Roleplayer #27, February, 1992

Ultra Weapons, Ultra Healing

New Devices and Weapon Table

by David Pulver

The second edition of GURPS Ultra-Tech made a number of changes in weapon capabilities -- far too many for an "errata" sheet. To make life easier for those who have the first edition and don't want to buy a whole new book, the following two pages reprint the Weapon Table from the second edition. This takes in all changes in weapon stats; in some cases there are differences in descriptions or other capabilities, but the stat changes are the most important thing.

Here also are a few more gadgets that didn't make it into the second edition . . . one new type of weapon, and two pieces of medical equipment.

Laser-Guided Shells

Any type of artillery shell, with any payload, may be made laser-guided for an extra $50 each; this does not affect legality. A laser designator (see p. UT28) must be aiming continuously at the target to guide the shells in. If the designator's operator makes his Gunner roll and the shells are fired on a trajectory that takes them within line of sight of their target, they automatically hit the designated hex (cluster bombs are released around that hex). If the designator fails his Gunner roll, the shells will miss by 1 hex per point the roll fails by -- roll for scatter as for grenades.

Medical Pouch

This may be found at any tech level, from TL8 up. It is basically a doctor's bag, with a full set of appropriate physician's and surgeon's tools (At TL8, for instance, this might include sterile mask and gloves, laser cautery knife, sonic diagnostic sensor, mini-IV drip, and so on.)

Traditionally, a medical pouch is black if carried by an MD, white with a red cross if carried by an emergency worker, green with a red cross if carried by a military medic. This is just custom, and has no effect on the contents.

It has room for more drugs; usually twice the contents of an Emergency Medkit (see p. UT42) are included for an extra $600. It gives a +2 on First Aid. This kit is the minimum required to use Surgery, Diagnosis or Physician without a penalty -- a TL8 Physician or Surgeon performs at a TL6 level without this much gear. The surgical tools require two B cells (depleted after 24 hours of surgery). Cost is $900 and weight is 4 pounds.

At higher TLs the cost and weight does not decline; instead the instruments improve, giving physicians the Medical Care capabilities of the current TL.

It is perfectly legal to possess a Medical Pouch in almost every society; of course, some medical drugs may be illegal for non-physicians to possess.

Deepsleep Box

This device consists of a small cap (containing elec-trodes), attached by wires to a unit the size of two cigarette packs. It has no effect on a wide-awake person, but will lull a tired or relaxed user into deeper sleep with an electromagnetic field ("electronarcosis") and soothing sound. The sleep lasts as long as the electrodes are in place; a timer activates a buzzer when it's time to wake up. Six hours of deepsleep are equivalent to 8 hours of normal sleep.

This TL8 device (also called "Russian sleep," from its inventors in the USSR of old Earth) is used in hospitals to soothe patients, or to ensure a good night's sleep for an insomniac. A deepsleep box may also be used on a captive, once he goes to sleep, to make sure that he stays that way.

Should the box be turned off, a user will wake after a normal night's sleep. If they had been under the box for more than 6 hours, they've already had their night's sleep, and they will awaken normally in 2d minutes. If someone tries to awaken a user immediately after removing or turning off the box, they can -- but the subject will be mentally stunned, and will be at a -2 on all recovery rolls. The automatic timer has the same effect.

A deepsleep box is Legality Class 6 and runs for 3 months on a B cell. Cost is $500 and weight is 2 pounds. At TL9, weight is halved. At TL10 the "box" vanishes -- the device becomes a Sleep Cap, below.

Sleep Cap

The Sleep Cap is the TL10 version of the Deepsleep Box. It usually appears to be a simple black skullcap, with a tiny flap at the back where a D-cell can be installed. Of course, the physical appearance can differ.

However, unlike the Deepsleep Box, the Sleep Cap can knock out a wide-awake and excited person. To stay awake while wearing a Sleep Cap, roll vs. Will every minute, at +2 if you know the cap is there and are deliberately resisting, and -1 for every full 3 Fatigue you currently have.

Sleep Caps are often used to tranquilize prisoners. They can also be used for kidnappings, practical jokes and so on. For this reason, a Sleep Cap has a legality of 5, and misusing one is considered assault.

