Need advice designing a fair ultra tech gun.

[Jaware]

Originally Posted by Varyon

So, 30/15*, with DR 30 against piercing-class and cutting damage and DR 15 against everything else, right?

Yep. that's correct.

Originally Posted by Varyon

You'd more likely be jury-rigging the weapon than the projectiles, but I suspect either is possible. What sort of DR do the monsters have? If they don't have much, fragmentation makes sense. If they do, it doesn't, not really.

The usual monsters have anywhere from 20 to 30 dr on average. with 10 to 15 flexible toughskin. The gauss rifles in the game are from icelanders ultratech guns page. they seemed to be extremely well balanced when i looked them over.

Originally Posted by Varyon

For some reason I was thinking the micromissile price was for any Gyroc round that wasn't just a solid bullet. With that in mind, $7.50 makes more sense - it's still going to cost more than a normal bullet (it's a lot fancier, particularly with the ability to be remote detonated).

That's what I was thinking. pricey, but not outlandishly pricey. Enough to which if they wanted to make them homing micromissiles itll hurt their pocketbook.

Originally Posted by Varyon

HEMP already do exceptional AOE damage - the fragmentation is what matters, not the crushing explosion (which, as I noted above, is basically null by moving only a few yards away). Of course, the original rounds would be, if anything, HEAT, which you might be well served in making them HEMP later. I'd suggest against that, however - a single 15mm HEAT/HEMP - with 30d of penetration - is going to tear through nearly anything short of a tank, meaning the nifty effect of being able to pump a target full of spikes and blow it up is pretty well meaningless.

Yyyyyyeeeeaaaa, and that's why I'm consulting the hivemind first before i break something that i cant fix in my game Hahaha

Originally Posted by Varyon

First off, the x3 damage for internal explosions doesn't require the target to have Vitals to come into play (the reference to Vitals is more just to note "Hey, this has the same damage multiplier, ain't that keen?"). If you want a powerful "explosion" with a short range, throw realism out the window (and/or invoke superscience) to have an effect with a proper area of effect, where it does full damage within a given range, no damage outside of this (or even do it in tiers if you'd like).

I stand corrected. I must have read it wrong, I thought it said to treat it as an attack on the vitals so if there were no vitals, than no modifier. but it makes sense to me. I just kinda shrugged and assumed that it was that way for some reason that I didn't catch yet.

Originally Posted by Varyon

As for the fragmentation, you might be able to justify an armor divisor on the fragments from hyperdense materials. Most of those get an armor divisor of (5), although with how haphazard shrapnel is going to be, I'd be tempted to drop that to (2) or (3).

fragmentation for 1d-1 will average some 2.5 points of cutting. the AD of 2 will make it cut through armor as a 5 point shard would. and the AD of 3 would cut through armor as a 7.5 point shard would so it still wouldnt slive through the DR 30 that they have... still could be super destructive to lots of smaller enemies without much if any armor.

my main concern will be someone shooting it at their feet and detonating it when there's a swarm of little things. Them walking away Scott clean and everything else looking like the set of a cheap slasher B movie.

Originally Posted by Varyon

Double knockback is extremely appropriate for cinematic explosions. Heck, quadruple knockback wouldn't be out of the question.

Makes sense to me. I'll do some test here and see what I like more about it.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Jaware

my main concern will be someone shooting it at their feet and detonating it when there's a swarm of little things. Them walking away Scott clean and everything else looking like the set of a cheap slasher B movie.

Using ammo from the gun would be a waste in that context. Better to just drop a small grenade or two.

But fundamentally, the DR you've provided your PCs means that they can employ tactics of spraying their own positions with shrapnel or projectiles. There's a limit on how powerful the things they use can be, sure, but it's more than adequate to chop anything remotely human or animal equivalent to ribbons.

[Jaware]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Using ammo from the gun would be a waste in that context. Better to just drop a small grenade or two.

But fundamentally, the DR you've provided your PCs means that they can employ tactics of spraying their own positions with shrapnel or projectiles. There's a limit on how powerful the things they use can be, sure, but it's more than adequate to chop anything remotely human or animal equivalent to ribbons.

yyyyeeeeaaaaa I have noticed that. But its a rookie mistake. I was preordained to make them. This is the first Game I've ever GMed and on top of that, the first gurps game id ever played. sooooooo. mistakes were made. I just have to find a way to deal with them now.

[Mathulhu]

When they drop stuff at their feet and shrug it off just smile and nod like they did something awesome.

Also don't forget you can always change things if you don't like them. If you put a little work into the explanation and make it interesting (don't do it just to take their toys away) you won't have a mutiny.

[Jaware]

Originally Posted by Mathulhu

When they drop stuff at their feet and shrug it off just smile and nod like they did something awesome.

Also don't forget you can always change things if you don't like them. If you put a little work into the explanation and make it interesting (don't do it just to take their toys away) you won't have a mutiny.

That's been my reaction so far. If the dice roll it and it's probable, let it fly. I try not to say no unless it just can't work, or it will turn the game upside down.

Yea I've had to once or twice. I try not to if I can help it. And any shenanigans the pcs can think of is fair game. They just all remember no one has plot armor. Not even them. It keeps them on their toes.