nuclear weapons LBB2

[parmasson]

I could be really mean and offer them a 20 megaton salted, enhanced radiation fusion warhead. Nah, they would either
1. Deactivate it and run
2. Take it and try to sell it to fix up their new ship.

There is no temptation for them to keep something that hot sitting around. Or would they . . . .

 

[boomslang]

Originally posted by Kurega Gikur:
I could be really mean and offer them a 20 megaton salted, enhanced radiation fusion warhead.

Interestingly enough, I don't know that you can engineer an enhanced radiation warhead that large. Most of the stuff I've read (Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns aside) implies that the design will top out at around 10KTons, mostly due to neutron leakage issues (which makes sense since they are uncontained by design)... probably nightmarish enough for gaming purposes to just go with a trusty thermonuclear (fusion) strategic-sized device.

BTW, under SS3, such a horrid 20MTon beastie would set you back a breathtaking BCr20.

OTOH, under SS3's damage tables, it would do a staggering 2 million regular hits in LBB2 combat, plus a brutal 400000 radiation damage hits for good measure...

Kinda puts the Meson Gun to shame, don't it?

 

[parmasson]

2 million regular hits plus 400,000!

I can see it now.

Player: I roll a 5 with modifications.

Ref: Sorry the missile hits.

Player: Damage . . . .?

Ref: 2 million hits to the . . . (rolls) . . . jump drive.

Player: thank god it wasn’t the bridge!

Yeah, stooooped big but it would scare the poop out of them.

I will stick to the .1-1 kt stuff for game purposes.

 

[robject]

Kurega, meet boomslang; boomslang, Kurega.

Boomslang is a clever and thoughtful (and ruthless, I suspect) Traveller referee/player. I corresponded with him years ago.

Kurega is a clever and thoughtful (and ruthless, perhaps) Traveller referee/player. I've corresponded with him recently.

 

[boomslang]

Originally posted by Kurega Gikur:
Ref: 2 million hits to the . . . (rolls) . . . jump drive.

I would be inclined to roll "separately" (using TCS statistical resolution, thus guaranteeing a "Ship Destroyed" Critical) as per normal missiles, lest you get

Ref: 2 million hits to the . . . (rolls) . . . hull.

Followed by, of course,

Ref: 400000 radiation hits to the . . . (rolls) . . . fiber-optic computer.

 

[mike wightman]

SS3 is a LBB2 add on.

You roll separately for each hit...

I will never understand how the designers of High Guard reduced nuclear missiles to only one hit

 

[parmasson]

"Kurega, meet boomslang; boomslang, Kurega."

Hullo sir and thank you both.

"(and ruthless, perhaps) Traveller referee/player"

Ruthless? Not me, space is dangerous, so very dangerous.

 

[boomslang]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
I will never understand how the designers of High Guard reduced nuclear missiles to only one hit.

Ah but they don't; nukes get two: one Surface Explosion and one Radiation. And the Surface Explosion hit gets an extra -6 DM (meaning it rolls at Scratch), making it much harsher than a regular knock from anything less than a spinal mount (or perhaps a pulse laser battery).

Also note, those are the TacNuke-sized .1KTon warheads... even under SS3, such only do 10 regular and 2 radiation hits.... which is quite survivable in small, um, doses...

 

[boomslang]

Originally posted by Kurega Gikur:
Ruthless? Not me, space is dangerous, so very dangerous.

Yeah, I think I'm going to go with "painfully realistic" myself...

 

[Merxiless]

Model it like this:

There's this big ball of glowing gas in space, planets orbit around it.

Yeah, you just created a new one, for about a second.

No need to roll.