A Sleep Cap can be built into a spacesuit, battlesuit, etc., to let the wearer get some rest even under combat conditions. Often such caps are remote-controlled, so an officer can put his men to sleep and wake them up again.

If a sleeping user's cap is removed or damaged, results will be as for a Deepsleep Box. But if the cap itself wakes them, whether by timer or remote-control. awakening will be instant and pleasant, with no mental stun.

It runs for a month on a D cell. Cost is $500; weight is negligible.


WEAPON TABLES

Ranged Weapons

Each class of weapons (e.g., blasters and pulsars) requires a different skill to use; this skill is given in brackets.

Malf: The die roll on which the weapon malfunctions. Almost all Ultra-Tech weapons have a Malf of Crit. or better. Crit. means that the weapon malfunctions only on a critical miss when the toll on the Critical Miss table indicates a malfunction. Ver. means that the weapon requires a verification roll, another roll against skill. Any failure is the malfunction from the table; any success is simply a miss. Ver. (Crit.) means that the verification roll must be another critical miss for the weapon to malfunction. Any other result is simply a miss.

Type: The type of damage the weapon does -- impaling (imp.), crushing (cr.), an explosion (exp.), or a special effect (spcl. -- see the description of the weapon).

Damage: The number of dice of damage the weapon does. A number in parentheses, e.g., (5), means the weapon is very good at piercing armor -- the target's DR is divided by that number before subtracting from the weapon's damage. Note: gyroc and smartgun weapons damage assumes APEX ammunition.

SS: This is the snapshot number, the final to hit number necessary to avoid a snapshot penalty of -4 without at least one turn of aiming.

Acc: The weapon's accuracy modifier. See p. B115.

1/2D: The range at which the accuracy modifier of the weapon drops to zero and its damage is halved. For weapons like grenade launchers, this range may be shown as a dash, indicating that damage is never halved; in this case, Acc drops to zero at half the maximum range.

Max: The maximum range of the weapon under Earth-normal conditions.

Wt.: The weight in pounds of a loaded weapon, including magazine and/or power cells.

RoF: The rate of fire of the weapon. The number is the number of shots it can fire each turn. If the number is greater than one, the weapon is capable of automatic fire, i.e., that many shots will be fired if the trigger is held down for the entire turn. A ~ indicates a weapon that is not automatic, but can fire up to the indicated number of times per turn. All automatic weapons are capable of selective fire; they may fire either automatically or with RoF 3~. A fractional RoF (e.g., 1/10) means the weapon can fire once, but then requires that number of turns to reload (or cool down, in the case of Dino lasers) before it can be fired again.

Shots: This is the number of shots the weapon's magazine holds. A /B, /C, /D or /E refers to shots per power cell. Unless the weapon has a fractional RoF (see above) it takes three turns to replace a magazine or cell.

ST: The minimum ST required to avoid an extra turn of readying the weapon after it is fired, and extra recoil penalties. T means that the weapon is normally used from a tripod mount; it uses Gunner rather than Beam weapons skill (e.g., Gunner (Flamer). Tripods take three turns to set up, and are fired while the user is prone or kneeling. Minimum ST only applies when firing the weapon from the shoulder or hip. Tripod mounted weapons can also be fired from mounts on ve-hicles, walls, etc. It takes three turns to mount or dismount a weapon normally; exceptions are up to the GM.

Rcl: The recoil penalty of the weapon (p. B119).

Cost: The retail price of the weapon. Cost halves one TL alter a weapon is introduced, and halves against the next TL.

LC: The legality class of the weapon.

