> From: Kerry Harrison [email removed]
> Subject: Grenades for TNE
First of all, thanks for reposting it here, especially Geos conversion
notes (and thanks to him too of course:)
> Type Damage Pen
> Antitank C:3, B:4 18C
I think this outlines one problem I've seen in TTNE: the generally very
low penetrations of all weapons (except starship weapons).
Here we have a TL7 hand grenade, and it has much greater penetration than
any of the fusion or plasma rifles.
Comparing the tac missiles with their TL7 and 8 counterparts is even worse:
A TL8 I-TOW has much higher penetration (150C) than any of the tac missiles
given on page 357, even much heavier TL13 versions!
I have a slight suspicion that this is because GDW wanted to avoid the
scenario where a joker with a TL8 ATGM (pen around 130C) shoots at the
characters trader, and the ship takes 3 critical hits...
One possible way to resolve this is to say that anti-ship weapons penetrate
over a much larger area (using 3G3 on it gives a minimum beam diameter of
538mm for the 150MJ TL15 laser if it should be capable of operating in
an atmosphere too, and 134 for vacuum only) and say that unless you really
make a hole 100mm+ in diameter, there won't be any critical hits.
This would remove this capability from most small HEAP weapons, but retain
it for very large explosive charges etc.
This does not mean that small AP weapons are incapable vs ships. Against a
thin-hulled trader, even small TL7+ autocannons and auto-grenade launchers
are devastating. Roughly half of the rounds from a TL7 40mm auto-grenade
launcher firing HEAP would penetrate, and those who didn't would still
cause damage to hardpoints, antennas, airlocks and other openings.
- -bertil-
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