 August 16, 2018 - 10:22pm | This forum is for weapons commonly mounted on a system vehicle (jetcopter, hovercar, groundcar, hovercycle, groundcycle, Explorer). I don't know where you're going, but do you have room for one more troubled soul? -Patrick Stump, Alone Together |
 August 17, 2018 - 7:33am | have you seen the Dragon article Tanks Again? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 August 17, 2018 - 1:13pm | Hmm, I had started copying that story as a word document... Tanks a lot! and Tanks again! Vehicle combat in Star Frontiersgaming[1] Simba the Yazirian and Dandel the Dralasite crested thesecond-to-the-last dune before the Streel outpost – and almost bumped into aperimeter guard. Simba’s sonic sword cut the man in half before he even raisedhis weapon. "As I was saying," theunrattled Dandel continued, "the problem with this war is that it’sboring. We watch Streel, they watch us, and occasionally somebody gets shot.What we need is some excitement. We need something like…" Suddenly, the stutter of a machinegun sounded ahead. Simba and Dandel hurriedly climbed that last dune andunslung their magnigoggles. All was clear at the base, but a firefight was inprogress along the base highway. A hover transport with Streelmarkings was trying to reach the base as an Explorer with GTF insignia gainedon it. A jet of oil splashed from the truck; the Explorer fishtailed throughthe slick, barely keeping control. Slowing down, the Explorer released a guidedmissile from its roof rack. The transport driver tried to dodge, but themissile hit and the truck rolled over twice under the blast, landing uprightbut flaming. As the Explorer approached, one ofthe trucks turrets turned to face it. Fire from a heavy flamethrower lickedover the Explorer's roof, setting off the three remaining guided missiles in ared ball of fire and light. "Now that," saidSimba, "is exciting!" The Star Frontiers combat rules areexcellent, but some areas were omitted – the most unfortunate omission beingvehicle-mounted weapons and armor. Armed and armored vehicles would beused extensively by the Frontier mega-corps, Star Law and other law-enforcementagencies, explorers of planets with hostile native life, and those earning aliving by illegal means. Since these categories include virtually all playercharacters, the need for vehicle combat rules is obvious. This article attemptsto rectify that problem. Defenses The basic vehicle defense is armor.Its effectiveness depends on its composition, method of fabrication, location,thickness, and angle of slope. For the game, all theseconsiderations (as well as details like bulletproof windshields andwheelguards) are neatly integrated into coats of armor. Each coatprovides a -2 modifier when rolling on the appropriate Vehicle Damage Table(Expanded Game Rules book, pp. 32-33). Every 5 coats will reduce crashinjuries to occupants by -1 point per die. The cost per coat and the maximumcoats applicable vary for each vehicle type; these are noted on the VehicleTable below. Also noted (after the slash) are the number of coats that areconcealable (i.e., that an observer will not notice as armor on thevehicle). Likewise, the price after the slash is the price for a concealedcoat. A vehicle can be painted withreflective paint. This costs the same as an armor coat and provides anadditional modifier of -10 from vehicle damage rolls due to laser attacks. Notethat these coats are not concealable. A maser mesh coat can replace onenormal coat of armor, which would absorb one-fourth of the damage from maserattacks. Vehicles can also be shielded froman electrical discharge/electromagnetic pulse attack. A defensive screen can also be addedto a vehicle. There are severa; types of vehicle screens: · Albedo: This screen uses 1 SEU per minute of operation, and itabsorbs all laser damage at a cost of 2 SEU per die of damage absorbed. · Gauss: This screenabsorbs electrical attacks from such as from the WarTech bolt weapons andelectric swords. It drains one SEU per minute of operation and 2 SEU for eachhit absorbed. · Inertia: This screen uses 1 SEU per minute of operation, and itreflects half the dice of damage done by ballistic attacks (and crashes) at acost of 1 SEU per die of damage reflected. · Light Shift: This screen sets up a light-bending shell around thevehicle. Power usage depends on light conditions (see chart on page 68 of theZebulon’s Guiide). It will also absorb laser fire at the rate of 1 SEU perpoint. Three different types of Light Shift screens can be mounted on avehicle. A Type I bends all light away from the shell of the vehicle, creatinga totally black area. This type of screen is normally useful at night. A TypeII screen shits the vehicle’s image a distance of one to three meters in afixed direction (which is decided upon the purchase of the device). A Type IIIcreates up to five images, with each image being about three meters apart. · Simp: This screen absorbs all damage from rafflur-like weapons.It uses 1 SEU per minute of operation and absorbs all rafflur dage at the costof 1 SEU per 6 points absorbed. · Sonic: This screenabsorbs sonic attacks. It uses 1 SEU of energy for every minute of operationand 2 SEU every time it absorbs a