TL: The TL when the weapon is first introduced.
Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage     SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 

Particle and Anti-Particle Beam Weapons, [Beam Weapons (Blaster)]

Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage     SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Blaster Pistol Ver.  Imp.    6d       10  6     --   300  2   3~   20/C   5  -1  2,000  3  9  49
Heavy Blaster  Ver.  Imp.   10d       12  8    300   450  4.5 3~   16/C   8  -1  2,500  2  9  50
 Pistol
Blaster Rifle  Ver.  Imp.   12d       14  13   300   800 10   3~   12/C   6  -1  3,000  4  9  50
Heavy Blaster  Ver.  Imp.  6d x 3     15  14 1,600 1,600 12   3~   60/D   9  -1  6,000  0  9  50
 Rifle
Electron       Crit. Imp.  5d x 3     11  10   450   675  3   3~   20/C   6  -1  2,200  2 11  90
 Pistol
Electron Rifle Crit. Imp.  6d x 5     13  14   900 2,400  9   3~  100/D   9  -1  3,500  0 11  90
Assault Pulsar Crit. Spcl. 3d x 10(2) 11  12   400   800 7.5  3~   60/D   8  -1 20,000  0 13 104
Heavy Pulsar   Crit. Spcl. 5d x 10(2) 14  14   600 1,200 25   1    24/D  13T -1 30,000  0 13 104 

Chemical Slugthrowers [Guns (Pistol or Rifle)]

Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage    SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Sporting       Crit. Cr.     1d       9   6    50   200  1   3~   40     7  -1    200  4  8  18
 Pistol
Machine Pistol Ver.  Cr.     3d      10   8   180 2,000  3.5 10   30     9  -2    700  2  8  18
Assault        Ver.  Cr.     6d      12  11 1,000 4,500  7   10  30/30   9  -1  1,000  1  8  19 
 Carbine

Disintegrators [Beam Weapons (Disintegrator)]

Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage    SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Disintegrator Crit.  Spcl.   8d      10  12   -   1,000  4   1    6/C    -   0  6,000  1 15 110
 Pistol
Disintegrator Crit.  Spcl.  15d      15  18   -   3,000 12   1   30/D)   -   0 20,000  0 15 110 
 Rifle

Electrolasers [Beam Weapons (Electrolaser)]

Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage    SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Electrolaser  Crit.  Spcl. 2d+1       8   4    60    120 1.5  1   10/C   -   0  1,200  3  9  51
Electrolaser  Crit.  Spcl. 3d+1       9  12   100    300  5   1    5/C   -   0  1,800  2  9  51 
Rifle

Flamers and Fusion Guns [Beam Weapons (Flamer)]

Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage     SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page  
Hand Flamer   Crit.  Spcl. 5d          4  12    70    150  4   1   8/C    6   0  1,300  2  9  52
Plasma Rifle  Crit.  Spcl. 7d          5  16    80    250 12   1  70/D    9   0  5,200  0  9  52
Tripod Flamer Ver.   Spcl  12d         6  20   100    300 45   1  40/D   12T  0 10,000  0  9  52
Fusion Pistol Crit.  Spcl. 4d x 10    11   6   300    450  5.5 1   6/A    7   0  3,200  0 12  98
Fusion Rifle  Crit.  Spcl  4d x 10    16  10   500    750 16   4  20/D   11   0  6,000  0 12  98 

Gyrocs and Smartguns [Guns (Gyroc)]

Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage    SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Launch Pistol Ver.   Spcl.  8d(2)    12   5  1,800 2,500  4   3~ 3/3/3   -   0    800  2  8  20
Rocket        Ver.   Spcl.  8d(2)    15   7  1,800 2,500  9  10  10/10   -   0  1,500  1  8  20
 Carbine
ARL           Ver.   Spcl.  8d(2)    16   9  1,800 2,500 20  10 20/20/20 12T 0  3,000  0  8  20
Smartgun      Crit.  Spcl. Spcl.      -   -    -     -    3   1    6     -   0  4,000  2 14 108 

Kinetic Stunners [Beam Weapons (Force Beams)]

Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage  SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Force Beamer  Ver.   Spcl.  4d+2   10   5     20   30   1   3~  30/C   -   0 1,500   3 12  98
Force Rifle   Ver.   Spcl.  7d     13   8     50  100   5   3~  20/C   -   0 3,000   4 12  98 

Lasers [Beam Weapons (Lasers)]

