Made by Kevin Dole 1996
E-mail: dmerrill@plainfield.bypass.com
Most intelligent species first feared fire. They still do. Even
though the taming of fire is lost in prehistory to most, the little
animal that lives in the base of our brain still fears being burned.
Even with this fact in mind, few military forces use incendiary weapons
today.
Originally, an incendiary weapon meant a torch made of combustible
materials was used to wallop someone over the head with, or the
surrounding terrain was lit on fire. Later, pools and jars of burning
grease and vegetable oils were used against enemy troops and equipment.
In time, these were replaced with hydrocarbon-based compounds.
This, along with advances in metallurgy and pressurization systems,
allowed the forerunners of modern flame throwers to be invented. Little
more than a tank of flammable liquid attached to a nozzle and a smaller
flame, these first flamers were as dangerous to the user as they were
to the intended target. A burst tank could be ignited, turning the
carrier into a living torch until his nervous system overloaded or some
merciful soul shot him.
Flame throwers became safer over time, and were eventually replaced
with incendiary rockets and grenades, but as is usually the case,
conflict after conflict showed places were a traditional flame thrower
would be much more suitable. Today, Imperial forces maintain a small
number of "dragon" squads, as do many corporate and mercenary forces.
It should be noted that even though they are easy to construct, and
terrifyingly effective, the Rebellion rarely uses them, for PR reasons.
THE WEAPONS
Sunfire ML-144 Mk IV
the Sunfire Corporation is one of the most prolific manufacturers of
incendiary weapons today. Their ML-144 Mk IV is probably their most
conventional, and popular, design, consisting of large packframe-
mounted tanks and a projector wand fitted with a conventional pistol
grip and an adjustable nozzle. For safety reasons, they have fitted
the ML-144 with an electric igniter, which is triggered from a thumb
switch mounted along the left side of the trigger group. This has the
added bonus of allowing the user to release a pool of fuel on the ground
for later ignition. They have also made the system highly adaptable to
different kinds of fuel, reducing the second most common problem with
flame throwers, keeping them fueled.
type: Heavy Incinerator Unit
skill: Flamethrower: heavy
availability: 2 R,X
cost: 900 (50)
range: 3-4/7/10
area of effect: 2m
fire rate: 1
ammunition: 50
damage: 5D+1, 3D next five rounds
notes: Bulky: -1D DEX
Tanks: If pack struck, tanks explode if the damage is equal
to a Wounded result. Does 10D damage, 3D next 5 rounds
per every ten shots of fuel left in tank, 6m area of
effect.
Sunfire ML-152 MkII
The Sunfire ML-152 MkII is probably one of the more demented ideas to
hit the field of weapons technology in a long time. Nearly every
culture has a myth about some sword who's blade was sheathed in flame.
This is the closest you are going to come. Consisting of a light
vibroblade fitted with a thermal generator, the ML-152 is in some was
a humaine weapon- the target rarely bleeds to death, as the wounds are
almost always cauterized.
type: fireblade
skill: Melee Combat: vibroblade
availability: 3 R,X
cost: 1250
difficulty: Moderate
damage: STR+1D (+3D fire) [max 9D], does 2D damage for the
next two rounds
Sunfire ML-194 Mk IX
The ML-194 Mk IX is the newest addition to the Sunfire line, essent-
ially a vibrowhip fitted with the same thermal generator as found in
the ML-152. It consists of five meter vibroedged lash, laced with
thermal conductive mesh.
For safety reasons, the vibroedge is controlled by a grip safety,
while the thermal generator is activated by a thumb switch.
type: firewhip
skill: Whips: vibrowhip
availability: 3 R,X
cost: 1400
range: 1-2 (difficult)/3 (moderate)/4 (Difficult)
damage: STR+1D (+2D Fire), does 1D damage for next 2 rounds.
notes: If the roll fails, the user is struck. If the roll
beats the target roll (either attacking or parrying)
by +10, the whip wraps around the target, doing 3D
damage per round.
