In the Starfall Galaxy, radiation is as common as gravity. Between the leaking cores of derelict Old Federation battleships, the unpredictable solar flares of the Rim, and the "Glow-Storms" that bleed out of the Rift, staying clean is a constant battle.
Radiation Buffers, known colloquially as "Geiger-Plating" or "Lead-Wards," are heavy, dense modules filled with layers of lead, depleted uranium mesh, and active electromagnetic field generators. They don't just block radiation; they eat it. When you walk into a "Hot Zone" wearing a Tactical Buffer, you can hear the module humming—a low, angry buzz as it fights to keep your DNA from unraveling.
Commercial Grade: Essentially a slap-on plate of high-density lead and a cheap sensor that screams when you're about to cook. It buys you minutes, not hours.
Advanced Grade: Used by the insane "Glow-Farmers" who harvest radioactive crystals for fuel. These units create a visible, shimmering bubble of magnetic distortion around the wearer, bending beta particles away like water off a duck's back.
The Radiation Buffer is a specialized armor upgrade designed to shield the wearer from the invisible lethality of radiation. Unlike standard environmental seals, which only protect against vacuum and pressure, a Buffer actively absorbs and disperses ionizing energy.
Radiation Buffer Upgrade 1+
Source Player Core pg. 268
Usage installed in an Armor; Bulk 1
A layer of treated lead lines your armor with integrated radiation sensors networked into your comm unit. While you're wearing armor with this upgrade, you gain resistance 2 to poison damage from radiation effects and a +1 status bonus to Fortitude saves against radiation.
Non-Combat Applications
Reactor Diving: Starship mechanics ("Grease-Monkeys") use Buffers to perform emergency maintenance inside active engine cores without shutting down the drive, saving valuable travel time at the cost of long-term health risks.
Medical Isolation: In reverse, Buffers are used by field medics to create a "clean" zone for patients with severely compromised immune systems, shielding them from the background radiation of a dirty station.
Smuggling "Spicy" Cargo: Smugglers line their hidden compartments with stripped-down Buffer modules to mask the signature of radioactive contraband—like unstable Rift-Tech or stolen nuclear warheads—from port authority scanners.
Societal Impact
The existence of high-grade Radiation Buffers has created "Rad-Towns"—settlements built directly inside radioactive zones where no law enforcement dares to tread. Here, the "Glow" is the ultimate wall. If you have the tech to survive it, you can live tax-free. If you don't, you don't visit. This has led to a strange, localized economy where fresh, non-irradiated water is more expensive than ammunition, and "Clean Genes" (people with no mutation markers) are treated with superstitious awe.
Adventure Hooks
The Meltdown: A city's geothermal reactor is cracking. The players need to enter the core room to manual override the safeties. The radiation is lethal (Extreme), meaning only those with Advanced Buffers (or a death wish) can survive long enough to turn the valve.
The Ghost Ship: The party boards a drifting hulk that is emitting hard gamma rays. The crew is dead, but the ship's AI is still defending the cargo. The players must manage their exposure time like a resource, retreating to "cold spots" to let their Buffers recharge.
The Glow-Cult: A faction called the "Children of the Atom" is stealing Radiation Buffers to build a massive "Ark" that can sail directly into a star. The players are hired to retrieve the stolen tech before the cult incinerates themselves—and the station they are docked to.
Starfall scavenger in heavy lead-lined armor walking through a glowing green radioactive wasteland
In the Starfall Galaxy, what you can't see will kill you. A Radiation Buffer ensures that you live long enough to die from something more interesting, like a bullet.
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