Re: [HOE] Junker's, Railguns, AP Ammo, Ammo Processors (somewhat long?)

["Fuzyn9feet" <Fuzyn9feet@email.msn.com>]

Ashley Wrote:
> Yeah, I too felt that in the case of a railgun, you would simply up the
> wattage to increase the muzzle velocity to achieve true armour
penetration.
>
> However, the rules and descriptions in The Junkman Cometh are rather vague
> in regards to this (it doesn't help that I've seen a few designs on the
net
> that factor in the increased structural requirements).

I'll explain my view and Robert's bellow...

> Thanks for your insight.

No problem us Junkers have can always use a helping hand (be it another
Junker of Techno-Spirit).

> Ashley.
>
> PS, what's a W.H.A.T.T. Member?

W.H.A.T.T. is a non-profit organization for the betterment of forms of
Gaming (but we tend to focus on Role-playing in particular). I'm a member
and the current defect-o leader (Don't ask, too long).

Then Robert Wrote:
>Hm, they actually are a bit unclear...the Ammo power says "Each AP level
>increases the chemical and structural components needed to manufacture the
ammo
>by +10%. (Rounds which do not use propellant can ignore the increased
CHEMICAL
>costs...)" (Emphasis mine; only the chemical cost is ignored, not the
>structural.) And under Rail Guns, we have "Each round fired burns a number
of
>G-rays equal to its size...If the weapon's ammo was designed to be
>armor-piercing, the drain per shot is increased by an amount equal to the
ammo's
>size multiplied by the ammo's AP rating. An AP selector switch...allows the
user
>to select any AP rating for the weapon from zero to the ammo's maximum AP
>rating." So rail gun ammo does require an AP level to be specified upon
>construction, and can't go higher than that. No word on what AP level
processed
>ammo is considered to be.

The ammo is set in the building of the Rail Gun and then the Drain is
increased based on that base you've set. Sure you can have a Rail Gun that
fires 4d8 AP 20 but someone has to set a limit. As for the limit on AP, I
have a feeling there was a rule much like the die type determining  the max
number of dice but got dropped like most of the other little things. Maybe
it was something like 'any ammo may not have a higher AP than half the Die
Type,' or some such (which might be a good House rule). (Note to any PEG
guys reading this if any book needs a revised edition JMC has to be on the
top!)

>Also, the drain requirements for AP railguns are pretty sick. The way I'm
>reading it is that the drain is increased by a full 100% for *each* level
of AP,
>as opposed to 25% per level for energy weapons. This means that it takes
the
>same amount of power to toss a 4d8 AP1 slug 500 yards as it does to fire an
8d8
>AP0 slug the same distance...and the latter will do more damage in all
cases,
>armored or unarmored. Also, it seems odd that ramping up the power in the
>magnetic field by several hundred percent increases only the penetration
and has
>no effect on damage or range. Come to think of it, it doesn't look as if
range
>factors in to railgun drain at all...hm. Even so, the drain much lower than
it
>would be for an equivalent energy weapon, but still.

First the Drain cost with AP. Using your example of 4d8 lets look at the
cost:
Ammo size 4d8 = .8 slots. Flash Gordon's laser starts with it's Drain cost
equal to twice the Ammo size, while Gunsmith's Rail Gun cost as per non
propellant (i.e..: 50% smaller). In this example both increase by .4 for
each AP level (and after some number crunching both will always increase by
the same amount).

Drain
AP      Flash Gordon           Rail Gun
0         .8 * 2 = 1.6              .8 / 50% = .4
1         1.6 + 25% = 2         .4 + .4 = .8
2         1.6 + 50% = 2.4      .4 + .8 = 1.2
3         1.6 + 75% = 2.8      .4 + .1.2 = 1.6
4         1.6 + 100% = 3.2    .4 + 1.6 = 2
5         1.6 + 125% = 3.6    .4 + 2 = 2.4
6         1.6 + 150% = 4       .4 + 2.4 = 2.8
7         1.6 + 175% = 4.4    .4 + 2.8 = 3.2
8         1.6 + 200% = 4.8    .4 + 3.2 = 3.6
9         1.6 + 225% = 5.2    .4 + 3.6 = 4
10       1.6 + 250% = 5.6    .4 + 4 = 4.4

Second the argument of 4d8 AP 1 versus 8d8 AP 0 cost. I wasn't sure if you
were saying that a Rail Gun uses the same Drain for both or RG vs. Laser so
I'm doing RG 4d8 AP 1 vs. both Laser and RG 8d8.
--A Rail Gun (4d8 AP 1) with a range increment of 500 (Range Increment
modifies only the gun size, no Drain size) has a Drain of (Ammo size .8 -50%
= .4 plus .4 for AP 1 = .8) .8 rounded up to 1 G-Ray.
--A Rail Gun (8d8 AP 0) with a range increment of 500 (Range Increment
modifies only the gun size, no Drain size) has a Drain of (Ammo size
1.6 -50% = .8) .8 rounded up to 1 G-Rays.
--A Laser (8d8 AP 0) with a range increment of 500 (Range Increment modifies
both the gun size, and Drain {*4.5}) has a Drain of (Ammo size 1.6  * 4.5
for the Range Increment modifier = 6.1) 6.1 rounded up to 7 G-Rays.

Granted the 8d8 will do more damage (and cost the same in Drain if you
comparing two RG) but in the end it will need to be a bigger gun.

Rail Guns do use a Range Increment. It call for you to use the Gunsmith for
Range Increment and RoF.

Lastly a Rail Gun uses energy to hurl lead at an object, increasing the
power would make for hire penetration. Bigger projectiles cause bigger
wounds, not faster ones.

OK I'm done and now have four hours tell I have to get up and got to the
only class I hate (this semester anyways). Good Night/Day...

Christopher Merrill
A W.H.A.T.T. Member