Codpiece Armor Suit

Appearance

The EPSED-1 'Codpiece' is a unique suit of power armor notable for having a pelvis hardpoint. This allows the Codpiece armor to fit a heavy infantry support weapon on the hips of the user, allowing them to provide accurate fire support while leaving their hands free, and the shoulders of the armor clear of gear.

Other power armors have mounted heavy weapons hard points on the shoulders, which is an effective way to carry larger and heavier weapons, but it does so with a number of problems. The most notable is that the suits can quickly become top heavy, hard to control, and being taller, are easier targets for anti-suit warfare. EPSED decided that mounting the hardpoint on the pelvis would address the center of gravity issues, reduce target cross-section, and considered the entirely phallic appearance of the system a solid selling point.

Common Variants

EPSED-1A (autocannon)

The main advantage of the 1A variant is stopping power and penetration. The 1A mounts a recoil compensated 37.5mm autocannon that is effective against power armor, light vehicles, and defeating most non-military armors. The downside of the 1A is that most users compare firing the cannon to being repeatedly kicked in the jimmy. Female users have not had this issue.

EPSED-1E (energy)

The 1EL mounts an infantry support laser, the 1EM has a microwave burst cannon, and the 1EP has a plasma cannon. These weapons require careful management of the power pack as they can deplete it in quick order. EPSED-1E users are known to carry multiple power cores, as well as creating improvised backpack units from military heatsinks.

EPSED-GWAR

The EPSED-GWAR is a custom model that has a cannon bore squirt gun and a backpack reservoir system. This unit was made for a musical group that uses the cannon in a purely phallic manner to pump foam and assorted fluids onto the crowd during it's concerts.

Service and Failure

The EPSED Codpiece almost instantly relegated itself to the sidelines. Rather than being taken seriously as a self propelled gun power armor unit, it was a walking joke. No pilots wanted to use it, no reputable merc unit wanted to field them, and the handful that were sold went into personal collections, media and entertainment use, or into the entourages of the most absurd media celebrities.

Author's Note - inspired by the abysmal comic character of the same name, Codpiece, an utter pillock who randomly shot things with his crotch cannon.