Star Wars: approach and effective TL

[Gustavus Adolphus]

I apologize again for my bad English, so I ask for Grammar Nazi's pity :D

Well, I have in mind to start a hybrid Star Wars / Breaking Bad campaign (Yes, PG are on Tatooine and they produce Deathsticks on a Jawa's Sandcrawler...I've called it "Star Bad" or "Breaking War", lol). I don't want to use my HR about DR for the campaign, because they are beta-tested only for low TL (TL 0-3) at the moment, and they're good only for ST-chart based progressions of damage; and I don't want to recalibrate every dice of every blaster/firearm/explosives.

Personally, I consider Star Wars settings as TL 10. In SW, they don't have such very advanced TL of other sci-fi settings: no anti-matter weapons, "mininukes" are called thermal detonators (very lesser in power and blast radius), no smart houses, blaster weapons have very short range compared to TL 11 GURPS Ultratech blasters (except for massive Turbolaser and colossal Death Star cannon, they are fully TL 11 IMHO), no smart swarms, medicine isn't so advanced (cybernetic prothesis are by far more commons than biological reconstruction of body parts, one famous example is Anakin Skywalker), slugthrowers are still commons, and there is a lot of places with inferior TL (TL 8-9 except for space ships and weaponry, like Tatooine or most Outer Rims systems).
So, TL 10 with a little TL 11 (hyperdrive technology and lightsabers).

My approach isn't cinematic and movie-based (in fact, I appreciate more the World-Building Work than SW movies by themselves). I want to make a coherent setting, for example with Stormtroopers as elite force with good expensive life-saver armor :D not stupid grunts in ornamental white uniforms.

BLASTERS & LIGHTSABERS
I've given the (3) armor divisor at blaster weaponry instead the (5) armor divisor, because they are TL 10 versions of TL 11 blasters of GURPS ULTRATECH. One of the problems is the very short range described in Wookieepedia sources. Only 120 meters for a typical blaster pistol or 300 meters for a typical blaster rifle. In my HR, first range has full damage and (3) armor divisor (ex. up to 40 meters for a DL-18 blaster pistol). Second range has full damage and (2) armor divisor because the blast loses coherence but not heat (up to 120 meters for a DL-18 blaster pistol). Third range has both half damage and (2) armor divisor (up to 500 meters for a DL-18 blaster pistol). I've put Blow-Through x2 for tight-beam burning damage, blasters are more lethal than 5mm-to-14mm bullets in terms of stopping power.
Turbolasers and other massive installations are considered as fully TL 11, and they follow the GURPS Ultratech stats.

Lightsabers have standard (5) armor divisor. They can attack by swing or thrust with no damage modifiers, 6d6(5) t-b burn in every case. The swing attack doesn't has Blow-Through (it can cuts every foe in two pieces) and has range 1, with automatic Dismembering effect (for a ST 10 man, 8 BD for hands/feet, 12 BD for neck and limbs, 22 BD for torso). Thrust attack has Blow-Through x2 and range 1-2 (it can impale two stacked foes and it can pass through the walls). Lightsabers can parry blaster bolts, but ONLY if the user is Force-Sensitive with the Lightsaber Deflect technique (Very Hard, default Lightsaber-6)

CLONE AND STORMTROOPER ARMOR

PHASE II ARMOR
Clone Phase II armor is made of expensive highly resistant Plastoid-B alloy (Iron x8 DR at equal weight). It's semi-rigid (My HR: blunt trauma is 1 damage per 10 BD crushing damage only), and it's semi-ablative against burning/tight-beam burning damage only (but the reduction is applied to every damage: ex. if the torso plate has DR 50 and it suffer 40 BD burning damage, the DR drops to DR 46 vs. every type of damage). The armor is worn on a very resistant thermal blastweave NBC suit. The armor has the 50% of fully stops even average blaster carbine damage on torso and skull locations (5d(3), average damage 18 - [ DR 55/3] = 0) and the average blaster rifle attack does only a lesser wound if the blast hits the torso for the first time (3 damage). Weaker points are the face, especially the visor, neck, groin and limbs. This is a very good wartime armor.

