Trick Arrows and GURPS Ultratech.
 

So, my superhero game includes a character looking at expanding into archery to take advantage of their super strength. Pre-empting the inevitable, I am looking into options for trick arrows and specifically I am looking at GURPS Ultra-Tech's warhead options.

So my question is, what size warhead is an arrow capable of fitting? I am leaning towards 25mm, but could be convinced up or down from that.

Re: Trick Arrows and GURPS Ultratech.
 

Is that an inch in diameter? I don't think arrows with that diameter are much used. A diameter of maybe 10 or 15 mm would seem more likely for something designed to be fired from a bow.

GURPS Supers has a different set of rules for trick arrows, based not on tech but on buying the equivalent of the arrow's damage as Binding, Affliction, or other advantages. Is that something that might suit your game?

Note that the character will need a specially designed bow for their strength. The damage a bow does is a function of the intrinsic rated ST of the bow (which is not the same as the required ST; that's the ST to lift and hold a bow of that size and design). If you have less than that ST, you can't draw the bow and hold it; if you have more, your damage is limited to the bow's ST rating. The character might need to carry around a bow made of tubular steel or the like, with an amazingly high ST rating.

Re: Trick Arrows and GURPS Ultratech.
 

Blowing my own horn here, but you probably want to check out the article "The Arrow of Progress", in Pyramid #3/96, "Tech and Toys IV". That includes what you're looking for, plus a bunch of other useful ultra-tech options for bows and arrows.

To answer your question, armor-piercing hard core, armor-piercing hardcore explosive, high explosive, high explosive concussion, shaped charge, memory baton, high explosive multi-purpose, and strobe treat arrows as 25mm warheads, while biochemical aerosol, biochemical liquid, flare, tangler, thermobaric, stingray, swarm, EMP, expendable jammer, warbler, force, plasma, implosion, psi-bomb, stasis, and vortex warheads use the effects of 40mm warheads (since they can use the whole arrow, including the shaft, not just the arrowhead).

Re: Trick Arrows and GURPS Ultratech.
 

My build for Hawkeye has a table set up for many of the trick arrows he uses. Pretty sure I used Ultra-Tech's TL9 warheads for most of it, using the 18.5mm warheads (essentially the same size as a 12-gauge shotgun shell) for a lot.

Re: Trick Arrows and GURPS Ultratech.
 

Of course, that assumes you carry around arrows of all those types. If you have two of each, that's 48 arrows, which seems like a lot! It might save weight to have standard arrow shafts of one or two sizes, and a few more arrowheads of each variety.

Re: Trick Arrows and GURPS Ultratech.
 

Double check the overpenetration rules. This sounds like a collateral damage nightmare.