sonic attack. Furthermore, this screencompletely masks the sound of the vehicle or its passengers so communicationcan only be done with radio or hand or light signals. Example: A hovercar and a jetcopterare slugging it out. The car's universal turret fires a heavy laser (set at20d10 damage) straight up and hits the jetcopter. The jetcopter's albedo screenabsorbs it at a cost of 40 SEU. The jetcopter then drops a heavy bomb (50d10damage) which hits the car. The hovercar’s inertia screen reflects half thedice (25) at a cost of 25 SEU. Its driver now rolls on the Damage table with a+25 on the dice. Power screens are powered by thepower econopack – 250 SEU, 25 kg, 1250 Credits; 4 weapons adapters, 1 screenadapter, 5 miscellaneous adapters. The cost for the screen varies with the sizeof the vehicle, as shown on the Vehicle Table. Weapons Many new weapons are available tomount on vehicles, as detailed on the Weapon Table below. All headings are thesame as found in Expanded Game Rules statistics, save for spaces and mountingfee, described below. Spaces: Each vehicle's capacity to carry weapons is rated in spaces,as shown on the Vehicle Table. All weapons mounted in the vehicle’s body or inturrets have their space rating subtracted from this number. When a vehicle’srating reaches zero, no more mounted weapon can be added to it. Mountingfee: This is the cost to mount this weapon to a vehicle. Allmounts are recessed, and it must be decided when mounting whether a weaponfaces the front, back, right, or left side of a vehicle. Descriptions and notes for these weapons are presentedbelow. Portableweapons: These include heavy lasers (HL), machine guns (MG),recoilless rifles (RR), and rocket launchers (RL). They can also be mounted ona post or swivel mount; this only costs 150 Credits, but these weapons cannotbe fired by a gunner inside the vehicle. Normal ranged combat is used if someone hangs from a hatchto use one of these, but anybody doing that and wearing a screen will interferewith the vehicle’s defensive screen (if any). Post-mounted weapons are notcharged against the vehicle’s space total – but reasonable limits should beplaced on this by the referee. Flamethrowers: These were omitted from the rules. The version here is theone-man backpack sort. Vehicle-mounted versions should not face the front ofthe vehicle. If fired while the vehicle is traveling faster than 40meters/turn, the flamethrower will subject the vehicle to an attack from itsown flame. VehicleMachine Gun (MG): A large caliber (12.7 mm) weaponwith a greater muzzle velocity than a portable machine gun. Baffles surroundits barrel so that the muzzle flash is not visible at night. VehicleRecoilless Rifle: This is similar to the version inthe Expanded Game Rules book, but it has a larger caliber. VehicleRocket Launcher (RL): This uses longer, larger rocketsthan the Expanded Game Rules version. Note the different rocket calibers; onevehicle RL cannot fire both. Also note that in jetcopter and aircar weaponpods, the rockets are each mounted in a separate tube; any number of rocketsmay be fired in a single turn. VehicleHeavy Laser: Lacking a clear prototype, theheavy laser statistics were designed to keep it competitive with other weapons.It runs off the same powerpack as screens. VehicleFlame Thrower: The tank version. Remember thecaveat above about front-mounted flamethrowers. Cannon: This is your basic 30 mm cannon. Howitzer: This tank weapon is included for the sake of sheeroverkill. GuidedMissile: GM platforms come in four sizes. Thesmallest holds one missile, takes up one space, and costs 300 Credits to mount.The largest holds 4 missiles, costs 1200 Credits to mount. All GMs availablecan be fired in one turn if so desired. They are an exception to normal combatrules. The cheap missile (1000 Credits/30d10) is guided by joystick movementsof the gunner and finalizes its own aim with infrared sensors. The basic chanceto hit is the gunner's DEX +20, as a percentage. All modifiers are applicable; rangemodifiers are reduced three categories if the gunner is wearing magnigoggles.The expensive missile (3000 Credits/6d10) is programmed with a target beforelaunching, and is totally self-guided. Programming takes three turns duringwhich the gunner can take no other action. The chance to hit is 95%, and nomodifiers are applicable. Missile acceleration is 150 meters/turn/turn, topspeed 1500 meters/turn; a jetcopter of aircar with a head start might be ableto outrun a missile for its 10 km range. Bomb: This is a dropped weapon, mounted on jetcopter or aircarpylons. Statistics for light and heavy bombs are given. Minedropper: A shot from this weapon drops 5 mines on the road behindthe vehicle. Distribution is determined by speed and maneuvers during thedropping turn. If any vehicle subsequently passes over them, the mines willdetonate on a 50% activation roll. The 5d10 damage figure is per mine. This isa generally useless weapon for flying vehicles; the mines spread too much andexplode on impact if dropped over 5 meters. Sprayer: Various vile substances can be loaded into this. The mostuseful three substances are smoke, paint, and oil. A smokescreen forms a50-meter diameter cloud, blocking vision and