New Lower Tech Guns

[Geesuv]

In my current homebrew setting I've been using Fusion Guns as the state-of-the-art anti ship guns, Shunning Masons and Particle Beams Entirely.
I'm doing this because I think the TL level for these weapons is backwards. The only problem I'm now having is I have very few options when it comes to adding weapons to ships. I've been adding the odd railgun but they are not flexible weapons and after the 8th Triple-Beam-Laser Turret it begins to get old.

So I'm wondering if anyone has any lower tech weapon ideas they've come up with for their own games?

I'm currently playing with the idea of a Heavy Laser Barbette doing 3d6 damage at medium range.

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

Yeah, medium laser barbettes, why not?, but remember that a triple or double laser beam or laser pulse may be more dangerous, and cheaper.

As we use the 3I setting, tend to use most of space weapons as written (but follow the core book on the beam/pulse laser difference, not HG), but in a different campaign I would probably junk particle beams (esp at longer ranges) and mesons as well, limit lasers (and possibly particle beams) to short, and use a more missiles and "torpedoes" and countermeasures. A lot depends on how likely you think that beam weapons will be accurate over long distances.

There have been a number of threads about all this in the last few months, you might find it worthwhile to look at previous threads on this topic, e.g. the one on Particle beams etc from the 1st June.

Egil

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

May I suggest a couple of laser options at a bit higher TL.

Variable Laser - Can fire as either a Beam or a Pulse laser

X-Ray Laser - Does a bit more damage

Maser - Cuts through Sand.

CT allowed Repulsers as an anti-missile system, but turn it around and it becomes a Gravity Lance, doing damage by firing a pulse of gravitons. This would be a good weapon to replace the Meson gun because it could either ignore armour or have the Amour Piercing trait from CSC.

 

[rinku]

If you're playing with the tech introduction levels, you could also add tractor beams earlier, or have a combined tractor/repulsor.

Also no reason you couldn't use gravity weapons to boost your own missiles and small craft - if a repulsor can prevent an enemy missile from hitting, it should be able to add a free thrust vector to your own missiles. Even if the vector is limited to "directly away from the ship" this can help at launch.