[Psionics] [Space] Psi Trek - Worldbuilding

[Prince Charon]

Grenades

Grenades don't appear much in Star Trek. We see a Photon Grenade Launcher in one episode of the original series, and I don't recall if we see any Starfleet-issue grenades in TNG, DS9, or VOY at all. Given the term 'photon grenade,' I'd say that despite what the writer of the linked page thinks, they're probably matter-antimatter grenades (consistent with the Antimatter question, above, but not an absolute requirement for grenades). This isn't as dangerous as you might think: a society that can safely store antimatter for long periods, safely transfer it into a small warhead, and safely shoot that warhead at the enemy with a realistic expectation that the warhead will go off consistently and efficiently, right when it's supposed to, will thus have an excellent 'dial a yield' weapon (anywhere from 'radioactive flash-bang' to 'destroy a city,' possibly). A micro-nuke would be in some ways more dangerous, due to the need for a terribly-short half-life, and thus a need for much heavier radiation shielding (or psi-based radiation shields that require humans to be nearby pretty frequently). It also wouldn't be that good at dialing the yield down. Of course, it could be that it's a psi-based fusion grenade, meaning that the psychotronics within only need to work once, a little after it's thrown or shot, to rapidly and very tightly compress a small amount of hydrogen.

As noted in the 'Phasers' article, power cells put on 'overload' can explode with a fair bit of force, because any battery or capacitor able to power an energy weapon is theoretically capable of being used to make a bomb. How much force I'm not entirely certain of, as Ultra-Tech is fairly well-known on these forums as an interesting but rushed product. Suggestions?

Other grenades that might exist in this setting include most of the psi-bombs in Psi-Tech (pp28-29), Pizard's grenades, and any from GURPS Ultra-Tech or other supplements that the GM feels like allowing, but Star Trek writers just don't seem to have been all that interested in grenades.

The question is, what grenades do we want in the setting?


EDIT: The rough consensus seems to be that grenades in the Psi Trek setting, at least as used by the Star Fleet or equivalent, should come in 'a variety of exotic charges,' rather than going for bigger explosions.