Armour vs armour piercing bullets

[Annatar Giftbringer]

There’s also the TL aspect to consider.

Laser weapons, including pistols, are TL9. By TL11, advanced/upgraded laser weapons show up.

An ACR is TL10, and Gauss rifles won’t show up until TL12. Gauss pistols are TL13.

Plus the zero-G aspect. While their efficiency and power compared to slug weaponry is optimized against non-armored opponents, when it comes to zero-G there’s nothing comparable to lasers, firepower- and range-wise.

 

[Condottiere]

Retail, and then cost of ownership.

In the field, it may be easier to maintain an advanced combat rifle, than a gauss one or a laser.

 

[CordwainerFish]

when it comes to zero-G there’s nothing comparable to lasers, firepower- and range-wise.

The Gyro-Jet is going to have its day, mark my words!

 

[Geir]

The Gyro-Jet is going to have its day, mark my words!

From what I've seen of them being fired, they really need that smart trait. Plus: Shooting around corners. Take that laser beam!

 

[Annatar Giftbringer]

Pfft, just use a mirror, always works in cartoons!

Plus I remember what those smart bullets did to Dredd’s hillbilly relatives! Lacking other targets, they circled back and shot themselves! “Smart” ammo

 

[k0k0pelli]

Funny I usually use a stunner and carry some blade. Unconscious is generally as effective as dead. and 3d is about as good as any civilian weapon.

 

[Condottiere]

Snub pistol with loitering ammunition.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Knife missile...

 

[Condottiere]

Those exist - they're used for surgical strikes.

 

[Shadowblayde99]

Just on lasers for a moment, what effect does cover have on lasers? I could see blasting through vegetation but not a wall.

I got the idea that lasers were really heat so any kind of armour should still provide some protection. I guess I'm thinking armour should be more like the Fallout video games

And on armour, I don't think ballistic vests are as protective as they really should be. Example: a revolver does 3D-3 damage which means it has a 50% chance of doing 8 or more damage according to AnyDice.com Ballistic vests have +4 protection....... The upshot is that you're not protected from a revolver by wearing a bullet proof vest

Any thoughts welcome.

 

[MonsterX]

And on armour, I don't think ballistic vests are as protective as they really should be. Example: a revolver does 3D-3 damage which means it has a 50% chance of doing 8 or more damage according to AnyDice.com Ballistic vests have +4 protection....... The upshot is that you're not protected from a revolver by wearing a bullet proof vest

Any thoughts welcome.

Armour ratings are a composite of the stopping ability of the armour and its coverage of the body. If you do a little bit of damage, you can assume it hit a marginal area, like the arm muscle, or it got a solid hit on the armour transmitting force to cause bruising, or maybe weakly penetrating. If you do more damage, maybe you hit somewhere unprotected.

I'd rather go with hit locations, and variable armour ratings on different body parts where appropriate - generally much higher overall - but this does make things more complicated. The big advantage is that it makes combat more unpredictable. There would be a lot of calling of shots, whenever someone has the skills or the time to aim . And you'd definitely want to use the knock-down rules from the Field Catalogue, as this would be very useful to stop someone if you weren't confident in your ability to hit with the called shot minuses.

However, doing it this way is more complicated, and it is not fully supported in the rules - you have to figure out for yourself what the armour covers, with what ratings, there are no helmets to buy independently of the rest of the suit.