Ya it’s obviously a miniaturization process from the TL 10 VRF Gauss Gun.
MGT Only: Using the Gauss Pistol?
- Thread starter Spinward Scout
- Start date
That's my logic. My gauss support weapon would be like a Squad Automatic Weapon to the VRFGG being a Browning HMG.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Miniaturization to pistol size needed an extra technological level.
Keeping it at twelve would mean something more like the M4 Carbine.
Keeping it at twelve would mean something more like the M4 Carbine.
In CT Striker it is TL13.
This is an IMTU thing.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Since we're Mongoosing it, technological level twelve introduced us to the rifle variant at four damage dice, thirteen miniaturized it to pistol at three damage dice, range decreased by five sixths, and fourteen increased damage in the rifle variant to five damage dice, range increased by a twelfth.
Ok, have to say, It's pretty much a point and shoot interface....
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
So are most guns, especially laser pointers.
Now that I think of it, I don't think there's a breakdown of the magrail pistol, technological level fourteen.
Now that I think of it, I don't think there's a breakdown of the magrail pistol, technological level fourteen.
Daidoji Dave
SOC-11
This thread reminds me I once meant to go through CSC in Mongoose 1e and rework everything into a cleaned up and slightly shorter list that was more balanced and coherent. And have that to put in front of players with a house rules document, so CSC wasn't ever on the table.
That's a lot of work for the reward though, and I never did it. But now I'm tempted again.
That's a lot of work for the reward though, and I never did it. But now I'm tempted again.
which is reasonable, as there is wasted power in all explosive propelled rounds; just how much is a function of barrel length, barrel diameter, round diameter, and powder load. Basically, if you don't have enough powder to put gas expansion past the barrel's end at the speed desired for the bullet.
Bullpup configurations work fine for explosive-propelled rounds; that's not an advantage unique to gauss weapons.
The main reason we don't see bullpup pistols is regulatory. Many places don't like the idea of carbine length barrels on one-handed weapons. (noting that bullpupped rifles and carbines can usually be fired with 1 hand more accurately than under-action or behind-action grip weapons.(Most battle rifles and assault rifles are pistol-grip behind the action; most pistols are under the action.)
Secondarily, ergonomics. A bullpupped pistol usually doesn't have enough space for a magazine in the standard vertical orientation below the action; horizontal/sideways mounting is an awkward twisting force; vertical above the action is blocking aim; tubular (like many shotguns), underbarrel, or overbarrel (like the HK G11 or FN P90) have significant balance changes through the magazine load in pistols that are largely ignorable in 2-handed firearms.
All the actions are pretty standard. The mag isn't reduced much, but what's in it differs: it's got a bunch of powerful electrical storage cells (probably superconducting capacitors), and a very thin ammo box. A mechanical mechanism loads the 4×20mm dart just like any normal pistol would load a full cartridge, and the magazine has notably large electrical connections.
Aiming: it's a pistol. Aim like any other.
Drawing: It's a pistol.
Swapping mags: only one minor issue different: making certain the electrical contacts make contact.
Reloading magazines: plug them in to charge after putting the replacement needles in.
Power: Most likely a separate battery in the sides of the grip for powering the basic action, replenished from bleed after firing. Magazines probably have the power for each shot.
multi-mag: it's unlikely to be common, but still doable, to have a two magazines in one magazine body; given the size of the stack, 4×20 is 160 ×4×20 mm, so 6"×5/32"×25/32"... one could have 2 or even 3 side by sides, Separate mags? probably no more than two.
Signature: it's far from silent, given it's putting out a hypersonic round. There is no visual flash, however, unless the weapon is damaged, or the air is creating cavitational glow.
Unlike GDW, Mongoose seems happy to turn Traveller into Space Fantasy (a la Star Wars).
Traveller really isn't even hard space opera, but at least it was space opera not space fantasy, tho virus sits right on the border of the two.
If you want gritty space opera, FFE has CDs of TTNE and GT.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
The problem with double magazines, or in the case of Judge Dredd, four different types of ammunition, is that it was left out in the design sequence.
Daidoji Dave
SOC-11
By "balanced and coherent" I was only thinking of the fact that CSC had some obvious break points for min-maxers to find. Not only between disparate tech levels where that's expected, but in a few cases the same tech level had guns where one was just clearly better. A danger I assume in trying to come up with different stats for many different guns in a 2d6 system that's just not that finely grained. Also I don't like how many pluses CSC hands out from gear add-ons if you're willing to shop for them, so I meant to do a pass where I came up with a different effect than "+1" for laser sights or whatever, and get the attack roll back on that 2d6 skill curve.
If you want to skip the following, the tl;dr is you've sold me off TTNE and GT though, not on them.
I never use the words space fantasy in regards to my game, but I've read enough old pulp science fiction that I'm unapologetic about including the unexplained. I've used an alien beast that walked through walls, I've used strange energy fields that I don't have any hard science explanation for, I planned but never got to use a psionic echo "ghost." I'm proud of all that, and only wish I'd come up with more.
Hard SF is only a subset of the whole genre. It overlapped with pulp and action from the beginning, and continued on doing so surprisingly late. Along the way it also dipped into speculation on strange social arrangements that probably aren't realistic or likely either. It's all still sf, and the pulp side is represented among Miller's acknowledged inspirations by the Dumarest novels.
There's a sub-current here and on Mongoose' own forum, that probably self-describes as pro-science or pro-space opera, but comes across to me as anti-science fiction. Not to pick on this quoted post alone, I'm thinking of others before. In fairness, it's likely been around in the game before I ever found Traveller, but I don't see it as the obviously right way to play.
The thing with SF is that you really should start with the actual relevant science and physics, so that when you bend, break, or simply ignore them, you're doing it on purpose rather than accidentally.
This isn't to say you can't or even shouldn't! Just be aware of it, to better preserve suspension of disbelief.
The only problem with that and Traveller is that from where I'm sitting to 3I is twice as far as Ancient Rome to here. And then I wonder about how well the suspension of disbelief would do if Julius, Octavius, Brutus and I were playing "Twilight 2000"
Or what an RPG written by Homer concerning the events 2800 years in his future would say about the "actual relevant science and physics"
As we closed the game session I ran tonight, a TL 14 ship and a TL10 SDB were getting ready to exchange nuclear missiles with TL10-12 Vargr invaders. I wrote the scene , it'll play out.... but there's this part of me that knows that TL14 is as far from now as now is from Rome. Which of the weapons we use in naval battle are recognizable to a Roman? And what TL14 weapons would be recognizable to a TL7 USN vet?
How much of the game is "realistically inaccurate" but it plays to the players suspension of disbelief?
Reality is occasionally unrealistic.
Most all of the high tech stuff in Classic was either common SF material or gee-whiz stuff out of pop-sci magazines of the time. It'd be recognizable, if not necessarily comprehensible, to late-1970s military who were also SF fans.
As a case in point, sandcastles. (Autocorrect, but I'll keep it.) It's naval chaffroc and/or smoke screening -- mind you, how it really works in-universe would be difficult to understand (because it's a point where the game intentionally -- at least, after the fact -- deviates from physics as we know it).
Those work great at blocking incoming laser fire.
Yeah, but they're poor performance versus a 40mm auto-culverin or RF-auto-saker, and all but useless against a trebuchet-barbette with enhanced-radiation ordnance.
The way to stop kinesthetic weapons like railroads or missions is with emergency weapons like plastic or fuzzy guns.
(Yeah, some of those weren't really the first -- or even third -- suggestions from auto-complete; others were from partial words... in other words, I cheated.
)kinetic, railguns, energy, plasma, fusion
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