// Men of Arms · power-armor-native

Chromeboy

Inspired by Rifts Ultimate Edition, p. 80 CHA-key

Related rules: Deployment States Megadamage & Hardness Cyberware

Overview

The Chromeboy is Rifts' iconic anti-armor specialist: a pilot bonded to a G-10 power armor suit and armed with the Boomer, a tripod-stabilized rail-gun that fires a sonic-boom-cracking slug capable of punching through power armor and small vehicles. The class is defined by two things at once — the suit, and the pilot's bond with it. A Chromeboy without their suit isn't a generic soldier; they're an avenging knight of the wastelands, traveling town to town with a reputation that arrives before they do. Stories about them are common currency in the wasteland. People buy them drinks. People surrender at the sight of their silhouette. People hire them to settle scores no court can adjudicate.

When the suit deploys legs into anchor mode and the Boomer barks, it is one of the loudest moments in the setting — both literally and metaphorically. But the loudest moment in a Chromeboy campaign might be the one where the pilot walks unarmored into a hostile town and the locals quietly decide they want to be on the right side of the inevitable confrontation.

The suit responds to the pilot's bond with it, not their physical strength — so the class is keyed to Charisma. A Chromeboy's force of personality is what makes the targeting computer feel like an extension of their will, what gives them the calm to lock down under fire, and what carries the Boomer's report across the wastes as a statement rather than just noise. In the suit, you're a heavy-armor cannoneer who happens to be intimidating. Out of it, you're a wasteland celebrity who happens to know how to fight. Both are first-class ways to play.

At a glance

Key ability	CHA — the suit bond is psionic-emotional, not muscular
Class DC	CHA
Hit Points	10 + CON per level. Pilot HP; the suit tracks its own HP and Hardness separately.
Key skills	Crafting, Diplomacy, Intimidation + 2 chosen
Perception	Expert at L1 → Master at L7 → Legendary at L15
Saves	Fort Expert / Ref Trained / Will Expert at L1. Fort Master at L9. Will Master at L13.
Weapons	Trained in simple, martial, and advanced. Expert at L5, Master at L13, Legendary at L19. The Boomer is a class feature, not an item.
Armor	Trained in unarmored, light, medium, heavy, and power armor. Expert in power armor at L7, Master at L15.
Suit Reactor	Reactor Charges 1 → 2 → 3 (at L1 / L9 / L17). Spent on the suit's overcharged abilities; regained by Vent Reactor (a 10-minute Refocus equivalent).
Signature system	Deployment States — a 3-state machine: undeployed / mobile-armored / locked-down

The G-10 suit

The suit is the class's defining equipment — a custom Power Armor artifact bonded to the pilot. Its protection (Hardness) and the Boomer scale with class level; its other stats are fixed.

AC bonus	+6 item bonus (applies in mobile-armored and locked-down)
Dex cap	+0
Check penalty	−4
Speed	Undeployed: your normal Speed. Mobile-armored: 40 ft (servo-assisted run). Locked-down: anchored (0 ft; 1-action Release to move).
Bulk	10 — can't be hauled as cargo; it walks itself toward you via Suit Beacon.
Hardness	By state: bodysuit 3 / mobile-armored 12 / locked-down 20, scaling at L7/L13/L17 (see the Suit Hardness progression table below).
Reflective coating	Resistance 8 to fire and electricity (laser/energy weapons), flat at all levels, that stacks with the suit's Hardness. Works in mobile-armored and locked-down. A deliberate exception to the usual no-stacking rule — see Energy-Reflective Coating below.
HP / Broken Threshold	400 / 200, flat at all levels — only Hardness scales with level, not the HP pool. At or below the Broken Threshold the suit's Hardness is halved until repaired (Broken condition); at 0 HP it's destroyed and gives no protection. Repair with Suit Maintenance.
Sensors	Low-light vision, a +1 status bonus to Perception when scanning, and See Through Smoke from L1; add See in Magical Darkness and lifescan at L7.
Suit Strength	While mobile-armored or locked-down, the suit's servos do the work: use a fixed Strength modifier of +6 for Athletics (Lift, Force Open, Climb, Swim, Shove, Trip) and for melee Strikes (whichever is higher between this and your own). You also lift, drag, and carry as if far stronger — ignore Bulk-based encumbrance from worn or held gear, and you can hoist or move objects of up to 8 Bulk. See Power Armor Fist (L1) for the suit's melee attack. The bond is run by Charisma; the muscle is run by the suit.

