The Great War turned humanity into a race of scavengers, its survivors sifting through the
ruins of their past glories and failures. Within the collapsed towers of radioactive cities
or the overgrown passageways of forgotten shelters lay the allure of wealth, power or hope.
A salvaged robot might work a field without complaint, an advanced weapon might dissuade
even the fiercest raiders, while a perfectly preserved pre-war pie might provide a fleeting
taste of carefree days long gone. But T-45 powered combat infantry armor offers any who
stumble upon it, the rarest wonder in the wasteland: manifested possibility.
In a fully restored and functioning state, T-45 power armor represents a foundational
leap over nearly every type of protection that can be found in the post-war world.
It consists of a basic frame with an internalized servomotor system, in which the operator is fully
encased and isolated from the outside environment. Hundreds of physical manipulators throughout
the frame respond automatically to its wearer’s movements and gestures while simulating control of
stiffness and touch perception. Within the armor, a user possesses increased strength, resistance
to physical trauma, and can withstand many of the harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation.
An integrated hydraulic shock absorption system likewise allows its operator to
withstand heavy impacts or falls, up to a maximum of roughly 60 vertical feet.
The T-45 frame however, is merely the foundation on which metal and ceramic armored plating is
mounted. Consisting of dozens of such interlocking plates, these are generally grouped into six
separate zones; the helm, torso, and each individual arm and leg. A fully plated suit
of T-45 armor is further resistant to nearly all small arms fire and even many heavy weapons. The
modular nature of the armor allows it to undergo substantial field upgrades and modifications.
The most common such alterations are typically intended to harden the suit against especially
hazardous environments. Other less common upgrades include the addition of headlamps, targeting
systems, sensors, medical suites, radiation scrubbers, stealth systems or even jet-packs.
The only real limitation on the T-45 is its power supply.
This is provided by a fusion power plant integrated directly into the suit’s chassis.
This must be periodically replenished with fusion cores. Fully fueled and limited to
only moderate usage, a T-45 could operate for almost a century, with that shrinking
to only a few years or even days depending on the strenuousness of the armor’s activities.
Originally built by the defense contractor “West Tek”, T-45 powered armor
was rushed into development to halt the Chinese advance across the Alaskan Front
during the Sino-American War. The ongoing resource crisis had limited the United States’ ability
to produce traditional armored vehicles and its military industrial complex was forced to innovate
in order to stay competitive. T-45 armor represented the first success of this initiative,
and the first of its kind in the world.
Upon its deployment in 2067, it quickly and decisively succeeded in this objective,
proving the viability of power armor, and spurring its further development.
Despite its effectiveness, T-45 armor had only been intended as a stopgap model,
utilizing existing technologies before it would eventually be replaced by more advanced lines.
The requirements of the Alaskan campaign and other fronts worldwide however,
ensured the T-45 remained in production far longer than originally intended.
Incremental upgrades, known as the T-45A, B, C D, E and F models would all go into mass production,
each offering increased mobility and protection over the preceding lines.
A decade after its first use on the Alaskan Front, T-45 power armor was in the process
of being supplanted by the newer T-51, T-60 lines. Nevertheless, at the time of the nuclear exchange
between China and the United States, it remained the most ubiquitous kind of powered armor in
service. It would therefore be the model of power armor most readily salvaged in the post-war world.
As a symbol of pre-war America, and the heights to which human civilization once reached,
T-45 power armor has become revered and sometimes worshiped in the modern
wastelands of America. The largest and best equipped groups and organizations
are alone capable of maintaining them, while fewer still are able to conduct major repairs
or manufacture new components. Yet a single functioning suit of T-45 armor
can reshape an entire region of the wasteland to its operator’s will. While an army,
even a small one, equipped in such a way, can lay the foundations for a future superpower.
In the modern wastelands, only the T-45’s more advanced successor models
might fetch a higher price in the markets and salvage yards.
Yet even these can’t quite match the T-45’s adaptability. It is not unheard of for a
wanderer to forgo these newer models in favor of its venerable predecessor.
The histories record that T-45 powered combat infantry armor changed the face of war forever.
But all those who died within its armored plating were no less dead than any warrior
in any armor that fell before them. The T-45 changed nothing, because war, war never changes.