IR sights but not radar. It lasts5 turns; any vehicle going through it is sightless for 1 turn. Paint sprayers cover an area 10 meters X 3 meters behind thevehicle, and they block vision (but not IR or radar) by coating windows withpaint. The paint lasts until scrubbed off. Paint will also completely ruin acoat of reflective paint; it cannot be removed without also removing thereflective paint beneath it. Oil jets form a 20 meter X 2 meter slick. The driver of avehicle traveling faster than its turn speed who encounters a slick must make aReaction Speed check or lose control of the vehicle. An Explorer has a +20 onthe control roll. Hover vehicles are not affected at all. Reading the descriptions of the sprayer, one gets theimpression that one multipurpose sprayer fires smoke, oil, and paint. This isnot so. Each type of sprayer is a separate weapon, but all are the same sizeand cost. Also note that sprayers on jetcopters and certain air vehicles willhave their jets broken up by the rotor wash, making them ineffective at best. A limitation of recessed mounting is that weapons can onlyface one direction. To get around this, weapons are installed on turrets.Turrets have a 360 degree field of fire, and can spin the full 360 degrees andstill fire each turn. Universal turrets can also elevatefrom -15 degrees to +90 degrees (straight up). Turrets have a minimum range of10 meters due to their elevation from the ground (this does not apply touniversal turrets). Turrets come in three sizes, asshown on the Turret Table. The second price (after the slash) is for auniversal turret. These prices include the mounting of a turret in a vehicle,but the regular weapon mounting fee must still be paid to mount a weapon in aturret. Concealing a turret costs double the price shown, but weapons in the turretare automatically concealed. The maximum number of turrets oneach vehicle type and their possible sizes are shown on the Vehicle Table. Notethat cycle turrets are actually sidecars, and only have a 180 degree field offire on one side. Also note that putting weapons in a turret does not add tothe spaces in a vehicle. Example:Simba is mounting a turret on his ground car. According to the table, he canmount a small or medium turret. He chooses a medium universal turret (2 spaces)and decides to mount a vehicle machine gun (2 spaces) in it. Itcosts 3000 Credits to purchase the vehicle MG, 750 Credits to mount it in theturret, and 5000 Credits to buy a turret and mount it on his car. If he wants apop-up turret, it will cost him another 5000 Credits. (The vehicle MG isautomatically concealed.) Either way, he now has 4 spaces left to mount acannon (or whatever) in his car. Jetcopters and aircars are a specialcase. Their weapons are most commonly mounted not in the body or in turrets,but in weapon pods attached to pylons. These pods add space to a vehicle. Ajetcopter can have two pods, each holding 2 spaces worth of weapons, while anaircar can have 4 pods, each holding 4 spaces of weapons. A small (1-space)pylon with post costs 200 Credits; a medium (2-space) one costs 400 Credits;and, a large (4-space) one costs 800 Credits. (Of course, regularweapon-mounting fees must still be paid.) Example:Dandel is arming his aircar. He mounts a vehicle MG and a vehicle FT coaxiallyin a large, underbody turret. This fills up the vehicle's body spaces (as shownon the Vehicle Table). However, he can still add up to 4 pylons of up to 4spaces each, under the wings, so the total weaponry on his aircar could be 20spaces. Note that pods are fixed,forward-firing weapons. Equipment Other pieces of equipment that are useful in vehicle combatare given here. These are listed on the Equipment Table and described below. Cyberlink: This is adirect mental hookup (by computer) to a weapon to control its firing. Up to 5weapons can be controlled by one person (3 by a driver) at no penalty to firingmultiple weapons, but each weapon requires a separate link. Each weapon alsoguzzles 2 SEU per turn of operation. Ejection seat: Upon manualactivation, a roof panel slides back and rockets eject the driver/pilot seat 20meters straight up, where a para-wing opens to carry the passenger to safety.Safety features prohibit activation when the vehicle is not upright. Infrared (IR) cameras: IR camerasproject a 360 degree image of heat sources around the vehicle, to permitdriving without lights at night and seeing through a painted windshield. Theyuse 1 SEU per minute of operation. Infrared jammer: IR jammersmake the vehicle invisible to IR sensors, and they give guided missiles a -20modifier to hit. They use 2 SEU per minute of operation. Radar: Radar enablessight through any interference, but objects show up only as blips on a screen.It uses 1 SEU per minute of operation. Searchlight: One can bemounted in a turret for 200 Credits (using 1 space) and can be used as a weaponto blind opponents. Blindness duration is 1d10 turns, or 1d10-3 if thesearchlight is over 500 meters away. Light range is 1 km. SEU use is 3 perminute. Combat The Combat Sequence for vehicle combat is the same as forall other Star Frontiers combat, the only difference being the procedure usedto determine hit probability. This is given below.
