 September 5, 2009 - 2:19am | Whew, and here I was thinking by going the conventional modern route that I'd be in the minority... |
 September 5, 2009 - 8:34am | Whew, and here I was thinking by going the conventional modern route that I'd be in the minority... Not really. Even relatively modern slug throwers(I usually make them charge weapons[ala Alternity] in my SFU)are a good break from the conventional "ray gun" mentality that I'm guilty of falling into from time to time with my characters. (Even though, I have a thing for Gauss weapons and railguns....) "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 September 5, 2009 - 12:13pm | I'm surprised to see bullets with 4 votes. The most common and cheapest form of protection is Interia after all. :-) I love sonic weapons. Although they don't have the range of other weapons it's the most unlikely defense one will find in the Frontier. Plus, the Sonic Sword dishes out the most damage (5d10) and has the greatest modifier (+15). |
September 5, 2009 - 4:58pm | I'm surprised to see bullets with 4 votes. The most common and cheapest form of protection is Interia after all. :-) I disagree. In my expirience, characters go for skeinsuits and albedo screens, on the assumption that they'll be going against laser-armed opponents. Albedo protects against 100% of the laser damage, til the power runs dry, while skeinsuits soak up only half of the bullet damage. Even a skeinsuit/inertia screen combination only stops 75% of the damage, leaving a quarter of it to damage the character. Even with the wonky damage rules, 25% damage from each burst to hit the character's eventually going to add up a lot quicker than it will take even a heavy laser to drain an albedo screen dry. Least it seems that way in the Obar Enterprises RPG. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 September 5, 2009 - 6:14pm | Albedo screens are overpowered. At 5 damage absorbed per SEU spent, a screen plugged into a power backpack can take 500 points of damage. With a laser rifle set at maximum, it will average 110 points of damage per shot. This means it will take 5 hits to take down the screen and have approximately 50 points finally affect the target. Your misses are wasted. Of course, using a LR at 20 means that you're firing every other round as you reload powerclips, or you've drained two beltpacks or one backpack just to bust through. Now image that screen is plugged into a parabattery or generator. Crazy. Laser weapons, with their variable power settings, should be scary. But the albedo screen makes them a paper tiger. In the Obar Enterprises game, Malcom, the resident beam guy, has probably registered more hits then anyone and has yet to do any damage directly to the enemy. BTW, I voted for the Mooks.  The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
September 5, 2009 - 6:32pm | BTW, I voted for the Mooks. http://starfrontiers.us/node/3811#comment-10808 |
 September 5, 2009 - 7:03pm | Force Axe and Grenades, baby!! Time flies when your having rum. Im a government employee, I dont goof-off. I constructively abuse my time. |
September 5, 2009 - 8:51pm | Albedo screens are overpowered. At 5 damage absorbed per SEU spent, a screen plugged into a power backpack can take 500 points of damage. With a laser rifle set at maximum, it will average 110 points of damage per shot. This means it will take 5 hits to take down the screen and have approximately 50 points finally affect the target. Your misses are wasted. Of course, using a LR at 20 means that you're firing every other round as you reload powerclips, or you've drained two beltpacks or one backpack just to bust through. Now image that screen is plugged into a parabattery or generator. Crazy. Laser weapons, with their variable power settings, should be scary. But the albedo screen makes them a paper tiger. In the Obar Enterprises game, Malcom, the resident beam guy, has probably registered more hits then anyone and has yet to do any damage directly to the enemy. BTW, I voted for the Mooks. It is unfortunate that "atomic drives" were not listed amongst the weapons choices. Maria certainly would've voted for that option. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
September 6, 2009 - 3:34am | Bullets also happen to be the cheapest to acquire. The guns are cheap, the ammo is cheaper. A basic character can afford a pistol and a rifle (or two pistols, screw reloading!), along with as much ammo as they can carry, for what a laser rifle costs. I love sonic weapons. Although they don't have the range of other weapons it's the most unlikely defense one will find in the Frontier. Plus, the Sonic Sword dishes out the most damage (5d10) and has the greatest modifier (+15). +1, sonics are definitely fun to throw into the mix. Every Military PSA character should eventually acquire a sonic sword. Sadly, they're really only good indoors (forget about shooting at someone across the street LOL), and worthless in a vaccuum. |
 September 6, 2009 - 11:14am | I hear you Georgie. My son would get really frustrated using a powerful laser just to have it dissapate on a screen. When bullets will do some damage with every hit. I tried two different ways. One was to have the albedo screen/ suit absorb 1/2 the damage, and the rest gets to the character. Another way was to just have the energy absorbtion be 2 to 1 for damage versus SEU. (If the laser does 50 hits it takes 25 SEU to stop it.) The 2 to 1 method seems to work the best. I also have skeinsuits or poly-plate armor absord 1/2 laser damage also. this is justified by the idea that lasers do damage in the form of high heat. so, the armor should provide some protection. This seems to balance out OK. The characters don't feel defenseless if they don't have an albedo screen or suit; and they don't feel invincible against lasers if they have albedo screen or suit. At least I got to scare an alien rabbit thingy...... |
