Roleplayer #14, June 1989
Part 1 of 2
by Mike Hurst
Since GURPS
Space appeared, there have been many excellent questions
and comments about the weapons and armor. This article is intended to amplify
on the game background and the reasoning behind it.
Arms and Society
Weapons and armor are heavily restricted in most TL8+ societies. Restrictions
are particularly heavy on anything that threatens the power and safety of
politicians and bureaucrats. Civilian-legal arms are quite capable of killing
an unarmored man or a hostile animal, but have limited lethality against
armor. Civilian possession of armor is usually restricted and often banned.
Inside spaceships, if weapons are permitted at all, they are limited to
those (such as tanglers, sleep grenades and needlers) that are unlikely
to pierce a hull or damage vital equipment.
Weapon Power and Efficiency
Energy weapons use power cells as ammunition. One way to rate the various
energy weapons presented in GURPS Space is by
their efficiency in terms of power consumed. This requires figuring power
per cell. Atypically, the GURPS system is arbitrary
here. Power is an abstract measure, where a B cell = 1. Elucidation of the
real-world equivalent of "1" is left as an exercise for the physicists
among us.
The efficiencies of B, C and D cells, in terms of power delivered per unit
weight, are the same. A is slightly less efficient in terms of weight, and
E is much more efficient, representing a significant economy of
scale.
Power Cells and Weight
A cell = .04 power unit (1/500 lb.)
B cell = 1 power unit (1/20 lb.)
C cell = 10 power units (1/2 lb.)
D cell = 100 power units (5 lbs.)
E cell = 1,000 power units (20 lbs.)
Some weapons use this power more efficiently than others (see the table
on p. 4). Within any one type of weapon, though, relative efficiency
is usually similar. This is handy as a guide when designing new weapons.
Improvements in Hand Weapons
Hand lasers and flamers are +1 to damage for each TL after the TL of introduction.
Blasters are +2 for each TL; blast rifles are +3. Gatling lasers are +1d
to damage for successive TLs; tripod flamers are +2d. Needlers have no increase
in damage, but shots increase by 20 for each TL.
Who Needs These Fancy Beamers; Give Me My Old FN
Almost any 20th-century military rifle has the capability to penetrate light
or medium ultra-tech armor. It does more damage measured in dice than most
of the weapons presented in GURPS Space. Then
why bother with high-tech weapons?
First: bullet guns are inefficient. A lot of their energy is wasted, as
represented by the "blow through" rule; beam weapons do twice
die damage of bullets before any is lost.
A second reason to avoid military or criminal use of gunpowder is detectability.
At TL9 and above, sensor suites that will detect and pinpoint the exact
location of the chemical, noise and flash signatures of any known gunpowder
weapon are routine. Chemscanners (see description on p. S47) can detect
a single round of unfired ammunition at 500 yards, or the firing of one
round at 2,500 yards at TL9. Two scanners can triangulate the location.
Note that civilian beam weapons can be located the same way by radscanners.
Military beam weapons are routinely equipped with countermeasures to defeat
scanners. Occasionally, guerrilla groups using chemical weapons achieve
surprise against a regular force. This trick seldom works and almost never
works twice. Scare stories about old-fashioned weapons are common barracks
gossip, and a staple of trivid adventure stories.
A final reason is availability. For the above reasons, gun-powder weapons
are obsolete. They and their ammunition require a production and transportation
base that doesn't exist at TLs above 7. Surviving weapons don't have much
ammunition and very few ships haul obsolete iron and lead along the spaceways.
A TL8+ character has about as much chance of finding a military gunpowder
weapon as a TL7 character has of finding a cedar, buffalo-horn and buffalo-sinew
Turkish composite bow.
Legitimate Gunpowder Weapons
Still, there are gunpowder weapons at TL8+; target-shooting, small-game
hunting and historical re-creation are all small but legitimate hobbies.
Guns for these activities are typically chambered for cartridges like the
caseless .20 Short, with a damage of 1d-3. Black Powder weapons are also
made for re-creationists. It is actually easier to cheat and make an effective
armor penetrator with a muzzle-loader than with a replica chambered for
a low-powered caseless round. Materials have improved; Black Powder weapons
made with TL8+ technology are +1 to damage for each TL. It is, of course,
highly illegal to load a Black Powder weapon with anything that would penetrate
armor.
The Standard Weapon: Lasers
Laser is the common name for the most familiar type of beam weapon. At TL7
this actually is a LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of
Radiation); at TL8+ any coherent energy beam weapon is called a laser.
The laser has no recoil, makes no noise until it hits and is so accurate
that the dispersion of the shots is less than the diameter of the beam.