Example: Simba and Dandel are tryingto bring down a Streel jetcopter. Simba (the driver) is firing two weapons; hehas a -20 percent on each roll. Dandel (the gunner) is firing three weapons; healso has a -20 percent on each roll. Once an attack succeeds, apply screen affects (if any), andfind the number of dice of damage caused by the attack. Roll 2d10, add thenumber of dice, and subtract 2 for each coat of armor the vehicle has. Finally,add vehicle modifiers (+2 for cycles; -2 for Explorers), and consult theappropriate Vehicle Damage Table (pp. 32-33, Expanded Game Rules book). Best wishes in your dueling, and may you never find yourselfstaring down a howitzer barrel.
Corrections The power econopack holds 250 SEU,as stated in the article, not 500 SEU (as stated on the charts under"Ammunition"). Mines from a mine dropper weigh 5 kgapiece, not 25 kg as given on the charts under "Ammunition." The heavy version of the guidedmissile weighs 45 kg, not 60 as given on the same chart. Bombs cost 500 Cr (light) and 1000Cr (heavy), not 50 and 100, respectively, as given on the ammo chart. Clarifications The vehicle MG only fires bursts of20 bullets apiece. This could have been deduced from the charts (the vehicle MGhas 400 rounds of ammo, but only 20 shots), but should have been statedexplicitly. Reading the descriptions of thesprayer, one gets the impression that one multipurpose sprayer fires smoke,oil, and paint. This is not so. Each type of sprayer is a separate weapon, butall are the same size and cost. Also note that sprayers on jetcopters andcertain air vehicles will have their jets broken up by the rotor wash, makingthem ineffective at best. The ranges given on the charts forcannons and howitzers are both for indirect fire. Both weapons can also be usedin the direct-fire role; a cannon has the range of a vehicle rocket launcher,and a howitzer has the range of a vehicle recoilless rifle. The programmed guided missile cannotbe used to hit a moving target. It can be aimed at where you think your targetwill be, but this subtracts two levels from the firer's GM skill. Cyberlinked weapons all fire at thesame time. Weapons not able to aim at the gunner's target will missautomatically, but still fire and use ammo. Extensions The dimensions given for oil andpaint jets assume that the vehicle is traveling at its turn speed. If thereferee wishes the extra work, he can assume that traveling slower widens andshortens the slick, and traveling faster extends and narrows it. No more than50% alteration of either length or width should be allowed. The question of applicable weaponskills was basically left untouched in the article. Obvious extensions ofExpanded Rules weapons use the same skills as used for their smaller cousins.Cannons and howitzers use Projectile Weapons skill; if either is used as anindirect fire weapon, use the new Military skill of Indirect Fire. (This skillcould also be used to fire mortars, rifle grenades, and other indirect-firingweapons.) Flamethrowers use Flame Weapons skill. Bombs use Dropped Weaponsskill, which is applicable to anything dropped from a moving air vehicle.Sprayed weapons and mine droppers don't require a weapon skill; add 5% perTechnician level of the driver to half of his DEX for an attack roll if theseweapons are being aimed at a pursuer. For greater consistency with theserules and official game rules, guided missiles should use skill-oriented rollsalso. The wire-guided missile should then have a base chance to hit equal tothe gunner's DEX, + 5% per level of Guided Missile skill. The programmedmissile should have a base chance to hit of 35%, +10% per level of Guidedmissile skill. Note that absolutely no one without at least one level of GuidedMissile skill has any chance at all to hit with these weapon [1] Curylo,Alex. “Tanks a lot! Vehicle combat in Star Frontiersgaming,” Dragon Magazine, No. 99, pg. 71; Curylo, “Tanks again! Morematerial on Star Frontiers vehicle weapons,” Dragon Magazine, November 1985, p. 78; and additions from Zebulon’sGuide to the Galaxy. Joe Cabadas |
August 17, 2018 - 1:20pm | Note, when I copy and paste, some of the words seem to get squished together. I'll try to edit the post above -- and the one below -- at a later date. Joe Cabadas |
August 17, 2018 - 1:19pm | New Weapons Vehicle Machine Gun, Medium Skill: P.G.S. Weapons Cost: 2,000 Credits Weight: 20 kilograms HardPoints: 2 (medium) Rate ofFire: 1 burst Damage: 15d10 Ammo: 20 bursts SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia PB: -- Short: 0-150 m Medium: 151-300m Long: 301-750 m Extreme: 751-1,500 m Vehicle Machine Gun, Large Skill: P.G.S. Weapons Cost: 4,000 Credits Weight: 70 kilograms HardPoints: 4 (large) Rate ofFire: 1 burst Damage: 2d10 x 10 Ammo: 30 bursts SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia PB: -- Short: 0-200 m Medium: 201-500m Long: 501-1,000 m Extreme: 1,001-2,000 m Theselarge caliber machine guns have a greater muzzle velocity than a portablemachine gun. Baffles surround its barrel so that the muzzle flash is notvisible at night. Thelarge machine gun is more of a Gatling-type gun that uses multiple barrels in arotating cluster. It provides a rapid rate of fire because the loading, firingand unloading operations occur as the barrels rotate. This rotation also allowsthe individual barrels to cool, reducing the chances of misfiring. Each barrelfires a single shot when it reaches the firing point in the cycle; then thespent cartridge is ejected followed by a new round being loaded.
