Ramjet rounds

[Alrik Vas]

so they expend their fuel on the way to target like a jet should, or is velocity achieved before leaving the barrel?

pretty sure its the former, and if it is true, is there a non-magic/TW way of concealing your firing position while using them, as I imagine the jet lights up like a tracer.

[cosmicfish]

so they expend their fuel on the way to target like a jet should, or is velocity achieved before leaving the barrel?

They expend their fuel on the way to the target (like a rocket more than like a jet), but velocity is a little trickier. Ramjets only operate at high speeds, so you need to accelerate them to their ignition velocity by some other method - firing them from a cannon, using a rocket or jet, something. Once they ignite, depending on their thrust and trajectory they might accelerate or might simply hold their velocity, but the goal is usually to speed them up. So, for example, you might fire a ramjet round from a high-powered cannon at Mach 3 and have it accelerate to Mach 6 by the time it hits a distant target.

pretty sure its the former, and if it is true, is there a non-magic/TW way of concealing your firing position while using them, as I imagine the jet lights up like a tracer.

Yes, they light up like a rocket. If there is a technological way to conceal the trail, no one is talking about it.

[guardiandashi]

so they expend their fuel on the way to target like a jet should, or is velocity achieved before leaving the barrel?

pretty sure its the former, and if it is true, is there a non-magic/TW way of concealing your firing position while using them, as I imagine the jet lights up like a tracer.

my understanding is they are a variation on the concept of RAP rounds

[Alrik Vas]

so, anyone have a good idea for an alternative solid ammunition type then? the APRJ works during battle for a designated marksman, but I'm looking for non-energy weapons to do some sniping with.

[boxee]

so, anyone have a good idea for an alternative solid ammunition type then? the APRJ works during battle for a designated marksman, but I'm looking for non-energy weapons to do some sniping with.

On what kind of targets? If it is a soft target you open up alot of weapons, if it is a hard target (high MDC) you are limited on weapons.

[Killer Cyborg]

so, anyone have a good idea for an alternative solid ammunition type then? the APRJ works during battle for a designated marksman, but I'm looking for non-energy weapons to do some sniping with.

What's wrong with ramjets?

[cosmicfish]

What's wrong with ramjets?

He wants to blow a hole in something without anyone tracing the shot directly back to him. Ramjets leave a trail.

[ShadowLogan]

so, anyone have a good idea for an alternative solid ammunition type then? the APRJ works during battle for a designated marksman, but I'm looking for non-energy weapons to do some sniping with.

Most if not all the projectile weapons in Rifts that do MD fall into one of 3 categories AFAIK:
-Ramjet (low low damage)
-Explosive Round (RMB, Mercenaries, New West, and a few others)
-Force Projectors: ie Railguns, Gravity Guns, the exotic tech the Megaversal Legion uses (if you aren't ML, you shouldn't have it and I forget the name off hand), etc
-a fourth category of Rocket (SA1) also exists, but off hand I don't recall if they rely on velocity (like a Ramjet or Railgun) or explosive charge to do the damage. But if you have issues with the Ramjet leaving a trail, I can't see a Rocket not having the same issue.

You might be able to get away with solid ammunition if its made out of Kinsite (sp) or other materials that allow regular PS humans to inflict MD in melee. However, to my knowledge this would be a GM call as I don't know of anyone that does such a thing.

Outside of Rifts, Robotech (2E) does have SLAP type ammo that beats out Ramjets and is in the ER/FP individual round range in terms of damage IIRC. Weather something like them exists in Rifts somewhere that I'm not familiar with is possible, though places like Splyn might have them for sale from other dimensions.

[Killer Cyborg]

What's wrong with ramjets?

He wants to blow a hole in something without anyone tracing the shot directly back to him. Ramjets leave a trail.

Shoot on a breezy day.

[Killer Cyborg]

so, anyone have a good idea for an alternative solid ammunition type then? the APRJ works during battle for a designated marksman, but I'm looking for non-energy weapons to do some sniping with.

Most if not all the projectile weapons in Rifts that do MD fall into one of 3 categories AFAIK:
-Ramjet (low low damage)
-Explosive Round (RMB, Mercenaries, New West, and a few others)
-Force Projectors: ie Railguns, Gravity Guns, the exotic tech the Megaversal Legion uses (if you aren't ML, you shouldn't have it and I forget the name off hand), etc
-a fourth category of Rocket (SA1) also exists, but off hand I don't recall if they rely on velocity (like a Ramjet or Railgun) or explosive charge to do the damage. But if you have issues with the Ramjet leaving a trail, I can't see a Rocket not having the same issue.

