Primitive and Advanced Weapon Upgrades

[smiths121]

Hi All,

Just been looking through High Guard (again).
The upgrade to weapons systems to me does not make sense with missile launchers and torpedoes. The principal is simple - you pay more for the launcher at design for a better weapon system. I like the simplicity

In my mind I struggle to see how a missile launcher (bay, turret or otherwise) of TL8 can make a TL 6 missile become Very High Yield (maybe my imagination is shot). When you get to small crafts and torpedoes it becomes even sillier - as the fighter is just the carrier of the torpedo, the intelligence is in the device.

Anyone come across this in their ship design or role-playing?

 

[phavoc]

You are correct. For some systems like missiles the rules make no sense. A missile at TL6 would be utterly devasting where it to impact a ship of the same TL. Without gravitics and improved power plants you simply could not build a ship that could lift off from a planet that would have any sort of armor capabilities to resist a missiles hit, let alone detonation of its warhead.

What I've done is kind of lump TL6-8 missiles in the same category and reduce their damage (a TL6 missile does 1d6 -3, TL7 does 1d6-2, TL8 does 1d6-1). I consider TL9 missilles to be the zero damage plateau. For each TL above 9, a missile gets 1 more pt of damage. So a TL15 missile does 1D6+6. I do this to reflect the continued improvement in minaturization, propulsion and other systems. Due to the book rules, any missile fits in any launcher, so the only way it would make sense is that the amount of the warhead increases or decreases with size. Traveller doesn't really take into account ECM/ECCM (inasmuch as you could do lots of other things with your missiles and put in different warheads like electronics to help your missiles get through defenses).

There are lots of areas I've tinkered with in the technology, like multiple sizes of missiles, adding in 25 and 75 ton turrets, etc, to make the tech read more like it is today. The Traveller rules in the various systems have tinkered with increasing damage (or simply making available) uprated lasers and missiles with TL, but sadly that got tossed for MgT and they substituted the upgrades. Which, in my mind, could/should be added to any of your weapon systems for cost. Sure, you potentially add everything to your triple beam laser turret, but now that one turret costs your $10 MCr, and all of your maintenance, repair, and replacement expenses go way up as well. Most naval vessels are going to have sufficient weaponry, so they won't do all the upgrades unless they are a specialized ship. Pirates might do something, but they too would not have the funds (most likely) to maintain something like that.

 

[far-trader]

In my mind I struggle to see how a missile launcher (bay, turret or otherwise) of TL8 can make a TL 6 missile become Very High Yield...

I'm sure the idea behind it is equally simple. It was probably presumed that your TL8 launcher will be equipped with TL8 missiles and not TL6 missiles. It's how I'd look at it anyway.

And per phavoc's ideas above (kudos, ytu ruling is cool, just watch out for PC's wanting to take the idea and do an end run around you with it ) missiles get better at succeeding and pack more of a punch as they progress.

Personally though, in the interest of keeping it simple (and per Real World examples), I'd not presume that missiles and launchers were interchangeable across TLs. I'll go a step further in clarifying that, I'd rule that a TL8 launcher would not be compatible with a TL6 missile, or any missile except a TL8 missile. If you have a TL8 launcher, you have TL8 missiles, after all you built your ship at a TL8 yard so it's not like you should be stuck with TL6 missiles or be able to use higher TL missiles.

Besides, interstellar polities are going to be pretty uniform in their armament at the peak of their TL. Barring some locally raised and supported fleets being produced at lower TL and based in that system. Even there they might very well have weapons upgraded to interstellar standards. Strictly local defense elements will of course be more likely to be dependent (and independent for it) on local TL.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Unfortunately that idea doesn't work with Sand Casters. The rules specifically state that the Sand Cannisters can be manufactured at TL5, allowing lower tech worlds to get military contracts.

I am of mixed minds on the missiles themselves, I think I would prefer to follow the old Missile Supplement and keep the size constant and vary the performance. After all, that is what Smart and Long Range Missiles already are, variations of the original missile that can use the same launcher.

 

[DFW]

Based on the MGT missile size and performance, they don't exist in my game until late TL 9.

 

[locarno24]

Hi All,

Just been looking through High Guard (again).
The upgrade to weapons systems to me does not make sense with missile launchers and torpedoes. The principal is simple - you pay more for the launcher at design for a better weapon system. I like the simplicity

In my mind I struggle to see how a missile launcher (bay, turret or otherwise) of TL8 can make a TL 6 missile become Very High Yield (maybe my imagination is shot). When you get to small crafts and torpedoes it becomes even sillier - as the fighter is just the carrier of the torpedo, the intelligence is in the device.

Anyone come across this in their ship design or role-playing?

Yes. For missile weapons I apply the cost increases associated with Accurate, High Yield, Very High Yield, etc, to the ammunition as well as the launcher.

Equally, I allow high-tech ships to miniaturise unmodified ammunition by the same percentage - so a suitably high tech missile can be stored 13/dTon, 16/dTon or 20/dTon (but obviously costs more).