Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Let's Read: Traveller, 1977 Edition, Characters & Combat, page 37

Ah, here we go! I was wondering when we’d get the real sci-fi weapons. Everything so far has been something you can find at the local gun shop or military depot in present-day Earth. Now, however, we finally get to the lasers. Laser carbines, to be specific, which have ammo packs that can handle 50 shots before needing to be recharged. Which takes eight hours. Seriously? A Tesla recharges faster than that, and it’s only driving around the block. Haven’t they heard of speed-chargers in the future? And it’s not like this is a small clip that you attach to the gun; no, this is a backpack that plugs into it with a heavy-duty cable! Man, they were not very forward-thinking with this tech. Or maybe that’s what the sci-fi of the period was like. Anyway, this sucker is easily the heaviest weapon so far, weighing in at 5 kg on its own, plus 3 more for the backpack. And it costs 2500 Credits (including the backpack, apparently).

Next up, the laser rifle. Even heavier, but twice as durable with a 100-shot limit on the power pack. You can’t switch from a carbine to a rifle on the same power pack, of course. That would be too easy. The rifle is much heavier, weighing in at 6 kg, plus 4 for the pack. 3500 Credits is the bargain price for this bad boy. Jamie can’t even carry this thing without straining his sciatic nerve. Regular sniper rifle it is, then.

Alright, so that covers the weapons that are in the game. Now, let’s see what options the game has given us to accessorize these toys.

First up, telescopic sights that have something called a ‘DNI,’ which I don’t recall seeing yet. And I just realized that it’s a typo on the PDF file, and it should be ‘DM.’ So, +4 to hit with telescopic sights, which will reduce range penalties. Well, that makes sense. However, they are delicate little flowers, and even the slightest jarring can wreck them, and you won’t even realize it until you’ve missed a few shots in a row. That’s right, if they go out of alignment, you automatically miss every shot. There’s even a night-vision option available that costs a lot more than the regular one. Man, I gotta read some of that 60s-70s sci-fi. The good stuff, of course.

Next up, the silencer. It does exactly what you’d expect it to do; it’s only available on body pistols, automatic pistols, and revol—wait. you can put a silencer on a revolver now? How exactly is that going to work? I’m not a gun expert, but even I know that a revolver’s shot noise comes from the cylinder, not the muzzle. I mean, sure, there are ways to silence a revolver, but this book explicitly states that it’s a muzzle-attachment. Good luck silencing that one. Maybe it’s a more futuristic revolver that works like a not-revolver. Which would make it not a revolver, wouldn’t it? Anyway, silencers aren’t interchangeable, and they weigh up to 750 grams.

After that, we have shoulder stocks, which attach to a pistol or revolver and make it more accurate at longer distances. It takes five rounds to attach or detach this thing, so you’d better have it ready in advance if you want to use it in a firefight. Of course, attaching it means you can’t holster it, so everyone will know you’re looking for trouble.

We will continue with this on the next page.


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