Roleplayer
Roleplayer #27, February 1992

Ultra Weapons, Ultra Healing

New Devices and Weapon Table

by David Pulver

The second edition of GURPS Ultra-Tech made a number of changes in weapon capabilities – far too many for an "errata" sheet. To make life easier for those who have the first edition and don't want to buy a whole new book, the following two pages reprint the Weapon Table from the second edition. This takes in all changes in weapon stats; in some cases there are differences in descriptions or other capabilities, but the stat changes are the most important thing.

Here also are a few more gadgets that didn't make it into the second edition . . . one new type of weapon, and two pieces of medical equipment.

Laser-Guided Shells

Any type of artillery shell, with any payload, may be made laser-guided for an extra $50 each; this does not affect legality. A laser designator (see p. UT28) must be aiming continuously at the target to guide the shells in. If the designator's operator makes his Gunner roll and the shells are fired on a trajectory that takes them within line of sight of their target, they automatically hit the designated hex (cluster bombs are released around that hex). If the designator fails his Gunner roll, the shells will miss by 1 hex per point the roll fails by – roll for scatter as for grenades.

Medical Pouch

This may be found at any tech level, from TL8 up. It is basically a doctor's bag, with a full set of appropriate physician's and surgeon's tools (At TL8, for instance, this might include sterile mask and gloves, laser cautery knife, sonic diagnostic sensor, mini-IV drip, and so on.)

Traditionally, a medical pouch is black if carried by an MD, white with a red cross if carried by an emergency worker, green with a red cross if carried by a military medic. This is just custom, and has no effect on the contents.

It has room for more drugs; usually twice the contents of an Emergency Medkit (see p. UT42) are included for an extra $600. It gives a +2 on First Aid. This kit is the minimum required to use Surgery, Diagnosis or Physician without a penalty – a TL8 Physician or Surgeon performs at a TL6 level without this much gear. The surgical tools require two B cells (depleted after 24 hours of surgery). Cost is $900 and weight is 4 pounds.

At higher TLs the cost and weight does not decline; instead the instruments improve, giving physicians the Medical Care capabilities of the current TL.

It is perfectly legal to possess a Medical Pouch in almost every society; of course, some medical drugs may be illegal for non-physicians to possess.

Deepsleep Box

This device consists of a small cap (containing electrodes), attached by wires to a unit the size of two cigarette packs. It has no effect on a wide-awake person, but will lull a tired or relaxed user into deeper sleep with an electromagnetic field ("electronarcosis") and soothing sound. The sleep lasts as long as the electrodes are in place; a timer activates a buzzer when it's time to wake up. Six hours of deepsleep are equivalent to 8 hours of normal sleep.

This TL8 device (also called "Russian sleep," from its inventors in the USSR of old Earth) is used in hospitals to soothe patients, or to ensure a good night's sleep for an insomniac. A deepsleep box may also be used on a captive, once he goes to sleep, to make sure that he stays that way.

Should the box be turned off, a user will wake after a normal night's sleep. If they had been under the box for more than 6 hours, they've already had their night's sleep, and they will awaken normally in 2d minutes. If someone tries to awaken a user immediately after removing or turning off the box, they can – but the subject will be mentally stunned, and will be at a -2 on all recovery rolls. The automatic timer has the same effect.

A deepsleep box is Legality Class 6 and runs for 3 months on a B cell. Cost is $500 and weight is 2 pounds. At TL9, weight is halved. At TL10 the "box" vanishes – the device becomes a Sleep Cap, below.

Sleep Cap

The Sleep Cap is the TL10 version of the Deepsleep Box. It usually appears to be a simple black skullcap, with a tiny flap at the back where a D-cell can be installed. Of course, the physical appearance can differ.

However, unlike the Deepsleep Box, the Sleep Cap can knock out a wide-awake and excited person. To stay awake while wearing a Sleep Cap, roll vs. Will every minute, at +2 if you know the cap is there and are deliberately resisting, and -1 for every full 3 Fatigue you currently have.

Sleep Caps are often used to tranquilize prisoners. They can also be used for kidnappings, practical jokes and so on. For this reason, a Sleep Cap has a legality of 5, and misusing one is considered assault.

