Just reading some stuff on missiles, anti-matter, etc. and I thought
I would put in my two cents.
Anti-particle beams may not work. They would, after all, have to be
charged particles, and these (a) do not work well in space to begin with
and (b) can be deflected by magnetic fields. This is why there is so
much trouble about SDI, you need neutral particle beams to make it work
in deep space (and high energy neutrons are about as good for your health
as recent French philosophy), BUT they are much harder to build. Of
course, since this is the FUTURE, we can assume these mere technical
problems have been overwhelmed by our engineers-uber-alles.
Anti-matter bombs might work, but they are probably going to be real
expensive, even assuming the reduction in cost allowed by mass production
of anti-matter. (Here's an adventure idea for all you GM's--anti-terrorist
work (or terrorist work) at an anti-matter production facility. Using
guns near a lot of the equipment might be what we commonly refer to as
a BAD IDEA.)
One more thing about missiles. I don't know how people run it in their
game worlds, but even my conventinal missiles with wimpy 100 kg. TNT
warheads do a lot of damage. Why? Missiles in space work differently
than missiles in an atmosphere. I have missiles boosting at 20 gees,
usually from a distance of several thousand kilometers (the maximum
range on the long range versions is 300,000 km. and it takes it nearly
an hour to reach its target). Missiles generally have course-correction
stuff built into their computer brains, so they simply accelerate at their
targets. They usually hit at something like 50 km./sec. You have any
idea what happens to a spaceship when it gets hit by something like this?
Picture the USS Nimitz...now picture it after being hit by a meteor that
weighs as much as Buick!
To keep my space combat system simple, I have adopted a base value for
missile hits, even though they might be moving at different speeds (there
is probably a diminishing return of effects, and as the missile boosts,
it does get lighter since it is using up fuel). A single missile hit
will totally destroy a spacecraft of less than 12,500 tons (picture a
California-class cruiser) and will disable--"Keptin! We're dead in space!"--
a spacecraft of less than 25,000 tons (picture the Soviet Kirov-class
cruiser.) Of course, since missile attacks are often made in huge
barrages designed to overwhelm anti-missile defensive lasers, the point
is often moot.
Take care all.
Mark