You might be able to get away with solid ammunition if its made out of Kinsite (sp) or other materials that allow regular PS humans to inflict MD in melee. However, to my knowledge this would be a GM call as I don't know of anyone that does such a thing.

Outside of Rifts, Robotech (2E) does have SLAP type ammo that beats out Ramjets and is in the ER/FP individual round range in terms of damage IIRC. Weather something like them exists in Rifts somewhere that I'm not familiar with is possible, though places like Splyn might have them for sale from other dimensions.

Yeah, I think that either solid ammunition or explosive rounds would be the way to go.

The Provider Single-Shot Breach-Loading Rifle (DS 75) is a good sniping rifle on the low end of things, inflicting 1d6 MD with a standard .78 cailber steel-cased round (for some reason), especially if you get one custom-made for the +2 Natural strike bonus on Aimed shots.
WI-2E Explosive Rounds (Merc 103) inflict triple the normal damage, so a Provider rifle with explosive rounds could inflict 3d6 MD per shot, with the potential to crit on an natural 18+ strike roll.
The only real downside is that 3d6 MD still isn't enough damage for some people, and the Provider can only fire 1 shot per 3 attacks, which is a pretty low rate of fire, unless you have three rifles and two assistants to help you reload.

[say652]

Duc rounds.
Silver Rounds.

Taking down a high mdc target isn't viable with a sniper.

[Killer Cyborg]

Taking down a high mdc target isn't viable with a sniper.

The rules for hunting dinosaurs says otherwise.

[Jefffar]

IIRC the description says the ramjet round resembles an energy beam (bright object moving faster than the eye can follow just being a temporary streak of light in our vision).

It says nothing about a smoke trail and there are 'smokeless' rocket motors, so, perhaps there is no smoke trail and only a brief light trail (no more tracable than an energy beam).

It would suck to use ramjets while wearing nightbision equipment though, you'd always be looking at the brightest part of the light trail when the bullet exited the weapon and no flash suppressor will help you. Would make tracers redundant though.

[Shark_Force]

iirc, it is possible to enchant bullets to deal MD equivalent to their usual (SDC) damage. not easy. and the supply will be extremely limited. but possible.

but honestly, i'd look to techno-wizardry options... xiticix guns fire an invisible projectile 4,000 feet that deals 4d6 damage. pretty sure there's a similar TW TK sniper rifle that deals respectable damage as well, can't recall range off the top of my head.

[say652]

Or 50. Cal duc rounds.
Or straight up U rounds.
1D6×10 then doubled.

[flatline]

Enchant Weapon Minor will make SDC rounds do 2dMD regardless of their regular damage rating. Get yourself a high powered SDC rifle and snipe away with your magic bullets

I wouldn't expect TK weapons to leave a visible trail unless you're shooting through fog or mist. Then you might see a small trail where the bolts of force displace the suspended droplets.

The GR rail guns from phase world would be a more damaging option if you have access to more exotic weapons.

--flatline

[Shark_Force]

so i checked my copy of RUE (was previously afb) and there is indeed a TK sniper rifle that does 4d6 MD. only a 2,000 foot range, and vastly less efficient than xiticix weapons though (on the plus side, very accurate). so if at all possible, get yourself a xiticix TK rifle.

i would also recommend that any sniper-oriented character talk to their GM about including the skill "vital points" from the splicers setting. it really increases the value of a single shot attack from concealment.

[boxee]

so i checked my copy of RUE (was previously afb) and there is indeed a TK sniper rifle that does 4d6 MD. only a 2,000 foot range, and vastly less efficient than xiticix weapons though (on the plus side, very accurate). so if at all possible, get yourself a xiticix TK rifle.

i would also recommend that any sniper-oriented character talk to their GM about including the skill "vital points" from the splicers setting. it really increases the value of a single shot attack from concealment.

Love that skill.

[Alrik Vas]

so the options are magic bullets and....

what about using lasers and disabling the color and noise makers?

[Shark_Force]

thought the whole point was getting around impervious to energy. lasers aren't going to do that for you very well.

alternately, there isn't a particularly compelling reason you couldn't homebrew a railgun that fires a single large slug instead of a burst.

