Science, HO!

[AmberImmortal]

So, all you science minded ladies and gents, I'm looking for Plausible explanations for advanced technology belonging to various alien races. For instance, Vibro-weapons. How would they work? Force fields, plasma weapons, energy melee weapons, artificial gravity, FTL travel, etc.

I'm looking for realistic (though stretched with imagination) explanations. I'm trying to create a real scientific atomosphere for my PCs and this is imperative. If you have any ideas I'd be obliged to recieve them. It doesn't matter how farfetched the idea is. Anything to get my brain going.

[AmberImmortal]

A good power source and a little unobtanium do go a long way when creating "impossible technologies, I agree. However, I simply can't believe that things like vibro-weapons are impossible. We may not have the means to create them now but, some time in the future I think these things are doable.

I'm not looking for actual scientific formulae or anything like that, just some plausible sounding explanations. mostly, I'm looking for some real-world theory behind the technology. For instance, did you know caltech has actually developed sonic weapon technology? http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2 ... roy-tumors .
Yeah, they call them sound bullets and they can actually do things in real life, that palladium says they can do in heroes and aliens unlimited. like shoot through bunkers and armor. Isn't that interesting?

[Damian Magecraft]

A good power source and a little unobtanium do go a long way when creating "impossible technologies, I agree. However, I simply can't believe that things like vibro-weapons are impossible. We may not have the means to create them now but, some time in the future I think these things are doable.

I'm not looking for actual scientific formulae or anything like that, just some plausible sounding explanations. mostly, I'm looking for some real-world theory behind the technology. For instance, did you know caltech has actually developed sonic weapon technology? http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2 ... roy-tumors .
Yeah, they call them sound bullets and they can actually do things in real life, that palladium says they can do in heroes and aliens unlimited. like shoot through bunkers and armor. Isn't that interesting?

Vibro-blades?
well the name implies it vibrates at high speeds to create its cutting force.
The description of the item is that of a field of some sort surrounds the blade... (maybe the field is sonic created by some vibrating source?)
Unobtainium and handwavium combined with technobabble is all my players ever expect (its supers the tropes dont require that much detail and we play to the tropes).

[AmberImmortal]

Sonic? good idea. a blade vibrated with infrasonic frequencies? that would be cool. what about like, artificial gravity? that's the one that really gets me. I can't even find a way to make that one sound plausible. Apparently most physicists have no freaking idea how it could be done even theoretically.

[PapaMambo]

Sonic? good idea. a blade vibrated with infrasonic frequencies? that would be cool. what about like, artificial gravity? that's the one that really gets me. I can't even find a way to make that one sound plausible. Apparently most physicists have no freaking idea how it could be done even theoretically.

If you're talking technologically speaking, that seems quite easy to generate gravity. If it's something you want to use in an environment (like a space station or spacecraft), artificial gravity is created using centrifugal force. (the living quarters spin around an axis for example). If it's something that generates gravity over an area, the ship or whatever can have gravity well generators that create a "mass shadow" in space that simulates a planetary body. Star Wars uses this last example for the Interdictor Cruiser. The ship has 4 massive gravity well generators that project a mass shadow that causes ships travelling in hyperspace to revert to real space, and prevents ships from making the jump back into hyperspace and escaping. The idea of gravity well generators isn't something that Star Wars invented, but I've always loved the practical use of it - patrolling the space lanes and trade routes, looking for smugglers and pirates. No reason why you couldn't do something similar here.

[AmberImmortal]

Yeah, I knew about centrifigal force but, I didn't want every ship in the galaxy to be spinning. It wouldn't be of any use as a transatomospheric ship, seeing as how it wouldn't be very aerodynamic with a big ring surrounding the ship, and it would be kinda hard to use onboard turrets and such if the ship is spinning all the time. Not to mention, if you have a ship that actually has a "windshield", so to speak, it would be hard to maneuver the ship because everything you viewed would be spinning in circles. It would be like piloting a ferris wheel.

