was developed at the start of the Cold War in the 1950s by Dr. Myron MacLain, a metallurgist and chemist working. At the time, Dr. MacLain was working on designing armor for tanks, war planes, and light armored vehicles in case of a war with the Soviet Union. Dr. MacLain later lamented that what he developed was too expensive for major mass production.
The mutant adventurer Wolverine has had adamantium bonded to his skeleton through unknown means.
Even before Kevlar was made affordable to the general public, both Stark Industries and Advanced Idea Mechanics were working on the next generation of bullet-resistant fabrics.
In the early '00s, engineers at Stark Industries developed and patented a fabric which attempted to mimic some of the properties of vibranium, absorbing and redirecting the kinetic energy of bullets away from the point of impact. Under the trade name ArmorWeave, this fabric has come to be used as the standard military and big-city police SWAT armor by the United States and her allies.
At the same time, AIM developed a very similar fabric they market as NuSkinWeave. AIM has sold suits of NuSkinWeave on the gray market and to government agencies; the gray market sales are generally to costume shops that cater to both sides of the super-set, such as Spotlight Costumes in Hell's Kitchen, New York City (see Gladiator). Nearly every superhuman adventurer and criminal possesses an outfit made of NuSkinWeave as their primary uniform.
Fabric made from what are called "dynamic molecules" is actually made of a kind of memory polymer designed to look and feel like fabrics such as cotton, nylon, and Lycra. Clothing made from dynamic molecules stretches and lets damaging powers – such as the Human Torch's flame aura – pass through it unharmed (see Human Torch). This has made it popular as both regular clothing and adventuring uniforms among many supers on both sides of the law.
Even from a young age, Reed Richards's genius was apparent. While in high school, one of his classmates was a mutant who could change into a reptilian form, but this unnamed mutant would need to disrobe completely in order to change. Many times, his clothing would be destroyed. Richards developed the first dynamic molecule clothing, then realizing the growing need for mutants and other super-powered people to have clothing that shifts with them licensed it to a number of clothing manufacturers. (Richards apparently doesn't mind criminals purchasing clothing and uniforms composed of dynamic molecules, as he says even the criminals shouldn't need to worry about losing their clothes.)
Recent collaboration between Richards and Tony Stark has produced a synthesis of dynamic molecules and ArmorWeave.
Uru, also known as Asgardian steel, is a metal produced by the metalsmiths of Asgard and the Dwarves of Nidavallir. Like all matter in the Nine Realms (save Earth/Midgard), it is thrice as dense and hence thrice as heavy as a comparable amount of Earth-made steel. This gives items made of uru increased resistance to damage.
Orichalcum is a similar metal forged by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes on Mount Olympus.
Vibranium is a metallic element of apparently extraterrestrial origin found only in the nation of Wakanda in Africa. The Great Vibranium Mound's origin is currently unknown.
Chemically, Vibranium acts in a manner similar to nickel, platinum, and palladium. However, it is vibranium's more physical properties that make it so valuable. Vibranium armor and shields absorb and redirect kinetic energy directed at it, making bullets fired lose their momentum. Only weapons made of vibranium or adamantium are able to penetrate vibranium armor. Should the kinetic energy impacted with vibranium armor be exceptionally powerful, there is a chance of it projecting the excess outward in a shockwave.
A dual-purpose round used mainly by law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, APHP rounds are available in most common pistol and rifle calibers. Pioneered by the Belgian company VBR, who marketed it in a proprietary round, 7.92×24mm AP-HPF (Armor-Piercing – Hollow-Point Fragmenting), the overall design was copied by a number of other ammunition manufacturers in a variety of rounds.
APHP rounds are designed with a small tungsten core encased in a softer metal sabot (generally lead but sometimes brass). Against "hard" targets, such as most forms of vehicle and body armor, APHP rounds act as armor-piercing rounds, with a sub-caliber inner steel penetrator. Against "soft", fleshy targets, the rounds act as a more conventional hollow-point round, expanding on impact to create a larger wound channel.
At present, the largest known users of the rounds are the United States, Canadian, and British governments, and big city police departments such as those in New York City; Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and London, England. Because of their armor-piercing capability, they are not sold in civilian markets.
The Asynchronous Rotation Catalyst Reactor, better known as the ARC Reactor or simply the ARC, was invented by Howard Stark, Jr, in the mid-1970s, and the prototype still powers the Stark Industries Los Angeles plant. The ARC generates electricity by tapping into and condensing the cosmic background radiation of the universe.
Tony Stark, the current CEO of Stark Industries, has recently refined the ARC to a fist-sized unit, which he uses to power the Iron Man armor. Mr. Stark hasn't yet released the smaller unit for public use, though a sizable number of larger ARCs have been built since Tony took the reins. The smaller units have been licensed to NASA for long-range probes.
No one knows who invented the first set of power dampeners, but it was Stark Industries that patented it. The first units were produced in the early 1970s for the NYPD. Since then, the technology has been purchased by a number of law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and SHIELD.
A set of power-dampening shackles is designed to bind the wrists, though there are models that bind the wrists and ankles, and even more rarely bind the neck as well as the limbs. A number of "shackles" are simply collars. These shackles are designed to temporarily suppress super-powers from a wide variety of sources, though those whose powers are mystical in nature are generally immune to the shackles.
At present, nearly twenty thousand units are in use across the United States, with nearly the same amount being exported to allied nations. The largest number are possessed by SHIELD and federal prison known as the Vault, though many prisons have them for their superhuman wings.
Because of their nature, power-dampening shackles are used primarily during the arrest, court appearances, and transportation of superhumans to and from prison. Most prisons with superhuman inmates also have null-power field generators (see below) in the prisons proper.
