 December 17, 2010 - 9:57am | Anyone played/playing Fallout: New Vegas? They have a set of weapons called the Recharger Pistol/Rifle. Each weapon recharges 1 shot per turn not fired. The Pistol has 8 charges, the rifle 20. Of course, they don't have variable settings, but, a constantly regenerating power cell would give you some options. Pistol - 2d10/Shot Ammo - 8 Max Pistol, 20 Rifle(recharge 1 shot per unfired turn) Range - (see Laser Pistol or Rifle) Weight - Add 1 kg to pistol, 2.5kg rifle Cost - 900CR pistol, 1200CR rifle If you haven't played this game, or Fallout 3, you are truly missing out. They could both be used for amazing adventure ideas, as well as equipment seeds. Thanks! You can't argue with the invincibly ignorant. - William F. Buckley |
 December 17, 2010 - 12:47pm | Variant Recharger When the weapon is turned on for the first time the holder will notice a slight high-pitched whine as the charger cells fill a variable energy capacitor. A few seconds later the charge indicator reads "1". Each turn (approx. six seconds) the weapon will charge until its capacitor reads "20". The number on the charge indicator is the number of d10 damage caused when discharged. ---- I don't play computer games so you'll have to share these seeds. Spread 'em round 'bouts here and we'll watch 'em grow mate! |
 December 17, 2010 - 12:50pm | How does it recharge? From what does it get it's energy. I built lasers in one of my past jobs. There we were concerned with repetition rate of the laser. The laser has large capacitors to store the charge to be dumped through the pumping element (diode, flash lamp, etc.). This charge took time to build up between shots (a couple seconds max) but the source was 220V or 110V from the wall through a power supply to set it at the voltage and current we needed. So where does this weapon get the energy from to recharge? -iggy |
December 17, 2010 - 1:03pm | Fuzzy Science.  The weapon captures tachyons converting them into raw power such as a SEU. |
 December 17, 2010 - 1:38pm | Fuzzy Science. The weapon captures tachyons converting them into raw power such as a SEU. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I wail in dispair. We don't allow fuzzy science here. (at least we try not to if we can help it.) /me *slaps* w00t. "Go reboot in the corner!"   iggy has a good point and it was exactly what I was thinking when I read the post originally. Where is this power going to come from. An SEU is not an insignificant amount of energy (at least that's the way I've always taken it after all, it has to pump a laser with enough energy to actually burn you) and it's not going to just materialize in your blaster. Now, it should be possible to build such a device (I can think of a couple of ways off the top of my head) to recharge from your surroundings, but it would probably not generate power quickly, maybe a few SEU's per day at most except in special circumstances. And since I can't resist (you may safely disregard anything below this point as off topic and not relevant to the discussion thread) As an aside on the Fuzzy Science (can I get a trademark on that  ) side, there really isn't all that much of it in Star Frontiers. Which is why I love the setting so much. In fact, if you're willing to overlook the amazingly high density of habitable worlds and sentient species in the Frontier/Rim sector (which we can't prove is wrong), only two "fuzzy science" issues come to mind.1) The stellar demographics. There are way too many F, G & K stars and not nearly enough M stars in the Frontier plus 5 too many neturon stars. and the big one: 2) FTL travel and void jumping at 1%c. Everything else you could arguably chalk up to improved engineering or materials science. There are other inconsistencies but nothing really bad. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 December 17, 2010 - 2:11pm | Terl over looked mentalism, but then most people do anyhow. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 17, 2010 - 2:40pm | Terl over looked mentalism, but then most people do anyhow. Oh yeah. That's in that Zeb's Guide thing. Never touch the stuff. You're right, I did. That would be #3. But if done well, I'd even be willing to accept Mentalism. I personally don't like having magic in my Sci-Fi campaigns but if it was self consistent with the science side of things, I could probably work with it. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