BlasTech F3 and F3C
The F3, and it's slightly smaller brother, the F3C, are BlasTech's
first expedition into the manufacture of flamethrowers in over a
hundred years. Being of fairly modern design, they both use a small
tank of fuel that is attached to the underside of the "barrel", and
connected via a threaded socket to a pump housed before the standard
pistol grip. The F3 is the larger of the two, and is fitted with a
carrying handle/sight assembly, a heavy insulated forearm and a full
shoulder stock, along with vertically mounted fuel bottle. The F3C is
smaller, about the same size as the E11 blaster rifle, and lacks the
shoulder stock and carrying handle, instead fitted with a LED "bead"-
type sight at the muzzle and a horizontally mounted fuel bottle,
eliminating the need for a forearm. It is small enough to be fitted
under the barrel of some of the larger blaster rifles, such as the
BlasTech A280 or EKX-10, or the Merr-Sonn Tracker 16, but not the
newer, carbine sized weapons such as the Stormtrooper One or the E11.
[stats for the F3C appear in brackets]
type: flame rifle [flame carbine]
skill: Flamethrower: rifle [carbine]
availability: 2 F,R,X
cost: 700 (25) [500 (20)]
range: 3-5/7/10 [3-4/5/7]
area of effect: 1m [1/2m]
fire rate: 1 [1/2]
ammunition: 15 [10]
damage: 5D+1 [5D], both do 3D damage for the next five rounds
Merr-Sonn F-93 Flame Thrower
The F-93 is one of the heaviest flamethrowers available for personal
carry and operation. It consists of the traditional pack-mounted tanks,
but the weapon itself is constructed more like a rifle, complete with
stock and holographic reflexive sight. Using a new formula of Liquid
Plastic-Fire (LPF), it is one of the few, if the only, truly all
terrain incinerators available. Composed of magnesium-oxide and
thermite suspended in a semi-liquid, hydrocarbon based gel, this fuel
provides its own oxygen, making the possibility of vacuum and underwater
operations a strong one.
(However, to the best of Merr-Sonn's, and this writer's, knowledge no
one has been brave enough to try it out, meaning no one knows if it
actually works. If anyone actually does so (in combat), and has a
confirmable visual recording of the incident, Merr-Sonn will give them
a 75,000cr salary (plus expenses) to become a the spokesperson for
the design.) This high viscosity, along with incredibly high tank
pressures, make this one of the few incinerator that can hit anything
much beyond the range of a thrown shockball.
type: heavy incinerator unit
skill: Flamethrower: heavy
availability: 3 X
cost: 1000 (120)
range: 3-10/30/100
area of effect: 2m
rate of fire: 1/2
ammunition: 20
damage: 6D, does 4D damage for next 10 rounds.
notes: LPF: Will function in vacuum and underwater (-1D damage,
-50% of range when submerged)
Bulky: -1D+2 DEX
Tanks: If pack struck, tanks explode if the damage is equal to
a Wounded result. Does 14D damage, 4D next 15 rounds
per every ten shots of fuel left in tank, 10m area of
effect (due to high pressure).
Sorr-Suub F-34 Hand Incinerator
More a glorified torch than a true flamethrower, the F-34 is one of
the best flame pistols o the market today. Not much larger than a
blaster pistol, the F-34 is bulkier, due to the canister of pressurized
gases slung under the barrel. When fired, the nozzle releases a jet
of gas, which it then flash ignites, covering roughly an area one meter
wide and five long. Many famous bounty hunters have added modified F-34s
to their suits, including (possibly) Boba Fett himself.
No more powerful than a heavy blaster, and much lower ammunition, the
F-34 stands out in the realm of civilian, urban self-defense.