Lasers with automatic fire capability can select damage up to RoF times
damage per shot for each firing turn. Successive shots are effectively a
single beam; damage is applied cumulatively to penetrating the target's
DR rather than individually. The necessary skill to get the most out of
a laser beam is the skill not to let it wander, dissipating its power. Use
the automatic-fire rules (pp. B119-121) to simulate this. For example, a
military laser rifle does 2d. Fired at RoF of 8, it fires two groups of
four shots. Roll to hit for each group. A roll of five better than needed
to hit is 8d. A roll of five better than needed on both groups would be
damage of 16d. A roll of exactly enough would be a hit by two shots from
the group, for damage of 4d. Lasers do impaling damage, so damage that gets
through to tissue is doubled.
Semi-automatic lasers can't be held on target precisely enough to get the
armor-penetrating bonus. The mechanical action of firing each shot is enough
to disperse it. Politicians laud this. After all, no sportsman needs that
sort of power to kill animals. And civilians don't need to protect themselves
from armored criminals; that's what the police are for!
Autofire Modification
Any laser can be modified to fire at full automatic, at up to RoF 8. Military
laser rifles are originally manufactured to fire selectively, full auto
or single shot. Civilian weapons are designed to be difficult to modify
to full auto. There are three levels to which a civilian laser can be modified.
First-level conversion merely makes it dump energy faster. This is a simple
conversion (eight hours of work in an electronics shop and one successful
Electronics/TL (Weapons, at the TL of the weapon) roll). The laser now fires
full auto at RoF 8. It cannot fire less than eight shots per second unless
the power cell is discharged. The first group of four shots is at -1 to
the Malf number; each successive group of four shots is an additional -1.
On any malfunction the laser burns out and will never fire again; it cannot
be repaired. On any critical failure, it also does 1d of burn damage to
the firer.
Second-level conversion takes three days and three successful Electronics/TL
(Weapons) rolls. Malf number is reduced to 16, but the laser burns out only
on a critical failure. On any other malfunction it overheats and takes 1d
minutes of cooling time before it will fire again.
Third-level conversion takes five days and five successful Electronics/TL
(Weapons) rolls. This effectively rebuilds the laser to near military specifications.
The laser malfunctions only on a misfire or jam result of a critical failure.
There is a 50% chance that the laser burns out completely and does 1d of
burn damage to the firer. If not, it takes 1d minutes of cooling time before
it can fire again.
These modifications are full auto only. To install a selector switch takes
one more hour and another successful Electronics roll.
Any failed roll during the conversion process adds one full day, and another
roll, to the conversion. Any critical failure ruins vital components; the
weapon is functionally destroyed and will never fire again.
A problem with such modified lasers is that they sometimes won't shut off.
On any malfunction, one option the GM can choose is that the laser will
simply keep firing until the power cell is exhausted. This should happen
when it is most embarrassing and dangerous, as per the Law of Murphy.
Hotshotting
Any laser can be "hotshotted" -- modified to get a more powerful
beam. Military laser rifles and heavy laser pistols can be designed for
controlled hotshotting (the ultra-tech equivalent of armor-piercing ammunition).
Hotshotting gets a five for two trade off; for five shots worth of power
the laser does double damage. For example, a heavy laser pistol gets 12
shots from a C cell. Each shot does 2d damage. A hotshot uses five shots
worth of power, so the cell would allow only two hotshots. But each shot
would do 4d damage, and all the damage would be applied whether against
armor or flesh.
Laser pistols, laser rifles and holdout lasers that are hotshotted bum out
rapidly. On any critical failure, in addition to any other result, they
bum Out and will not fire again. On any jam or misfire result, they do 1d
of burn damage to the firer. Malf is reduced to 10 for every shot after
the first, and any malfunction burns out the weapon. Hotshotted holdout
lasers do 1d of burn damage to the firer when they burn out.
Military laser rifles and heavy laser pistols specifically designed for
hotshotting (at an additional $1,000 cost) take no damage from the shot.
They just use more power. Hotshotting doubles the power of each shot; fired
full auto this can be devastating, but it uses up power very quickly.
Hotshotting requires an Electronics/TL (Weapons) skill roll. It takes one
success and one hour of work in a shop with the proper tools to hotshot
one laser. Penalties for improvised tools and facilities are up to the GM.
A failure requires one more hour and one more roll; any critical failure
ruins the weapon for good.
Costs and Legality for Modified Lasers
It is illegal almost everywhere to hotshot a civilian weapon or convert
one to full auto; penalties range from fines and confiscation to death.