December 17, 2010 - 3:02pm | Terl over looked mentalism, but then most people do anyhow. Oh yeah. That's in that Zeb's Guide thing. Never touch the stuff. You're right, I did. That would be #3. But if done well, I'd even be willing to accept Mentalism. I personally don't like having magic in my Sci-Fi campaigns but if it was self consistent with the science side of things, I could probably work with it. The ticket might be only introducing empathy and telepathy mentalist abilities, I bet if only those 2 were in the setting than I bet many who dont like them would roll with it. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 17, 2010 - 4:54pm | Terlobar wrote "only two "fuzzy science" issues come to mind." So a race of four foot tall single cell beings is not fuzzy? Or Insects the size of horses? Or a race capable of hypnotism which hasn't enslaved the entire Frontier? Or technology hundreds of years in advance of our which still uses gunpowder weapons? Or why bars are still important to four races with completely different cultures one of which doesn't even drink. I could go on but really there are more than a few issues but we happily overlook them to play this game. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 17, 2010 - 5:12pm | Funny science pretty much sums up Alpha Dawn, Knight Hawks, Zeb's Guide, etc. People want to be deluded that SF is "hard science", let them. I'll still take my rocket pack and imagination over "realism". How boring would an RPG be if it was base solely on real/hard/empirical science? Well... if you were playing an astronaut RPG in "The International Space Station Goes to Mars". I want to make a pee roll to see if I used the toilet properly. hehe.  |
December 17, 2010 - 5:27pm | It's not how hard the science is, it's how large the fireballs are after stuff blows up! --Gilbert |
December 17, 2010 - 5:32pm | The gun uses what's called a "Microfusion Breeder" power cell. You can read about it on fallout.wikia.com, but it doesn't give a lot of info. On that note, there are batteries made today that can last YEARS (pacemaker batteries) that use atomic action to generate power (I'm not exactly sure how, but I do know they use a small radioactive element as a power source). While I do apply certain principles of "Hard Science" like, motion physics, chemical reactions, concussive reflective properties, etc. I do allow for some things that are "Science Fiction", or should I say "Soon to be Science Fact"? Oh, and w00t, you fail your pee roll and you now have a golden stream, snaking its way around the station like a wriggling eel, waiting to bite an unsuspecting soul. You can't argue with the invincibly ignorant. - William F. Buckley |
December 17, 2010 - 5:35pm | Oh, if you read the Star Trek Technical Manual for TNG, they state that the sarium krellide power cells in the combadges, and more importantly, hand phasers, are self-regenerating power units, provided they are not completely drained of power. You can't argue with the invincibly ignorant. - William F. Buckley |
 December 17, 2010 - 5:52pm | 90% of the game is based on theory, hearsay, and skeptical ideas of technology. The whole thing is fuzzy on everything from the weapons to traveling to other planets that have life on them. They are based on "hard science" from people who dream the science up from others experiments or ideas. Come on, this game is for fun and imagination. You can find a dozen theories on space travel or any weapon in the game. |
December 17, 2010 - 6:14pm | Can you see farts in space? |
December 17, 2010 - 7:04pm | The better question......can you smell them? You can't argue with the invincibly ignorant. - William F. Buckley |
December 17, 2010 - 7:43pm | Currently there are backpacks which can recharge batteries by the motion the hiker makes walking. So if that technology was improved to the point of microbatteries recharging by the firing of the weapon (some other part moves when it fires) then it could recharge quickly especially if it uses a lot of transformers to build up the power. Yes this could work! Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 17, 2010 - 9:54pm | Photo-voltaic paint (Issue 8) Takes 4 hours to apply, provides d10 SEU per day, lasts 1d10 weeks. Man... put a lid on it, your an android for Pete's Sake! Have some respect for your robot brothers, dude. |
 December 17, 2010 - 10:37pm | Terl over looked mentalism, but then most people do anyhow. Oh yeah. That's in that Zeb's Guide thing. Never touch the stuff. You're right, I did. That would be #3. But if done well, I'd even be willing to accept Mentalism. I personally don't like having magic in my Sci-Fi campaigns but if it was self consistent with the science side of things, I could probably work with it. The ticket might be only introducing empathy and telepathy mentalist abilities, I bet if only those 2 were in the setting than I bet many who dont like them would roll with it. Agreed. I would gather that the power for the recharger weapons came from suitably-advanced micropower reactors. " 'Beware the Beast, Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport, for lust, for greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death." |
