Guns 'R' Us

Marc Alexandrovich Volovic [email removed] writes:
>
> Firstly, the 92F is parallel to Imperial a 10mm SNUB (well, more or less).

If so, the Snub pistol has changed drastically since I (or my character,
at least) used it in Olde Traveller.  It got the name "snub" by having
a very short barrel, was very low velocity, and fired several different
types of ammo, mostly illegal on most planets by being either explosive
or gas.  It was also low recoil, which made it great for shipboard
security (where you didn't have to worry about minor details like local
laws).  The Beretta 92F is an example of what Striker calls a "9mm
auto pistol".  :-)

> The primary problem with Traveller equipment (ALL equipment, except
> vehicles and ships) is that there is only ONE version of everything.

Now for the important part of this message.  I also didn't like this, and
came up with a quick and simple solution.  The following table gives
modifications made to the standard guns listed in the books:

Code	Ammo/clip	Accuracy	Price
- ---------------------------------------------
1	    -		   -		-15%
2	    -		   0		-5%
3	    -		   +		+5%
4	    0		   -		-10%
5	    0		   0		0
6	    0		   +		+10%
7	    +		   -		-5%
8	    +		   0		+5%
9	    +		   +		+15%

Amount by which to alter ammo capacity:
Revolver		+/- 1 round in the chamber

Shotgun			- means single or double-barrelled
			+ means 10 round magazine

Rifle			+/- 5 rounds

Auto pistol		-50%, +20% of the standard capacity

Auto/assault rifle	+/- 30% of the standard capacity

LAG			+/- 1 round

Energy weapons		+/- 20% (weapons with "infinite" capacity
			only use codes 4-6, variation being meaningless)

Crew served weapons	+/- 20%


I implemented alterations in accuracy by altering the range bands by
+/- 10%.

So, a standard 9mm auto pistol as listed in Striker Book 3 has a
magazine capacity of 15, effective range of 10m, long range of 40m,
and extreme range of 90m.  (Which is ludicrous - my air pistol can do
better than that - but it will do for this example.)  A code 7 pistol
has a + on ammo, so 15 + 20% = 18; it also has a - on accuracy, which
for those figures really does nothing to the effective and long ranges,
but brings the extreme range down to 80m.  (Striker worked on a 1/1000
scale, and the ranges are all listed in the book as integer values of
cm.  Unless you want to measure things to millimetre precision, which
the authors apparently did not want to do, this simply changes the
extreme range on the game table from 9cm to 8cm.)  The standard 9mm
auto pistol costs Cr200; the code 7 version costs Cr190.

In addition, I had other options which could be added at the GM's leisure.
These are summed up in the following table:

Code letter	Meaning					Price alteration
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Jn		DM +n to jam				-n*5%
    S		Stock available.  On pistols, this	+10%
		doubles the range; on longarms, it
		is a folding stock.
    +		Weapon exceptionally suited to the	0 (or GM's choice)
		PC.  +1 DEX when firing.
    -		Weapon exceptionally uncomfortable
		for the PC.  -1 DEX.
    B		Barrel extension available.  Usually	+10%
		only for pistols.  +20% range.
    F		Flash eliminator available.		+10%
    NF		No flash eliminator - applies only	-Cr50
		to military weapons where one would
		be expected as standard.
    Si		Silencer can be fitted.			Cr10

The prices above only mean that something has been done to the weapon
to make fitting an accessory possible, e.g. threading the barrel tip for
a barrel extension or silencer.  The accessories themselves cost extra:
most are listed in the MT Imperial Encyclopedia.  The pistol barrel
extension costs 10% of the price of the pistol itself.  Alternatively,
it may be a whole replacement barrel, costing 20% of the price of the
pistol.

The Jn option (GM's option, not PC's!) referred back to the fact that in
my games, a natural 2 meant the gun had jammed - except that if the gun
had a J1 code, a natural 2 or 3 would do it.  No-one ever used a J2 gun!
Something similar can be worked out for the task system, using the J code
number as a modifier on the mishap table.

I got the idea of the barrel extension from Gordon Dickson's "Tactics of
Mistake".  It would probably be most practical on a snub pistol, because
of that weapon's lower propellant pressure.

> Now - in Traveller we only have "10mm Auto." What about a "Intellarms
> S-56 10mm Auto with gyrostabilizer?" Or a "BendArCo 23dm double magazine
> 10mm?" Or "Causative XMH-242 8mm, gyrostab, integral bipod, laser
> rangefinder and designator?"

A bipod on a pistol?  Novel idea, but I don't know if it would sell.  :-)

- --
 "Keyboard?  How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  [email removed]
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   [email removed]