Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - [AtE] Hand-Held Power Generator / Hand Crank

Varyon · 10-09-2016, 11:51 AM

For my Vehicles conversion, I have muscle powered generators produce BL/60 kW, costing the character 1 FP every 15 minutes. That's probably appropriate for a pedal system; BL/75 may be more appropriate for a hand crank (80% of leg power). Weight depends on the TL of the design and its maximum output - TL 4 is 100 lb/kW, TL 5 is 50 lb/kW, TL 6 is 20 lb/kW, and TL 7+ is 10 lb/kW. Nominal cost is $5/lb, but expect that to be much higher in an AtE setting. I'll also note that the normal rule for increasing price by TL doesn't quite work out here, as a 1 kW TL 7 hand crank would cost $400 (x8) and weigh 10 lb, while a TL 4 one would cost $500 and weigh 100 lb. It might be better to price it by kW instead - $100 per kW ($0.10 per W) at TL 4 might work (making the 100 lb generator cost $100, and the 10 lb one cost $800).

If you need a hand crank that's fully usable by an ST 16 (BL 51.2) character, that calls for 680 W. A TL 4 design is $68 and 68 lb, while a TL 7 one (left over from before the End) is $544 and 6.8 lb. If an ST 10 character tries to use it, it'll work*, but will only produce around 267 W.

*This assumes the thing is designed to be able to shift gears or similar so that a weaker character can use it. You might be able to drop that part of the design to shave off some cost and weight, but I'd suggest against it.

10-09-2016, 11:51 AM	#6
Varyon Join Date: Jun 2013	Re: [AtE] Hand-Held Power Generator / Hand Crank For my Vehicles conversion, I have muscle powered generators produce BL/60 kW, costing the character 1 FP every 15 minutes. That's probably appropriate for a pedal system; BL/75 may be more appropriate for a hand crank (80% of leg power). Weight depends on the TL of the design and its maximum output - TL 4 is 100 lb/kW, TL 5 is 50 lb/kW, TL 6 is 20 lb/kW, and TL 7+ is 10 lb/kW. Nominal cost is $5/lb, but expect that to be much higher in an AtE setting. I'll also note that the normal rule for increasing price by TL doesn't quite work out here, as a 1 kW TL 7 hand crank would cost $400 (x8) and weigh 10 lb, while a TL 4 one would cost $500 and weigh 100 lb. It might be better to price it by kW instead - $100 per kW ($0.10 per W) at TL 4 might work (making the 100 lb generator cost $100, and the 10 lb one cost $800). If you need a hand crank that's fully usable by an ST 16 (BL 51.2) character, that calls for 680 W. A TL 4 design is $68 and 68 lb, while a TL 7 one (left over from before the End) is $544 and 6.8 lb. If an ST 10 character tries to use it, it'll work, but will only produce around 267 W. This assumes the thing is designed to be able to shift gears or similar so that a weaker character can use it. You might be able to drop that part of the design to shave off some cost and weight, but I'd suggest against it.