GURPS Stealth & Camouflage Guide Update: Half-Ghillie, Face Masks, Black Camouflage, Bright Colors

 Half-Ghillie, Sniper Coat, Hunting Shirt

    The Stealth & Camouflage guide penned by me includes homebrew rules for something TL8 gunmen call a half-ghillie or sniper coat, as pictured above, a comfortable and useful piece of camouflaging equipment for those who wish to not be burdened by the weight and discomfort of a full ghillie.

Only problem, it is homebrew and thus not available in all games. The rules I imagined for it were clunky too, so it's not a good show. But as my knowledge of GURPS grew, I discovered a way to make such an attire completely rules legal!

1) Open Low-Tech on page 126. An item called Hunting Shirt (TL1) is listed.

This is conceptually the same item as half-ghillie, or rather it's ancient ancestor. It is heavy though, at a whopping 5 lbs. But it is a full outfit, in a sense, no other camouflage equipment is needed to wear it.

2) Time to modernize it. Open High Tech on page 65, look at Clothing Technology Table.

We'll assume that TL1 Hunting Shirt corresponds to TL5 attire. Low-Tech doesn't have a similar table, so I will not speculate what would happen if it did. To bring it to TL7, we divide weight by 2.

End result is a Hunting Shirt (TL7), weight of 2.5 lbs. It  comes either in plain dull color (Simple Camouflage, +1) or basic WW2/Post-WW2 pattern (Basic Camouflage, +2). Use rules and price as for TL1 Hunting Shirt. It can be worn standalone as Ordinary Clothes (HT63), but I'd recommend wearing pants too.

Such item saw great use during WW2 by both Allies and Axis powers, since ghillie suits weren't much of a thing back then.

Made with TL8 fabrics, weight is 1.25 lbs instead. Cost for Advanced Camouflage (+3) option is $150.

3) Let's modernize it even further! Back to HT65 Clothing Technology Table.

Multiply TL7 weight by x0.5 for TL8 technologies.

Modern Sniper Coats are seldom standalone pieces, offering at best head, back and shoulders coverage, more of a net than a garment. Thus it is considered Summer Clothes (HT63), for x0.5 of the weight, but requiring the user to wear their uniform, or otherwise matching camouflage outfit underneath to gain full benefit.

End result is a Sniper Coat (TL8). It comes either in plain dull color (Simple Camouflage, +1), basic service pattern like Multicam (Basic Camouflage +2) or specialist camo like Tropentarn (Advanced Camouflage, +3). It requires matching camouflaged clothing to work, advanced camo clothing for advanced camo sniper coat etc. Consider it an upgrade for an existing uniform, rather than a standalone item. Another benefit, it is quick to don and doff, and can be worn over protective equipment - huge advantage over a Hunting Shirt.

The bonus for the uniform and sniper coat do not stack, but one can still improve the sniper coat with local vegetation, strips of camo fabric etc by making Camouflage roll as for normal ghillie. Maximum camouflage bonus is +5.

Example: Wearing Tropentarn uniform (Advanced Camouflage) gives +3 in arid environments. Adding Sniper Coat (Tropentarn) on top gives +0, for total of +3. A roll of Camouflage and some resources gives +1 per margin of success, up to +2 for +5 total.

Alternatively, if one is daring enough, they can cover their (almost) naked body with Camouflage Paint, the same one used for face painting (Seals in Vietnam 24, LT126). Reasonably, this would count at least as Simple Camouflage (+1), and thus work with Sniper Coats, either Simple or matched to the environment. But for this, seek your GM's permission.

Weight of 0.63 lbs. Price is $25 for Simple Camouflage, $50 for Basic Camouflage, $75 for Advanced camouflage.

P.S.: The resulting weight of a TL8 sniper coat is half of a realistic item. If you feel that it is an issue, simply use statistics and rules for TL7 Hunting Shirt, with TL8 weight already listed (1.25 lbs).

Face Masks

LT126 officially states that hoods, masks and veils can be coloured to assist in camouflage. Any head covering that extends over the face acts liks camouflage paint (LT126, Seals in Vietnam 24).

Black Camouflage and Bright Colors

LT126 provides official rules for Black Camouflage and Bright Colors. It also speaks of darker shades of patterns normally used for daylight camo still giving a +1 bonus. An example of such camouflage is Multicam Black. Standard Multicam counts as Basic Camouflage and gives +2 bonus. Multicam Black only gives +1 in same environments. Though if GM permits, camouflaging against a shadow (not inside of it) would still provide full +2.