[flatline]

so the options are magic bullets and....

what about using lasers and disabling the color and noise makers?

Unless otherwise specified (like blue-green lasers), I would expect laser weapons to all be UV (and therefore invisible to the unaided human eye). If they were above UV, then the atmosphere would absorb the beam. If they were much below UV, then it becomes much harder to pack much energy into the beam.

I have no idea what you mean by "noise makers".

--flatline

[say652]

Mdc shotgun rounds.
5D6 md 300' range.
Not quite the sniper weapon you were hoping for but! I am a huge fan of vulnerability shotgun. Lol

[cosmicfish]

Unless otherwise specified (like blue-green lasers), I would expect laser weapons to all be UV (and therefore invisible to the unaided human eye). If they were above UV, then the atmosphere would absorb the beam. If they were much below UV, then it becomes much harder to pack much energy into the beam.

I don't know if I would make that assumption. UV has more energy per photon, but that doesn't mean you can actually get as many UV photons from your power source. We currently have a lot of trouble getting good power from lasers in this range just because of the chemistry involved.

I have no idea what you mean by "noise makers".

Current weapons-grade lasers aren't quiet, they break down the air with each pulse creating a loud and recognizable sound. Even if you use a CW beam it will still do that with each shot, and since it's simply the interaction of the high-energy photons with the air, there really isn't much you can do about it!

[Alrik Vas]

oh, Fish, Flatline, I understand lasers make noise, don't worry about that.

I'm talking about he line Palladium tows with lasers having built in noisemakers because they're naturally silent.

[Borast]

WI-10 Ramjet Rounds ...ultrahard casing filled with jet fuel...speeds comparable to a rail gun round...

Between the combustion, and the effect of the rounds travelling at hypersonic speeds through an atmosphere...there is a white vapour trail leading back to the shooter.

For "sniping" the NE-75H with heavy rounds does 2D4x10+20 MD out to over 1800m. Then there is the ATL-7 that drains a standard e-Clip to do 3D6x10+20 MD to over 900m.
There *is* an alternative method, but it involves travelling a "C" and stopping short while simply "pushing" a small mass. The problem lies in re-entering that kind of speed in the opposite direction before the resultant plasma field catches you and separates your constituent atoms from each other.
Seriously, though...if you want to snipe, talk to your GM about adopting the rules in Dinosaur Swamp, and then assign MDC to each location on your target's body. Just because it has 1000MDC doesn't mean 300MD to the noggin won't kill it.

[flatline]

Unless otherwise specified (like blue-green lasers), I would expect laser weapons to all be UV (and therefore invisible to the unaided human eye). If they were above UV, then the atmosphere would absorb the beam. If they were much below UV, then it becomes much harder to pack much energy into the beam.

I don't know if I would make that assumption. UV has more energy per photon, but that doesn't mean you can actually get as many UV photons from your power source. We currently have a lot of trouble getting good power from lasers in this range just because of the chemistry involved.

Your options are IR, visible spectrum, or UV, otherwise atmospheric absorption ruins your beam.

Lasers harm invisible characters even though visible light passes through invisible characters, so that leaves you with IR and UV.

We know they use blue-green lasers since they're specifically mentioned for their underwater characteristics. UV is just slightly higher than blue-green, so if lasers are generally UV, then blue-green lasers might be a slight adjustment to the dominant technology. If lasers were typically IR, then blue-green lasers would have to be a separate technology unless you think the light engine is a free electron laser, in which case you can pick any frequency you want.

If you disagree with my reasoning, I'm open to competing theories.

I have no idea what you mean by "noise makers".

Current weapons-grade lasers aren't quiet, they break down the air with each pulse creating a loud and recognizable sound. Even if you use a CW beam it will still do that with each shot, and since it's simply the interaction of the high-energy photons with the air, there really isn't much you can do about it!

From the context, he made it sound like he could disable the noise maker, so he's not talking about an effect inherent to firing a laser through an atmosphere or discharging the electronics.

Edit: neat link: http://www1.lsbu.ac.uk/water/water_vibr ... ctrum.html

--flatline

[flatline]

oh, Fish, Flatline, I understand lasers make noise, don't worry about that.

I'm talking about he line Palladium tows with lasers having built in noisemakers because they're naturally silent.

Oh good grief. Where is that nonsense written?

--flatline

[cosmicfish]

Lasers harm invisible characters even though visible light passes through invisible characters, so that leaves you with IR and UV.