Out of the suit (undeployed): there's no separate suit HP track — you use your own HP and the bodysuit's Hardness 3. The 400 HP / Broken Threshold 200 only applies while you're wearing the deployed suit.

Class features by level

L1start

Power Armor Pilot. You start play bonded to a G-10 Chromeboy suit. The suit is a custom Power Armor artifact that grants the stats and features described throughout this class. It cannot be sold, transferred, or used by another character; replacing a destroyed suit takes about 4 weeks of downtime and significant resources.
Suit Deployment States. You can transition between undeployed, mobile-armored, and locked-down states. At scene start, you choose your starting state, subject to the situation. A combat that begins from patrol or expected confrontation usually starts mobile-armored.
Suit Hardness (state-dependent).
- Undeployed: bodysuit Hardness 3
- Mobile-armored: Hardness 12
- Locked-down: Hardness 20
Suit Hardness scales at L7 and L13 (see the progression table below).
Boomer. Your signature weapon — a class feature integrated into the suit. It cannot be lost, sold, sundered, or used by another character.
- Action cost: (Fire Boomer). Requires the Locked-down state.
- Damage: 3d12 piercing, versatile B (choose piercing or bludgeoning when you fire), Penetrating 10. No STR modifier — the rail-gun's recoil is stabilized by the suit's anchor legs, not the pilot's strength.
- Sonic splash: all creatures within 10 ft of the target take 1d6 sonic damage (basic Reflex save vs. your class DC). You and your immediate allies are protected by the suit's sound dampers.
- Reload condition: after firing, the Boomer is Reloading. Clear it with a Reload Boomer. You cannot fire while Reloading.
- Damage and Penetrating scale at L5, L9, L13, L17, and L19 — see the table below.
Veteran's Eye. +1 status bonus to Recall Knowledge about military equipment, power armor, vehicles, and Federation forces. You start trained in Crafting.
Suit Bond. Every class feature that lists a class DC uses your Charisma. Your physical strength is largely irrelevant inside the suit — its servos do the lifting, and the targeting computer follows the focus of your will. Out of the suit, the bond still echoes: your reputation precedes you, and your ability to project intention into a room is its own kind of armor.
Suit Reactor. The suit's reactor stores power you can surge into overcharged abilities. You have a pool of Reactor Charges: 1 at L1, 2 at L9, and 3 at L17. Abilities that cost Reactor Charges say so. You regain 1 Reactor Charge with a 10-minute Vent Reactor activity (the suit's equivalent of Refocus) — bleeding off heat and recalibrating the core. Reactor Charges work like focus points: you can't exceed your maximum, and you recover them by venting rather than only on a long rest.
Fearsome Presence. When an enemy first becomes aware of you in combat while in mobile-armored or locked-down state (or first lays eyes on the Boomer in any state), they must attempt a Will save against your class DC. A creature attempts this save the first time it's subject to your Fearsome Presence; regardless of the result, it's then temporarily immune for 1 minute.
- Critical Success: unaffected.
- Success: unaffected for this encounter.
- Failure: Frightened 1.
- Critical Failure: Frightened 2.
At L7, it triggers from a Chromeboy silhouette at any distance the enemy can perceive you (no longer requires combat). At L13, the Failure outcome becomes Frightened 2 and Critical Failure becomes Frightened 3.
Avenging Knight. Out of the suit, you remain a recognizable figure. While not in your suit and in an inhabited area (town, village, settlement, fortified outpost), you gain a +1 status bonus to Diplomacy, Intimidation, and Performance against locals — your reputation shapes how strangers respond to you. This bonus increases at L7 (Wandering Hero) and L13 (Living Legend).
Sensor Suite (requires mobile-armored or locked-down). The suit grants low-light vision, a +1 status bonus to Perception when scanning (a 1-action Seek), and "See Through Smoke" — ignore the concealed condition from non-magical smoke or particulate cover.
Energy-Reflective Coating. The suit's signature chromium plating reflects directed energy. While in mobile-armored or locked-down state, the suit gains Resistance 8 to fire and electricity damage (laser and energy weapons) that stacks with its Hardness. This Resistance is a flat 8 at every level — it doesn't scale; the suit's Hardness is what climbs. It's a deliberate exception to the usual rule that Hardness and Resistance don't stack, and it's the reason a Chromeboy can walk through laser fire. Physical damage and other energy types aren't reduced by the coating (only fire and electricity). Per the megadamage rules (full RAW), Hardness and Resistance reduce all damage — including from a failed save — so a foe needs a Penetrating attack or a no-damage control effect to get through.
Power Armor Fist. While in mobile-armored or locked-down state, you have a melee unarmed Strike: 1d8 bludgeoning, adding your suit Strength modifier (+6) to damage. It's a backup against soft targets and a tool for Shove, Trip, and grapples — the Boomer stays your anti-armor answer.