What if there was a free-floating ring that spun around the ship at high velocity? You think that might somehow generate "gravity", or at least simulate it? Or perhaps, rings that are built below the floors of the ship that spin and somehow "pull" you to the floor, again, simlulating gravity? Kind of like those new fans that blow air without spinning blades of any kind.

[Damian Magecraft]

Yeah, I knew about centrifigal force but, I didn't want every ship in the galaxy to be spinning. It wouldn't be of any use as a transatomospheric ship, seeing as how it wouldn't be very aerodynamic with a big ring surrounding the ship, and it would be kinda hard to use onboard turrets and such if the ship is spinning all the time. Not to mention, if you have a ship that actually has a "windshield", so to speak, it would be hard to maneuver the ship because everything you viewed would be spinning in circles. It would be like piloting a ferris wheel.

What if there was a free-floating ring that spun around the ship at high velocity? You think that might somehow generate "gravity", or at least simulate it? Or perhaps, rings that are built below the floors of the ship that spin and somehow "pull" you to the floor, again, simlulating gravity? Kind of like those new fans that blow air without spinning blades of any kind.

Gravitons (positive [attracts] and negative [repels])... dude seriously handwavium, unobtainium, and techno-babble...
Thats all your players are really looking for...
Especially from the really alien gear.

[AmberImmortal]

Yes, yes, I know, handwaves and unobtanium, the key to all good sci-fi. They're just so overused. I, personally, am not satisfied with handwaves and unobtainable elements. My players don't even know I'm doing this. This is for me. I want a game with real scientific theory not cracker jack science.

[PapaMambo]

Yes, yes, I know, handwaves and unobtanium, the key to all good sci-fi. They're just so overused. I, personally, am not satisfied with handwaves and unobtainable elements. My players don't even know I'm doing this. This is for me. I want a game with real scientific theory not cracker jack science.

Well, something like a gravimetric wave generator might work for you. Tied into whatever power source you use. It sounds "techy", and you can explain it however you want - it creates gravimetric waves through particle stimulation, centrifugal force, magnets whatever seems most "real" to you. Just be specific, and consistent. Write your power sources down, write your tech-splanations down so that in the future when your players bring it up (and believe me they will!) you have the same explanation for how things work, so they can't try and use discrepancies against you.

As for planetary travel - generally any ship that travels in an atmosphere (or near a planetary body to be specific) would be subject to that planet's gravity. In outer space, there is no up or down, so the spinning cockpit becomes a non issue. Perhaps the cockpit locks into place when entering an atmosphere.

[AmberImmortal]

Baron Vonclogg, That is a really good idea. I actually haven't given dark matter a whole lot of thought. I guess I should review it some more. Thanks.

[BillionSix]

You know, when I read the thread title the first thing that popped into my head was:
She is a streetwalker. She sells herself for money. But she uses that money to fund her technological research, and use her high-tech creations to fight evil!
She is.... Science Ho!!

[PapaMambo]

You know, when I read the thread title the first thing that popped into my head was:
She is a streetwalker. She sells herself for money. But she uses that money to fund her technological research, and use her high-tech creations to fight evil!
She is.... Science Ho!!

Now you got me thinkin'. This might actually be a decent concept.. Believe it or not, there are some pretty smart Porn Stars out there - Asia Carerra comes to mind - Mensa member, IQ of 156, and not too shabby to look at..

[AmberImmortal]

Hookers huh? So much for Science. lol

clearly this thread really took off. hehe

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

What would be interesting would be to find a highly developed species with advanced technology, then discover that little of their tech actually works for anyone else. Not because it's designed to identify user biometrics or anything fancy like that, but because the entire species are very powerful psychics who subconsciously function like NB Psi-Techs. Force fields, energy weapons, FTL, etc., are all products of their collective belief that it should function as designed. Crack open a piece of their equipment to learn its secrets and all you find is a jumble of wires and nonsensical parts bolted together with no clear purpose.

