07-15-2017, 09:38 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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What UT Category is an Ion Weapon?
Hey folks, additional help needed.
How is an ion weapon classified in GURPS (like in Empire Strikes Back, only man-sized). I'm thinking it's an electrolaser or a neural weapon, but neither of those really seem to fit exactly. The effects of the electrolaser seem to match most narratives in science fiction - typically the power-crippling effect with some type of burn damage on organic targets. Maybe particle beam with the surge damage modifier from Basic Set? Or maybe side effect - incapacitation? |
07-15-2017, 09:56 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Re: What UT Category is an Ion Weapon?
OK, just going RL here. An ion weapon, by the name, would be a weapon that is a particle weapon, shooting atoms or molecules, with one or more electrons missing. When the particles hit anything, there would be a lot of atomic reactions on a very small scale as the particles bind with the electrons in the item. This would release a small amount of energy per atom or molecule that hit. So, I would say that it is a particle weapon that does energy damage. Energy shields, unless they stop particles would not be effective. Layered or spaced armor (armor with spaces between the layers) would be effective. I doubt that the initial layer would be good against both forms of damage. However, the particles would not provide much damage, maybe 1 point, but the energy would not suffer damage reduction from range.
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07-15-2017, 10:07 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: What UT Category is an Ion Weapon?
Effects-wise, I'd treat it as a Microwave Disruptor (UT, p. 121), only not an area effect one. In Star Wars, ion weapons are supposed to affect droids and electronics (up to and including the super-charged one that the Rebels used to disable a star destroyer on Hoth), but not affect people that harshly.
It's not covered in the Blaster and Laser Design article, but I believe The_Ryujin's blog has options to expand the article's design system to cover it.
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07-16-2017, 07:44 AM | #4 |
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Re: What UT Category is an Ion Weapon?
An ion weapon, by description, is just a particle weapon. They are ionized so they can be accelerated by an electromagnetic field to relativistic speeds. Their kinetic energy is what knocks atoms to pieces during collisions, releasing a ton of energy and more lower speed particles.
An in depth look at the effect of particle weapons can be found on Luke Campbell's website.
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07-16-2017, 08:09 PM | #5 |
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
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Re: What UT Category is an Ion Weapon?
But this is Star Wars technology we're talking about. Any resemblence to actual science is purely coincidental.
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RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats. |
07-16-2017, 08:24 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: What UT Category is an Ion Weapon?
Then if it is Star Wars "ion" weapons we're talking about the answer is definitely UT's "microwave disruptor" as the SW weapon never affects humans even if their entire starship is shorted out.
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Fred Brackin |
07-16-2017, 10:12 PM | #7 | ||
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Re: What UT Category is an Ion Weapon?
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Buy My Stuff! Free Stuff: Dungeon Action! Totem Spirits My Blog: Above the Flatline. Last edited by Humabout; 07-16-2017 at 10:21 PM. |
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07-17-2017, 02:04 AM | #8 |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
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Re: What UT Category is an Ion Weapon?
They're probably EM Disruptors, which you can find in GURPS SS 7. In Psi-Wars, I treated them as blasters (as Humabout says, this is what an ion weapon literally is; it's also the same basic TL as Star Wars typically seems to be, and thus fits into the same tactical paradigm), but they only affect machines, and they affect them with the stun-like effect listed in Omniblasters. I also added a very modest burning effect, since I can't imagine shooting a human with this would be completely harmless. Like, if a tank shot a person with its EM disruptor, I can't imagine you'd be very happy, but I don't think it would damage you nearly as much as it would mess up a machine.
I'm tempted to also halve its weight our increase its armor divisor, so it's better, pound for pound, at defeating a machine than just shooting with with a blaster is, but I'd have to run some playtests.
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