ETC guns "piercing damage" ?

[onetrikpony]

Originally Posted by Ultratech p. 139

ETC guns have 1.5 times the piercing damage and range of a conventional caseless-propellant gun.

What does that mean exactly? Would I increase the Dice of damage by 1.5 or does it mean that the damage penetration modifier is affected.

How do I calculate 1.5 x Dice? Would 3D become 4D+1 or 4D+2?

Thanks :)

ALSO; how would you multiply 4D+1 by 1.5?

[Phantasm]

Basically, you'd treat each +1 as 0.25 dice. 2d+1 is 2.25, 2d+2 is 2.5, and 3d-1 is 2.75. Then you multiply that number by 1.5, and turn the result into a dice-plus-adds deal.

For 4d, that'd become 6d, as 4 x 1.5 = 6. 4d+1 is 4.25, then x1.5 is 6.375, which rounds to 6.5, so 4d+1 becomes 6d+2.

Clear as mud?

[Anaraxes]

I'd just roll 4D+1 and multiply the result by 1.5.

If you really want to convert the dice and get a wider spread, then you could note that 4D goes to 6D, and 1 goes to 1.5; round down, and you get 6D+1. Similarly, 3D would become "4.5D", or 4D + 0.5D. Since 1D averages 3.5, half of that is 1.75. Round down and it's 4D + 1.

[Varyon]

The "proper" way to do it, as I understand, is to first work out average damage (every 1d becomes 3.5), then multiply everything by 1.5. You then convert that number back into dice, either using the generic Adds->Dice rule or by dividing by 3.5.

For 4d+1, that's an average of 15. Multiplied by 1.5, that becomes 22.5. With the generic Adds->Dice rule (+4=1d, +7=2d), that's 6d+1.5, which rounds down to 6d+1. Divided by 3.5, you get 6.42; that .42 becomes a +1.5, so you again have 6d+1.

[onetrikpony]

amazing.
This is exactly why I love GURPS and why none of my friends will play it with me.

Thanks guys

[Rupert]

I use the rule in High-Tech for such things ('Adjusting Damage', p.166).

In this 4d+1 x 1.5 become 15 x 1.5 = 22.5. We then divide by 3.5 for 22.5 / 3.5 = 6.43 (rounded to two decimal places, as in HT). That's 6d+2.