Mark F. Cook writes:
> When the player
> in question discovered that the Gauss Rifles (TL 13) aboard their starship
> couldn't penetrate Battle Dress or Combat Armor from the same tech. level,
> he pointed out that this would be like sending soldiers into battle with
> flak jackets, and arming them with weapons that couldn't kill an enemy
> wearing the SAME flak jackets.
> <Penetration tables deleted to save space>
> The gauss rifle in particular has been significantly watered
> down from it's original descriptions in Classic Traveller (Mercenary) and
> Azhanti High Lightning. Does this mean that gauss rifles are passe as battle-
> field weapons?
In Mercenary and Classic Traveller, the to-hit and penetration rolls were
combined. The gauss rifle's rate of fire was what made it so lethal, not its
penetration. I don't know the figures for Azhanti High Lightning, but the
similar Striker system used the same figures as MegaTraveller.
Perhaps the combat armour was developed later in TL12 than gauss rifles, as a
defence against them? Or maybe the gauss rifle is for use against less
armoured targets, e.g. civilian criminals, or low-tech societies you want to
conquer; and against serious opposition, you use laser rifles.
I still think that either the gauss weapons fire high velocity, i.e. supersonic
rounds, in which case they aren't silent except in vacuum or near vacuum; or
they are silent, therefore subsonic, therefore should have even lower
penetration values. Even present day pistols fire bullets which move faster
than sound; silencers have to slow down the bullets, which is why silenced
weapons aren't as powerful - and why low-powered, subsonic weapons are more
easily silenced. Gauss weapons could be fitted with a switch controlling the
current into the coils, so you could have a choice.
Actually, it's probably down to game balance again. If a weapon with the
penetration to breach high-tech battledress and high rate of fire appears,
all the munchkins will trade in their PGMP's for such devices. You either
get high penetration, and need the skill to use it; or you get lower
penetration, but it's easier to hit things.
> This brings us to the next topic: AUTOMATIC WEAPON FIRE.
>
> First, some weapons (i.e. Gauss Rifle and Pistol) have specific auto-fire
> numbers given in the Imperial Encyclopedia (4 for the pistol, 4 or 10 for
> the rifle). Should these be used instead of the standard 5 listed in the
> Players' Manual.
Yes. IMHO, of course! Mind you, I graduated on Striker, where all weapons
had their individual DEX and autofire modifiers anyway.
> Second, if multiple targets are available, and you hit the primary target,
> are the adjacent targets hit automatically or must you reroll for each?
The Striker system was, for every 2 by which your roll exceeded the required
number, you hit an extra target. My system was, reroll for each, with a DM
of -2 for the second target, -4 for the third, etc.
> Third, if you are in auto-fire mode and there is only a single target,
> is he hit by all the auto-fire rounds? If not, how many hit? Do you
> roll a separate attack for each round? Are there any die modifiers
> (positive or negative) for successive rounds?
The Striker system was, you chose the size of group you were firing at. If you
got multiple hits, they were divided evenly among the target group. If you
were only firing at one individual, he got the lot. My system was, the
second, third and other targets could be the same as the first one. The -2, -4
modifiers still applied though. So, for a burst of 4 rounds, I could fire two
shots at the main target (1), one at the guy on his left (2), and one at the
guy on his right (3). The first shot at target 1 is unmodified; the second
shot at target 1 gets a DM of -2; the shot at target 2 is at -4; the shot at
target 3 is -6. Add on appropriate autofire, skill and DEX modifiers as well.
- --
"Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott
Adrian Hurt | JANET: [email removed]
UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian | ARPA: [email removed]