Weapon        Malf   Type  Damage    SS  Acc  1/2D    Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Holdout Laser Crit.  Imp.  1d-1      10   4     50    100   -   1    5/B   -   0    500  0  9  51
Laser Pistol  Crit.  Imp.   1d        9   7    200    500   2   4   20/C   -   0  1,000  3  8  22
Heavy     Ver(Crit)  Imp.   2d        9   8    300    800   3   4~  12/C   -   0  1,500  2  8  22
 Laser Pistol
Survival      Ver.   Imp.  1d-1      10   12   150    300   4   3~  50/C   -   0  2,500  4  9  51
 Laser
Laser Rifle   Crit.  Imp.   2d       15   13   900  1,200   5   3~  12/C   -   0  2,000  4  8  22
Mil. Laser    Ver.   Imp.  1d+2      10   12   750  1,200   7   8  200/D   -   0  3,000  1  8  22
 Carbine
Mil.Laser Ver(Crit)  Imp.   2d       12   15 1,500  2,000   9   8  140/D   -   0  4,000  0  8  22
 Rifle
Dinosaur  Ver(Crit)  Imp.  20d       16   12 4,000 12,000   9  1/2  2/2C   -   0  4,000  4  9  52
 Laser
Mil.Dino  Ver(Crit)  Imp.  20d       16   12 4,000 12,000  10  1/2  10/D   -   0  6,000  0  9  52
 Laser
Gatling   Ver(Crit)  Imp.  20d       10   20 4,000 12,000  75   4  150/B  15T  0 20,000  0  9  54
 Laser
Laser        Crit.   Imp.   2d         7    5    25     75  -   1    1       -  0    200 0 10  72 
 Crystal

Microwave Disruptors [Beam Weapons (Lasers)]

Weapon       Malf   Type  Damage  SS  Acc  1/2D   Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Disruptor    Crit.  Spcl.  6d     13  10    500 1,000   9   3~ 20/C    -   0  2,500  2  9  51
Scrambler    Crit.  Spcl. 1d+3     8   3     40    30 1/4   1   4/B    -   0    750  0  9  51 

Needlers and Gauss Guns [Guns (Needler)]

Weapon       Malf   Type  Damage  SS  Acc  1/2D   Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Gauss        Ver.   Imp.  1d+2    10   4    100   300  1.5 12  100/B   -   0  2,000  2  8  19
 Needler
Gauss        Ver.   Imp.  2d+1    14  11    500 1,000   6  20  100/B   -   0  2,500  2  8  19
 Needle Rifle
Needler      Ver.   Imp.  1d+2     9   1    100   300   1   3~  100    -  -1    500  3  8  23
Needle Rifle Crit.  Imp.   2d     13   9    300   800   5   3~  100    -  -1  1,200  4  8  23
Ice Gun      Crit.  Imp.  1d-1     9   3     50   150  1.5  3   15     -  -1    600  4 10  72
Gauss SMG    Crit.  Cr.    5d     11   9    250 2,500   5  16   60/C   -   0  3,000  1  9  51
Gauss     Ver(Crit) Cr.    8d     12  12  1,200 4,500  7.5 12   60/C   -   0  3,500  0  9  51
 Battle Rifle
AMR          Crit.  Exp. 6d x 2   10  15     -  5,000   6   3~  60/C   -   0  2,000  0 15 111 

Neural and Paralysis Weapons [Beam Weapons (Neural)]

Weapon        Malf  Type  Damage  SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Nerve Pistol  Ver.  Spcl. Spcl.    8   4    15    30   2   3~  30/C   -   0  1,000  2 10  73
Paralysis     Ver.  Spcl. --       6   4     -    25   5   1   15/C   -   0  1,500  3 10  73
 Gun
Paralysis     Ver.  Spcl. --       7  10     -    50   8   1    8/C   -   0  1,500  3 10  73
 Rifle
Wiper         Crit. Spcl. --       4   4     -    3   .5   1   10/B   -   0  1,000  0 12  97
Hypnogogic    Crit. Spcl. --       5   5     -    25  10   1   40/C   -   0 12,000  1 12  97 
 Projector

Space/Time Disruptors [Beam Weapons (Tachyonic)]