December 17, 2010 - 11:24pm | [phone conversation] Kinda funny, races that have a mentalist or metalist-like special ability nobody gives it two winks. Give it to the core four and watch the fireworks. ;-) Wonder where the perception comes from. |
December 18, 2010 - 12:16am | Maybe if the originial rules allowed for the possibility of the core four having mentalist powers, it wouldn't be so bad. Also, the range of mentalist powers in ZEB's seem nothing short of magicial. If it was limited to empathy and telepathy, as jedi suggested, it might go over a little bit better. Sides, usually the NPC races with mentalist like special abilities end up as laser fodder anyway. " 'Beware the Beast, Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport, for lust, for greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death." |
December 18, 2010 - 6:51am | >>>BRRRRAAPPPPPP!< Hey! That's what AtmoScrubbers are for! That micropetrol residue has to go somewhere..... For those who do not play computer games, check out fallout.wikia.com. There are listings for every weapon used in all of the Fallout games, though the best ones are from 3 and New Vegas. They also have power armor, stealth suits, and a few medicines (and drugs that can end up being addictive). Lets also not forget new mutated creatures......like Deathclaws, Super Mutants, Nightkin and Ghouls, just to name a few. (Lets equate a deathclaw to a man-sized Quickdeath, with no frikkin lasers in its head!)  You can't argue with the invincibly ignorant. - William F. Buckley |
 December 18, 2010 - 2:37pm | Sounds like the Dispersion pistol from Unreal. It's the basic beginning weapon with infinte ammo but very little damage, of course if you rapid fire it you will drain it until it can recharge itself. And then if you hold the trigger down for a while you can get 1 shot of some whoop-ass but then you have to wait for the recharge. And it take more than a single shot to down the large Skaarj warriors. In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
December 19, 2010 - 12:28am | The gun uses what's called a "Microfusion Breeder" power cell. You can read about it on fallout.wikia.com, but it doesn't give a lot of info. On that note, there are batteries made today that can last YEARS (pacemaker batteries) that use atomic action to generate power (I'm not exactly sure how, but I do know they use a small radioactive element as a power source). Possibly the regeneration that is happening here is actually recharging of a capacitor. The micro-fusion breeder is releasing small amounts of electricity and it takes time for enough power to be collected in the capacitor to be useful to the weapon. The downsides are a slow shot rate and an exotic power cell that is likely only available from one mega-corp. The price should be very high for this kind of cell. The upside is that the cell stays charged for a very long time. Also most of the power cell container is shielding. You do not want to crack one of these things open. I would say that the term regeneration is actually marketing mislabeling it. -iggy |
December 19, 2010 - 10:23am | I dont see why anyone would want this weapon with a slow rate of fire? Its likke the ACW where the powers that be didn't want to buy the repeating rifles because soldiers would waste ammo and we couldn't have that. As far as I'm concerned more lead (or energy) going down range is good. I'd rather see this in a weaon the size of an artillery peice- you get one shot at that cruiser in orbit and it better count because it will take 10 minutes for this thing to recharge. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 19, 2010 - 10:45am | I dont see why anyone would want this weapon with a slow rate of fire? Its likke the ACW where the powers that be didn't want to buy the repeating rifles because soldiers would waste ammo and we couldn't have that. As far as I'm concerned more lead (or energy) going down range is good. I'd rather see this in a weaon the size of an artillery peice- you get one shot at that cruiser in orbit and it better count because it will take 10 minutes for this thing to recharge. Even though the Henry repeater made its debut during the War of Northern Aggression, that sentiment did hold true for the 19th century American and European armies. Tho', it took longer for the Europeans to get the fact that repeating rifles would be a good idea for their soldiers. Ironically enough, the 19th century military geniuses would be proven right with the invention of the M16. In all seriousness, a weapon that takes ten minutes to recharge, even in big artillery sized pieces, is a liability on the battlefield. Damn well had better have other soldiers, with more rapid-firing, albeit less effective, weaponry on the field with you(like pike formations for musketeers), or you're going to die. " 'Beware the Beast, Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport, for lust, for greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death." |
