[Spaceships] IR sig of Hot Reactionless Engines

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by lwcamp

(1) It is fictional, so we can't use science or reality to guide us.

Science "or" reality? Do I have to pick just one?

But we can use fiction to guide us. Reactionless thrusters are primarily about not running out of reaction mass, otherwise they work like other forms of propulsion on vessels of similar story roles. For game purposes, this means roughly:

On rocket ships and adventuring craft in general, they'll have the same flashy bright plume and roar that "conventional" engines of similar performance would have.

On flying saucers and craft used by strange aliens, the signature will be subdued.

The drive signature of totally enigmatic artifacts will typically be entirely absent or something so off the wall it is only associated with the artifact's motion after much research and a couple of lucky breaks.