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Fallon Kell
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Joined: 07 Mar 2011
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Location: Tacoma, WA
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 Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:03 pm Post subject: Pirate Blaster |
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I suppose it was inevitable. Give a GM enough time running a space pirate adventure in a part of the galaxy that doesn't get much outside traffic, and he'll start to wonder how to make a flintlock-pistol-inspired blaster.
So I did. I call it the Caliban.
| Quote: | Type: Double-barreled blaster pistol
Skill: Blasters (s) Caliban
Ammo: 1 (disposable power packs 10 credits each)
Cost: 1,500 credits
Availability: 3X, 2R in Wildspace
Fire Rate: Unlimited*
Damage: 6D+1
Range: 3-10/30/90
*theoretically. MAPs can make the reloading rolls impossible... |
The Caliban is a break-action double-barreled over and under blaster pistol. It fires 1 shot per disposable power pack. Due to the extreme energy usage, the gas conversion enabler is burnt out after a single shot, so the power packs each contain a gas conversion enabler and a Heter valve. The power pack connects directly to both actuating blaster modules at the rear of the twin barrels. Also contained in the power pack are enough energy and blaster gas for a single shot, and a massive dose of coolant.
As soon as a shot is fired, the pressurized coolant is released and flushes out the barrels of the gun. This produces significant recoil and a large white cloud. A Caliban that has been fired recently is often cold to the touch and can trickle gaseous coolant from both muzzles.
To reload, a shooter presses a lever on the spine of the handle, and the blaster hinges open, expelling the spent power pack with a spring. The shooter then places a fresh power pack in place and hinges the weapon closed. (This is a non roll action and takes 3 seconds, but it can be done in one second with an Easy Dexterity roll.)
Let me know what you think!
Pics coming once I've drawn it...
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16176
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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This bears some resemblance to power guns from the Hammer's Slammers universe, wherein a properly aligned sample of metal suspended in a plastic wafer is subjected to precise magnetic and energy stresses, which in turn cause the suspended metal sample to go off in a linear energy discharge. There are also some examples in the SWU, such as the Shoulder-Fired Ion Cannon in the Imperial Sourcebook, where each pre-packaged tube gives off an ion energy discharge but is stored in a solid-state.
In short, it's not too far off at all. I would leave off the fire rate, though, as most weapons without fire rates are assumed to have a fire rate that is limited only by MAPs. What form do you envision the shells taking for this thing? I'm picturing something like shotgun shells...
EDIT: And maybe have MAPs count for double, since firing a reloading are one action each...
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ZzaphodD
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Joined: 28 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:06 am Post subject: |
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I fail to see why anyone would use, let alone invent such a gun.
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Fallon Kell
Commodore
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Location: Tacoma, WA
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:28 am Post subject: |
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| crmcneill wrote: | This bears some resemblance to power guns from the Hammer's Slammers universe, wherein a properly aligned sample of metal suspended in a plastic wafer is subjected to precise magnetic and energy stresses, which in turn cause the suspended metal sample to go off in a linear energy discharge. There are also some examples in the SWU, such as the Shoulder-Fired Ion Cannon in the Imperial Sourcebook, where each pre-packaged tube gives off an ion energy discharge but is stored in a solid-state.
In short, it's not too far off at all. I would leave off the fire rate, though, as most weapons without fire rates are assumed to have a fire rate that is limited only by MAPs. What form do you envision the shells taking for this thing? I'm picturing something like shotgun shells...
EDIT: And maybe have MAPs count for double, since firing a reloading are one action each... |
Well, this is a true blaster, not a form of firearm, and works just like any other blaster. (Except, of course most blasters don't burn out a new XCiter every time they're fired.)
If I end up writing the gun up again, I suppose I'll leave out the fire rate, but I'm too lazy to take it down... 