In really repressive societies, the mere knowledge of how to modify a laser
is illegal; anyone who demonstrates that knowledge may be executed. Electronicists
pass the knowledge to each other in conversation, and hope they are not
talking to a police informant. Subversive groups and illegal arms traders
have been known to set up a roboticized production line for hotshotting.
The penalty is much more severe than that for hotshotting a single weapon.
Any knowledgeable policeman or soldier can recognize a full-auto laser with
a brief examination (roll against Beam Weapons+2 or Electronics/TL (Weapons)+3
for less than one minute; Beam Weapons+4 or Electronics/TL (Weapons)+5 for
over one minute). Hotshotting is harder to detect. Examinations of under
one minute are at Beam Weapons-1 or Electronics/TL (Weapons); over one minute
at Beam Weapons or Electronics/TL (Weapons)+1. Of course, either modification
can be discovered by firing the weapon.
Conversions require both parts and labor. Electronics engineers don't work
cheap even on legal jobs. Add coverage for the possible penalties, and the
rate is likely to be over $1,000 dollars a day for competent work. (Of course,
there are usually cheaper workers available; their work is worth the price.)
Parts for a first-level auto conversion cost $500; for second-level cost
is $1,000; for third-level cost is $2,000. Parts for hotshotting cost $750.
The parts needed for modification are distinctive; in any laser-controlling
culture, purchase of the parts will require licenses and bookkeeping. Purchase
by anyone without a good legal reason will be difficult, and will arouse
suspicion. Very competent Electronicists can use legal parts to modify lasers.
Long-distance communicators, shop-cutters, ship-drives and holographic entertainment
projectors all have parts that can be modified to make a deadlier laser.
Any such conversion requires two Electronics rolls, one at the Weapons specialization
and one at the specialization for the intended purpose of the original device.
GMs can assign penalties up to -10 to either or both rolls for really unlikely
conversions. A failure on either roll ruins that part.
Military Laser Rifle
This is the basic personal weapon of the military. It was introduced at
TL8, and became as widespread as the flintlock musket had been in its time.
Since the working part of the laser consists of a tube two feet long by
1 1/2" in diameter, the exterior can look like just about anything.
Ceremonial guards have military laser rifles built into replicas of halberds,
lever-action rifles, submachine guns or anything else that pleases whim
or tradition. The normal military weapon is just a tube, with stocks, sights
and controls to suit the situation, mission and firing organism, This weapon
is reliable. Its Malf is Ver. (Crit). This means that it only malfunctions
on a jam or misfire result of a critical miss, and then only if the malfunction
is verified by rolling a second critical miss. Any result except a critical
miss on the second roll means that the laser does not malfunction; it simply
misses the target.
With a little luck, a military laser rifle can penetrate even the heaviest
unpowered armor. A burst of eight shots can do up to 16d of damage. A hotshotted
laser can do 4d per single shot, but at the cost of five shots worth of
power.
The accurate range of a MLR is longer than almost any firefight distance.
Its accuracy rating includes augmented sights, which usually combine magnifying,
automatic range-finding and low-light vision capabilities. Without these,
for instance mounted in a cane as an assassination weapon, accuracy can
be very low. (A cane is SS 15 and Acc 1.)
The military laser rifle is so effective that it is controlled by any society
that controls personal weapons; legality is 0. (This is a change from GURPS
Space.) The usual penalty for trying to smuggle one onto a
spaceship is to be shoved out the airlock without a vacc suit.
Many military laser rifles are fitted with anti-theft devices. They are
keyed in some way to a single person or group, and any unauthorized firing
attempt will disable the weapon. "Disable" can be anything from
locking out the firing circuits to exploding a charge in the stock, depending
on the degree of paranoia of the owners. Disabling the anti-theft devices
is an Electronics (Security Systems) skill. It can have penalties up to
-6, depending on how much time and money the manufacturers have been willing
to put into theft prevention. Unscrupulous arms dealers have been known
to peddle stolen guns without disabling the anti-theft systems.
The price of anti-theft systems is variable. The list price of a military
laser rifle includes a basic anti-theft system (-1 to skill to disable,
locks out firing circuits). More elaborate systems cost $1,000 for each
-1 to disable. A failed roll to disable the anti-theft system permanently
disables the gun, and may have other nasty consequences.
Heavy Laser Pistol
At TL8 the heavy laser is the most common military and police side arm.
At TL9+ they are less common than the blaster, which has more shots and
greater average lethality. The hotshotted version of the heavy laser pistol
still hangs on because of its better armor penetration. It is not as reliable
as the military laser rifle; it malfunctions on any jam or misfire result
of a critical failure.