Related to and invented at the same time as the power-dampening shackles, null-power field generators are designed to provide large areas where the powers of mutants and other superhumans are turned off. These generators are generally built into the cell blocks and common areas of the prisons.
Squelch is a drug that can be administered in many forms – generally delivered in a pill or via injection – that is designed to suppress super-powers which are akin to biological processes that are generaly immune to power-dampening shackles or null-power fields.. Each dose of Squelch takes a few minutes to take effect, and lasts anywhere from six to ten hours; most prisons and medical institutions that use Squelch deliver consecutive doses every six hours.
Bodysuit: Covers the torso, arms, and legs. DR 12/4*, 6.7 lbs., $1,000.
Bodyshirt: Covers the torso and arms. DR 12/4*, 4 lbs., $600.
Trousers: Covers the legs and groin. DR 12/4*, 2.9 lbs., $420.
Half-Mask: Covers the eyes, nose, and cheeks; lets the hair flow freely. DR 6/2*; 0.3 lbs.; $50.
Cowl: Covers the skull, and all areas covered by the half-mask; may have an opening for letting hair flow Batgirl-style. DR 9/3*, 0.64 lbs.; $100.
Adamantium†: Metal armor only; renders the armor effectively indestructible, grants twenty times the effective DR and grants Hardened 4 (negating Armor Divisor (10)). +999 CF, -1 LC, to a minimum LC 1.
Dynamic Molecules‡: Cloth/fabric armor types only. Enables various body-alteration powers to operate without damaging the armor. +0.5 CF.
Olympian Orichalcum†: Metal armor only; armor made of Olympian orichalcum is three times as heavy and possesses three times the DR of regular armor of the same design. Olympian orichalcum armor automatically resizes to fit its wearer. +29 CF
Uru†: Also known as Asgardian iron. Metal armor only; armor made of uru is three times as heavy and possesses three times the DR of regular armor of the same design. Uru armor can be enchanted at half the energy cost. +2 CF.
Vibranium†‡: Any armor; fabric armor consists of a lightweight weave interwoven into the fabric. Grants twelve times the effective DR and converts ant cutting, piercing, and impaling damage that makes it through DR to crushing damage. +99 CF
† Adamantium, Olympian Orichalcum, Uru, and Vibranium are mutually exclusive.
‡ Dynamic Molecules and Vibranium weave can be combined.
Adamantium†: Metal weapons only; renders the weapon effectively indestructible. Adds +1/die damage to all weapons; for weapons with cutting, impaling, and all piercing damage types, adds Armor Divisor (10). +999 CF; apply CF to CPS for ammunition.
Olympian Orichalcum†: Metal weapons only; weapons made of Olympian orichalcum are three times as dense and hence thrice as heavy as a regular weapon. In addition, the weapon is automatically considered Very Fine. The weapon's ST score will need to be recalculated as per GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2: Weapons and Warriors. +5 CF for games set at TL 7+, or +21 CF for games set at TL 0-6.
Uru†: Also known as Asgardian iron. Metal weapons only; weapons made of uru are three times as dense and hence thrice as heavy as a regular weapon. Uru weapons can be enchanted at half the energy cost. The weapon's ST score will need to be recalculated as per GURPS Low-Tech Companion2: Weapons and Warriors. +2 CF.
Vibranium†: Any cutting, impaling, or piercing weapon gains an Armor Divisor (5); negates the benefits of Vibranium armor. +99 CF; apply CF to CPS for ammunition.
† Adamantium, Olympian Orichalcum, Uru, and Vibranium are mutually exclusive.
APHP Ammo: Against targets that possess DR, add an Armor Divisor (2). If the caliber is below 20mm (0.80"), reduce damage type one step – pi++ becomes pi+, pi+ becomes pi, pi becomes pi-, no effect on pi-. (In a more realistic game, multiply damage by 0.7; on top of the above effects.)
Against soft targets lacking DR, treat them as having DR 1 and increase damage type one step – pi- becomes pi, pi becomes pi+, pi+ becomes pi++, no effect on pi++.
+1 CF to CPS.
The typical ARC Reactor is a TL9^ zero-point energy (ZPE) reactor costing $2 million and weighing 200 tons, but can last for twenty years before needing servicing, and indefinitely with regular maintenance. It can be said to power anything requiring an external power source. LC3.
The smaller ARC Reactors are TL10^ ZPE reactors that cost $20,000 and weigh 5 pounds, providing external power for 50 years. LC2.
Power-Dampening Cuffs or Collar (TL8^): Affects those with Super, Psionic, Mutant, and Mutant Psionic power modifiers, along with other powers that have technological countermeasures. $4,000, 0.1 lb, T/50 hr. LC3.
Null-Power Field (TL8^): Affects those with Super, Psionic, Mutant, and Mutant Psionic power modifiers, along with other powers that have technological countermeasures. A generator covering a 2 yard radius, usually built into a cell, costs $40,000, weighs 70 lbs, and runs off external power; emergency VL/20 hr. Increasing the size of the generator by a factor of three increases the size and cost of the field by a factor of 10, and divides the duration of the emergency power cell by a 3. LC2.
Squelch (TL8): Affects those with the Biological, Chemical, and Passive Biological power modifiers, along with other powers that have pharmaceutical countermeasures. Each dose lasts for 20-HT hours, resisted at HT-6. $100 per dose, LC2.
1. One of the guys on IRC mentioned "unstable molecules sound like they will disintegrate at inappropriate times", and recommended changing them to "dynamic molecules." Seems a better fit overall, too.