Re: weapons skill redefinitions

In TML subject 1719, Gary Schreiber writes:

>   I have been reading the comments on redoing the weapons skills, and I
>   have a point to bring up.  Does getting a skill with a weapon also give
>   you the capability to perform maintainence on it?  If so, then you have
>   to keep the skills seperated.  If not, then there should be a
>   Gunsmith Cascade skill for the various types of weapons(archaic,
>   revolvers, semi-autos, SMG's, MG's, Gauss, Laser, Plasma, Fusion,
>   Neural, etc).  This is something that must be considered if GNU
>   Traveller gets the go ahead.

..and in subject 1725, Jonathan Clark writes back:

> Gary Shreiber asks:
>
>    Does getting a skill with a weapon also give
>    you the capability to perform maintainence on it?
>
> In my system the answer is yes, a weapons skill includes the
> training to perform maintenance on that weapon, which is in
> accordance with current military training. It's the PCs
> problem if they forget to actually do the said maintenance...

I agree with this ONLY TO A POINT.  In the USMC, I was trained to fully
field-strip my M-16, so I could clean it and clear serious jams.  However,
if a component were to break, the best I could accomplish is to break down
the weapon, hopefuly locate the broken part, and then say, "Yup.  It's
busted."  I couldn't fix it unless I had another broken '16 to scavenge
from.  This wasn't normally the case. :-)  Even then, replacing some of
the parts requires special tools not normally available on a battlefield.

Therefore, I'd say that a specific weapons skill includes being able to
fieldstrip and clean your weapon, AND THAT'S ALL.  If a component is
broken, you take the weapon to a 'gunsmith' or, if you're in the service,
you have the company quartermaster replace it.

For high TL weapons, this gives fieldstripping a whole new meaning.  If
you're the squad heavy weapons operator (i.e. you carry a PGMP-15 while
everybody else carries laser rifles) then routine field maintenance probably
consists of daily barrel swaps, cleaning the weapon exterior, and checking
the connections from the powerpack to the weapon for damage and wear.
There is nothing to 'break down and clean' otherwise.  For a laser, all
you may have to do is clean the exterior, polish the lens apurture, and
check that the power cable is undamaged.  And so on...

I agree with Gary's initial proposal that there should probably be a Gunsmith
(or, more generically, 'Weaponsmith') Cascade skill for the various types of
weapons.  The catagories he suggests are:

> (archaic, revolvers, semi-autos, SMG's, MG's, Gauss, Laser, Plasma,
> Fusion, Neural, etc).

I think we could lump (revolvers, semi-autos, SMG's, MG's) into a single
catagory of ('chemically-propelled slug-thrower'), and combine (Plasma,
Fusion) into 'Heavy Energy Weapons' (since they, too, work on the same
principle).

Later,

        Mark F. Cook

USMail: User Interface Technical Support
        Hewlett-Packard - Interface Technology Operation
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