Cannon, Small Skill: Artillery Cost: 2,000 Credits Weight: 40 kilograms HardPoints: 2 (medium) Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 12d10 Ammo: 20 shells SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia Indirect Fire Direct Fire PB: -- -- Short: 50-500 m 0-70 m Medium: 501-1,000m 71-200 m Long: 1,001-2,000 m 201-500 m Extreme: 2,001-3,000 m 501-1,000 m Cannon, Medium Skill: Artillery Cost: 6,000 Credits Weight: 80 kilograms HardPoints: 4 (large) Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 2d10 x 10 Ammo: 15 shells SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia Indirect Fire Direct Fire PB: -- -- Short: 50-500 m 0-70 m Medium: 501-1,000m 71-200 m Long: 1,001-2,000 m 201-500 m Extreme: 2,001-3,000 m 501-1,000 m Cannon, Large Skill: Artillery Cost: 10,000 Credits Weight: 160 kilograms HardPoints: 8 (large) Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 4d10 x 10 Ammo: 10 shells SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia Indirect Fire Direct Fire PB: -- -- Short: 100-1,000 m 0-70 m Medium: 1,001-2,000m 71-200 m Long: 2,001-3,000 m 201-500 m Extreme: 3,001-5,000 m 501-1,000 m Cannons have asingle, long barrel and fire single shells at high rates of speed. The impactof the shell is impressive. On smaller vehicles, cannons tend to “rock” thevehicle backward when fired. They are often fired as indirect weapons, but canalso be fired directly at a target. If the cannon is too close, it can getdamaged or destroyed by its own shell. These weapons can also be fired ataerial targets, but often that requires changing to a different type ofammunition. Howitzer Skill: Artillery Cost: 25,000 Credits Weight: 350 kilograms HardPoints: 10 (large) Rate ofFire: 1/4 Damage: 7d10x10 + 50 Ammo: 10 shells SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia Indirect Fire Direct Fire PB: -- -- Short: -- 0-200m Medium: 200-3,000m 201-1,200 m Long: 3,001-7,000 m 1,201-3,000 m Extreme: 7,001-15,000 m 3,001-5,000 m Thistank weapon is included for the sake of sheer overkill. It normally will onlybe encountered when used by planetary militias. Vehicle Recoilless Rifle Skill: P.G.S. Weapons Cost: 5,500 Credits Weight: 30 kilograms HardPoints: 2 (medium) Rate ofFire: 1/2 Damage: 20d10 Ammo: 20 bursts SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia PB: -- Short: 0-200 m Medium: 201-1,250m Long: 1,251-3,000 m Extreme: 3,001-5,000 m This is similar to the version inthe Star Frontiers Alpha Dawn Expanded Game Rules book, but it has a largercaliber. Vehicle Rocket Launcher, Medium Skill: P.G.S. or MissileWeapons Cost: 6,000 Credits Weight: 17 kilograms HardPoints: 2 (medium) Rate ofFire: ½ Damage: 20d10 Ammo: 1 rocket SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia PB: -- Short: 0-200 m Medium: 201-500m Long: 501-1,000 m Extreme: 1,001-2,000 m
Vehicle Rocket Launcher, Large Skill: P.G.S. or Missile Weapons Cost: 8,000 Credits Weight: 20 kilograms HardPoints: 2 (medium) Rate ofFire: ½ Damage: 10d10 x 3 Ammo: 1 rocket SEU: N/A Defense: Inertia PB: -- Short: 0-200 m Medium: 201-500m Long: 501-1,000 m Extreme: 1,001-2,000 m Vehiclerocket launchers use longer, larger rockets than theExpanded Game Rules version. Note the different rocket calibers; one vehicle RLcannot fire both. Also note that in jetcopter and aircar weapon pods, therockets are each mounted in a separate tube; any number of rockets may be firedin a single turn. RocketClusters, small, medium and large Skill: P.G.S. or Missile orArtillery Weapons HardPoints: 4 (medium) Rate ofFire: 1 or all Small Rocket Cluster Cost: 5,000 Credits Weight: kilograms Damage: normal or 15d10 (area) Ammo: 12 rockets Medium Rocket Cluster Cost: 7,000 Credits Weight: kilograms Damage: normal or 3d10 x 10 (area) Ammo: 6 rockets Large Rocket Cluster Cost: 10,000 Credits Weight: kilograms Damage: normal or 4d10 x 10 (area) Ammo: 3 rockets Similar to the missile launchers detailed inZebulon’s Guide, vehicle rocket clusters use multiple launchers and can bemounted on vehicles or in pods for air vehicles. The small rockets are the same as those in the Expanded Game Rules,while the medium and large versions use vehicle rockets. They can be firedindividually or in two or more increments. The pilot or driver lines up hisvehicle to the target – or aims the swivel mount and fires. Theseweapons also can be mounted on the backs of trucks or trailers and firedindirectly, but a character needs an artillery skill to use them successfully.