That is a good point! I had forgotten about the issue of damaging invisible characters, which would support either UV or IR. That having been said, it could be argued that the invisibility breaks down under the energy density of the laser.

We know they use blue-green lasers since they're specifically mentioned for their underwater characteristics. UV is just slightly higher than blue-green, so if lasers are generally UV, then blue-green lasers might be a slight adjustment to the dominant technology. If lasers were typically IR, then blue-green lasers would have to be a separate technology unless you think the light engine is a free electron laser, in which case you can pick any frequency you want.

FEL's require enough equipment that it seems unlikely one would be weaponized for the minimal advantages it would bring. But they are also the only kind of laser with the frequency range to go from blue-green to UV - even dye lasers only span half that range. Really, there is no reason to expect that the blue-green lasers used for underwater would use the same medium or even technology as a UV or IR laser, any more than you would expect that a torpedo would use the same technology as an air-to-air missile.

Honestly not sure any of this matters anyway. Even if the dominant laser weapons are visible or IR there is nothing preventing someone in this fictional system from producing a UV weapon - power, expense, weight, damage, and stealth are just factors to be traded against each other.

[say652]

How come no one chimed in with Phase pistols and rifles??

[Alrik Vas]

that is true...I prefer solid ammunition, but phase beamers are freaking sweet. did they ever print a high power, long range rifle?

[say652]

Use an out of phase field generator to walk through the walls, then stab him in the back for triple damage (hand to hand Expert) with a phase sword.

[Alrik Vas]

when they're outside, pick them off with a rifle. when they're inside, blow up the building. if they have hostages that must survive...then I'd consider going in there like a ninja.

[say652]

I purposely didn't give Powersurge a Prowl skill.
If they're outside smash them, if they're in a building, knock it down.
Ninja type stuff.....ummm not my department.

[ShadowLogan]

Yeah, I think that either solid ammunition or explosive rounds would be the way to go.

The Provider Single-Shot Breach-Loading Rifle (DS 75) is a good sniping rifle on the low end of things, inflicting 1d6 MD with a standard .78 cailber steel-cased round (for some reason), especially if you get one custom-made for the +2 Natural strike bonus on Aimed shots.
WI-2E Explosive Rounds (Merc 103) inflict triple the normal damage, so a Provider rifle with explosive rounds could inflict 3d6 MD per shot, with the potential to crit on an natural 18+ strike roll.
The only real downside is that 3d6 MD still isn't enough damage for some people, and the Provider can only fire 1 shot per 3 attacks, which is a pretty low rate of fire, unless you have three rifles and two assistants to help you reload.

I thought the 18mm Dinosaur Swamp rifle fell into one of the existing categories, I guess not after review. But at 18mm that is almost the size of a Finish WW2 anti-tank rifle which was at 20mm IIRC.

Wonder how K-Hex Explosive (PWSB) would compare to the WI-2E material when used in the same role?

what about using lasers and disabling the color and noise makers?

GM's call really if they could be disabled and how easy.

If one is looking to stick to the feel of projectile weapons and stay w/n Rifts then Naruni Plasma Cartridges (Mercenaries, PW, NW2, SA1) and/or CFT (sp) from New West might be the way to go. I-Beam technology from SA2 might also work, but that technology is carefully guarded by two parties with said tech (one of whom isn't even on Rifts Earth). (Side note reminder: just because you favour projectile weapons does not mean that your characters have to.)

There are a few alternatives:
-Kinetic Kill Missiles (they can be found in Mutants in Orbit in the Kill Sat. Section), depending on factors subject to GM it may be directly usable or require resized solution. SA1 does have missiles to be fired from guns (Columbia), so the projectile option at this scale is possible.
-custom bullets with different materials for different effects. SN/CoM sometimes have vulnerabilities to materials. Could also look into using different (MD) materials in construction of the bullet.

lasers were typically IR, then blue-green lasers would have to be a separate technology unless you think the light engine is a free electron laser, in which case you can pick any frequency you want.

In Mutants in Orbit they have killer satellites equipped with the following types of lasers (and personal weapons have chemical lasers and standard lasers, though the chemical ones have separate power packs):
Chemical Laser
X-Ray Laser
Standard Laser
Free Electron Laser

So it would appear that standard PB lasers are not Free Electron laser. BG lasers are also sold in conversion kits (Merc Ops pg90), and nothing about the pre-built variable freq. lasers suggests they are a different type of laser from standard other than the ability to change frequency. So what ever type of lasers Palladium envisions, they do have some different classifications even before the BG and VFL, both of which appear to be subtype to the standard laser.

