Laser spare battery packs?
- Thread starter Daddicus
- Start date
David Johansen
SOC-12
no, ammo is entirely abstract in T5
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
The following appears in The Traveller Book, page 42.
It is for the laser rifle, the laser carbine battery pack is a bit lighter.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Well if we are going back to CT, might as well do Striker-
TL8 carbine weight 3kg/cost 1000Cr/shots 50
TL9 pistol 1kg/400Cr/50
TL9 rifle 4kg/1500Cr/100
TL13 pistol 1kg/7000Cr/200
TL13 carbine 2kg/14000Cr/200
TL13 rifle 4kg/28000Cr/200
The TL13 lasers are x-ray lasers, have a greater number of shots that also have more penetration/damage.
TL8 carbine weight 3kg/cost 1000Cr/shots 50
TL9 pistol 1kg/400Cr/50
TL9 rifle 4kg/1500Cr/100
TL13 pistol 1kg/7000Cr/200
TL13 carbine 2kg/14000Cr/200
TL13 rifle 4kg/28000Cr/200
The TL13 lasers are x-ray lasers, have a greater number of shots that also have more penetration/damage.
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mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Or you could go the TNE route and have CLC 'clips' rather than battery packs...
The problem that I have is that I'm running my players through Horde from CT days (double-adventure 5). In that, the TL 6 world doesn't have much for weaponry to fight the furachnid (Chamax or bugs in the book). But, the players came with a half-ton of laser rifles that were given them in another system.
The issue is that there's a plot development when the laser rifles begin to run out of energy. The intent of the adventure is that the players have to fight their way to an old energy plant, fire it up, and jury-rig a way to recharge battery packs. Kind of hard to do if there are no battery packs and if they never run out of ammo.
I think I'm just going to wing it. No special devices like a battery pack are needed; but, they have to recharge them just like any other energy-using device. Now all I have to do is figure out how long they work without recharging.
Or, just skip that adventure segment.
The issue is that there's a plot development when the laser rifles begin to run out of energy. The intent of the adventure is that the players have to fight their way to an old energy plant, fire it up, and jury-rig a way to recharge battery packs. Kind of hard to do if there are no battery packs and if they never run out of ammo.
I think I'm just going to wing it. No special devices like a battery pack are needed; but, they have to recharge them just like any other energy-using device. Now all I have to do is figure out how long they work without recharging.
Or, just skip that adventure segment.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Lack of ammo rules in T5 and MgT are major flaws IMHO for just the reason you have brought up.
The Chamaux Plague/Horde is a favourite Traveller adventure for a lot of people. It is made trivial with weapons that never run out of ammo...
make a saving throw or run out of ammo is not the way I do it.
The Chamaux Plague/Horde is a favourite Traveller adventure for a lot of people. It is made trivial with weapons that never run out of ammo...
make a saving throw or run out of ammo is not the way I do it.
Ackehece
SOC-13
Don't take this the wrong way, but other play styles do exist and if you desire to use ammo do so but it's not required to be tracked and others like it that way
I myself swing both ways as it is tech level dependent on how much ammo a person can normally carry into combat.
The reason for the decision I believe was related to the huge ammo capacities in higher tech level weapons which effectively made them have unlimited ammo for encounter level playing. The lower the tech level the more the ammo counter is important. (aka: musket 1 and long reload, kentucky rifle 1 and short reload, falling block rifles 1 and fast reload, pump action rifles 7+ slow reload, lee-enfield 10 shots, m4 30 + fast mag change, the trend is to more and faster reloads with less weight... By TL11 ammo constraints in small arms conflict are basically strategic and not tactical in nature.
If your pcs are short on ammo in a high tech campaign they will know before combat. (the role of the GM) If you want your players to scrounge ammo then tell them their ammo limits otherwise it really doesn't have an effect. "Player Character One you notice your laser rifle which usually has a charge that allows it 1000 shots only has 10% remaining as you have been trapped in combat for hours"
otoh if you are playing american civil war- ammo count is much much more important as your average rifleman carried 20 shot and had to load each on with a percussion cap. "since the start of the battle you've shot three confederates, one an officer, and spent 11 of your 20 rounds. you see 20 more grey caps approaching your artillery park, only you stand between them and the loss of cannons that can turn the battle around. What do you do?"
it certainly would make quite a few privates, corporals, and sergeants nervous about any engagement.
slug throwers throw mass, the portability and therefore quantity of which is limited regardless of tech level. ammo management is part of any slug thrower engagement.
what was that rambo movie where stallone is running around barechested with an m60 under one arm shooting down dozens upon dozens of bad guys? in each scene his ammo belt was a different length, first shorter, then longer, then shorter again ....