Small Vehicular Flamethrower Skill: P.G.S. Weapons Cost: 1,800 Credits Weight: 15 kilograms HardPoints: 2 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 4d10+4/special Ammo: 20 shot tank SEU: N/A Defense: Asbestos PB: -- Short: 0-25 m Medium: 26-50m Long: 51-100 m Extreme: 101-150 m Large Vehicular Flamethrower Skill: P.G.S. Weapons Cost: 3,000 Credits Weight: 40 kilograms HardPoints: 4 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 4d10+4/special Ammo: 10 shot tank SEU: N/A Defense: Asbestos PB: -- Short: 0-30 m Medium: 31-60m Long: 61-120 m Extreme: 121-240 m Vehicle-mounted flamethrowers areused to clear brush – and in times of war, burn out enemy troops from fortifiedlocations. The weapon also poses a danger to the user. If it is shot whilefacing the front of a vehicle is traveling faster than 40 meters/turn, theflamethrower will subject the vehicle to an attack from its own flame. The firefrom a small vehicle-mounted flamethrower will do 1d10 damage/turn to a targetfor the next five turns after the turn in which it was fired. The flames from alarge vehicle-mounted flamethrower will do1d10 damage/turn to a target for the next eight turns after the turn in whichit was fired. Medium Laser Cannon Skill: Beam Weapons Cost: 9,000 Credits Weight: 28 kilograms HardPoints: 2 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 2d10+10 per SEU Ammo: 100SEU pack or 250 SEU econopack or 1,000 SEU drum SEU: 10-40 Defense: Albedo PB: -- Short: 0-150 m Medium: 151-600m Long: 601-1,200 m Extreme: 1,201-2,500 m Large Laser Cannon Skill: Beam Weapons Cost: 12,000 Credits Weight: 75 kilograms HardPoints: 8 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 4d10+10 per SEU Ammo: 250 econopack or 1,000 SEUdrum SEU: 10-60 Defense: Albedo PB: -- Short: 0-300 m Medium: 301-1,000m Long: 1,001-2,000 m Extreme: 2,001-4,000 m Laser cannons fire adestructive, concentrated beam of energy at a target. The beam simply slicesthrough unprotected areas, searing sensitive systems on a target. Autolaser Skill: Beam Weapons Cost: 3,000 Credits Weight: 20 kilograms HardPoints: 1 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 10d10/burst Ammo: 250econopack or 1,000 SEU drum SEU: 20/burst Defense: Albedo PB: 0-50 Short: 51-100 m Medium: 101-200m Long: 201-400 m Extreme: 401-1,000 m Using severalbarrels, the autolaser can rapidly fire tens of lasers per second as the gunnerhopes to catch the target in the burst. The laser itself doesn’t make noise,but the motion of the weapon’s mechanics – similar to a Gatling machine gun –does have a particular whine. Medium Sonic Cannon (Devastator Mk. II) Skill: Beam Weapons Cost: 8,000 Credits Weight: 28 kilograms HardPoints: 2 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 20d10+20/15d10+15/10d10+10/5d10+5/1d10 Ammo: 100SEU pack or 250 SEU econopack or 1,000 SEU drum SEU: 20 Defense: Sonic PB: 0-10 m Short: 11-100 m Medium: 101-200m Long: 201-300 m Extreme: 301-400 m Large Sonic Cannon (Devastator Mk. III) Skill: Beam Weapons Cost: 12,000 Credits Weight: 65 kilograms HardPoints: 8 Damage: 30d10+20 / 25d10+15 / 20d10+10 /15d10+5 / 10d10 Ammo: 250 econopack or 1,000 SEUdrum SEU: 30 Defense: Sonic PB: 0-20 Short: 21-120 m Medium: 121-250m Long: 251-450 m Extreme: 451-650 m While most militariestend to use kinetic and laser weapons, some mercenary units incorporate sonicweapons into their arsenals. This weapon fires a concentrated beam of chaoticsound that is clearly recognizable as a ball of shimmering air disturbance asit speeds at its target. However, the greater the distance the target is fromthe weapon, the less damage it does. Onemajor drawback of sonic weapons, however, is they cannot be used in a vacuumand their effectiveness is reduced on planets with a thin atmosphere. Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) Skill: Beam Weapons Cost: 6,000 Credits Weight: 20 kilograms HardPoints: 1 (small) Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: Varies Ammo: 100SEU pack SEU: Varies Defense: Sonicor Sonic/A-S implant PB: 0-10m Short: 11-100m Medium: 101-200m Long: 201-300m Extreme: 301-500m The LRAD, also called a sonic stunnercannon, is a bulky police/paramilitary weapon used for crowd control. Oftenmounted on vehicles, robots, remote sentry units or on a tripod, it is an areaeffect weapon that can hit all beings within a cone out to its extreme range.It has four settings: Irritation, Stun Level 1, Stun Level 2 and Stun Level 3.Each setting has a different power consumption rate and damage effects. The Irritation setting is probably themost common used and normally non-lethal. It broadcasts a loud, disruptivesound within a 90 degree cone in front of the device with the purpose of tryingto coax beings to leave the area. Targets within point black and short rangesuffer a -20 percent modifier to all skill and status checks. Targets withinmedium range suffer a -15 percent penalty; -10 at long range and -5 at extremerange. It hits automatically and consumes 2 SEU per minute of continuous use. Stun Setting 1 acts like a sonicstunner, except it affects targets within a 5-meter-wide cone in front of thedevice. Use the burst-fire modifiers for determining the chance to hit. Targetsmust make a successful Stamina check to avoid being stunned. It uses 5 SEU pershot. Stun Setting 2 acts like a sonicstunner but also causes physical damage to targets within a 5 meter wide conein addition to a stunning effect. Note, a target gets to make a current Staminacheck after taking the sonic damage. At point blank and short range, it causes2d10 of damage; 1d10 damage at medium and long range; but only the stunningeffect at extreme range. This setting uses 10 SEU per shot. Stun 3 causes more damage in additionto a stunning effect. At point blank and short range, targets take 4d10 damage,at medium range, 3d10 damage, at long range, 2d10, and 1d10 at extreme range.This setting uses 15 SEU per shot. Small Maser Cannon Skill: Beam Weapons Cost: 5,000 Credits Weight: 15 kilograms HardPoints: 1 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 10d10 Ammo: 100SEU pack SEU: 10 Defense: MasMesh PB: 0-15 m Short: 16-40 m Medium: 41-100m Long: 101-200 m Extreme: 201-500 m Masers are amplified microwave emitters that deliver adevastating beam of concentrated energy. It can blind anyone using unshieldedhigh-resolution infrared (IR) goggles and interfere with IR scanners. Maserfire penetrates practically any type of defensive suit or screen except MasMeshor a gridsuit. The small maser cannon is the counterpart of the Ke-5000 HeavyLaser and the Rafflur M-10. Portable versions come equipped with a tripod. Twocharacters are often needed to transport it and its battery. WarTech Delta Bolt Cannon Skill: Beam Weapons Cost: 9,000 Credits Weight: 15 kilograms HardPoints: 1 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 2d10 + 10 per SEU Ammo: 100SEU pack SEU: 5-20 Defense: Gridsuit PB: 0-20 m Short: 21-60 m Medium: 61-200m Long: 201-500 m Extreme: 501-800 m Billed as the “thunderbolt” weapon, WarTech’s Delta BoltCannon fires in invisible beam of heavy ions, but this also creates athunderclap that can be heard up to several kilometers away. This is the onlyversion of WarTech’s bolt weapons that can use a large, purpose-made powerpack. It cannot be powered by normal SEU packs or the SEU drum pack, whichlimits its effectiveness and desirability to special operations types.