Underseas introduces both the Blue-Green (numerous pages) and the Green (Pg137 only place it is specifically mentioned) lasers. BG lasers are typically identified as such, or standard.

Oh good grief. Where is that nonsense written?

WB8 Japan pg115-6
RUE pg358

Those are two places I know of, there may be more.

[Alrik Vas]

the round I'm using right now is like a SLAP HE, or for funny, SHEAP round. good millage out of it, but was looking for longer range and figured a ramjet would help. seems it might, but since it effectively acts like a tracer, it isn't great for concealing position.

maybe I'll just upgrade the HE to k-hex for better damage and go with a bigger charge for higher velocity and better range. already using a 15mm round.

[Borast]

oh, Fish, Flatline, I understand lasers make noise, don't worry about that.

I'm talking about he line Palladium tows with lasers having built in noisemakers because they're naturally silent.

Oh good grief. Where is that nonsense written?

--flatline

Couple of different places...
Supposedly, according to "market testing," it seemed "unnatural" to have a completely silent weapon, so the builders put-in sound-effects (that can be turned off), just like in the movies.

Remember, if something doesn't live up to expectations, even if it is more effective, it's less effective (why else do you think that semi-automatic sniper rifles are having such a difficult time in the real world...as [or more] accurate as, more rounds down range in the same time, hits as hard...but it's not a bolt action, so it can't be as good...).

[Borast]

There are a few alternatives:
-Kinetic Kill Missiles (they can be found in Mutants in Orbit in the Kill Sat. Section), depending on factors subject to GM it may be directly usable or require resized solution. SA1 does have missiles to be fired from guns (Columbia), so the projectile option at this scale is possible.
-custom bullets with different materials for different effects. SN/CoM sometimes have vulnerabilities to materials. Could also look into using different (MD) materials in construction of the bullet.

Kinetic kill missiles...no, the launch recoil would be too much for anyone not in a multi-tonne tank. Besides, the over-sized fuel tank would require too much of a drop in ammunition capacity for the rocket guns. Besides, if a boom gun does what it does to the area around the firer, imagine what would happen if you started throwing around ammunition travelling twice as fast (or more)!

While differing compositions can have a good effect on differing supernatural physiologies...the problem comes down to cost and supply. What good would using silver rail gun rounds against a tank instead of the demons you were planning to face? It starts becoming a matter of optimising what you have (which is why tanks carry HE, AP, HEAT, etc...but the more specialised shells are single digits or non-existent in some cases, because the need for it is low).
That being said...making the rounds out of stronger materials, doesn't make them do more damage (in fact, an AP round will do less damage to a "soft target" than will a normal round). It just makes it more likely for a scavenging guerilla to use your own re-rolled rounds against you!

[cosmicfish]

Remember, if something doesn't live up to expectations, even if it is more effective, it's less effective (why else do you think that semi-automatic sniper rifles are having such a difficult time in the real world...as [or more] accurate as, more rounds down range in the same time, hits as hard...but it's not a bolt action, so it can't be as good...).

Not sure where you are getting this, there are LOTS of semi-auto sniper rifles, snipers usually have an assortment of rifles available for different purposes - some semi-auto, some bolt. Bolt action rifles have superior one-shot/slow-shot accuracy, especially at the high end - fewer moving parts, floating barrel, less to influence the shot. Semi-auto's are slightly less accurate on the first shot but are faster and more accurate on subsequent quick shots than price-comparable semi's. So SWAT snipers tend to prefer bolt-action because they generally only take one shot in an engagement. Military snipers tend to prefer semi-auto unless the scenario guarantees that they are outranging their opposition.

Realistically, no shooter wants their weapon to make any more noise than it has to. Current silencers don't take that much noise away, but they are still popular among those with access in part because every bit quieter makes you that much more difficult to locate. Artificial noisemakers on laser weapons would be disabled at the same time you put your phone or radio on "vibrate". Of course, the laser would still make a ton of noise, so the whole idea remains silly...

[ShadowLogan]

Kinetic kill missiles...no, the launch recoil would be too much for anyone not in a multi-tonne tank. Besides, the over-sized fuel tank would require too much of a drop in ammunition capacity for the rocket guns. Besides, if a boom gun does what it does to the area around the firer, imagine what would happen if you started throwing around ammunition travelling twice as fast (or more)!