Holdout Laser
The holdout laser is so easily concealable that it has Legality 0 even though
it is low-powered. (This is a change to GURPS Space.)
It gets five shots from one B cell or a set of 25 A cells. It is +4 to holdout,
and might not be recognized even if found. It can be disguised as almost
any object. Radscanners are at -5 to detect a holdout laser on a routine
search, and -2 even if they are specifically searching for one.
Gatling Laser
The Gatling laser is the normal infantry-accompanying weapon of TL9+ armies,
at one or two per squad. It breaks down into three 25-pound loads (gun,
power system and mount) for carrying; it can only fire if the gun and power
system are joined. Assembly takes two turns for one man or one turn for
two. The connections are as idiot-proof as possible; the GM should require
IQ or DX rolls only for those completely unfamiliar with the weapon. Firing
the weapon off the mount requires a ST of 15 and is at SS 2 and Acc 4.
The squad's tactic is to advance one weapon under the cover of another;
everyone in the squad carries an extra power cell for the Gatling lasers.
Most military vehicles mount at least one Gatling laser; they are even more
common than .50-caliber Brownings were in the 20th-century U.S. Army.
A Gatling laser, with 20d of damage per shot and up to four shots per turn,
could do 80d, which would whiff most targets out of existence, regardless
of armor. They cannot be hotshotted or have their RoF increased; they are
already boosted to the maximum that the material will stand.
The Dinosaur Laser
The dino laser is a single-shot weapon which uses a C cell, expending all
its energy in one shot. Most civilian dino lasers actually mount two C cells,
allowing a second shot if necessary. However, the weapon can only fire once
every two seconds, regardless of how many cells it carries. It is easy to
recognize because of its huge (over 2 1/2" diameter) tube.
As its name implies, the dino laser is used for dealing with big game and
hazardous large animals. However, it is a rigidly controlled weapon because
it also makes an ideal anti-vehicle or assassination device. Its legality
rating is 4, which seems liberal but isn't. Legality 4 means "license
required -- must show legitimate need," and it is very hard to show
legitimate need for something that will drop a dinosaur in one shot! Unauthorized
possession of a dino laser will be treated as though the weapon had been
Legality 0.
A dinosaur laser is a rifle-sized weapon, weighing 9 lbs. and costing $4,000.
It has SS 16 (very clumsy), Acc 12, 1/2D 4,000, and Max 12,000. It is a
TL9 weapon, doing 20d impaling damage, with RoF 1/2, no recoil, and no minimum
ST. At higher tech levels, it does +2 damage per TL.
Though the dinosaur laser was originally designed as a civilian weapon,
its merits were quickly seen by police and military; it is now standard
in many SWAT and Special Ops arsenals. Inevitably, a version with more shots
was designed. Like the military laser rifle, it uses the 5-pound D cell,
which takes up most of the stock. The military dino laser is Legality 0,
and fires 10 shots from its D cell, still at one per two seconds. It weighs
10 lbs. and costs $6,000. Other stats are as for a regular dino laser.
WEAPON........CELL.POWER.......Damage...........Damage in hits...Damage per
(shots, damage) @ 1d = 3.5 unit of power
Blaster...........C....10.......20 shots @ 2d+6...............260.............26
Blast Rifle.......C....10.......12 shots @ 4d+4...............216.............21.6
Electrolaser......C....10.......10 shots @ 2d+1................80..............8
Disruptor.........C....10.......20 shots @ 2d+6...............260.............26
Electrolaser Rfl..C....10........5 shots @ 3d+1................57.5............5.75
Flamer............C....10.......20 shots @ 2d.................140.............14
Tripod Flamer.....D...100.......40 shots @ 12d..............1,680.............16.8
Gatling Laser.....E..1,000.....150 shots @ 20:1............10,500.............10.5
Laser Pistol......C....10.......20 shots @ 1d..................70..............7
Hvy Laser Pistol..C....10.......12 shots @ 2d..................84..............8.4
Laser Rifle.......C....10.......12 shots @ 2d..................84..............8.4
Mil. Laser Rifle..D...100......140 shots @ 2d.................980..............9.8
Holdout Laser.....B.....1........5 shots @ 1d-1.................7.5............7.5
Holdout Laser....25A....1........5 shots @ 1d-1.................7.5............7.5
Dinosaur Laser...2C....20........2 shots @ 20d................140..............7
Mil. Dino Laser...D...100.......10 shots @ 20:1...............700..............7
Screamer..........C....10.......30 shots @ 2d+2...............270.............27
This article will conclude
next issue.
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#14 Table of Contents)