Security 'necessities' for Spaceships

[SuedodeuS]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Try a Tangler grenade instead. It's nonlethal but the 64mm one is strong enough to hold a battlesuit. Once you get it down you can send for the plasma drill.

QFT. A Tangler thimble grenade is enough to keep a typical ruffian down (grapples with ST 15), a small grenade (golf-ball sized) can keep any but the strongest exotics or battlesuited soldiers down (ST 24), and a standard grenade will, as Fred mentions, keep down most battlesuits (ST 36). I'd recommend carrying around a few thimbles and at least one mini-grenade with Tangler loads at most/all times, only breaking out the standard grenades if you are up against battlesuits or the like. Once you've got the armored guy down you can, depending on preference/situation, disarm him, take off his armor, and put him into custody, or simply put a round (or three) through his faceplate.

[Ulzgoroth]

Should have thought of tanglers. They're basically the perfect weapon for a security man.

They also give you an excellent excuse to pack a grenade launcher (along with plenty of hand versions). Underbarrel 40mm...normally attached to an electrolaser carbine, but you can load thermobarics or HEMP and attach it to a storm carbine instead if you wind up playing paramilitary.

[AmesJainchill]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

What you don't seem to get is that, if I don't have it with me, I might not have it at all. I have to base most of the equipment I have on me as BEING on me, because I know my GM and he'll probably give me Absent Mindedness to keep me from taking advantage of all the equipment I'd have.

If the AP magazine isn't on me, and I don't make the 'remembrance' roll, than I leave without the magazine. Or leave it in the safe. Or whatever.

Because you seem to not understand; I need a weapon that I can use for straight-up combat; AP bullets, a grenade launcher, whatever.

But I cannot, CANNOT, logically be able to mistake it as a weapon I can use on a spaceship, and it has to be significant enough to remember. The pistol and it's ammo are neither of these things. I take this seriously because my GM has no problem killing me if I do something stupid, even if I'm doing something because of Role-Playing.

Speaking of which, equipment I can wear at all times; are their rules for jamming electronics and if so, at TL...10, say, is there some kind of wrist-puter or whatever that can fix this? I'm picturing more subtle combat scenarios now, like Space Pirates that jam sensors and radios, which would make the doors on the ship hard to get around without it.

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, your GM is using the wrong methods to enforce a genre convention the players may not buy into.

This, plus the fact that he's making characters for you, seems to indicate a mismatch of setting assumptions and playstyles.

I'd talk to him about this. He seems like a...hmmmm..."bad GM", we'll put it that way.

[Ubiquitous]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Should have thought of tanglers. They're basically the perfect weapon for a security man.

They also give you an excellent excuse to pack a grenade launcher (along with plenty of hand versions). Underbarrel 40mm...normally attached to an electrolaser carbine, but you can load thermobarics or HEMP and attach it to a storm carbine instead if you wind up playing paramilitary.

Also, I dunno if anyone considers it 'necessary' for a security guy but would I be mistaken to say one of the lower-powered battlesuits in UT could be used in the confines of, say, an industrial hallway?

EDIT:

Originally Posted by AmesJainchill

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, your GM is using the wrong methods to enforce a genre convention the players may not buy into.

This, plus the fact that he's making characters for you, seems to indicate a mismatch of setting assumptions and playstyles.

I'd talk to him about this. He seems like a...hmmmm..."bad GM", we'll put it that way.

Well I'll admit I was disappointed when I realized the first UT campaign I'd play (involving space-fairing and TLs higher than 10) was going to be heavily mitigated. But in a campaign with HyperDense rounds and Plasma Weapons and Battlesuits I can see how my GM might assume things could get too easy.

[panton41]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

Because I might get saddled with Absent Mindedness.

I see Absent Mindedness as wholly incompatible with a chief security officer. You're talking about someone whose training probably involved making a rucksack on the spur of the moment - running 10 miles in formation and then dumping the pack and if they forgot any little thing their drill instructor would make them run 10 miles back to camp (maybe the whole platoon) get the item, then run back to where they left off to continue the rest of the (originally) 20 mile run (basically having to run twice as long as punishment for forgetting, let's say, dental floss).

Or at least that's the kind of DI I'd give a badass security officer.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

Also, I dunno if anyone considers it 'necessary' for a security guy but would I be mistaken to say one of the lower-powered battlesuits in UT could be used in the confines of, say, an industrial hallway?

Any of the 'light' battlesuits are pretty much capable anywhere humans are, so long as your battlesuit skill is good and weight isn't a problem. The heavy line of battlesuits are probably too bulky to navigate well in shipboard spaces.

It's not necessary unless your ship is doing something insanely dangerous, but it's not a bad idea if you've got budget for it. It's particularly useful because it works just fine in vacuum.

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

Well I'll admit I was disappointed when I realized the first UT campaign I'd play (involving space-fairing and TLs higher than 10) was going to be heavily mitigated. But in a campaign with HyperDense rounds and Plasma Weapons and Battlesuits I can see how my GM might assume things could get too easy.

Uh. To easy to have your characters experience a sudden phase-change? Generally hyper-lethality is not a point in the PCs favor. Hyperdense rounds are no friend to a spaceship security officer, they're a nightmare threat that somebody's going to get a handgun aboard and use it to shoot straight through from one end of the ship to the other.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

Well I'll admit I was disappointed when I realized the first UT campaign I'd play (involving space-fairing and TLs higher than 10) was going to be heavily mitigated. But in a campaign with HyperDense rounds and Plasma Weapons and Battlesuits I can see how my GM might assume things could get too easy.

Well, low level opposition can easily be horribly outgunned if you permit the PCs to ignore customs and control ratings, but if you give the bad guys equipment on a level with what you're giving the PCs, it doesn't make the game easy at all, it's more likely to result in randomly dead PCs when a bad roll means you're hit by five bullets and take 50+ damage past DR.

[Zwitty]

Hey, as some of you know, I am his GM and seeing as Ubiquitous is worried about Absent Mindedness I am just going to tell you now. Your character will not have Absent Mindedness. Anyway I just posted so you could know you don't have to worry about that.

[Ubiquitous]

Originally Posted by Zwitty

Hey, as some of you know, I am his GM and seeing as Ubiquitous is worried about Absent Mindedness I am just going to tell you now. Your character will not have Absent Mindedness. Anyway I just posted so you could know you don't have to worry about that.

Well hey, good to know.

To everyone I yelled at about having it...guess I was wrong? I'll take those ideas now.

EDIT: Hey, you know what'd be sweet for my character?

Battlesuit Skill

[kdtipa]

I didn't see mention of any kind of scanner/sensor. I don't know what technology will exist in the campaign, but having a means handy of detecting where life forms are nearby, or verifying that a being in front of you is human and not the polymorphic alien foe, might be handy.

Also, I think carrying around all those weapons might turn out to be detrimental. Carrying around all that stuff might encumber you, and in more social situations (will you ever be going to places with intelligent life?) the weapons might be off-putting to the locals...

Theoretically too, you should have time before deploying from the ship to pick and choose your gear. Going to a completely unsettled environment with lots of nasty critters? Bring all the armor and guns. Going to an isolated settlement with a town's worth of people... maybe just bring one side arm.

One last thing to consider: The GM can use putting you in situations without all your gear as an exciting play hook. You're trapped away from the ship without your armor piercing rounds and high powered rifle? There are huge carnivorous animals between you and the ship? Time to get creative! So my recommendation is to not try to account for every single possible scenario... let your GM handle things, and trust him to keep things fun.