The power packs are loaded just like shot shells, but are roughly rectangular. I'll draw some with the gun. | ZzaphodD wrote: | | I fail to see why anyone would use, let alone invent such a gun. |
The power to blow a man clean in two, held in the palm of your hand isn't good enough for you?
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ZzaphodD
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:35 am Post subject: |
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Why not just a heavy blaster in the upper range?
About the same damage IIRC. This pistol, for some reason, has a longer range. But the cleaving in half part is the same...
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:51 am Post subject: |
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| ZzaphodD wrote: | Why not just a heavy blaster in the upper range?
About the same damage IIRC. This pistol, for some reason, has a longer range. But the cleaving in half part is the same... |
A couple reasons:
It's only one pip less than the Thunderer
It's from out in Wildspace where the tech level isn't as reliably high, and super-heavy blaster pistols are an extremely rare find
The range is higher because it's basically two fire-linked semi-heavy blaster pistols
It has better game balance than the super-heavy blaster pistols, which counts because I would downrate their damage or something
It's not as big as a super-heavy pistol, and easier to conceal
A very few weapons scanners might fail to detect it because the gun itself does not contain all the components of a blaster
Besides, it looks like a pirate gun, which is important if you're a pirate.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:41 am Post subject: |
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| Fallon Kell wrote: | | Well, this is a true blaster, not a form of firearm, and works just like any other blaster. (Except, of course most blasters don't burn out a new XCiter every time they're fired.) |
Power guns aren't really a firearm either. In the Hammerverse, they shoot a line-straight, no-recoil energy discharge. The only resemblance they bear to firearms is that the ammunition is in solid state before it is fired. When it actually is fired, it's converted into energy. IMO, blasters probably do something similar, except that their ammunition is in a gaseous state (blaster gas) before firing, but in both cases, matter is converted into a linear energy discharge by the weapon's firing mechanism.
| ZzaphodD wrote: | | I fail to see why anyone would use, let alone invent such a gun. |
Why not? This is the SWU, after all. If some cultures are so primitive that they still use bows or flintlocks, why not intermediate steps, such as a blaster that uses solid ammunition?
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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| crmcneill wrote: |
Power guns aren't really a firearm either. In the Hammerverse, they shoot a line-straight, no-recoil energy discharge. The only resemblance they bear to firearms is that the ammunition is in solid state before it is fired. When it actually is fired, it's converted into energy. IMO, blasters probably do something similar, except that their ammunition is in a gaseous state (blaster gas) before firing, but in both cases, matter is converted into a linear energy discharge by the weapon's firing mechanism. |
Okay. I wasn't really clear on that point. My theory of how blasters work does involve a matter-energy conversion too, but from gas not solids, and only as an intermediate step.
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ZzaphodD
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| crmcneill wrote: | | ZzaphodD wrote: | | I fail to see why anyone would use, let alone invent such a gun. |
Why not? This is the SWU, after all. If some cultures are so primitive that they still use bows or flintlocks, why not intermediate steps, such as a blaster that uses solid ammunition? |
Sure, but thats not the problem. Why making it ammo 1 then. If the tech level is enough to invent 'primitive' (but heavy as hell) blasters, why not have even a low ammo capacity? Sure, its SWU and any weird things can be invented by crazy inventors. It seems doomed to be a shelf-warmer though... Shooting a man in two might seem like a neat idea, but one-shot guns fell out of (practical) use quite a while ago, and we are not even in the primitive blaster age so to speak. 
To each their own and all that of course..
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CRMcNeill
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Fallon Kell wrote: | | Okay. I wasn't really clear on that point. My theory of how blasters work does involve a matter-energy conversion too, but from gas not solids, and only as an intermediate step. |
You're still not clear. I only said that it was similar, not that it was identical. My original post was mostly to point out that there was precedent for a weapon like this, both in sci-fi and the SWU.