September 6, 2009 - 9:28pm | I hear you Georgie. My son would get really frustrated using a powerful laser just to have it dissapate on a screen. When bullets will do some damage with every hit. I tried two different ways. One was to have the albedo screen/ suit absorb 1/2 the damage, and the rest gets to the character. Another way was to just have the energy absorbtion be 2 to 1 for damage versus SEU. (If the laser does 50 hits it takes 25 SEU to stop it.) The 2 to 1 method seems to work the best. I also have skeinsuits or poly-plate armor absord 1/2 laser damage also. this is justified by the idea that lasers do damage in the form of high heat. so, the armor should provide some protection. This seems to balance out OK. The characters don't feel defenseless if they don't have an albedo screen or suit; and they don't feel invincible against lasers if they have albedo screen or suit. I went the half damage route myself, but I might give the 2 for 1 approach a try. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
September 7, 2009 - 7:56am | Elctrostunners tend to be a bit of a surprise and not to many enemies wearing defenses for it. Time flies when your having rum. Im a government employee, I dont goof-off. I constructively abuse my time. |
September 7, 2009 - 10:02am | Very true Rum. I played a character that didn't want to kill anyone so he carried a Electrostunner. I was surprised at how effective it is. One STA roll to keep from being incapacitated. I found the tangler gun from Starfrontiersman to work well too. I had some NPCs use some against some characters that were all armored and screened up. At least I got to scare an alien rabbit thingy...... |
September 7, 2009 - 4:56pm | Very true Rum. I played a character that didn't want to kill anyone so he carried a Electrostunner. I was surprised at how effective it is. One STA roll to keep from being incapacitated. I found the tangler gun from Starfrontiersman to work well too. I had some NPCs use some against some characters that were all armored and screened up. Post made me snicker. Bill and I were play-testing some new combat rules. His character kept trying to stun me. 75 STA baby! How did the tangler gun work for the NPC's? I'm very curious. |
September 7, 2009 - 5:25pm | Post made me snicker. Bill and I were play-testing some new combat rules. His character kept trying to stun me. 75 STA baby! Last time I had a character use an electrostunner he was using a gyrojet pistol in the other hand so there was a little wear on the current STA. That helped take the edge away from high STA. Most of the time I forgot about the stun setting and just went for the damage. Heh heh. Just recalled that the same character took a pair of Needler pistols and loaded them with tranq ammo. Not much of the Op-For could make it though 6 STA checks. Time flies when your having rum. Im a government employee, I dont goof-off. I constructively abuse my time. |
September 7, 2009 - 5:22pm | The tangler gun works great. With a rate of fire of 3, a player is bound to miss a STA roll eventually. I bet you would miss a STA before you were down and out in regular combat. No defense against a tangler either. hehehe At least I got to scare an alien rabbit thingy...... |
September 7, 2009 - 6:17pm | The tangler gun works great. With a rate of fire of 3, a player is bound to miss a STA roll eventually. I bet you would miss a STA before you were down and out in regular combat. No defense against a tangler either. hehehe Any tangler type weapon should be a "Reaction Speed avoidance roll". :-) You you used the Partial Entanglement Effect table in Issue #5? Also in Issue #3 someone made a tangler jetclip for a gyrojet pistol/rifle. hrm... ranged entanglement. FYi, Bill and I made melee weapons that do albedo and sonic damage for Issue #13 and we discussed the fact that tanglers do no have any defense outside a successful RS check. Although there was the Detangler Harness Bill made...have to re-read up on that. I really think we need one of the SFman issues to be just past issues of personal, vehicle and spaceship gear.... or maybe just call it a Compendium of Gear. Better yet... David Zeb Cook had a great article called "For a fistful of credits." LOVE that title.  |
September 7, 2009 - 6:42pm | I hear you Georgie. My son would get really frustrated using a powerful laser just to have it dissapate on a screen. When bullets will do some damage with every hit. I tried two different ways. One was to have the albedo screen/ suit absorb 1/2 the damage, and the rest gets to the character. Another way was to just have the energy absorbtion be 2 to 1 for damage versus SEU. (If the laser does 50 hits it takes 25 SEU to stop it.) The 2 to 1 method seems to work the best. I also have skeinsuits or poly-plate armor absord 1/2 laser damage also. this is justified by the idea that lasers do damage in the form of high heat. so, the armor should provide some protection. This seems to balance out OK. The characters don't feel defenseless if they don't have an albedo screen or suit; and they don't feel invincible against lasers if they have albedo screen or suit. When I played years ago, I'm pretty sure that we nerfed the Albedo screen down to at least a 2 for 1 power rating. In my house rules, I ditched all screens (except the holo-screen) and all suits, and going with straight armor baby. Elctrostunners tend to be a bit of a surprise and not to many enemies wearing defenses for it. I love the electrostunners for that very reason. BUT... they are very short ranged and sooner of later, everyone gets an anti-shock device. (I outlawed those in my house rules too.  )The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
September 7, 2009 - 8:13pm | Your right Woot, I should have wrote RS. My bad. I do use RS in games just a slip of the keys... At least I got to scare an alien rabbit thingy...... |
 June 14, 2012 - 1:18pm | For efficiency, in close encounters - but not melee - I stick to ambidexterous Gyrojet / Electrostunner (Vrusks can be a pain, yes). First blow their Stamina with 3 shots (equalling 6d10 or even, in case of a rifle in both hands, 9d10 if successful, at considerably low ammo usage) and then let luck have it's way with the stunner. Gyrojet seems to be quite a maxxer in damage per round/ammo-ratio compared to the other weapon types, it seems? Last game played: Somewhere in the 80th (Vrusk by heart) -- fond of Jugger, a "post-apocalyptic" sport |