Clone Phase II Armor (Kaminoan Armorsmiths, weight 18.09 kg/40.2 lbs, price 8.800$)
Armor (Torso): DR 50 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid; weight 9.37 kg/20.83 lbs
Armor (Groin, Limbs): DR 30 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid; weight 8.72 kg/19.37 lbs
Systems: comlink (range 160 km)

+ Helmet (weight 1.8 kg/4 lbs; price 1.800$)
Skull: DR 50 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid;
Back Head, Front Head 1-5, Neck: DR 30 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid (The Neck isn't all-surface protected; -7 for targeting a non-protected part of the neck or if you hit the neck, roll 1d; on 1-2, the helmet's DR doesn't protect against the attack)
Visor (Front Head 6, Eyes): DR 15
Systems: HUD, polarized lenses, NBC-filter breather (20 min oxygen supply), radio receiver (range 16 km); Perception +1; Diagnostic +1; Nictitating Membrane 5, Night Vision 2, Protected Senses 4 (vision, hearing, smell/taste), Telescopic Vision 1

+ Gloves (weight 0.33 kg/0.74 lbs, price 150$): DR 18 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid

+ Shoes (weight 0.88 kg/1.96 lbs, price 450$): DR 18 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid.
Systems: Grav-field alternator, Magnetized.

+ Blastweave Thermal NBC Suit (weight 1.8 kg/4 lbs, price 1.100$); covers all the body except eyes and head 6 from the front. DR 5*
Systems: Sealed, Temperature Tolerance (-40 °C to 49 °C)

Total weight: 22.9 kg/50.9 lbs Total price: 12.000$

STORMTROOPER ARMOR
Stormtrooper armor is made of less expensive Plastoid-A alloy (Iron x7.5 DR at equal weight). It's semi-rigid (My HR: blunt trauma is 1 damage per 10 BD crushing damage only), and it's semi-ablative against burning/tight-beam burning damage only (but the reduction is applied to every damage: ex. if the torso plate has DR 45 and it suffer 40 BD burning damage, the DR drops to DR 41 vs. every type of damage). The armor is worn on a standard cheap thermal NBC suit. The armor has the 50% of avoid a major wound for the wearer versus average blaster rifle damage on torso (6d(3), average damage 21 - [DR 45/3] = 6; average clone trooper has ST 12, ST 14 for heavy weapons specialists) and it's largely 7.62x51 mm bullet proofed. Weaker points are the face, especially the visor, neck, groin and limbs. This is a cheaper munition armor due the necessity of equip armies by far more numerous compared to republican clone army, but it's still a good protection.

Stormtrooper Armor (Imperial Munitions, weight 17.37 kg/38.6 lbs, price 7.200$)
Armor (Torso): DR 45 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid; weight 9 kg/20 lbs
Armor (Groin, Limbs): DR 27 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid; weight 8.37 kg/18.6 lbs
Systems: comlink (range 160 km)

+ Helmet (weight 1.8 kg/4 lbs; price 1.360$)
Skull: DR 45 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid;
Back Head, Front Head 1-5, Neck: DR 27 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid (The Neck isn't all-surface protected; -7 for targeting a non-protected part of the neck or if you hit the neck, roll 1d; on 1-2, the helmet's DR doesn't protect against the attack)
Visor (Eyes): DR 10
Breather (Nose - Front head 6): DR 20 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid
Systems: HUD, NBC-filter breather (20 min oxygen supply), radio receiver (range 16 km); Perception +1; Diagnostic +1; Nictitating Membrane 4, Night Vision 2, Protected Senses 4 (vision, hearing, smell/taste), Telescopic Vision 1

+ Gloves (weight 0.36 kg/0.8 lbs, price 120$): DR 18 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid

+ Shoes (weight 0.72 kg/1.6 lbs, price 120$): DR 18 semi-ablative(burning damage only)/semi-rigid.

+ Thermal NBC Suit (weight 1.35 kg/3 lbs, price 200$); covers all the body except eyes and head 6 from the front. DR 2*
Systems: Sealed, Temperature Tolerance (-40 °C to 49 °C)

Total weight: 19.8 kg/44 lbs; Total price: 9.000$

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Gustavus Adolphus

I apologize again for my bad English, so I ask for Grammar Nazi's pity :D

Well, I have in mind to start a hybrid Star Wars / Breaking Bad campaign (Yes, PG are on Tatooine and they produce Deathsticks on a Jawa's Sandcrawler...I've called it "Star Bad" or "Breaking War", lol).

