CT Striker Book 3, p31 and p33:
| TL | Weapon | Shots | Effective | Long | Extreme | Weight | Price | Targets | Dex Mods |
| 9 | Laser pistol | 50 | 9 (4) | 18 (2) | 90 (0) | 3000/1000 | 2000/400 | 1 | 8(-3) 11 ( +1) |
| 13 | Laser pistol | 200 | 10 (6) | 20 (3) | 100 (1) | 2200/1000 | 3000/700 | 1 | 6(-2) 11 ( +1) |
| 13 | 4mm gauss pistol | 15 | 2 (4) | 4 (3) | 6 (1) | 650/200 | 600/20 | 1 | 7 (-2) 10 (+1 ) |
Shots: Number of shots before power pack is exhausted.
Effective, Long, Extreme: Range in cm (penetration) at the three ranges.
Weight: Weight of weapon/powerpack in grams.
Price: Price of weapon/powerpack in Cr.
Signature DMs: Lasers +0
In a (space) navy context, you want pistols on board ships so as to be "handy" in close quarters. Likewise, you don't want excessive amounts of overpenetration happing that can pierce compartment walls, incurring additional damage beyond what you're shooting at.
The primary advantage that a TL=13 gauss pistol has over a TL=13 laser pistol simply comes down to a matter of weight and price.
- 1x TL=13 Laser Pistol = 200 shots, 3.2kg (weapon+power pack), Cr3700 (weapon+power pack)
- 1x TL=13 Gauss Pistol = 15 shots, 0.85kg (weapon+1 magazine), Cr620 (weapon+1 magazine)
If you want to "normalize" the number of shots between the two weapon systems, you get this:
- 1x TL=13 Gauss Pistol + 13x Magazines = 13*15=195 shots, 0.65+13*0.2=3.25kg, 600+13*20=Cr860
So, with "about equal ammo" the gauss pistol option is
slightly heavier (by 50 grams) and a LOT cheaper to manufacture and buy.
3700/860 = 4.302325581395349
In other words, you can afford (in budget terms) to equip 4 people with TL=13 gauss pistols and 195 shots each for the same price it costs to equip 1 person with a TL=13 laser pistol and 200 shots.
So essentially, in terms of "bang per
buck credit spent" the gauss pistol is the "more efficient" option when it comes to both mass production and being able to "arm everyone" to produce mass fires.
Looked at from a Cr for Cr budget perspective:
1x TL=13 Laser Pistol + 1x Power Pack = Cr3700 = 1 shooter, 200 shots
6x TL=13 Gauss Pistol + 6x Magazine = Cr3720 = 6 shooters, 15 times each = 90 shots
From an ordnance and supply perspective, with respect to shipboard combat ... given a choice between 1 shooter who can shoot 200 times (unlikely) in a boarding scenario, versus equipping 6 shooters who can shoot 15 times each ... when it comes to volume of fire between the two weapon systems. More shooters means better opportunities to mass fire, when necessary.
Then there's the "range overkill" factor.
- TL=13 Laser Pistol ranges to target (in meters aboard ship) is 100m Effective, 200m Long and 1000mExtreme.
- In terms of 1.5m deck squares that's 66 Effective, 133 Long, 666 Extreme.
- TL=13 Gauss Pistol ranges to target (in meters aboard ship) is 20m Effective, 40m Long and 60mExtreme.
- In terms of 1.5m deck squares that's 13 Effective, 26 Long, 40 Extreme.
Most starships are not going to have linear corridor spaces longer than ~39m (26 deck squares) before being blocked by a partition wall or a bulkhead.
For reference, the Kinunir class has
outer hull dimensions of only
73.51m long x 52.5m wide x 15.5m high (fin adds 11m high).
In other words, if fighting OUTSIDE the hull of a 1200 ton starship (as per LBB A1), the only way you would need long range with a TL=13 Laser Pistol would be if you were shooting at something where either the shooter or the target was not in contact with the outer hull of the starship.
This means that for "most" personnel onboard a starship, the long range capacity of a TL=13 Laser Pistol is going to be a "wasteful overkill" factor that costs a lot of weight and Cr per shooter to enable.
So in terms of
what makes more sense as a personal sidearm for navy crews (ship's troops are a different question!) ... the TL=13 gauss pistol is adequate to the need and environment, while costing far less than the alternative of a TL=13 laser pistol.
Right tool for the job (and all that jazz).
Besides, any readers of this forum with infantry experience in their past will readily appreciate the weight difference between the 2 weapon systems.
TL=13 Laser Pistol ... weapon + 1 "deep" magazine with 200 shots weighs in at 2.2+1=
3.2kg ... which is getting "heavy" for a "pistol" weapon.
TL=13 Gauss Pistol ... weapon + 2 magazines with 15*2=30 shots weighs in at 0.65+0.2*2=
1.05kg ... which is reasonable for a sidearm.
Leave the laser pistols (and carbines and rifles) to the marines.
Navy crews get issued guass pistols.
Just the mass/weight and credit savings ALONE, spread across
millions of navy personnel on payroll ought to be enough of a reason for a procurement office to issue gauss pistols, rather than laser pistols, to navy personnel as their standard issue self-protection sidearm. It gets the job done at a better price for a weapon that isn't "over spec" for the environment it might need to be used in.
