Weapon diversity -- Expanded Weapon Tables

[apoc527]

Hi all,

Obviously, I'm new to Mongoose Traveller, but I'm also fairly new to Traveller in general, having only ever played GURPS Traveller and fiddled around with some T4 and TNE and T20. Never played CT, MT, Striker, 2300AD, etc.

Here's my question: if MGT follows tradition, can we expect a larger number of weapons in the Mercenary book? There's nothing necessarily wrong with MGT's basic weapon selection, but I find it irksome (being a gun nut) that there's no mechanical difference between a 5.56mm round and a 7.62mm round, let alone a difference between a piece of garbage assault rifle and a highly tuned M4 carbine. GURPS Traveller had a larger weapons table, and actually included bore size and whatnot for the various types of weapons. Is there a difference between a 9mm and a .45? Not according to the limited table we got in the core book (which again, is fine--it's the core book). In T20, TA1 (Personal Weapons of Charted Space) greatly expanded upon the personal equipment in T20 itself, which was already a larger set than in MGT core.

Frankly, it's a simple matter to write up a larger selection based off what we get in the core book, but I'm mostly wondering if an expanded weapon list is part and parcel of "Mercenary." And, of course, if anyone has already expanded the table, I'd love to see what you've got. Thanks!

 

[GypsyComet]

There are two questions here.

Just based on the name and stated purpose, I expect the Mercenary book to flesh out the weapons list as it applies to the Traveller universe. No problem.

The OP seems to be looking for RW equivalents. That would, IMHO, be appropriate for an expansion of the MGT mechanics into other genres and settings, but the Traveller setting really doesn't need umpty-bajillion pages of RW analog weapons in their endless "two ounces and a different iron sight" differences.

 

[apoc527]

I'm sure Mongoose will provide many additional weapons in the Mercenary supplement, but I do think "tradition" varies by the version of Traveller. For people who were introduced to Traveller via the GURPS line, everything is fairly different from the CT/MT/T4 folks. Nonetheless, I quite understand your point--and I'm not really out for a billion weapon types with almost no differences. All I really want to see is "Light Assault Rifle" (high capacity, high RoF, lower damage), "Heavy Assault Rifle" (lower capacity, lower RoF, higher damage), etc. In other words, a set of diverse, yet actually distinct weapons for different roles. I'm a big fan of trade-offs when choosing weapons, as it adds yet another kind of flavor to whatever force or individual is using it. A character who wants to spray ammo all over would love a light assault rifle, and someone who wants to be conservative would love the heavy AR.

Anyway, knowing me, I'll probably write up an expanded weapons table anyway, probably before Mercenary even comes out!

 

[Klaus Kipling]

I'd like to see the range of weapons in the TLs 10-12 range expanded, rather than a whole slew of contemporary type weapons. This tech range is the 'average' one in the OTU. So more variety of gauss and laser weaponry, less multiple versions of the assault rifle. Note, a heavy AR is the auto-rifle, is it not?

I do remember hints of a gauss shotgun being mentioned by someone 'in the know'. How about a 'pulse' laser; a laser carbine with auto-fire. Or a beam laser? Better chance of hitting with a nice beam to play with (and there is the stub gun from Judge Dredd). An electro-laser - a stunner that uses a laser as a guide-beam, with a longer range than the current stunner. That's what I want to see in Mercenary, not x versions of the SMG.

Anyhoo, that's my personal wish-list.

 

[Golan2072]

How about a 'pulse' laser; a laser carbine with auto-fire.

Here you go:

Anti-Materiel Laser (AML): A heavy laser weapon designed for anti-vehicular use. While this weapon packs a punch, it also draws massive amounts of energy from the powerpack for each shot, depleting the entire energy storage in a few shots. The Anti-Materiel Laser uses the Heavy Weapon (Man-Portable Artillery) skill.


Gatling Laser (G-Laser): A low-tech auto-fire laser using multiple emitters firing in sequence to produce rapid fire while still allowing each emitter enough time to cool down between shots. The Gatling Laser uses the Heavy Weapon (Man-Portable Artillery) skill.

Rapid Pulse Assault Laser (RPAL): A rapid-firing version of the laser carbine, this weapon is one of the first true-autofire laser weapons becoming available as laser technology advances. Due to its high rate of energy depletion, however, this weapon uses a power pack more akin to those of laser rifles than carbines. The RPAL uses the Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) skill.

WEAPON   TL   RANGE   DMG   AUTO   RECOIL   MASS   MAG   COST   AMMO-COST
AML       9   Rifle   9d6   0      0        10     10   10,000  4,000
G-Laser  10   Assault 4d6   6      0        16     200  14,000  4,000
RPAL     12   Assault 4d6+3 4      0         6     100   6,000  3,500

 

[-Daniel-]

How about a 'pulse' laser; a laser carbine with auto-fire.

Here you go:

Anti-Materiel Laser (AML): A heavy laser weapon designed for anti-vehicular use. While this weapon packs a punch, it also draws massive amounts of energy from the powerpack for each shot, depleting the entire energy storage in a few shots. The Anti-Materiel Laser uses the Heavy Weapon (Man-Portable Artillery) skill.


Gatling Laser (G-Laser): A low-tech auto-fire laser using multiple emitters firing in sequence to produce rapid fire while still allowing each emitter enough time to cool down between shots. The Gatling Laser uses the Heavy Weapon (Man-Portable Artillery) skill.

Rapid Pulse Assault Laser (RPAL): A rapid-firing version of the laser carbine, this weapon is one of the first true-autofire laser weapons becoming available as laser technology advances. Due to its high rate of energy depletion, however, this weapon uses a power pack more akin to those of laser rifles than carbines. The RPAL uses the Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) skill.

WEAPON   TL   RANGE   DMG   AUTO   RECOIL   MASS   MAG   COST   AMMO-COST
AML       9   Rifle   9d6   0      0        10     10   10,000  4,000
G-Laser  10   Assault 4d6   6      0        16     200  14,000  4,000
RPAL     12   Assault 4d6+3 4      0         6     100   6,000  3,500

Nice Golan, I like them. My favorite is the AML.

Daniel

 

[DrSkull]

I'm thinking that I can use the "Emperor's Arsenal" from T4 almost as written. A quick convert on the ROF, and the Ranges, which should be very simple, and a whole book of awesome weapons ready to go.