I am G&AINC, and I approve of this post.

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

I am G&AINC, and I approve of this post.

Yes, Tatooine is desertic as New Mexico, Hutt Cartel replaces Mexican Cartel and the name of the protagonist is Luke Skywalter White :D

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Gustavus Adolphus

I've given the (3) armor divisor at blaster weaponry instead the (5) armor divisor, because they are TL 10 versions of TL 11 blasters of GURPS ULTRATECH. One of the problems is the very short range described in Wookieepedia sources. Only 120 meters [snip]

What does range have to do with armor penetration? When did we ever see a blaster, even a pistol version, score a solid hit that didn't knock a guy down, regardless of armor?

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

What does range have to do with armor penetration? When did we ever see a blaster, even a pistol version, score a solid hit that didn't knock a guy down, regardless of armor?

The problem is that the range is very low compared to projectile weapons. Why using a blaster with only 120 meters of range when you can use a railgun who has 3.000 meters of range? In order to resolve this (and make the armors really effective, not only useless uniforms) I've lowered the armor divisor: basic is (3) or (4) if you want more lethality, but in medium range the armor divisor drops to (2) because the blaster bolt loses coherence and in long range the damage is halved because the blaster bolt loses heat also.
For a standard blaster pistol:
0 to 40 meters: 3d(3) or 3d(4) t-b burn, sur, BT x2
41 to 120 meters: 3d(2) t-b burn, sur, BT x2
121 to 500 meters: 3d(2)/2 t-b burn, sur, BT x2

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Gustavus Adolphus

I
So, TL 10 with a little TL 11 (hyperdrive technology and lightsabers).

......and force fields for ships. I consider that a clear indicator for TL11^.

Swarms are an issue of genre rather than TL. They weren't even conceived of in 1977. This along with some other things pushes SW towards Retrotech.

The Death Star "Laser" looks most like a TL12^ Conversion Beam.

There's also fast interstellar communications (for the Empire at least). This pushes things toward a higher TL also.

I didn't actually see a lot of projectile weaponry in A New Hope to Return of the Jedi. On the personal scale some micro-mjssile launchers on Fett's armor might have been it. Beam weapons appeared ubiquitous.

So while there was tech lower than TL11^ there was some higher too. I'd have gone with TL11^ myself and considered SW one of the exemplars of that level.

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

......and force fields for ships. I consider that a clear indicator for TL11^.

Swarms are an issue of genre rather than TL. They weren't even conceived of in 1977. This along with some other things pushes SW towards Retrotech.

The Death Star "Laser" looks most like a TL12^ Conversion Beam.

There's also fast interstellar communications (for the Empire at least). This pushes things toward a higher TL also.

I didn't actually see a lot of projectile weaponry in A New Hope to Return of the Jedi. On the personal scale some micro-mjssile launchers on Fett's armor might have been it. Beam weapons appeared ubiquitous.

So while there was tech lower than TL11^ there was some higher too. I'd have gone with TL11^ myself and considered SW one of the exemplars of that level.

Well, Coruscant city doesn't have smart buildings. The kind of non-space warfare isn't much coherent of TL 11 technologies: not few men with exceptional technologic weaponry, but a lot of soldiers with not-so-good weapons and protections. Biology isn't much advanced as TL 11. And yes, not in movies, but in SW universe there's a lot of projectile weapons (Tusken Raiders, but also the massive Czerka products and more advanced projectile-weapons like Verpine shatter-gun)

The construction of Death Star is compatible with TL 10 with massive resources (1.3 millions of systems, you can create similar monsters) and the Beam of Death Star is simply enormously massive, billions times bigger than standard portatile beam weapons system. The Death Star is great as one Moon!

[Anders]

I think you're forgetting something. The 'Star Wars' universe is really set up so that everything has the statistics convenient for the plot. It's a cinematic universe.

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Originally Posted by Anders

I think you're forgetting something. The 'Star Wars' universe is really set up so that everything has the statistics convenient for the plot. It's a cinematic universe.

You're goddamn right :D but I want to play a little more coherent SW campaign than the current setting of the movies.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Gustavus Adolphus

You're goddamn right :D but I want to play a little more coherent SW campaign than the current setting of the movies.

May I suggest "This is a rational universe in which some martial-arts movies with comic-book physics and pretensions to political relevance were made"?