See above. It is only lighter without ammo.
General The infantry laser problem
- Thread starter Carlobrand
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Tobias terrain and mission objectives can always make engagement ranges short: Urban, Jungle, mountains, and Subterranean.
I agree, and the results will be the same as for combat on ships: Everyone dies.
Some Davy jones boots there …..Nowadays, I'm thinking that a "battery belt" around the hips would be a better choice than a backpack.
To borrow imagery from City of Heroes costume options, you want a "belt of batteries" that looks something like this:
Plug THAT into your Laser Pistol/Carbine/Rifle instead of a backpack.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
There's one option for smallarm laser weapon systems, when you hate schlepping around a battery backpack.
Laser musket, with triple ay one shot batteries.
Laser musket, with triple ay one shot batteries.
Because not everyone wears battledress, and gauss rifles clean up people in soft armour.
The big gap in the equipment lists in Striker is in general issue small arms post TL-12. The laser rifle is too heavy and expensive (and lacks good suppressive fire), this goes double for high-energy weapons. The closest might be the PGMP-12, though the utter lack of stealth once you open fire and lack of mobile fire is a problem.
That said, once you put troops into TL-12 combat armour (or even vacc suits at kCR10 each), spending twenty grand on a PGMP-12 plus ammo or a TL-13 laser carbine for each soldier starts looking reasonable. TL-14 combat armour suggests PGMP-14s. If your troops are in BD and don't have PGMP/FGMPs as general issue you're probably doing it wrong.
I've always assumed that the system was designed to encourage avoiding fights, and attacking from ambush if you must fight. Rather like the way the space combat system teaches players in merchant games to not fight, because getting hit likely means bankruptcy.
Unless you are in a mercenary campaign of some sort where you must balance your economic costs and payments from the ticket as well as how much death dealing and combat said ticket requires of you. I am not a fan personally of mercenary campaigns. I tend toward scouting, merchant and down to earth adventurers. Or a little of all three like Deepnight Revelation.
Book 4's focus on campaigns with lots of shooting didn't match with the effects of the LBB's combat system, that's for sure.
While our potential Volkssturmmann with his panzerschrek and a deathwish could potentially pen a BD with ease he’s probably died a million times before he gets close enough to pull the trigger.
Now a TL12 infantryman has a TL12 anti-armour system with all the bells, whistles and blinking lights. Unfortunately he is still facing armour with a TL14 ECM and physical countermeasures suite. I’m certain the TL12 fellow is going to get a kill (which makes him more combat effective than that kraut conscript with a panzerschrek) but I don’t think it’ll be a fun time for him or his squad.
I give them to naval infantry, naval boarding teams and fleet marines - their combats aren’t really meant to last that long and having the ability to plug into a ship’s power supply and charge means that your ammunition supply is not gonna be a logistical issue - especially if you’re on a multi month cruise.
You don't design games in order not to be played. (Well, I don't.)
The issue is actually not that bad with Book 1 weapons, but there is enough crazy in the system that I saw fit to rewrite it anyway.
That's the thing. Lower-tech weapons (and some higher-tech ones) able to penetrate BD are generally support weapons which can only fire at a very low rate and have heavy ammunition. That would be an extreme disadvantage, since you usually need many shots to hit a man in combat. It's distorted by Traveller combat systems (as it is in most RPGs) because you typically have a very good chance to hit somebody. In Book 1 combat, it's ridiculously good.
Really Urban combat casualties for a rifle battalion taking Sq Km was theoretically running 60% however in Iraq at fallujah and Najaf it was in the 30% range. Not everyone dies.
I know for a fact the striker rules are flawed due to ignorance. A TL-14 Gauss rifle can defeat TL-14 BD its commonsense in the evolution of weapons.
Making combat a unwise option unless you can ambush someone it's not making a game in order noy yo be played, just to be played in a less combat heavy way...
Yeah you really need to examine how the Iranian explosively formed penetrator (EFP) a very low tech weapon became the bane of our existence. For Every high tech high price tag item of kit there will always be a low cost low tech foil to it.
Which is why I believe a DF 25-40mm RAM Grenade can punch a hole in battle dress. And by hole I am talking fist size. I imagine plasma shape charge warhead, fire and forget guidance, or terminal guidence form a PEQ ( non visible targeting laser).
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Yes, TL 12 troopers fighting TL 14 ones are in deep trouble.
Two TL difference is a lot. As I said in another thread, it's like late Victorina/early WWI fighting a current state of the art army.
I did not mean in reality, I specifically meant under the Book 1 combat rules, using Book 4 weapons.
Book 1 combat is a sub-game in its own right. In fact, it is also a standalone game (Snapshot, which uses the exact same fire resolution mechanic). Designing elaborate subsystems in order not to be used is in any event the same thing to me.
I know you are clever person, but the Book1 or Book4 rules should be nuanced with reality and a referee to call BS when the rules are way off.
I'd rather rewrite the rules to make them somewhat more functional to begin with.
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