Using the KKM from MIO. It would really come down to the GM. Is said system going to be to large to handle by a single person w/o assistance? The Rockets could throttle though to manage the recoil any shooter experiences. These are all things the GM has to deciede given the limited information presented. Personally I wouldn't allow the direct system to be used, but that doesn't mean that a similar system can't be produced for another scale.

SA1 does have the Columbians using Rocket Guns. See pg23 for the exact description, but they basically operate by expelling the round first at slower velocity and then the rocket motor fires up avoiding the issue of recoil being to much. From a payload perspective the RR-C40 Rifle has 60 and 100 round ammo clips (not many laser rifles in RMB/RUE can compete and even those that can compete are only doing so at the low end of the RR-C40's payload capacity). Range isn't that great compared to a laser rifle, but damage is certainly comparable in single shot mode (RUE/RMB base laser rifle weapons generally don't out damage it in single shot).

So based on the SA1 design/approach (which using an explosive warhead IINM), it should be possible to craft a Kinetic Impactor, it won't do as much damage as the larger system though. This is of course subject to GM approval.

While differing compositions can have a good effect on differing supernatural physiologies...the problem comes down to cost and supply.

I agree this approach has management issues associated with it, so it will be a balancing act.

That being said...making the rounds out of stronger materials, doesn't make them do more damage

A normal PS human wielding a regular material sword can not do MD. However, if the sword is constructed with Kisentite (SB4, pg124) said person will be able to do MD (that is all material, nothing like a Vibro-blade). That isn't the only example (pg152 Merc Ops has Skorblades, Dinosaur Swamp has Steeltree wood, IIRC Splym Dim. Market has something to). So from a game mechanic standpoint, stronger materials can and do equate to more damage. Now outside of the game mechanic standpoint, yes you are correct material interaction isn't that simple.

[Killer Cyborg]

The books also state that simply being an MDC material won't let a weapon inflict Mega-Damage.
The books never state WHY SteelTree wood inflicts MD; it could be magic, or it could be some other effect. I talked to Todd Yoho about this, and IIRC he said that he left it deliberately vague.
The MD Xiticix Resin weapons are similarly vague.

I forget whether Kisenite does MD because it's MDC, or if it's because it's special in some other way.

[Svartalf]

last time I checked, kisentite had its remarkable density and toughness as its main property... nothing explains why kisentite weapons switch to MDC without special help in MDC worlds... I assume that the metal also acts as a PPE/ley line energy concentrator and has some kind of mystic resonance in high PPE envirenments.

[glitterboy2098]

in regards to rocket guns and shooting kinetic kill missiles..

the rocket guns are functionally just Gyrojets, which have minimal recoil.
videos (2 different angles) of a old pistol being fired
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYZq5frO4rk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl6zcB83xng

as for missiles.. as long as you have a vent for the backblast those have pretty much no recoil. and even if you don't, the recoil is much less than you'd expect because the majority of the acceleration occurs outside the weapon barrel/tube. when the missile leaves the tube it's not going to be moving all that fast yet, so the recoil will be lower.

(the backblast can be an issue for things behind you, especially if in confined spaces.. but there are some recent tech developments to help minimize the possible effects.. largely involving packing the back of the backblast vents with packets of sand, foam, or water to help absorb some of the energy and make the backblast a bit less energetic by the time it hits people/things)

[Shark_Force]

huh. it occurs to me... speaking of boom guns, or rather, things that are like boom guns...

shemarrian rail guns. they're gonna be heavy. you probably need to be a cyborg to use them. they're probably extremely loud, and they almost definitely will need a nuclear power supply of some kind.

but they have excellent range and damage, and are kinetic weapons.

of course, there's the minor detail where ARCHIE will want your head, but hey, getting randomly ganked by robot death squads is a small price to pay for having the ultimate sniper rifle, right?

(truthfully, some three galaxies company should be able to easily make something like that if you have access to phase world tech.)

as to why I never mentioned phase weapons, they aren't kinetic and thus didn't seem to fit into what you were looking for. can't speak for anyone else though.

(there is iirc a very long range one out there somewhere, but it might be designed for ship-to-ship combat, and I think it hits an area, so not exactly precise. great weapon, just not really a kinetic sniper rifle option).