A Sleep Cap can be built into a spacesuit, battlesuit, etc., to let the wearer get some rest even under combat conditions. Often such caps are remote-controlled, so an officer can put his men to sleep and wake them up again.

If a sleeping user's cap is removed or damaged, results will be as for a Deepsleep Box. But if the cap itself wakes them, whether by timer or remote-control. awakening will be instant and pleasant, with no mental stun.

It runs for a month on a D cell. Cost is $500; weight is negligible.


WEAPON TABLES

Ranged Weapons

Each class of weapons (e.g., blasters and pulsars) requires a different skill to use; this skill is given in brackets.

Malf: The die roll on which the weapon malfunctions. Almost all Ultra-Tech weapons have a Malf of Crit. or better. Crit. means that the weapon malfunctions only on a critical miss when the toll on the Critical Miss table indicates a malfunction. Ver. means that the weapon requires a verification roll, another roll against skill. Any failure is the malfunction from the table; any success is simply a miss. Ver. (Crit.) means that the verification roll must be another critical miss for the weapon to malfunction. Any other result is simply a miss.

Type: The type of damage the weapon does – impaling (imp.), crushing (cr.), an explosion (exp.), or a special effect (spcl. – see the description of the weapon).

Damage: The number of dice of damage the weapon does. A number in parentheses, e.g., (5), means the weapon is very good at piercing armor – the target's DR is divided by that number before subtracting from the weapon's damage. Note: gyroc and smartgun weapons damage assumes APEX ammunition.

SS: This is the snapshot number, the final to hit number necessary to avoid a snapshot penalty of -4 without at least one turn of aiming.

Acc: The weapon's accuracy modifier. See p. B115.

½D: The range at which the accuracy modifier of the weapon drops to zero and its damage is halved. For weapons like grenade launchers, this range may be shown as a dash, indicating that damage is never halved; in this case, Acc drops to zero at half the maximum range.

Max: The maximum range of the weapon under Earth-normal conditions.

Wt.: The weight in pounds of a loaded weapon, including magazine and/or power cells.

RoF: The rate of fire of the weapon. The number is the number of shots it can fire each turn. If the number is greater than one, the weapon is capable of automatic fire, i.e., that many shots will be fired if the trigger is held down for the entire turn. A ~ indicates a weapon that is not automatic, but can fire up to the indicated number of times per turn. All automatic weapons are capable of selective fire; they may fire either automatically or with RoF 3~. A fractional RoF (e.g., 1/10) means the weapon can fire once, but then requires that number of turns to reload (or cool down, in the case of Dino lasers) before it can be fired again.

Shots: This is the number of shots the weapon's magazine holds. A /B, /C, /D or /E refers to shots per power cell. Unless the weapon has a fractional RoF (see above) it takes three turns to replace a magazine or cell.

ST: The minimum ST required to avoid an extra turn of readying the weapon after it is fired, and extra recoil penalties. T means that the weapon is normally used from a tripod mount; it uses Gunner rather than Beam weapons skill (e.g., Gunner (Flamer). Tripods take three turns to set up, and are fired while the user is prone or kneeling. Minimum ST only applies when firing the weapon from the shoulder or hip. Tripod mounted weapons can also be fired from mounts on vehicles, walls, etc. It takes three turns to mount or dismount a weapon normally; exceptions are up to the GM.

Rcl: The recoil penalty of the weapon (p. B119).

Cost: The retail price of the weapon. Cost halves one TL alter a weapon is introduced, and halves against the next TL.

LC: The legality class of the weapon.

TL: The TL when the weapon is first introduced.

