In response to questions from Susan Shock and others:
About Laser Penetration:
In an earlier post to this list, Loren said that they revised
how lasers worked after a person In-The-Know gave them some
pointers.
In #71 of Challenge, there are two articles on design notes for BL and
a general article on Lasers in space combat. In that article, David Nilsen
(sp?) says that 1) Reflec would be more like ablat (because the reflectivity
of the surface would be ruined after the first hit) and that 2) Reflec would
be too wrinkly on a person to be effective. He also commented that the
weightless invisible body suit was "too much of a good thing".
As to Plasma/Fusion Pen, see my post a few nights ago: they left
out some numbers: the listed numbers are for Vehicle pen.
The 1C notation means that their is explosive/concussion damage. It's
in the rules (look under explosives, I think-- I don't have the rules
with me...)
About the low penetration of various weapons: Body armor has to
be good for something, right? The 2-2-2 rating for HEAP might
also be for vehicles: I'm not sure.
Matt (Not Goldman)