Any resemblance to WH40K's Ork Waaaaagh is purely coincidental.

[AmberImmortal]

What would be interesting would be to find a highly developed species with advanced technology, then discover that little of their tech actually works for anyone else. Not because it's designed to identify user biometrics or anything fancy like that, but because the entire species are very powerful psychics who subconsciously function like NB Psi-Techs. Force fields, energy weapons, FTL, etc., are all products of their collective belief that it should function as designed. Crack open a piece of their equipment to learn its secrets and all you find is a jumble of wires and nonsensical parts bolted together with no clear purpose.

Any resemblance to WH40K's Ork Waaaaagh is purely coincidental.

Great "coincidental" 40k reference. Though still a cool idea.

[NMI]

As it is not a "conversion" the two preceding posts may remain for now. Let's be mindful of the "no conversion" policy.

Thanks!

[Nightmask]

What would be interesting would be to find a highly developed species with advanced technology, then discover that little of their tech actually works for anyone else. Not because it's designed to identify user biometrics or anything fancy like that, but because the entire species are very powerful psychics who subconsciously function like NB Psi-Techs. Force fields, energy weapons, FTL, etc., are all products of their collective belief that it should function as designed. Crack open a piece of their equipment to learn its secrets and all you find is a jumble of wires and nonsensical parts bolted together with no clear purpose.

Any resemblance to WH40K's Ork Waaaaagh is purely coincidental.

One of the psychic alien races in Aliens Unlimited (the fox-based one I think) does actually use technology on its ships that run off of psychic powers so their weapon systems for example are actually amplifiers that turn the appropriate psychic power into a ship-scale attack. But they have actual psionic tech it would seem that use a psychic with the correct psychic power as the base and amplifies it to ship-scale level.

[Armorlord]

A good power source and a little unobtanium do go a long way when creating "impossible technologies, I agree. However, I simply can't believe that things like vibro-weapons are impossible. We may not have the means to create them now but, some time in the future I think these things are doable.

I'm not looking for actual scientific formulae or anything like that, just some plausible sounding explanations. mostly, I'm looking for some real-world theory behind the technology. For instance, did you know caltech has actually developed sonic weapon technology? http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2 ... roy-tumors .
Yeah, they call them sound bullets and they can actually do things in real life, that palladium says they can do in heroes and aliens unlimited. like shoot through bunkers and armor. Isn't that interesting?

Vibro-blades?
well the name implies it vibrates at high speeds to create its cutting force.
The description of the item is that of a field of some sort surrounds the blade... (maybe the field is sonic created by some vibrating source?)
Unobtainium and handwavium combined with technobabble is all my players ever expect (its supers the tropes dont require that much detail and we play to the tropes).

Vibroblade technology is actually described as being an ultra-sonic field around the weapon, named as such for the bit of vibration you hear/feel in the air and somewhat in your hand. At least in Palladium anyway, there are other weapons that use that name in other works of fiction that function differently, usually along the lines of electric turkey carvers of various levels of sophistication.

What would be interesting would be to find a highly developed species with advanced technology, then discover that little of their tech actually works for anyone else. Not because it's designed to identify user biometrics or anything fancy like that, but because the entire species are very powerful psychics who subconsciously function like NB Psi-Techs. Force fields, energy weapons, FTL, etc., are all products of their collective belief that it should function as designed. Crack open a piece of their equipment to learn its secrets and all you find is a jumble of wires and nonsensical parts bolted together with no clear purpose.

See also: the Animal Psionic power of "Natural Mechanical Genius" which functions similarly.

[AmberImmortal]

Vibro weapons are not so impossible...
I think of them like a combination of jack hammer and reciprocating saw in a compact extra fast, extra hard format that looks like a normal weapon, but moves so fast that you can't see the vibration... other than a dull hum sound and a mild shaking when held... these tools are awesome in game terms.

I think of them with like Harmonic frequencies or rapidly shifting electromagnetic fields.