Mature Blinding Laser Weapon

[Derrick_rp]

I am trying to develop a tech level 8 world where blinding laser weapons were never banned and were developed into a mature technology. I'm not sure what stats my weapons should have. Anyone have any thoughts?

[khorboth]

Take a look at Laser dazzlers at the top of HT181 and/or on UT 113. I think it's pretty well covered.

[Joseph Paul]

The thing to look at is what is the history of the response to fielding such weapons? How common are laser proofed goggles and eye shields? Do active counter measures exist that work like anti-radiation missiles? They fire in response to the laser light and try to calculate where the firer had to be at?

Is there an earlier development of prismatic smoke and metamaterials that defeat the laser?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Derrick_rp

I am trying to develop a tech level 8 world where blinding laser weapons were never banned and were developed into a mature technology. I'm not sure what stats my weapons should have. Anyone have any thoughts?

Not a lot different from the real world. Laser dazzlers aren't really a terribly distinct technology, they're just an optical laser that you're using to blind people.

[PTTG]

I could see them being reduced in size and given self-targeting capacity. A handheld laser blinder could actively aim at optics using modern neural network software and a nice galvo system, making them fast and effective self-defense weapons.

[Anthony]

It's important to realize that the primary thing that has discouraged development of blinding weapons isn't legal constraints, it's fundamental limitations of the technology. Basically, it's hard to have an effective dazzler that doesn't have a significant risk of permanent vision damage, and if you're willing to permanently blind people you might as well just shoot them.

[Derrick_rp]

Perhaps I should be more clear. I’m not talking about a dazzler weapon, I’m talking about PERMANENT blinding weapons. This is a world where a particularly cold government has made the calculation that it costs the enemy more to rehabilitate a soldier and teach them to function as a blind person than it does to simply have a funeral, so they prefer to permanently blind the enemy rather than kill them. Also, there’s a certain propaganda value to having a large number of blind veterans in your enemy’s country serving as a reminder of your cruelty in war.

Ultra-Tech has examples of blinding laser weapons at TL 9, but not at 8. High Tech has a TL 8 prototype developed in the 90s, but it’s obscenely expensive and extremely heavy. It is stated that only 22 were made before blinding weapons were banned and the project was scrapped.

What I’m trying to come up with stats for is a TL 8 permanent blinding laser weapon from a world where there was never a ban on blinding weapons, and there’s a government cruel and sadistic enough to spend money on researching ways to blind the enemy.

[PTTG]

If they're doing it for propganda value, they may just blind POWs. Regardless, the blinding lasers would basically be lighter, easier to use versions of that prototype design. Like I said, they may take advantage of some of the neat stuff you can do with lasers, such as having the optics run straight down the barrel.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Derrick_rp

Perhaps I should be more clear. I’m not talking about a dazzler weapon, I’m talking about PERMANENT blinding weapons. This is a world where a particularly cold government has made the calculation that it costs the enemy more to rehabilitate a soldier and teach them to function as a blind person than it does to simply have a funeral, so they prefer to permanently blind the enemy rather than kill them. Also, there’s a certain propaganda value to having a large number of blind veterans in your enemy’s country serving as a reminder of your cruelty in war.

Yep. Your enemy will be reminded of why they hate every day for the next sixty years. There will be a lot of blinded civilians, too. Also, unless you have laser-proof goggles, etc., for all your soldiers (in which any enemy of similar TL will also have them), so will you because of scatter and reflections.

In this case it's a weapon to be used against inferior opponents, and we already have plenty of things for that, though I suppose you could put a laser on a drone and blind insurgents in job lots if you're willing to blind a whole bunch of civilians by accident every so often. Now, current weapon systems do a pretty good job of producing hate to go with the fear, and this will be even better, and as I said, the populations you used it on will be hating you for a long, long time.

[khorboth]

Originally Posted by Derrick_rp

Perhaps I should be more clear. I’m not talking about a dazzler weapon, I’m talking about PERMANENT blinding weapons. This is a world where a particularly cold government has made the calculation that it costs the enemy more to rehabilitate a soldier and teach them to function as a blind person than it does to simply have a funeral, so they prefer to permanently blind the enemy rather than kill them.

Yes, that's a horse of a different color.

I'd probably riff on the dazzler lasers. I have no real expertise, but I'll take a stab at it.

A laser of sufficient power to instantly and permanently blind would probably both A) do a little burning damage and B) be somewhat weather restricted. I would make it do a 1d-1 burning attack just like a brief exposure to fire. If the face/eyes are targeted, then HT-5 or be blinded. Failure means blinding for 1d weeks and then another HT-5 roll. On that roll, failure means a vision-based disadvantage (maybe build a table), failure by 5 means permanent blindness.

Given power limitations, rate of fire and ammo capacity would be limited unless you're plugged in to a serious power source.