Border Reiver
SOC-14 1K
Some may think that I hate Mercenary but I just think that the equipment section is badly put together. There are some nice ideas in there that if they had been presented better then would be (to me) much more palatable despite being non-OTU in nature.
First up the Magrail Gun. A real video game weapon spewing out razor sharp spinning disks at high rates of fire. So what are the issues with the Magrail Gun. Firstly is the ballistics of the spinning disk munitions. I've seen people claim that a Chakhram is comparable but that is a ring, not a disk and disks carry a whole gamut of fun ballistics.
First up is stability. Unless the round is lenticular (discus) or airfoil (frisbee) shaped any aiming that is not parallel to the ground is going to cause the round to flip, losing the "cut through armour with ease" effect. This would be a problem even at short ranges and is still an issue with the more aerodynamic shapes. Even using an aerodynamic disk creates problems in itself, creating lift in the round from the moment it leaves the gun, "floating" upwards. No doubt this could be corrected by use of "electronic" sights. The next thing to worry about is Magnus Effect, present in any spinning object including more traditional bullets. A quick summary is that any spinning object will create a pressure difference that will cause "drift" in the direction of spin (ie clockwise spin will drift right and anti-clockwise, right). This is used to good effect in bullet design and can create extra stability but in a spinning disk you will see a distinct curve in the rounds track. The degree of curve and amount of lift will be negligible over very short ranges but anything above 20m and you will have to make adjustments, adjustments that will vary considerably with air pressure, temperature, relative humidity and gravity.
Next is the round itself. A 5cm alloy disk (in the case of the carbine and pistol), let's assume a 5mm thickness at the centre, with a razor sharp edge, allowing for improvement in materials engineering where it's mass will be the optimum for ballistics yet not to heavy for practical purposes, this is still stupidly bulky. One round will be as bulky as 5 rounds of 5.56mm NATO. The best I can imagine for a magazine for the carbine is a side feed (like a sten gun) with disks stacked 3 deep and overlapping, it still will be something stupid like a Bren magazine in size. That's just the carbine, the rifle version uses rounds that are 15cm in diameter (6"), again a block of 5 .50cal rounds would have a smaller footprint. As to the damage, there is a reason why points trump edges as penetrators and even in the case of diamond edged blades they are p**s poor penetrators. As an experiment go to your local plant hire shop and get hold of an angle grinder with a cutting blade. Now get a piece of sheet steel or slab of concrete and hit it as hard as you can with the spinning blade. Yes it will cut a bit but will bounce/spin off the target. This is what will happen if you use the railgun as it stands against hard armour.
Now for the fix.
We could leave the gun as it stands but replace the disks with heavy flechettes, turning it into a heavy caliber gauss weapon. Alternatively turn the disks into tori which would increase the aerodynamic properties of the round (though still subject to Magnus Effect it will be lessened) but the damage will be still an issue. Or we could make some fantastical adjustments to create the devastating personal weapon the original authors intended.
So let's try some examples.
Magrail Weaponry
This class of weapons fires lenticular shaped disks down a pair of electromagnetic rails at hypersonic velocities. The disks are made of an advanced alloy and honed to a diamond edge which will rend flesh and light armours. Although devastating at close in ranges the inherent instability of the munitions make these weapons virtually useless at longer ranges and most human troops find them cumbersome to wield.
Magrail Pistol firing 5cm advanced alloy disks from a 20 round circular cassette mounted in the top of the pistol and powered by a pack inserted into the pistol grip.
*cannot engage targets greater than short range.
Magrail Carbine using the same ammunition as the Magrail Pistol this advanced technology carbine utilises onboard targeting electronic and gravitic projectile stabilisation to cancel out ballistic drift. The carbine has a 40 round cassette that runs the upper length of the weapon and a large power pack in front of the trigger guard. The circular pistol magazine can also be fitted.
Magrail Rifle uses a larger 15cm disk in a heavier receiver. It incorporates all the targetting enhancements of the carbine but without the gravitic stabilisation. The Magrail creates a tremendous amount of blast and recoil so can only be handled by the strongest of individuals (Str 11+) or those wearing Battledress.
*cannot achieve ranges greater than long.
In the OTU Magrail Rifles are the standard longarm of K'kree Stormtroops whilst the Magrail pistol is well known as a pirate's "decksweeper" weapon, devastating in the close confines of a starship corridor.
So I've made a few changes to the stats but the basic principle of Magrail Weapons remain unchanged. I'm open to comments or even outright insults.:smirk:
Next Up; Artillery Battledress.