Railgun (Gauss Cannon) Skill: Beam or Artillery Weapons Cost: 100,000 Credits Weight: 500 kilograms HardPoints: 12 Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: 4d10 x 10 Ammo: 1,000SEU drum plus 50 rounds SEU: 20 Defense: Inertia Indirect Fire Direct Fire PB: -- -- Short: -- 0-200 m Medium: 1-10km 201-1,200 m Long: 10-150 km 1,201-3,000 m Extreme: 150-350 km 3,001-5,000 m The precursor to portable gauss rifles, the railgun is anartillery weapon that has beam technology characteristics. It uses anelectromagnetic launch system instead of gunpowder or a propellant to fire anarmor-piercing projectile up to Mach 10. It delivers its munitions with a rangeand destructive force that far exceeds conventional weapons. Generally thisweapon is unavailable except for well-equipped planetary militias, the UPFLandfleet or the richest mega-corporations. Vehicular Sprayer Skill: N/A Cost: 1,000 Credits Weight: 10 kilograms HardPoints: 2 (medium) Rate ofFire: 1 Damage: Varies Ammo: 10 bursts SEU: N/A Defense: Varies PB: 0-5 m Short: 6-20 m Medium: 21-30m Long: 31-40 m Extreme: 41-60 m The vehicular sprayer is a deviceused by spies and other nefarious characters and not something commonly foundin the Frontier with the exception of the smoke generator version. There arethree basic types: the smokescreen generator/sprayer, the paint sprayer and theoil sprayer. Most are designed to expel their substances behind the vehicle,otherwise the vehicle using it is libel to become enveloped in its own trap. The smokescreen generator forms smokescreenforms a 50-meter diameter cloud, blocking vision and IR sights but not radar.It lasts 5 turns; any vehicle going through it is sightless for 1 turn. Militaryunits often use vehicles like this to obscure parts of the battlefield from theunaided eye. Paint sprayers cover an area10-meters-by-3-meters behind the vehicle with the intention of obscuring thewindshield of any following vehicles. Most paints will block vision (but not IRor radar or other sensors) by coating windows. The paint lasts until scrubbedoff and will also completely ruin any coats of reflective paint on the targetvehicle. It cannot be removed without also removing the reflective paintbeneath it. Oil jets form a 20-meter-by-2-meterslick on the roadway or surface behind them. The driver of a vehicle travelingfaster than its turn speed who encounters a slick must make a Reaction Speedcheck or lose control of the vehicle. The driver of an Explorer or similarvehicle has a +20 bonus on the control roll. Hover vehicles are not affected atall. Also, the terrain this oil is sprayed on may nullify or reduce itseffects. Each type of sprayer is a separateweapon, but all are the same size and cost. Also note that sprayers onjetcopters and certain air vehicles will have their jets broken up by the rotorwash, making them ineffective at best. The dimensions given for oil andpaint jets assume that the vehicle is traveling at its turn speed. If thereferee wishes the extra work, he can assume that traveling slower widens andshortens the slick, and traveling faster extends and narrows it. No more than50 percent alteration of either length or width should be allowed. Sprayerweapons do not require a weapon skill. Add 5 percent per level of the driver’sskill to half of his Dexterity (DEX) score for an attack roll if these weaponsare aimed at a pursuer. Minedropper Skill: N/A Cost: 750 Credits Weight: 10 kilograms HardPoints: 2 (medium) Rate ofFire: 5 mines Damage: Varies Ammo: 10 mines SEU: N/A Defense: RScheck PB: N.A. Short: N.A. Medium: N.A. Long: N.A. Extreme: N.A. Another weapon that is more from therealm of spies than military use, the minedropper lays 5 mines on the roadbehind the vehicle. Distribution is determined by speed and maneuvers duringthe dropping turn. If any vehicle subsequently passes over them, the mines willdetonate on a 50 percent activation roll. The 5d10 damage figure is per mine.This is a generally useless weapon for flying vehicles; the mines spread toomuch and explode on impact if dropped over 5 meters. Mines from a mine dropperweigh 5 kilograms each. Bombs Skill: Dropped Weapons Small Bomb Medium Bomb Cost: 500 Credits 1,000Credits Weight: 15 kilograms 30 kilograms HardPoints: 1 2 Rate ofFire: 1/all 1/all Damage: 12d10 2d10 x 10 Ammo: 1 1 SEU: N/A N/A Defense: Inertia Inertia PB: 0-10 0-10 Short: 11-30 11-30 Medium: 31-60 31-60. Long: 61-120 61-120. Extreme: 121+ 121+ This is a dropped weapon, mounted on jetcopter or aircarpylons. Statistics for light and medium bombs are given. These are “dumb” bombsand are not very sophisticated and are indicative of those used during Laco’sWar and other corporate war conflicts.
Joe Cabadas |
August 17, 2018 - 9:18pm | New Weapons Just briefly skimmed the article, but it looks very promising in terms of whether they can actually be used. Something else to think about: if you did mount a larger gun on a smaller vehicle (maybe a Technician check?), how much would having something like that decrease your speed? -Raven I don't know where you're going, but do you have room for one more troubled soul? -Patrick Stump, Alone Together |
August 18, 2018 - 7:30am | New Weapons Just briefly skimmed the article, but it looks very promising in terms of whether they can actually be used. Something else to think about: if you did mount a larger gun on a smaller vehicle (maybe a Technician check?), how much would having something like that decrease your speed? -Raven I suppose that's a referee's call there. Besided the Tanks a Lot story, a similiar one ran in one of the Star Frontiersman magazines. Joe Cabadas |
