Plasma/Fusion pistols

[mike wightman]

Originally posted by Zparkz:
I did that in the most simple way I could think of. I took the weapon recoil without compensation substracting the compensated recoil value. I divided then the mass of the original compensator on the difference found in the previous calculation. This number is the mass of compensator per recoil value compensated.

I then decided for a new recoil value. This case 8. Substracting 8 from the difference in compesated value calculated above and multiplying this value with the mass per compensated recoil value.

Neat idea.

The weight of the compensator is not added to the weapon design above. In a way I feel that a compensator arm of 140grams are very slender and probably not very strong. An recoil value of 51 on a 0.1Kg weapon (FU) makes me think of the "cricket-gun" from MiB. The recoil values do not work for this kind of design. Another matter is that the compensator are probably something else than an arm fastened to the body. Probably something gyroscoping. FF&S doesn't allow for gravitic modules smaller than 30liters.

CT LBB4 mentions a "gravitic field generator... the weapon's computer system automatically biases the field to provide near total recoil compensation ".

This is what made me think of using a small manipulator unit at TLs 16+.
A 0.1kg unit could momentarily increase the "mass" of the gun to 20kg, while still making it appear weightless to the holder.

 

[Zparkz]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
CT LBB4 mentions a "gravitic field generator... the weapon's computer system automatically biases the field to provide near total recoil compensation ".

This is what made me think of using a small manipulator unit at TLs 16+.
A 0.1kg unit could momentarily increase the "mass" of the gun, while still making it appear weightless to the holder.

Quite neat, but maybe a inertial compensators from the starship section is more in order? Far as I know there is no minimum size for those.

Gravitics in TNE is a bit fuzzy as CG doesn't lift anything, but cancels 99% of the vector from a planet during take off and landing. How to calculate the size of the compensator may be the same as ordinary compensators, but the price would be quite hefty.

 

[mike wightman]

Hmm, shipboard inertial compensators...

interesting, but, as you say, expensive.

 

[Zparkz]

The trick is to figure out how large such compensation would be and how much it would compensate. I am afraid such compensation would ruin a campaing as there would be possible to make recoiless weapons easily.

 

[far-trader]

Originally posted by Zparkz:
...maybe a inertial compensators from the starship section is more in order? Far as I know there is no minimum size for those.

Maybe just an oversight since the designers never considered anyone using them except as part of a starship/spaceship (so the "minimum chassis" would be that, 1dton, 10dton, 20dton, or 100dton depending on the ruleset and where it breaks out the component. So that'd be a pretty big gun

But then I'm skeptical of fusion and plasma weapons as presented, and my belief suspenders snap every time I try to holster a fusion or plasma pistol

 

[mike wightman]

Looks like TNE changed more than the ship paradigm and core rules system

Plasma and fusion pistols should be the sidearm of choise at TL14+ in the TNE based Imperium.

Are Star Wars blasters plasma weapons? I know that the Babylon5 PPGs are plasma guns - body pistol sized no less

 

[Zparkz]

Originally posted by far-trader:
Maybe just an oversight since the designers never considered anyone using them except as part of a starship/spaceship (so the "minimum chassis" would be that, 1dton, 10dton, 20dton, or 100dton depending on the ruleset and where it breaks out the component. So that'd be a pretty big gun

But then I'm skeptical of fusion and plasma weapons as presented, and my belief suspenders snap every time I try to holster a fusion or plasma pistol

I agree that putting on ship parts as inertial compensators are outside the rules as they are meant to be. But plasma pistols and small rifles are not. See my top post. Fusion Pistols are a part of the canon. However small arms energy weapons like this has several drawbacks. Limited effective range. Still heavy magazines. Limited ROF. So in a way they balance out.

Plasma/fusion pistols are just short off going over the top as the meson rifle someone on TML designed a few years ago....

 

[mike wightman]

Put a folding stock and a couple of pistol grips, plus an optical and laser sight, and the weapon weight can get up to 3kg for a loaded gun.

For a similar recoil - 8 - such a weapon will inflict 7d at TL 14 (0.058MJ), and 10d at TL15 (0.112MJ).

 

[Zparkz]

I have put up some sample design rules and weapons here:

http://freeport.pocketempires.com/Archive/Utstyr/Smallarms%20energy.pdf

 

[mike wightman]

Thanks for sharing them

<save to disc>

 

[jfetters]

Thanks for this thread!! It is very cool reading. I think I may have to play with the figures from the PDF.

Sigg Oddra said:

Are Star Wars blasters plasma weapons? I know that the Babylon5 PPGs are plasma guns - body pistol sized no less

This is an interesting point. One of my beefs with lasers, especially in TNE, is the lack of damage that they do when the wearer has ANY bit of armor. On the handful of times I reffed and the people were Traveller newbies, they were pretty frustrated because the lasers they wanted to use (this being a Sci-Fi game and all...) did not pack much of a punch - and you couldn't pack that kind of a punch really unless you wore Battle Dress all over the place.

I usually pointed them to Gauss weapons instead, and that seemed to satisfy them for a while.

 

[far-trader]

Yeah, I've always been tempted to (in CT at least) say that the only armors that have any affect vs lasers (and energy weapons in general) are Battle Dress and Combat Armor. No paper thin cheap reflec is going to help and ablative is just too cumbersome (I can't recall anyone ever using it). Of course BD is next to impossible for a PC to get, and energy weapons are next most difficult to obtain. Combat Armor and laser weapons can be had by PCs if they work for it imtu.

 

[Zparkz]

Originally posted by Jim Fetters:
One of my beefs with lasers, especially in TNE, is the lack of damage that they do when the wearer has ANY bit of armor.

The TNE rules states that only metalic or ceramic armor stops lasers. All other armors does not have any effect. I think Ringmail and similar armors also have no effect against armor.

 

[Badbru]

Originally posted by Zparkz:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jim Fetters:
One of my beefs with lasers, especially in TNE, is the lack of damage that they do when the wearer has ANY bit of armor.

The TNE rules states that only metalic or ceramic armor stops lasers. All other armors does not have any effect. I think Ringmail and similar armors also have no effect against armor. </font>[/QUOTE]Yeah ringmail would have very little effect against armour . Sorry. I know you meant Lasers From memory I think the rules state "Ridgid" armour which infers all metal armours including TL-2 plate TL 7-8 ceramic plate inserts and combat armour/battledress. Ballistic cloth & combat environment suits may aswell be a T shirt to laser fire.
My fix, which I wasn't overly satisfied with, was to decree personal lasers had a set penetration rating of 2-4-8-16 much like all plasma and fusion weapons have a set penetration rating of 1-2-10. regardless of the design. It meant most lasers weapons had a penetration rating of 2-nil when compared to the damage. It kind of brought lasers back to the CT-MT decent weapon catagory, but as I said I was never happy with it.
As for plasma and, eeek! fusion weapons, they never see use in my games. To me they simply scream "I hit him with my +7 sword of evil dismissal." Too much everthing for me, but that could just be me YMMV.
As to your plasma and fusion pistols. Why bother? It is easier and at lower tech levels to make large caliber gauss pistols do the same damage with equall or better penetration with adequate range and more shots per mag at half the weight. Me? a gun bunny? Hell yes.

 

[Zparkz]

Yeah ringmail would have very little effect against armour . Sorry. I know you meant Lasers

Ops. A nice typo that. In my defense I was spending most of yesterday on the bike with my family. About 5 hours in all bicycling. I was really tired when returning home =0)

I agree with you that Small arms plasma and fusion guns are very limited in capability compared to weight and price. Specially in range and ammo.