[flatline]

Do we know what phase beams look like?

Are they invisible? Colored? Do they radiate light or somw other spectrum? Can you tell where the beam is coming from?

[say652]

No, no description was given of the blasts. The blades have a vague transparency, at least they seem to from the pics.
!
Also are the phaseblasts silent??

[ShadowLogan]

The books also state that simply being an MDC material won't let a weapon inflict Mega-Damage.
The books never state WHY SteelTree wood inflicts MD; it could be magic, or it could be some other effect. I talked to Todd Yoho about this, and IIRC he said that he left it deliberately vague.
The MD Xiticix Resin weapons are similarly vague.

I forget whether Kisenite does MD because it's MDC, or if it's because it's special in some other way.

I do not dispute this in general, but there are specific cases where it does appear to be so. It is those specific cases (and ones a GM can create) be used, not just any denser material. The "Why" it is so is less important I think here since the user doesn't have to "activate" it like a magic/tech weapon. We know one can fashion Steeltree Arrows to inflict MD when fired from a bow (also Steeltree), but powered by regular PS. So I don't see why Steeltree and similar materials can't be used to fashion bullets for a gun.

[guardiandashi]

huh. it occurs to me... speaking of boom guns, or rather, things that are like boom guns...

shemarrian rail guns. they're gonna be heavy. you probably need to be a cyborg to use them. they're probably extremely loud, and they almost definitely will need a nuclear power supply of some kind.

but they have excellent range and damage, and are kinetic weapons.

of course, there's the minor detail where ARCHIE will want your head, but hey, getting randomly ganked by robot death squads is a small price to pay for having the ultimate sniper rifle, right?

(truthfully, some three galaxies company should be able to easily make something like that if you have access to phase world tech.)

as to why I never mentioned phase weapons, they aren't kinetic and thus didn't seem to fit into what you were looking for. can't speak for anyone else though.

(there is iirc a very long range one out there somewhere, but it might be designed for ship-to-ship combat, and I think it hits an area, so not exactly precise. great weapon, just not really a kinetic sniper rifle option).

known facts about the 6000 series shermarian railguns
they weigh 128 lbs
they have an undefined recoil level, however they do not require the active suppression a boom gun does for an ~800 lb robot
their sound signature is roughly comparable to that of a shotgun (like a 12guage) because they were designed to be "quiet" (for a railgun)
they do have power induction systems in the hand grips to accept power from the shemarian operating it, however they also have a "battery cell" built into the "counterweight" portion of the gun (what would be the stock on a rifle)
they can use a 12 round clip, or a 220 round "backpack" for ammo feeding
they do about 2/3 of the raw damage per shot of a boom gun, and have around 1/2 the range (6000ft vs 11000ft )
they also have a laser targeting system integrated with the weapon which provides a strike bonus when used.

[Tor]

I've never got how ramjet rounds are so cheap yet supposedly rare. Something that cheap would be in very high demand as an easy-access MD infliction means. Maybe they are just expensive to transport so they are only found cheaply in certain locations where they are made? Maybe the jet fuel explodes if transported on bumpy terrain? *reaching for explanations*

[wyrmraker]

I've never got how ramjet rounds are so cheap yet supposedly rare. Something that cheap would be in very high demand as an easy-access MD infliction means. Maybe they are just expensive to transport so they are only found cheaply in certain locations where they are made? Maybe the jet fuel explodes if transported on bumpy terrain? *reaching for explanations*

The answer to your question always seems to be "Because we said so." I lump it in with how they claim that MD weapons and armor are supposed to be scarce, and yet I don't think they've created a single Rifts book without some new MD toys. Seriously, name any 3 world books that don't introduce new MD equipment. Why? "Because we said so."

[Killer Cyborg]

I've never got how ramjet rounds are so cheap yet supposedly rare. Something that cheap would be in very high demand as an easy-access MD infliction means. Maybe they are just expensive to transport so they are only found cheaply in certain locations where they are made? Maybe the jet fuel explodes if transported on bumpy terrain? *reaching for explanations*

The answer to your question always seems to be "Because we said so." I lump it in with how they claim that MD weapons and armor are supposed to be scarce, and yet I don't think they've created a single Rifts book without some new MD toys. Seriously, name any 3 world books that don't introduce new MD equipment. Why? "Because we said so."

How many HU books introduce new super powers?

Does the large number of possible powers mean that super powers are really common on HU Earth?