All intelligent beings fear being burnt, and the F-34 makes a rather
flashy display of its capabilities, in addition to having a very short
range with no chance of a missed shot traveling past 5 meters.
type: flame pistol
skill: Flamethrower: pistol
availability: 2 F,R
cost: 300 (30)
range: 1-2/3/5
area of effect: 1m
damage: 5D
Merr-Sonn Industrial Foam Gun
Perhaps an odd choice for a discussion on flame throwers, the MSI
Foam Gun is one of the most common fire suppressant devises on the
market today. I have chosen to include it here, as any squad that
includes a flamethrower should have something like this at 1:3 ratio
of flamers and extinguishers. Similar in construction to the BlasTech
F3C, the MSI FG is built of fairly rugged polymers, but not one that
are capable of being converted into a flamer body (at the request of
the Imperial Military Equipment Certification Board, as some other
models have been thusly rebuilt). Having a good range, and firing a
nonconductive, smothering foam. Despite it's price, it can be found
almost anywhere, including roughly 10% of the homes surveyed by the
Imperial Insurance Corporation, and nearly 30% of the civilian star-
ships, due to it's reliability and long, positive history.
type: fire extinguisher
skill: Flamethrower: carbine
availability: 1
cost: 200 (50)
range: 3-5/7/12
area of effect: 5m
fire rate: 1
ammunition: 25
damage: Roll 5D against the fire's damage code. -1D from
fire's damage per level of damage done to the fire.
When the fire's damage equals 0D, the fire is
extinguished.
GAME NOTES
Some special notes should be made about the nature of fire. When a
target has received cumulative damage done to the target equals 10,
modified for the target's nature (for example, Wookie fur ignites if
the damage exceeds the STR roll by 3, but a permacrete wall ignites
if the damage exceeds 20 [note: most structural, exterior walls are
a speeder scale target]). The amount of damage done by this new fire
is up to the GM (based on such variables as the oxygen content of the
air, the flammability of the target, and other such randomness). When
the target has had five Killed damage results done to it, it is totally
consumed by the fire, and is no more. Feel free to ignore the technical
aspects of this, and use it more as a roleplaying device (I do).
EXPANDED SKILL DESCRIPTION
This expands on the information posted on Wen., 11-13-96. Most people
just hold the flamethrower on a particular target. This is not always
the best way to do this. To spread the fuel around, one fans the muzzle
of the flamer around. (No difficulty modifier, but it must be in the
same range. If it changes from, say, short to medium range, use the
medium range difficulty.) There are two ways to do this:
* method 1: The area of effect is not nessacerily a circular one.
Reduce the depth of the area to expand the breadth to it
by the same percentage.
Example: Ungor the Gammorean has a Merr-Sonn F-93, with a
2m area of effect. He wants to cover an area 4m wide.
His area is now four meters wide, but only one meter deep.
* method 2: The area may be expanded by one area of effect's worth of
linear space for every two additional rounds of damage
that you are willing to give up.
Example: Ungor doesn't want to loose the depth of his
fire. As a result, he lays his fire stream out six meters
wide and two meters deep, but it no longer does 4D damage
for the next 10 rounds. It now does 4D damage for the next
6 rounds.
These rules may be combined. It should also be noted that the blow-
torches, like the SoroSuub F-34, can not have their damage modified in
this manner. They are essentially just an aerosol spray fitted with an
igniter.
FLAMETHROWER TACTICS
Flamers are a very special weapon. It is best used to hit a large
number of concentrated troops or vehicles at one time. It also has a
large number of dangers to the user that most other weapons don't have,
like a habit of turning the shooter and anyone within a few meters of
him into screaming candles if the tank is hit in combat. This is why
I say that there should always be extinguishers of some sort with units
equipped with flamers.
In many ways, the flamethrower is a psychological weapon. As I have
often stated, nearly all intelligent beings are reluctent to be burned.
These weapons produce horrific injuries, possibly the worst that anyone
has ever inflicted upon another living thing.
This is why most professional warriors have really serious dislike of
anyone with a flamethrower, including their own comrades. Most snipers
will, if they have choice, consider an individual with a flame thrower
to be a higher prority target than most officers or an enemy sniper or
heavy weapon team.
Despite their drawbacks, incinerator units are a weapon that has many
uses. Especially if you'd enjoy sending your PCs out on a bug hunt.