Exactly how big are these shells supposed to be? IMO, one of the main advantages of blaster weapons in the SWU is ammunition capacity, in that a blaster pack can hold 10 or more individual shots worth of ammunition for the equivalent space of one round for a firearm. If you are considering individual rounds for this gun to be similar in size to modern bullets, then there needs to be some explanation for them being so inefficient (i.e. so much space taken up for a single blast of energy).
You may also want to consider making the individual rounds more expensive and/or less available. If they have to be individually loaded and charged, that is a very labor intensive process, and time costs money. Plus, this is obviously not a wide-spread piece of technology (if anything it sounds low-tech: a generational step back from standard SWU blaster technology).
Honestly, the weapon itself seems somewhat redundant. You basically have a regular blaster with a highly inefficient one-shot ammunition pack. It seems like it would be a simple step for someone to simply tack on a larger tank and presto - a multi-shot Caliban. I think if you want to sell me on the idea of a single shot blaster, the technobabble needs a little work...
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ZzaphodD
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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From some sci-fi RPG other than SW I remember Plasma guns having singular energy cells (IIRC almost the size of of a soda can) that were completely depleted from one shot... But in that setting it was the heaviest weapon around, and it certainly wasnt pistol sized. I doubt it was used as a anti-personell weapon..
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Hellcat
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| Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:27 pm Post subject: Re: Pirate Blaster |
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| Fallon Kell wrote: | I suppose it was inevitable. Give a GM enough time running a space pirate adventure in a part of the galaxy that doesn't get much outside traffic, and he'll start to wonder how to make a flintlock-pistol-inspired blaster.
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This was inspired by a flintlock? Man, I'm more picturing a sawed of coach gun. Double barrelled, break lock, only it doesn't have the over under effect. Maybe the Lemat revolver for the over under picture in my mind.
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:29 am Post subject: |
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| ZzaphodD wrote: | | crmcneill wrote: | | ZzaphodD wrote: | | I fail to see why anyone would use, let alone invent such a gun. |
Why not? This is the SWU, after all. If some cultures are so primitive that they still use bows or flintlocks, why not intermediate steps, such as a blaster that uses solid ammunition? |
Sure, but thats not the problem. Why making it ammo 1 then. If the tech level is enough to invent 'primitive' (but heavy as hell) blasters, why not have even a low ammo capacity? Sure, its SWU and any weird things can be invented by crazy inventors. It seems doomed to be a shelf-warmer though... Shooting a man in two might seem like a neat idea, but one-shot guns fell out of (practical) use quite a while ago, and we are not even in the primitive blaster age so to speak.
To each their own and all that of course.. |
We still use single shot guns for things like blowing up tanks. Really big practical guns have historically been single shot. This is just man-portable artillery.
The reason I made this single shot was the idea that at the tech level of the manufacturer, they couldn't make a blaster at that power level that wouldn't burn out after every shot. So they put the parts that burn out into the magazine with enough energy, gas, and coolant for one shot as well. | crmcneill wrote: | | Fallon Kell wrote: | | Okay. I wasn't really clear on that point. My theory of how blasters work does involve a matter-energy conversion too, but from gas not solids, and only as an intermediate step. |
You're still not clear. I only said that it was similar, not that it was identical. My original post was mostly to point out that there was precedent for a weapon like this, both in sci-fi and the SWU.
Exactly how big are these shells supposed to be? IMO, one of the main advantages of blaster weapons in the SWU is ammunition capacity, in that a blaster pack can hold 10 or more individual shots worth of ammunition for the equivalent space of one round for a firearm. If you are considering individual rounds for this gun to be similar in size to modern bullets, then there needs to be some explanation for them being so inefficient (i.e. so much space taken up for a single blast of energy).
You may also want to consider making the individual rounds more expensive and/or less available. If they have to be individually loaded and charged, that is a very labor intensive process, and time costs money. Plus, this is obviously not a wide-spread piece of technology (if anything it sounds low-tech: a generational step back from standard SWU blaster technology).
