2300AD: weapons in hostile environment

[Sangelet]

I'm not sure if there is a rule section in 2300 detailing which weapons can be used in hostile environments ( that is, non standard atmospheres). As an example, which type of weapon can be fired in a corrosive atmosphere? In vacuum? In a tainted atmosphere with few oxygen, or too much? In Graendel?
My question is about the fact that you may need some air mix to operate the weapon. Lasers and gauss rifles could be ok, old guns need air to explode the powder, ...
A totally different matter isthe fact that often you could not use some weapons while wearing bulky vacc suit gloves...

 

[dragoner]

Modern guns would fire, but all would needed to be hardened to the corrosion, even Laser and Gauss.

 

[Reynard]

It's been a long time I heard about it but I believe some sort of oxidative agent can be added to explosives so they work in low or no oxygen environments. Obviously you would, hopefully, be aware the environment has explosive properties but remember methane (swamp gas) has no smell.

There could be very specialized ceramic weapons meant for destructive atmosphere but remember the user's environmental containment is also affected by that environment so long protracted hostile engagements will be scarce. The weapon could be expendable for the mission

 

[Anonymous]

Will methane (or any flammable gas) ignite without the presence of oxygen?

Will the presence of other gases inhibit the oxygen doing its thing?

 

[dragoner]

Usually there needs to be an oxidizer, Hydrogen won't ignite without oxygen, most common propellants and explosive do have oxidizers in their formula; methane's formula for combustion:

CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O

It takes 2 O2 as an oxidizer.

 

[Epicenter]

Even black powder has its own oxidizer (though black powder will have other issues in adverse environments). Too much oxygen is more likely to cause problems than too little; too much oxygen means it is more likely that a discharging weapon will start a secondary fire or even an explosion as the gun's firing is more likely to set something on fire or provide the spark for an explosion.

Other adverse environments are more likely to damage firearms in the medium and long-term as opposed to a short-term. For the sake of convenience, I'd say that by the year 2300 there's probably various lubricants and sealants you can apply to conventional firearms to provide temporary defense against things like vacuum-welding, the effects of corrosive atmospheres, and so on. Certainly for the duration of an adventure guns shouldn't have any issues (assuming the adventure is only a few days). Over the course of months or years, certainly insidious or corrosive atmospheres will make guns wear out and fail much faster.

Thicker atmospheres and higher gravity will definitely have an effect; they'll both have an influence on firearms (shorter ranges due to bullet drop in gravity, less accuracy and less range from thicker atmosphere), while lasers would have reduced range in thicker atmospheres.

 

[Colin]

There are no rules for different atmosphere types and their effect on firearms. If you want the added complexity, say that there is a -1DM on To Hit for weapons in either Thick (or higher) or Very Thin (or lower) atmospheres. Add another -1DM for Corrosive or Insidious Atmospheres.

All weapons can fire in any environment, even under water (range is sharply reduced). This is true of modern weapons, for that matter.