Some Thoughts on Blaster Weapons

[CRMcNeill]

With regards to the RAW's standard personal weaponry, there are some weapons that seem relatively useless, as in "why would anyone take A when B is available?" I have some thoughts on the matter, along with some stat change suggestions, that might make some of the weapons more viable.

Hold-Out Blaster
Change: +1D to Initiative and Hide, due to small size.
Reason: Based solely on its stats, a Hold-Out is pretty useless in a fight involving any heavier weapon. However, its small size lends itself well to concealment and reaction time, even though this is not reflected in its stats.

Sporting Blaster Pistol
Change: Change the Range to 3-20/60/120
Reason: Both in the real world and the SWU, sporting pistols are configured for accuracy at range, yet the blaster pistol has double the range of the sporting blaster. Increasing the Sporting Blaster's range (and decreasing the Blaster Pistol's range; see below) makes the Sporting Blaster Pistol more viable for the character who favors accuracy at range.

Blaster Pistol
Changes:
-Reduce Range to 3-10/30/60
-Reduce Ammo from 100 to 50
Reasons:
-Basically swaps ranges with the Sporting Blaster Pistol, making it more of a compromise between the Sporting Blaster Pistol and the Heavy Blaster Pistol.
-The description of the sporting blaster pistol says it uses the same basic power pack as other pistols, but results in less damage and less range. Reducing the ammo for the Blaster Pistol results in (IMO) a more equitable balance between the three main types of blaster pistols:

A - Standard Damage, Range and Ammo
B - Lower Damage and Higher Range, but Same Ammo
C - Higher Damage, Slightly Lower Range and Reduced Ammo

Blaster Carbine
Changes:
-Switch the "Retractable Stock" rule from the Blaster Rifle to the Carbine.
-Add stat Auto-Fire: 1D
Reasons:
-In the real world, a common feature of a carbine is a retractable stock, not always in the same manner as the folding stock seen in the SWU, but some variation thereof. This allows for ease of stowage and a slight increase in utility in close quarters.
-Modern military rifles and carbines have at least a basic repeater capacity, in that they can fire a 3-round burst with a single trigger pull. The 1D Auto-Fire bonus can be applied to either Blaster or Damage at Point Blank and Short Range, but only to Blaster at Medium or Long Ranges.

Blaster Rifle
Changes:
-Remove "Retractable Stock & Scope" rule.
-Add stat Auto-Fire: 1D
Reasons:
-Part of the real-world distinction between a carbine and a rifle is the rifle has a longer barrel and a fixed stock.
-See Blaster Carbine for Auto-Fire reasoning.

Sporting Blaster Rifle
Changes:
-Increase Damage to 5D
-Remove Retractable Stock, but keep Scope with same bonus.
Reason:
-This makes the Sporting Blaster Rifle more like the blaster equivalent of a modern sporting rifle like the Ruger Mini-14. It uses the same basic round (or energy packet, in this case) as the rifle and the carbine, but lacks the auto-fire ability. However, it is equipped with a scope for greater accuracy at range.
-Sporting rifles of this type do not generally have retractable stocks.

Light Repeating Blaster
Changes:
-Add stat Auto-Fire: 2D
-Reduce Damage to 5D
Reasons:
-Using the same rules as applied to the Carbine and Rifle, the Light Repeater has the ability to fire at full auto. The 2D bonus can be applied to either Blaster or Damage at Point Blank, Short or Medium Ranges (maximum of 1D to Damage at Medium Range), or to Blaster at Long Range.
-If the Light Repeating Blaster is the equivalent of the modern M249 SAW, it fires the same basic round as the carbine and rifle, just a lot more of it at a time. My theory is that the RAW damage of 6D was WEG's attempt to represent the automatic fire capability, so I reduced it by 1D to balance out the increased damage from the Auto-Fire bonus.

Heavy Repeating Blaster
Changes:
-Add stat Auto-Fire: 2D
-Reduce Damage to 7D
Reasons:
The same basic reasoning as the Light Repeating Blaster, except that the Heavy Repeater is more the equivalent of the M2 .50 cal.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[CRMcNeill]

Some thoughts and extrapolations on other possible blaster weapon types:

Riot Blaster Pistol
If Brian Daley's Han Solo trilogy is any indicator, "Riot" seems to be the SWU equivalent of an "Assault" weapon, i.e. any personal weapon capable of automatic fire. As such, a riot blaster pistol would be a weapon in the blaster pistol size range (or slightly larger), but with auto-fire capability

Heavy Blaster Rifle
Going by modern equivalents, the blaster rifle seems roughly analogous to current .223 / 5.56mm weapons like the M16 or M4. However, heavier weapons that fire larger rounds like the .308 / 7.62mm, such as the AR-10 or M14 remain in service for a variety of uses. I see a heavy blaster rifle having greater range and damage than a standard blaster rifle, but at the cost of lower ammunition.

Marksman Blaster Rifle
Most modern sniper rifles are improved versions of common hunting rifles. The Marine Corps' M40, for example, is a highly accurate version of the civilian Remington 700 bolt action rifle. This weapon would combine high damage and range, at the expense of ammo and semi-auto fire only.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[CRMcNeill]

EDIT: Relocated so as to divide the various stats into discrete posts, based on weapon classification, as follows:

Blaster Pistols
Combat Blaster Rifles & Carbines
Repeating Blasters
Precision Blaster Rifles
Blaster Artillery
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Whill]

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

As part of a larger concept of converting weapon ranges from set metric values to something more narrative based, I intend to give the lighter weapons like pistols even lower base difficulties at Short and Point Blank range to better represent their utility up close. Unfortunately, Point Blank range is already at Very Easy difficulty for all weapons, so I can't lower it too much further without making shots with a Hold-Out Blaster essentially hit automatically.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[lurker]

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

Okay, I went back through and made some changes...

1) Added stats for the Medium and Heavy Repeating Blasters

2) Changed some of the Availability ratings to make the weapons somewhat more accessible.

3) Replaced the +1D to Initiative with a 3-Level system whereby smaller weapons (pistols and the like) get a +1D bonus to Blaster when used at Point Blank Range (i.e. within 3 meters), while the larger weapons (repeaters, mostly) get a -1D penalty at Point Blank range. As lurker mentioned, some rifle types are better suited to CQB than others, but his point about the mechanic details is also well taken. I'm open to suggestion as to which rifles should be moved up to the -1D bracket as bulkier, more cumbersome weapons.

4) EDIT: Removed the Scope bonus for aiming for 1 round. In my (admitedly limited) gun buying experience, guns don't come stock with scopes; you have to add them on to fit your own needs later. In this case, I'd say that a standard telescopic scope grants a +1D bonus to Blaster at Medium and Long Ranges, which in turn stacks with the +1D Preparation bonus.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[garhkal]

[CRMcNeill]

[garhkal]

Another thought. With the medium-heavy repeaters. Carrying one should reduce someone's dex in so much as it would hamper other actions, such as dodging, parrying etc. Would -1d for mediums and -3d for heavies (for those of sufficient strength to even sling one) be ok?
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

[Cap'nCodskale]

Wow, amazing work, crmcneill! I'm sure to lean on this in the future.

[garhkal]