Honestly, the weapon itself seems somewhat redundant. You basically have a regular blaster with a highly inefficient one-shot ammunition pack. It seems like it would be a simple step for someone to simply tack on a larger tank and presto - a multi-shot Caliban. I think if you want to sell me on the idea of a single shot blaster, the technobabble needs a little work... |
No, I gotcha. I just wanted to clarify how my gun worked, since we were talking mechanics.
The power packs are a little larger than two boxes of Tic-Tacs mostly because of all the extra stuff in there which I mentioned above. The power pack for, say, a DH-17 is about the same size, but doesn't carry any gas, coolant, or firing components.
As I mentioned above. There's a lot of energy going through there and the gas conversion enabler (XCiter) burns out, so a larger power pack is not a sufficient solution, because you still have to replace the burnt-out components. You could make a pump-action Caliban that was more than a single shot, but that would be a long gun, not a pistol.
| Hellcat wrote: | | Fallon Kell wrote: | I suppose it was inevitable. Give a GM enough time running a space pirate adventure in a part of the galaxy that doesn't get much outside traffic, and he'll start to wonder how to make a flintlock-pistol-inspired blaster.
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This was inspired by a flintlock? Man, I'm more picturing a sawed of coach gun. Double barrelled, break lock, only it doesn't have the over under effect. Maybe the Lemat revolver for the over under picture in my mind. |
Once I get the drawing up, you'll see the flintlock ancestry. In game mechanics, it's mostly just the cloud of vapor that makes it like a flintlock.
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CRMcNeill
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:10 am Post subject: |
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| Fallon Kell wrote: | The power packs are a little larger than two boxes of Tic-Tacs mostly because of all the extra stuff in there which I mentioned above. The power pack for, say, a DH-17 is about the same size, but doesn't carry any gas, coolant, or firing components.
As I mentioned above. There's a lot of energy going through there and the gas conversion enabler (XCiter) burns out, so a larger power pack is not a sufficient solution, because you still have to replace the burnt-out components. You could make a pump-action Caliban that was more than a single shot, but that would be a long gun, not a pistol. |
Again, all that for 10 credits per shot is a bit unrealistic. It's a lot of high-tech equipment crammed into a very small space. Even if spent packs can be recharged, that process will require the replacement of an internal component (the XCiter) on each shell, plus the recharging / refueling process.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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| crmcneill wrote: | | Fallon Kell wrote: | The power packs are a little larger than two boxes of Tic-Tacs mostly because of all the extra stuff in there which I mentioned above. The power pack for, say, a DH-17 is about the same size, but doesn't carry any gas, coolant, or firing components.
As I mentioned above. There's a lot of energy going through there and the gas conversion enabler (XCiter) burns out, so a larger power pack is not a sufficient solution, because you still have to replace the burnt-out components. You could make a pump-action Caliban that was more than a single shot, but that would be a long gun, not a pistol. |
Again, all that for 10 credits per shot is a bit unrealistic. It's a lot of high-tech equipment crammed into a very small space. Even if spent packs can be recharged, that process will require the replacement of an internal component (the XCiter) on each shell, plus the recharging / refueling process. |
Well there's one, maybe two, examples of high tech equipment (Xciter, energy storage). But unlike most equipment that's designed to keep working, these components only have to be used once. The XCiter can be built inexpensively since it's gonna burn after one shot regardless of quality of manufacture. The energy storage module doesn't need to be rechargeable, and the coolant and gas canisters do not differ significantly from the C02 cartridges you can get for $0.25 apiece at most sporting goods stores.
The idea here is that you buy disposable power packs that you aren't intended to refill. They're made to work exactly once for cheap. You fire 'em, eject 'em, and walk away from them, so local children can collect them as souvenirs.
Any more than 10 credits apiece would get prohibitively expensive. How often could you afford to shoot a gun that cost $10 per round? And that's assuming a Dollar is worth as much as a Credit, which I do not think is true.
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