Class feat. Skill feat.

Suit Maintenance. Spend 10 minutes on a Crafting check (DC = 15 + 2 × your level) to repair your suit. Success recovers 10 HP; critical success recovers 20 HP. On a critical failure, the suit gains the Broken condition if it doesn't already have one (Hardness halved until repaired).
Demoralize Cascade. When you fire the Boomer and hit, you can spend 1 Reactor Charge to make a single Demoralize check against the target and up to two other enemies within 30 ft who can perceive the shot (one roll, multiple comparisons). On a success each becomes Frightened 1; on a critical success, Frightened 2.
Skill increase. General feat.

Class feat. Skill feat.

Ability boost. Skill increase.
Boomer Mastery I. Damage increases to 4d12. Sonic splash to 2d6.
Weapon Expertise. Expert in simple, martial, and advanced weapons.
Suit Beacon. You can issue a mental command from up to 1 mile away to begin autopiloting the suit toward your location (Stride at half speed, avoids combat, requires line of sight on its path). Range increases to 5 miles at L11 and 50 miles at L17 — the class's answer to getting separated from the suit.

Class feat. Skill feat.

Skill increase. General feat.
Suit Hardness Upgrade I. Mobile-armored Hardness increases to 14. Locked-down to 22.
Master Perception.
Sensor Suite Upgrade. Add: see in magical darkness, and lifescan (detect living creatures within 10 ft, even through walls).
Expert Power Armor.
Fearsome Presence (Extended). No longer requires combat to trigger — an enemy who perceives your silhouette at any distance attempts the save.
Wandering Hero. Your Avenging Knight bonus increases to +2. Lodging, food, and basic services in friendly settlements are offered at half cost or free. In settlements where you're known to be hostile, locals flee or surrender at the sight of you (GM discretion; reputation cuts both ways).

Class feat. Skill feat.

Skill increase.
Boomer Mastery II. Damage increases to 5d12. Splash to 3d6. Penetrating to 12.
Fort Master.

L10

Ability boost. Class feat. Skill feat.

L11

Skill increase. General feat.
Suit Counter Once per round. Trigger: you take damage from a melee Strike while locked-down. Effect: the attacker takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage from the suit's reactive armor. No save.
Master Weapon Expertise.
Words That Cut. Against creatures with INT 6 or higher, your Demoralize is devastating: a critical success makes them Frightened 3 (instead of 2), and a success makes them Frightened 2 (instead of 1). Mindless or animal-level creatures are unaffected by this enhancement.
Suit Beacon Range II. 5 miles.

L12

Class feat. Skill feat.

L13

Skill increase.
Suit Hardness Upgrade II. Mobile-armored Hardness increases to 16. Locked-down to 24.
Boomer Mastery III. Damage increases to 6d12. Splash to 4d6. Penetrating to 15.
Will Master.
Fearsome Presence (Greater). Failure is now Frightened 2, Critical Failure is Frightened 3.
Living Legend. Your social bonus increases to +3. You can attempt Recall Knowledge about local factions, politics, and conflicts using Diplomacy in place of Society. Your name is known in every settlement within 500 miles of where you've ever been — rumors travel faster than you do.

L14

Class feat. Skill feat.

L15

Ability boost. Skill increase. General feat.
Lock Down Mastery. Lock Down is now a 1-action activity instead of 2, and you are no longer flat-footed during the transition. Suit Up and Suit Down remain 2 actions.
Legendary Perception.
Master Power Armor.

L16

Class feat. Skill feat.

L17

Skill increase.
Suit Hardness Upgrade III. Locked-down Hardness increases to 28. Mobile-armored remains 16.
Suit Reactor Burst. While locked-down, spend 1 Reactor Charge to surge the reactor: gain a +5 status bonus to Reflex saves for one round, and your next Reload Boomer costs a free action instead of 1.
Suit Beacon Range III. 50 miles.

L18

Class feat. Skill feat.

