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Old 11-08-2019, 03:12 AM   #1
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

Hello Folks,
Just doing a step by step with regards to what damage is done when using String ray rounds in guns via GURPS ULTRATECH.

Suppose you have someone armed with a 10mm pistol that fires stingray rounds.

Pg 156 of GURPS ULTRATECH states the following:

"A stingray round inflicts half normal piercing damage with a (0.25) armor divisor, then discharges a linked attack that inflicts the lethal electrical
damage"

That implied to me that it does normal 10mm round damage (3d6-1 pi+) halved, with any armor providing 4x normal DR value, non-armor provides 1 DR, and after that damage is rolled, the linked damage of 1d6-3 would be rolled for and applied as electrical fatal damage.

If two rounds were to hit their target, the target would suffer 9 and 8 points (if that were the two rolls of 3d-1), plus two dice rolled for 1d6-3 each. Let's say the rolls were 6 and 5 for this example.

The target is not wearing armor, save for ordinary clothing. The target takes 9/2 or 4 pts from the first round, and 8/2 for 4 points. Total damage becomes 4-1 + 4-1 or 6 points total. The electrical damage inflicted is 3 and 2, for an additional 5 points. For every 2 points of electrical damage, the target suffers a -1 penalty to HT saving rolls against electricity or be stunned. Failures by 5+ result in a heart attack.

So, let's say the target Rolls vs HT 10, at -2 and fails by 4. Target is stunned due to the electricity. Target also took the bullet wound, which is modified by 1.5x due to its pi+ aspect, raising total damage as follows:

Bullets: 6 x 1.5 = 9
Surge Damage = 5
Total damage is 14 pts

Is this correct or did I miss something here?
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Old 11-08-2019, 05:26 AM   #2
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

Damage is applied per shot, not per turn, so it is 4/3 and 4/2, with two HT rolls, both at HT-1, to avoid stun because it is localized lethal electricity damage (Basic, pp. 432-433). There is no chance for heart attack.
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Old 11-08-2019, 06:02 AM   #3
Aldric
 
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Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

Definitely agree on the heart attack, paragraph for localized lethal electrical damage is on Basic 433, and a gun shot definitely qualifies. Also on the two health rolls ofc.

Not sure how you ended up with 4/3 and 4/2 damage, unless you mean 4 piercing and 3 burn for the first attack, and 4 piercing and 2 burn for the second, but written like that, they look a lot like fractions.
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Old 11-08-2019, 06:57 AM   #4
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

Sorry, it is 4 piercing and 3 burn then 4 piercing and 2 burn.
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Old 11-08-2019, 08:17 AM   #5
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

Thanks for the confirmation guys.

I would have thought that in the space of 1 second, two semi-automatic rounds fired together would be combined as one "follow up" attack roll instead of two. The reason?

The target of the attack having to make a single roll at HT-2 with a HT of 12, has a 50/50 chance of succeeding.

The odds of failing one attack out of two is higher. Statistically speaking:

The odds of a success become .625 x .625 (because BOTH rolls have to be successful to avoid being stunned, not one single roll). This works out to a 39.07% chance of success that the target of two bullets striking in one second will avoid being stunned.

Statistically? What would have been (my interpretation of the rules) a 50% chance of success (HT-2) becomes instead (functionally speaking) the equivalent of a HT-3 roll.

But hey, I can live with that. **evil grin**

It will be my players who have to deal with that issue. Imagine a submachinegun filled with these rounds, firing at a RoF 7 (for example) and hitting with four rounds against someone in body armor. The body armor for all intents and purposes will stop all damage (as the DR will be multiplied by 4 vs damage that is halved). But the Armor itself will only have a DR of 1 against the burning electricity damage, and each one that does damage will cause the target to have to make a HT saving roll versus each and every round that hits. Four rolls against HT or HT-1 (at best) will result in (for a HT 12 character) a modified chance of only 15% chance of not being stunned. Four rolls against HT where a miss by 5+ or a crit failure will result in a heart attack death.

How awesome is that? Technically, it isn't a lethal weapon in the sense that it will kill, but the knowledge that one could die of a heart attack regardless of how much armor one is wearing has to be a sobering thought.
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Old 11-08-2019, 08:24 AM   #6
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

But there is no chance of a heart attack because it is localized damage.
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Old 11-08-2019, 08:28 AM   #7
Aldric
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

What kind of armor only has DR 1 vs burning attacks ?

And again, read Basic p 433, it explains what a localized electrical attack is, and that is doesn't carry a chance of heart attack like normal lethal electrical attacks.
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Old 11-08-2019, 10:01 AM   #8
Anthony
 
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Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

I'm pretty sure the electrical attack should be a followup, unless the damage type also changed to crushing. Mostly, though, I have no idea what a bullet like that is actually for.
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Old 11-08-2019, 10:05 AM   #9
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Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
I'm pretty sure the electrical attack should be a followup, unless the damage type also changed to crushing. Mostly, though, I have no idea what a bullet like that is actually for.
Isn't it just supposed to be a long-range taser? Therefore, it's meant to deliver an incapacitating charge, with the burns being an unavoidable side-effect.
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Old 11-08-2019, 10:12 AM   #10
ericthered
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Default Re: 10mm stingray round - how does it work?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
Isn't it just supposed to be a long-range taser? Therefore, it's meant to deliver an incapacitating charge, with the burns being an unavoidable side-effect.
I always thought it was meant for killing computers at range. This comic strip may have influenced that.
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