WeaponMalfTypeDamageSSAcc½DMaxWt.RoFShotsSTRclCostLCTLPage
 
Particle and Anti-Particle Beam Weapons, [Beam Weapons  (Blaster)]
Blaster PistolVer.Imp.6d10630023~20/C5-12,0003949
Heavy Blaster PistolVer.Imp.10d1283004504.53~16/C8-12,5002950
Blaster RifleVer.Imp.12d1413300800103~12/C6-13,0004950
Heavy Blaster RifleVer.Imp.6d×315141,6001,600123~60/D9-16,0000950
Electron PistolCrit.Imp.5d×3111045067533~20/C6-12,20021190
Electron RifleCrit.Imp.6d×513149002,40093~100/D9-13,50001190
Assault PulsarCrit.Spcl.3d×10 (2)11124008007.53~60/D8-120,000013104
Heavy PulsarCrit.Spcl.5d×10 (2)14146001,20025124/D13T-130,000013104
 
Chemical Slugthrowers [Guns  (Pistol or Rifle)]
Sporting PistolCrit.Cr.1d965020013~407-12004818
Machine PistolVer.Cr.3d1081802,0003.510309-27002818
Assault CarbineVer.Cr.6d12111,0004,50071030/309-11,0001819
 
Disintegrators [Beam Weapons  (Disintegrator)]
Disintegrator PistolCrit.Spcl.8d10121,000416/C06,000115110
Disintegrator RifleCrit.Spcl.15d15183,00012130/D)020,000015110
 
Electrolasers [Beam Weapons  (Electrolaser)]
ElectrolaserCrit.Spcl.2d+184601201.5110/C01,2003951
Electrolaser RifleCrit.Spcl.3d+1912100300515/C01,8002951
 
Flamers and Fusion Guns [Beam Weapons  (Flamer)]
Hand FlamerCrit.Spcl.5d41270150418/C601,3002952
Plasma RifleCrit.Spcl.7d5168025012170/D905,2000952
Tripod FlamerVer.Spcl12d62010030045140/D12T010,0000952
Fusion PistolCrit.Spcl.4d×101163004505.516/A703,20001298
Fusion RifleCrit.Spcl4d×10161050075016420/D1106,00001298
 
Gyrocs and Smartguns [Guns  (Gyroc)]
Launch PistolVer.Spcl.8d (2)1251,8002,50043~3/3/308002820
Rocket CarbineVer.Spcl.8d (2)1571,8002,50091010/1001,5001820
ARLVer.Spcl.8d (2)1691,8002,500201020/20/2012T03,0000820
SmartgunCrit.Spcl.Spcl.31604,000214108
 
Kinetic Stunners [Beam Weapons  (Force Beams)]
Force BeamerVer.Spcl.4d+2105203013~30/C01,50031298
Force RifleVer.Spcl.7d1385010053~20/C03,00041298
 
Lasers [Beam Weapons  (Lasers)]
Holdout LaserCrit.Imp.1d-11045010015/B05000951
Laser PistolCrit.Imp.1d972005002420/C01,0003822
Heavy Laser PistolVer. (Crit.)Imp.2d9830080034~12/C01,5002822
Survival LaserVer.Imp.1d-1101215030043~50/C02,5004951
Laser RifleCrit.Imp.2d15139001,20053~12/C02,0004822
Military Laser CarbineVer.Imp.1d+210127501,20078200/D03,0001822
Military Laser RifleVer. (Crit.)Imp.2d12151,5002,00098140/D04,0000822
Dinosaur LaserVer. (Crit.)Imp.20d16124,00012,00091/22/2C04,0004952
Military Dino LaserVer. (Crit.)Imp.20d16124,00012,000101/210/D06,0000952
Gatling LaserVer. (Crit.)Imp.20d10204,00012,000754150/B15T020,0000954
Laser CrystalCrit.Imp.2d75257511020001072
 
Microwave Disruptors [Beam Weapons  (Lasers)]
DisruptorCrit.Spcl.6d13105001,00093~20/C02,5002951
ScramblerCrit.Spcl.1d+38340301/414/B07500951
 
Needlers and Gauss Guns [Guns  (Needler)]
Gauss NeedlerVer.Imp.1d+21041003001.512100/B02,0002819
Gauss Needle RifleVer.Imp.2d+114115001,000620100/B02,5002819
NeedlerVer.Imp.1d+29110030013~100-15003823
Needle RifleCrit.Imp.2d13930080053~100-11,2004823
Ice GunCrit.Imp.1d-193501501.5315-160041072
Gauss SMGCrit.Cr.5d1192502,50051660/C03,0001951
Gauss Battle RifleVer. (Crit.)Cr.8d12121,2004,5007.51260/C03,5000951
AMRCrit.Exp.6d×210155,00063~60/C02,000015111
 
