Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Cinematic Rocket Delta-V Rules

AlexanderHowl · 12-28-2020, 07:06 AM

Superscience and magic are unrealistic, but they are not necessarily cinematic (you can have FTL or spell casting in a noncinematic setting). The primary issue with even limited superscience drives in such a setting is that inertia becomes the ultimate weapon. Even at 35 mps per fuel tank, a spacecraft with 10 fuel tanks can reach 490 mps easily, meaning that every ton of remaining mass is equivalent to 68.5 kilotons of TNT, meaning that civilian terrorists can turn a SM+9 merchant ship in a full scaled Tsar Bomba. Even a SM+4 AKV becomes much more valuable as a WMD than as a combatant, as it would be the equivalent of over 340 kilotons of TNT at full speed.

12-28-2020, 07:06 AM	#20
AlexanderHowl Join Date: Feb 2016	Re: Cinematic Rocket Delta-V Rules Superscience and magic are unrealistic, but they are not necessarily cinematic (you can have FTL or spell casting in a noncinematic setting). The primary issue with even limited superscience drives in such a setting is that inertia becomes the ultimate weapon. Even at 35 mps per fuel tank, a spacecraft with 10 fuel tanks can reach 490 mps easily, meaning that every ton of remaining mass is equivalent to 68.5 kilotons of TNT, meaning that civilian terrorists can turn a SM+9 merchant ship in a full scaled Tsar Bomba. Even a SM+4 AKV becomes much more valuable as a WMD than as a combatant, as it would be the equivalent of over 340 kilotons of TNT at full speed.