Merchants weapons

[rinku]

A particle accelerator turret is the same energy cost as a double laser turret. A pair of them on a free trader takes up 16 energy, of which it has 15 to spare already in the high guard version. It's obviously MCr6 more than the double lasers, but it is vastly more effective given that it does 3D dmg at VL range vs 1d+1 at Medium range.

That is deterrence against most pirates.

Fusion guns are just terrible for civilians, for sure. Ginormous power demands for only medium range and only slightly more damage than a particle accelerator.

All good points - plus sand doesn't affect them, but they can't do point defense. PAs are a risky choice on a ship with only one or two turrets.

Although I just realised the old restriction of only one PA in a turret seems to have been dropped. It does look like you could mount a laser (or two) and a PA in the same turret for switchable offense and point defence, so that's nice. Because only one type is firing at the same time, it's not really a power issue. I can see a setup with a single PA and twin lasers (probably beams) in a triple turret, covering all bases (including shooting at high evasion regular targets that the lasers may hit when the PA would miss).

And... I'd be comparing PULSE lasers with PAs in terms of damage. So that's a double PULSE turret, shooting out to Long range, doing 2D+2 and having a +2 to hit, vs 3D with no to hit bonus. Total turret and weapon cost is MCr2.5 for the lasers and MCr4.2 for the PA, both use 9 EP.

While it's true that the PA can engage at Very Long Range, that's a -4 to hit, so criticals aren't likely and misses are. Nonetheless, any unanswered fire is a good thing.

At Long range, where the twin pulse lasers and PAs are both shooting, the lasers have a net +0 to hit while the PA has a -2. I think that largely offsets the average damage of 9 vs 10.5; on average the lasers will have an effect two better than that of the PA, so giving them an extra 2 points of damage. Certainly in terms of raw damage, I would say they're comparable.

Of course, the PA will also cause radiation hits of 2Dx60, which IS enough to overcome a normal hull's protection on a roll of 9+. So is not a trivial point; even suited up in normal vacc suits as well you CAN take rads.

 

[tytalan]

As a former Redleg I can tell you that's not a correct statement.

Artillery barrels have a finite life before they lose accuracy and then just fail. Total failure is considered a "bad thing" because, depending on the failure, you may die when pulling that lanyard/pressing that button.

Every artillery round downrange impacts the accuracy of the round. The liner, at first, degrades little, so accuracy is not affected. But, over time, the liner degrades with every round, and also other factors, so the accuracy downrange can begin to get impacted more and more. The type of round and the type of target matter, as if you are firing air-burst rounds at unprotected targets, accuracy isn't as big of a deal (within reason). But if you are firing on a protected target with an impact round, accuracy matters.

Eventually that liner will wear out and your rounds will be ineffective because you aren't hitting anywhere near your target. And after that your barrel will fail, which is the "bad thing" mentioned above.

In extreme situations, such as the German WW1 rail guns that ranged on Paris, the liner degradation was actually baked into the rounds - each round was fired in a very specific sequence that took into account the liner degradation, as each one was slightly larger than the previous one. This kept the gun firing, more or less, accurately until the liner degraded to the point of not be useful and had to be replaced.

Of course, if you are standing in front of a wall and just shooting at the wall over and over, this means nothing (till the "bad thing" occurs).

So yeah, you can't just shoot till you run out of ammo without consequences. At least not in reality with today's materials.

We are not talking real life we are talking the game. And lasers also need to have maintenance done after so many firings.

 

[tytalan]

All good points - plus sand doesn't affect them, but they can't do point defense. PAs are a risky choice on a ship with only one or two turrets.

Actually sand does work vs particle beam and fusion “ Most sandcasters fire canisters of small particles that counteract laser, energy and particle weapons fire” HG pg 38

 

[rinku]

Actually sand does work vs particle beam and fusion “ Most sandcasters fire canisters of small particles that counteract laser, energy and particle weapons fire” HG pg 38

Yeeeeeah...

That's actually a bit of an issue, as the ONLY one of the sandcaster loads listed that might affect "laser, energy and particle weapons fire" is the normal Sand Cannister.

"Its use is covered in the Traveller Core Rulebook, page 168"

Which only mentions lasers. And also only mentions lasers on p.171 where it actually describes how to use it.

But I'm good with sand working vs PAs to some degree, though it'd have thought much less effect than against lasers. I seem to recall that sand had a small effect vs energy weapons in previous editions?