Neural and Paralysis Weapons [Beam Weapons  (Neural)]
Nerve PistolVer.Spcl.Spcl.84153023~30/C01,00021073
Paralysis GunVer.Spcl.64255115/C01,50031073
Paralysis RifleVer.Spcl.71050818/C01,50031073
WiperCrit.Spcl.443.5110/B01,00001297
Hypnagogic ProjectorCrit.Spcl.552510140/C012,00011297
 
Space/Time Disruptors [Beam Weapons  (Tachyonic)]
Tachyonic PistolCrit.Imp.5d (10)10102,0003,500218/C05,000215111
Tachyonic RifleCrit.Imp.8d (10)12124,0006,0005140/D025,000115111
Tachyon ShotgunCrit.Spcl.Spcl.10102004018/E020,000016115
 
Stunners and Screamers [Beam Weapons  (Sonic)]
Sonic StingerCrit.Spcl.626101/418/B04006953
StunnerCrit.Spcl.43122013~40/C08006953
Stun RifleCrit.Spcl.12103001,00043~20/C02,0005954
ScreamerVer.Spcl.6d×241025050010110/C03,0001953
Tripod ScreamerVer.Spcl.6d×3315500800404100/D1209,0000953
 
Tanglers [Guns/TL  (Tangler)]
Tangle PistolCrit.Spcl.561531210-45005823
TanglerCrit.Spcl.68206158-41,0005823
 
X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Lasers [Beam Weapons  (Lasers)]
Heavy X-laser PistolVer. (Crit.)Imp.3d (2)984001,0003412/C01,50001074
Military X-laser CarbineVer. (Crit.)Imp.2d (2)10129001,80078200/D03,00001074
Military X-laser RifleVer. (Crit.)Imp.3d (2)12151,8002,40098140/D04,00001074
Gatling X-laserVer. (Crit.)Imp.30d (2)10204,50013,50075475/E15T020,00001074
Military Dinosaur X-laserVer. (Crit.)Imp.30d (2)16124,50013,500101/27/D06,00001074
Heavy Graser PistolVer. (Crit.)Imp.4d (5)985001,4003412/C03,000014108
Military Graser CarbineVer. (Crit.)Imp.3d (5)10121,2002,40078160/D06,000014108
Military Graser RifleVer. (Crit.)Imp.4d (5)12152,4003,20098112/D08,000014108
Gatling GraserVer. (Crit.)Imp.40d (5)10206,00018,00075475/E15T040,000014108
Military Dinosaur GraserVer. (Crit.)Imp.40d (5)16126,00018,000101/27/D012,000014108
 
Missile Launchers [Gunner  (Missile)]
Portable Missile LauncherCrit.Exp.6d×8 (10)8,000151/101906,0000828
Infantry Missile LauncherCrit.Exp.6d×10 (10)8,000101/51701,5000955
M-LAWSCrit.Exp.6d×10 (10)8,00035151106,0000955
Hunter Missile LauncherCrit.Exp.6d×25 (10)10,000153~3904,000013103
 
Grenade Launchers and Mortars [Gunner  (Grenade Launcher)]
Electromag Grenade LauncherCrit.Spcl.Spcl.1081,000101505,0000826
Electromag MortarCrit.Spcl.Spcl.20156,0001012015T015,0000827
Mini Grenade LauncherCrit.Spcl.Spcl.10750041301,0000826
Splat GunCrit.Exp.5d (10)59500208815T-23,5000955

Melee Weapons

With the exception of LC (legality class), weapon statistics use the same format as the GURPS Basic Set, Third Edition, p. B206. Melee weapons malfunction only on a critical miss.

WeaponTypeAmt.ReachCostWt.STLCTLPage
VibrobladeImp./Cut+1d (5)********3824
StunwandSpcl.Spcl.C,11006824
Monowire BladeCut+1d (10), spcl.********3953
Monowire WhipCut+1d (10), spcl.1-7900½3953
Sonic BladeSpcl.5d (5)C,12,5002.521074
Neurolash ISpcl.Spcl.1650251074
Neurolash IISpcl.1d12,000221074
Force SwordImp./Cut4d/8d (5)13,000231191
 
   ** varies by weapon type

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