I don't like that rule in T5 and so won't use it.
That being said, there have been times when I didn't impose ammo counts on my players. It wasn't often and there were what I felt to be extenuating circumstances.
The Chamax adventures were not one of those times.
Combat involving prepared professionals for limited periods where supply isn't a plot point is perhaps the most succinct way I can explain it.
Take my Fixers campaign for example. The plot arc was about finding an IN warship which had mis-jumped soon after the 3rd Frontier War. The PCs not only determined the warship's location but also uncovered the information that a smuggling/crime group was using the hulk as a base. The PCs were part of a paramilitary force which was trained and specifically dispatched to board and secure the hulk. Accordingly, I didn't worry about ammo counts and instead felt that the "pros" would make sure enough ammo was on hand.
In my IISS Active Duty campaign I re-purposed Death Station. The PCs boarded the lab ship with the help of two Security Branch troopers. (Their scout/courier had been carrying quarterly personnel transfers to Burtson.) Again, plenty of prep time, pros on hand, so I didn't worry about ammo counts.
During my Indiana Jones ripoff set during the Chaco War, the PCs got caught up in one of the many battles that occurred around fortified water holes. No ammo count there, the defenders were well supplied. When the PCs later infiltrated the temple of the Jaguar Cult, however, ever round was counted right down to the number in the Lewis Gun drums.
Take my Fixers campaign for example. The plot arc was about finding an IN warship which had mis-jumped soon after the 3rd Frontier War. The PCs not only determined the warship's location but also uncovered the information that a smuggling/crime group was using the hulk as a base. The PCs were part of a paramilitary force which was trained and specifically dispatched to board and secure the hulk. Accordingly, I didn't worry about ammo counts and instead felt that the "pros" would make sure enough ammo was on hand.
In my IISS Active Duty campaign I re-purposed Death Station. The PCs boarded the lab ship with the help of two Security Branch troopers. (Their scout/courier had been carrying quarterly personnel transfers to Burtson.) Again, plenty of prep time, pros on hand, so I didn't worry about ammo counts.
During my Indiana Jones ripoff set during the Chaco War, the PCs got caught up in one of the many battles that occurred around fortified water holes. No ammo count there, the defenders were well supplied. When the PCs later infiltrated the temple of the Jaguar Cult, however, ever round was counted right down to the number in the Lewis Gun drums.
That's a good way to handle it.
It all boils down to the needs of the plot, referee, and players. In Horde, recharging those laser power packs is a plot point. You may have never counted ammo expenditure as a referee, but you have to count in Horde because the plot demands it.
It all boils down to the needs of the plot, referee, and players. In Horde, recharging those laser power packs is a plot point. You may have never counted ammo expenditure as a referee, but you have to count in Horde because the plot demands it.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
I completely agree.
By not having any rules for ammo though T5 and MgT deny certain plot types and make reference to earlier editions necessary.
We played through that last night. We didn't have to count shots, but I basically said that the militia got close to running out of "ammo" for the lasers after a 2-day trek by the players (to rescue the general).
So, it was thoroughly abstracted. But, it gave them a reason to go secure the power plant, which is what that section of the adventure was supposed to do.
So, it all worked out.
By the way, my players have a working ship, so they're not stuck like the players in the adventure. I'm appealing to their basically good nature to keep them there. I've convinced them that if they leave, the whole planet will be wiped out. And, they're rising to the occasion.
But, with a working ship, they can charge the lasers as often as needed. So, it's only for when the players take their ship on an excursion that the power plant is needed. But, they're being far more clever than the adventure seems to have expected. So, it's working out.
So, it was thoroughly abstracted. But, it gave them a reason to go secure the power plant, which is what that section of the adventure was supposed to do.
So, it all worked out.
By the way, my players have a working ship, so they're not stuck like the players in the adventure. I'm appealing to their basically good nature to keep them there. I've convinced them that if they leave, the whole planet will be wiped out. And, they're rising to the occasion.
But, with a working ship, they can charge the lasers as often as needed. So, it's only for when the players take their ship on an excursion that the power plant is needed. But, they're being far more clever than the adventure seems to have expected. So, it's working out.
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