I know that the standard Traveller personal laser weapons all use a battery pack attached via an umbilical cord except the highly illegal 3 shot pistol known as an assassin's weapon, but is there a law against AD 2300 style laser weapons that use a discard able battery? If not, has anyone ever worked up a crossover version?
Laser question
- Thread starter JAFARR
- Start date
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Yep, trying to think back to the first introduction of them. TNE maybe? (earlier?) There's an equipment list around here somewhere with all the gear broken down by rules edition that would help ferret out the data.
From memory the backpack versions in TNE weren't battery powered, they used a backpack generator powered by an explosive cartridge system iirc. The backpack also contained the purge system to keep the weapon cool.
The slightly higher tech models skipped the backpack and stuck the explosive cartridge power into a magazine, so the laser weapons worked much like any basic chemical cartridge weapon. Fire your shots, eject the cartridge, pop in a new one, resume firing. Repeat.
MT might even have added something like that but I can't recall for sure.
I know I'd done similar with the CT versions by simply breaking down the backpack into number of shots fired, dividing it by a reasonable number of rounds, and there was my magazine. Lighten the weapon and power pack up for higher tech, et voila, next gen laser weapons with no backpack hassles.
My recall of the story for the 3 shot laser pistol isn't that it was illegal (not any more so than any laser weapon of course) but favoured by Pirates (obligatory Arrr
) as a holdout weapon.
From memory the backpack versions in TNE weren't battery powered, they used a backpack generator powered by an explosive cartridge system iirc. The backpack also contained the purge system to keep the weapon cool.
The slightly higher tech models skipped the backpack and stuck the explosive cartridge power into a magazine, so the laser weapons worked much like any basic chemical cartridge weapon. Fire your shots, eject the cartridge, pop in a new one, resume firing. Repeat.
MT might even have added something like that but I can't recall for sure.
I know I'd done similar with the CT versions by simply breaking down the backpack into number of shots fired, dividing it by a reasonable number of rounds, and there was my magazine. Lighten the weapon and power pack up for higher tech, et voila, next gen laser weapons with no backpack hassles.
My recall of the story for the 3 shot laser pistol isn't that it was illegal (not any more so than any laser weapon of course) but favoured by Pirates (obligatory Arrr
) as a holdout weapon.Thanks Dan,
I'm working on a adventure for MTU where there are some remnants of some higher tech gear still floating around, but the people who have them found some things from an older civilization that killed themselves off. Some things were adapted for use, but they don't know how to repair them when they wear out. For example they have mass teleportation between worlds and did not think they needed to keep making jump capable ships. After centuries of use the systems are having problems. As a result they no longer have the capability of making ships and don't know how to repair the teleportation devices.
They did, however, learn how to make some very good battery systems and converted the standard laser wepons to use these batteries. I just did not want to do that if the less cumbersome weapons were illegal in OTU. I want to bend some physical rules, not any legal rules.
I'm working on a adventure for MTU where there are some remnants of some higher tech gear still floating around, but the people who have them found some things from an older civilization that killed themselves off. Some things were adapted for use, but they don't know how to repair them when they wear out. For example they have mass teleportation between worlds and did not think they needed to keep making jump capable ships. After centuries of use the systems are having problems. As a result they no longer have the capability of making ships and don't know how to repair the teleportation devices.
They did, however, learn how to make some very good battery systems and converted the standard laser wepons to use these batteries. I just did not want to do that if the less cumbersome weapons were illegal in OTU. I want to bend some physical rules, not any legal rules.
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
Back before MT came out (in about 1985 to be more specific) I did much what far-trader did, and designed my own magazine-fed laser weapons (carbine, rifle, & pistol).
I had the following rules:
Belt-mounted powerpack available @ +1 TL (6 hour recharge, weight 1,500/2,000 grams, costs as related backpack powerpack)
10-shot mag @ +2 TL
15 shot mag @ +3 TL
25 shot mag @ +4 TL
Remember, Laser Carbines appear @ TL 8, Laser Rifles @ TL 9.
Cost: 100 cr for carbine mag, 125 cr for rifle mag.
Weight: 400g for carbine mag, 500g for rifle mag.
Magazines are specific to general model (pistol, carbine, rifle).
Magazines are rechargeable, requiring purpose-built charger and access to "high-power" energy source (comparable to 220VAC & 25A or better).
Recharging requires 1.5 hours per magazine, irregardless of capacity or model.
Charger costs 200cr for pistol or carbine, 300 for rifle.
New Weapons:
Laser Pistol: TL 11+; base weight 900g; magazine weight 300g; 10 shots/mag; length 250mm; base price 2,000cr
Laser Sub-Carbine*: TL 10+; base weight 3,000g; magazine - as Laser Carbine of same TL; length 500mm; base price 2,500cr
*developed in 2002 picture a laser version of an MP-5
I had the following rules:
Belt-mounted powerpack available @ +1 TL (6 hour recharge, weight 1,500/2,000 grams, costs as related backpack powerpack)
10-shot mag @ +2 TL
15 shot mag @ +3 TL
25 shot mag @ +4 TL
Remember, Laser Carbines appear @ TL 8, Laser Rifles @ TL 9.
Cost: 100 cr for carbine mag, 125 cr for rifle mag.
Weight: 400g for carbine mag, 500g for rifle mag.
Magazines are specific to general model (pistol, carbine, rifle).
Magazines are rechargeable, requiring purpose-built charger and access to "high-power" energy source (comparable to 220VAC & 25A or better).
Recharging requires 1.5 hours per magazine, irregardless of capacity or model.
Charger costs 200cr for pistol or carbine, 300 for rifle.
New Weapons:
Laser Pistol: TL 11+; base weight 900g; magazine weight 300g; 10 shots/mag; length 250mm; base price 2,000cr
Laser Sub-Carbine*: TL 10+; base weight 3,000g; magazine - as Laser Carbine of same TL; length 500mm; base price 2,500cr
*developed in 2002 picture a laser version of an MP-5
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FreeTrav
SOC-14 1K
No real stats for it, but in Issue 001 of Freelance Traveller, Dan Burns sketched out the "Chemical Laser Cartridge Revolver", which might be of interest to you...
Starviking
SOC-13
I took a look at my TNE stuff - TNE had both battery backpack/beltpack lasers and explosive power generation (AKA cartridge) lasers. As the cartridge firing chemical reaction produced toxic gasses there was a purge system incorporated into the designs. Some even had purge cans to collect and neutralise the gasses.
Advantages of cartridge vs. power-pack lasers was a smaller size and a lighter weight - disadvantages were the toxins, and the need for higher than normal tech (TL13?) to get an effective weapon.