L19

Skill increase. General feat.
Boomer Legendary. Damage increases to 7d12. Splash to 5d6. Penetrating to 20. Range increment doubled. The shot can't be blocked by standard cover — only soft cover providing total concealment matters.
Legendary Weapon Expertise.

L20capstone

Ability boost. Class feat. Skill feat.
Resonant Detonation. By spending 3 Reactor Charges, while locked-down and not Reloading, fire a Resonant Boomer shot (replaces normal fire and includes the reload). Damage is doubled (14d12 piercing or bludgeoning, your choice). The sonic splash extends to 30 ft (10d6 sonic) with no save — all creatures in the radius, including your allies, take it. Targets who fail a basic Fortitude save are also deafened for 1 minute. Afterward, the Boomer is Reloading for 2 turns.

Boomer damage and Penetrating progression

Class Level	Damage	Sonic Splash	Penetrating
1–4	3d12	1d6	10
5–8	4d12	2d6	10
9–12	5d12	3d6	12
13–16	6d12	4d6	15
17–18	6d12	4d6	15
19–20	7d12	5d6	20

At L19, the Boomer ignores Hardness 20 entirely on a clean hit — heavy power armor and combat vehicles are not safe. Capital-scale targets (Hardness 30+) still resist partially.

Suit Hardness progression

Class Level	Mobile-armored	Locked-down
1–6	12	20
7–12	14	22
13–16	16	24
17–20	16	28

Undeployed Hardness is the bodysuit only (3) across all levels.

Suit variants

The G-10 is the default Chromeboy suit. Rifts has other models that play as alternative builds:

G-11 (Recon). Reduced Hardness (mobile-armored 10, locked-down 17) in exchange for stealth features and faster transitions — Lock Down as a 1-action activity from L1.
NG-3000 (Corporate). A reduced Boomer (starting at 2d12) and lighter Hardness, traded for a cheaper, more available suit and a feature that grants money and contacts in corporate-friendly territory.

Class feats

A selection of class feats available by level.

Level 1

Anchor Reinforced. Locked-down Hardness increases by 1 at all levels. Stacks with every suit Hardness upgrade.
Bracing Stance. When you Lock Down, gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Fortitude saves until the start of your next turn — helps survive the flat-footed transition.
Field Repair. Use Suit Maintenance in combat: it heals 5 HP to the suit with no Crafting check. Mobile-armored or locked-down only.
Imposing Silhouette. When you Demoralize a creature that has already failed against your Fearsome Presence this encounter, treat the result as one step better. Stacks with Words That Cut (L11).

Level 2

Quick Suit-Up. Suit Up becomes a single action (instead of 2) — go from undeployed to mobile-armored in one action.
Boomer Drill. You've drilled the reload until it's reflex. Spend 1 Reactor Charge to make your next Reload Boomer activity a free action.
Floodlight Array. Your Sensor Suite projects bright light in a 30-ft cone or 20-ft radius; while it's lit you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Seek within it.

Level 4

Twin Cannon. Fire the Boomer in exchange for reducing its damage by 1d12. The Reload condition still applies.
Suit Stride Faster. Your mobile-armored Speed increases by 10 ft (to 50 ft).
Sonic Boom Targeting. The sonic splash radius increases to 15 ft when you score a critical hit.
Boomer Address. When you fire in clear view of multiple combatants who haven't engaged you yet, spend 1 Reactor Charge to make a single Intimidation check (as Demoralize) against all enemies within 60 ft. Success: each becomes Frightened 1; critical success: Frightened 2. Often ends an encounter before it begins.

Level 6

Reinforced Anchor. While locked-down, you can't be moved from your anchor except by a critical success on a forced-movement effect, and you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Fortitude saves.
Suppressing Report. Trigger: you fire the Boomer. You may forgo the sonic splash; instead each enemy in the splash radius must succeed at a Will save against your class DC or be unable to take reactions until the start of your next turn.
Veteran Negotiator. Your Avenging Knight bonus also applies to Sense Motive (Perception) and to Recall Knowledge about local factions and power structures while you're in an inhabited area.

Level 8

Suit Cinch. Your suit can grapple a target up to one size larger than itself, using your class DC.
Aimed Boom Shot. Spend an Aim before firing for a +1 status bonus to the attack and +1 Penetrating on that shot.
Survivable Bodysuit. Undeployed bodysuit Hardness increases to 5.