First up the Magrail Gun. A real video game weapon spewing out razor sharp spinning disks at high rates of fire. So what are the issues with the Magrail Gun. Firstly is the ballistics of the spinning disk munitions. I've seen people claim that a Chakhram is comparable but that is a ring, not a disk and disks carry a whole gamut of fun ballistics.
First up is stability. Unless the round is lenticular (discus) or airfoil (frisbee) shaped any aiming that is not parallel to the ground is going to cause the round to flip, losing the "cut through armour with ease" effect. This would be a problem even at short ranges and is still an issue with the more aerodynamic shapes. Even using an aerodynamic disk creates problems in itself, creating lift in the round from the moment it leaves the gun, "floating" upwards. No doubt this could be corrected by use of "electronic" sights. The next thing to worry about is Magnus Effect, present in any spinning object including more traditional bullets. A quick summary is that any spinning object will create a pressure difference that will cause "drift" in the direction of spin (ie clockwise spin will drift right and anti-clockwise, right). This is used to good effect in bullet design and can create extra stability but in a spinning disk you will see a distinct curve in the rounds track. The degree of curve and amount of lift will be negligible over very short ranges but anything above 20m and you will have to make adjustments, adjustments that will vary considerably with air pressure, temperature, relative humidity and gravity.
Next is the round itself. A 5cm alloy disk (in the case of the carbine and pistol), let's assume a 5mm thickness at the centre, with a razor sharp edge, allowing for improvement in materials engineering where it's mass will be the optimum for ballistics yet not to heavy for practical purposes, this is still stupidly bulky. One round will be as bulky as 5 rounds of 5.56mm NATO. The best I can imagine for a magazine for the carbine is a side feed (like a sten gun) with disks stacked 3 deep and overlapping, it still will be something stupid like a Bren magazine in size. That's just the carbine, the rifle version uses rounds that are 15cm in diameter (6"), again a block of 5 .50cal rounds would have a smaller footprint. As to the damage, there is a reason why points trump edges as penetrators and even in the case of diamond edged blades they are p**s poor penetrators. As an experiment go to your local plant hire shop and get hold of an angle grinder with a cutting blade. Now get a piece of sheet steel or slab of concrete and hit it as hard as you can with the spinning blade. Yes it will cut a bit but will bounce/spin off the target. This is what will happen if you use the railgun as it stands against hard armour.
Now for the fix.
We could leave the gun as it stands but replace the disks with heavy flechettes, turning it into a heavy caliber gauss weapon. Alternatively turn the disks into tori which would increase the aerodynamic properties of the round (though still subject to Magnus Effect it will be lessened) but the damage will be still an issue. Or we could make some fantastical adjustments to create the devastating personal weapon the original authors intended.
So let's try some examples.
Magrail Weaponry
This class of weapons fires lenticular shaped disks down a pair of electromagnetic rails at hypersonic velocities. The disks are made of an advanced alloy and honed to a diamond edge which will rend flesh and light armours. Although devastating at close in ranges the inherent instability of the munitions make these weapons virtually useless at longer ranges and most human troops find them cumbersome to wield.
Magrail Pistol firing 5cm advanced alloy disks from a 20 round circular cassette mounted in the top of the pistol and powered by a pack inserted into the pistol grip.
Code:
Weapon TL Range Damage Auto Recoil Mass(kg) Mag. Cost
Pistol 14 Pistol 3d6+2 1/2 4 1.4kg 20 1500*cannot engage targets greater than short range.
Magrail Carbine using the same ammunition as the Magrail Pistol this advanced technology carbine utilises onboard targeting electronic and gravitic projectile stabilisation to cancel out ballistic drift. The carbine has a 40 round cassette that runs the upper length of the weapon and a large power pack in front of the trigger guard. The circular pistol magazine can also be fitted.
Code:
Weapon TL Range Damage Auto Recoil Mass(kg) Mag. Cost
Carbine 14 Assault 3d6+2 1/2 4 4kg 40 2500Magrail Rifle uses a larger 15cm disk in a heavier receiver. It incorporates all the targetting enhancements of the carbine but without the gravitic stabilisation. The Magrail creates a tremendous amount of blast and recoil so can only be handled by the strongest of individuals (Str 11+) or those wearing Battledress.
Code:
Weapon TL Range Damage Auto Recoil Mass(kg) Mag. Cost
Rifle 13 Assault 4d6+2 3 6 7kg 40 4500*cannot achieve ranges greater than long.
In the OTU Magrail Rifles are the standard longarm of K'kree Stormtroops whilst the Magrail pistol is well known as a pirate's "decksweeper" weapon, devastating in the close confines of a starship corridor.
So I've made a few changes to the stats but the basic principle of Magrail Weapons remain unchanged. I'm open to comments or even outright insults.:smirk:
Next Up; Artillery Battledress.