December 19, 2010 - 11:23am | I envision this as a 1st Gen of a new age of weaponry. Yes, maybe the cost is too low, but, take into account that most firefights (unshielded) likely don't last more than 6-10 shots, even at a 2d10 power setting (average, that's 70-80 dmg for one target at 10 shots). Now, if you're alone, facing down 4 raiders, you may not want this pistol as your only choice. In a team, against the same odds, you'd likely come out the victor, if you staggered fire. Your group would be a never-ending rain of laser blasts. IMNSHO, this would be a pretty decent advantage vs a group of pirates who usually run with 2-3 powerclips. Just my take on things. You can't argue with the invincibly ignorant. - William F. Buckley |
December 19, 2010 - 11:43am | Pirates carring only 2 or 3 powerclips never made much sense to me, I'd figure most soldiers in SF would have more like 4 to 6 powerclips on them at any given time. But then I think Zebulon's Guide had listing for a rifle sling that had pocket slots for 10 powerclips, so why only carry 2 to 3 when you can clearly carry way more. And then think of how many soldiers are going to keep their lasers set at 2d10, you're going to have some go to 4 or 5d10 just to take down a target faster even at the price of expending ammo faster. Pirates would be more likely to do this as soldiers would be more disciplined in how they use ammo, as well as better shots. In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
December 19, 2010 - 2:07pm | Honestly, I'd look at power clips as the cost of doing business. and like you said unshielded firefights only last so long. the only time I could see the advantage of this weapon is in Crash on Volturnus where you're strapped for SEU clips and other equipment but then the weapon would have been in the weapon's locker on the Serrena Dawn and blown with all the other weapons. Most adventures the PCs will likely have easy access to ammo whether their in a city or to the case of SEU clips they keep on their ship. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 19, 2010 - 3:17pm | Perhaps a little off topic, but why does everyone use powerclips, when if I remember correctly you could hook a weapon to a powerbelt, or power backpack, and have access to far more SEU than a standard powerclip. Okay so the cord attaching the weapon to the beltpack or power backpack might not look cool, but having 50-Seu or more at the ready without expending actions to switch clips is very advantageous, and you can recharge belts and power backpacks where powerclips for some reason can't be recharged. "Hey guys I wonder what this does"-Famous last words "Hey guys, I think it's friendly." -Famous last words "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." -Famous last words "Did you here that?" -Famous last words |
December 19, 2010 - 3:39pm | Rate of Fire Rate of Fire Rate of Fire Turn on Drill Sergeant Mode OK you maggots your metagaming ends now. Just because your new WEAPONS and you better not say guns are slow does not mean they are useless. Every good soldier knows every weapon has a proper purpose and a proper use. You useless coach potatoes have been playing Call of Duty for too long. Even there you should have learned the basics. Going old school AK-74s are wonderful little weapons with that OH so important Rate of Fire. Try taking out a target 300 meters away with it. Hope you have ALOT of ammo. Now a bolt action sniper rifle is slow I mean really slow but since you can get a kill at 1500 meters NO not you maggots but a real soldier, it kinda doesn't matter if its slow. Pop quiz which one are you taking to knock out the tank rolling down the street your Rate of Fire Uzi or your single shot RPG? Too late your dead you hiding behind the fat guy. Yes the RPG takes out the tank the Uzi makes a nice souvenir for the tank crew. Now self recharging weapons might have a slow rate of fire but are excellant for Long Range Recon Teams. Something you lowlifes will never be. These guys aren't supposed to get in fights. They are supposed to get in, get the intel and get out. BUT if everything goes really wrong then a light weapon with good hitting power which does need to have alot of heavy ammo or powerclips carried for it is what these guys dream of. Now drop and give me 50 pushups Humans and Yazirians, Vrusk 50 knee benders and Dralasites 50 stretches now move it move it move it. Drill Sergeant mode off now have a nice day. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