Level 10

Recoil Compensators. You can Fire Boomer while in mobile-armored state, not just locked-down — but the shot takes a −2 circumstance penalty and produces no sonic splash (the anchor legs aren't set).
Adaptive Plating. Trigger: you would take damage of a single type (fire, cold, electricity, sonic, etc.). Spend 1 Reactor Charge to increase the suit's Hardness by 5 against that instance of damage.
Legend in the Flesh. Trigger: you Demoralize. You can spend 1 Reactor Charge to affect every enemy in a 30-ft burst who can see or hear you with a single check instead of a single target.

Level 12

Suit Override. Spend 1 Reactor Charge to perform an immediate state transition (any state to any adjacent state).
Coordinated Boom. Trigger: you fire the Boomer. Allies within 30 ft gain a +1 status bonus to their next Strike before the start of your next turn.
Folk Hero. In a settlement where your Living Legend status applies, call on the locals for one significant favor per visit — information, shelter, a distraction, supplies, safe passage. The rough limit is what locals would risk for a hero of the wastes.

Level 14

Overwhelming Salvo. When you score a critical hit with the Boomer, creatures in the sonic splash must also succeed at a basic Fortitude save against your class DC or be deafened for 1 round.
Fortress Mode. While locked-down, allies adjacent to you gain standard cover from the suit's bulk and a +1 circumstance bonus to AC against ranged attacks.
Untouchable Reputation. Your Living Legend benefits apply for Intimidation purposes even in hostile or Federation-controlled territory, and you gain a +2 status bonus to Deception checks to conceal your identity there.

Level 16

Boomer Lightning. Trigger: you fire the Boomer. Spend 1 Reactor Charge so the shot doesn't trigger the Reloading condition — you can fire again next turn without reloading first.
Suit Resilience. When the suit drops to its Broken Threshold, it gains the Hardened condition: full Hardness for 3 rounds before halving.

Level 18

Double Anchor. Spend 2 Reactor Charges to fire the Boomer twice in the same turn (the second shot includes its reload). The second shot takes a −5 penalty, as a second attack.
Living Bulwark. Your Suit Counter reaction now deals 3d8 bludgeoning damage (instead of 1d8) and can trigger against ranged Strikes as well as melee.
Myth of the Wastes. The first time you arrive at a given settlement, you can declare that your reputation preceded you: the GM treats the location as one where your Living Legend applies even if it otherwise wouldn't, and you may immediately use Folk Hero there.

Level 20

Apocalypse Anchor. Resonant Detonation costs 2 Reactor Charges instead of 3.
One-Shot Legend. Trigger: you reduce a significant enemy to 0 HP with the Boomer in full view of other enemies. You can spend 1 Reactor Charge: each enemy that witnessed it must succeed at a Will save against your class DC or become Frightened 3 and flee from you until the end of its next turn.
Perfect Bond. Spend 2 Reactor Charges to ignore the suit's Broken condition (no Hardness halving) for 1 minute; during that time all your state transitions become free actions.

Playing without the suit

Out of the suit, a Chromeboy isn't a worse Chromeboy — they're a different role on the team, shifting from anti-armor firepower to wasteland celebrity and reputation-driven social pressure.

What you keep

Full simple, martial, and advanced weapon proficiency — a heavy laser rifle or vibrosword is competent in your hands.
Heavy armor proficiency (power armor still requires the suit).
Bodysuit Hardness 3.
Saving throws, Perception, and skill progression, all unchanged.
Veteran's Eye, Suit Maintenance, and Suit Beacon (the suit autopilots toward you).
Avenging Knight / Wandering Hero / Living Legend — your scaling +1/+2/+3 social bonus in inhabited areas. This is the main reason the class plays well out of suit.
Words That Cut (L11+) — your Intimidation against sapient enemies is brutal whether or not you're suited.

What you lose

The Boomer (it's mounted on the suit and can't be carried separately).
All state transitions — no Lock Down, no Suit Counter.
The Sensor Suite and Suit Hardness above 3.
Demoralize Cascade and Fearsome Presence (both need the suit silhouette or Boomer).

Where the class shines

Open-terrain combat against armored foes: the Chromeboy dominates — locked down, Penetrating 10–20 rounds, Hardness 20–28.
Settlements, negotiation, and reputation-driven scenes: the Chromeboy also dominates, now through the Avenging Knight progression. A Living Legend in a wasteland town is the party's social engine.
Stealth, indoor infiltration, and the arcane: the suit is a liability and the class lacks magical tools — this is where teammates carry the scene.