Weapon      Malf  Type  Damage  SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Tachyonic   Crit. Imp.  5d(10)  10  10  2,000 3,500  2   1    8/C   -   0  5,000  2 15  111
 Pistol
Tachyonic   Crit. Imp.  8d(10)  12  12  4,000 6,000  5   1   40/D   -   0 25,000  1 15  111
 Rifle
Tachyon     Crit. Spcl. Spcl.   10  10    -    200  40   1    8/E   -   0 20,000  0 16  115 
 Shotgun

Stunners and Screamers [Beam Weapons (Sonic)]

Weapon      Malf  Type  Damage   SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Sonic       Crit. Spcl.   -       6   2     6    10  1/4  1    8/B   -   0    400  6  9  53
 Stinger
Stunner     Crit. Spcl.   -       4   3    12    20   1   3~  40/C   -   0    800  6  9  53
Stun Rifle  Crit. Spcl.   -      12  10   300 1,000   4   3~  20/C   -   0  2,000  5  9  54
Screamer    Ver.  Spcl. 6d x 2    4  10   250   500  10   1   10/C   -   0  3,000  1  9  53
Tripod      Ver.  Spcl. 6d x 3    3  15   500   800  40   4  100/D  12   0  9,000  0  9  53 
 Screamer

Tanglers [Guns/TL (Tangler)]

Weapon    Malf   Type  Damage  SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Tangle    Crit.  Spcl.   -      5   6    -    15    3   1    2    10  -4    500  5  8  23
 Pistol
Tangler   Crit.  Spcl.   -      6   8    -    20    6   1    5     8   -4 1,000  5  8  23 

X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Lasers [Beam Weapons (Lasers)]

Weapon        Malf    Type  Damage   SS  Acc  1/2D   Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Hvy.X-laser Ver(Crit) Imp.   3d(2)    9   8    400  1,000  3   4   12/C   -   0  1,500  0 10  74
 Pistol
Mil.X-laser Ver(Crit) Imp.   2d(2)   10  12    900  1,800  7   8  200/D   -   0  3,000  0 10  74
 Carbine
Mil.X-laser Ver(Crit) Imp.   3d(2)   12  15  1,800  2,400  9   8  140/D   -   0  4,000  0 10  74
 Rifle
Gatling     Ver(Crit) Imp.   30d(2)  10  20  4,500 13,500 75   4   75/E  15T  0 20,000  0 10  74
 X-laser
Mil.Dino.   Ver(Crit) Imp.   30d(2)  16  12  4,500 13,500 10  1/2   7/D   -   0  6,000  0 10  74
 X-laser
Hvy.Graser  Ver(Crit) Imp.    4d(5)   9   8    500  1,400  3   4   12/C   -   0  3,000  0 14 108
 Pistol
Mil.Graser  Ver(Crit) Imp.    3d(5)  10  12  1,200  2,400  7   8  160/D   -   0  6,000  0 14 108
 Carbine
Mil.Graser  Ver(Crit) Imp.    4d(5)  12  15  2,400  3,200  9   8  112/D   -   0  8,000  0 14 108
 Rifle
Gatling     Ver(Crit) Imp.   40d(5)  10  20  6,000 18,000 75   4   75/E  15T  0 40,000  0 14 108
 Graser
Mil. Dino.  Ver.Crit) Imp.   40d(5)  16  12  6,000 18,000 10  1/2   7/D   -   0 12,000  0 14 108 
 Graser

Missile Launchers [Gunner (Missile)]

Weapon     Malf   Type  Damage     SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF  Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Port.Msl.  Crit.  Exp.  6d x 8(10)  -   -    -   8,000 15  1/10   1     9   0  6,000  0  8  28
 Launcher
Inf.Msl.   Crit.  Exp.  6d x 10(10) -   -    -   8,000 10  1/5    1     7   0  1,500  0  9  55
 Launcher
M-LAWS     Crit.  Exp.  6d x 10(10) -   -    -   8,000 35   1     5    11   0  6,000  0  9  55
Hunter     Crit.  Exp.  6d x 25(10) -   -    -  10,000 15   3~    3     9   0  4,000  0 13 103 
 Missle Launcher

Grenade Launchers and Mortars [Gunner (Grenade Launcher)]

Weapon            Malf  Type  Damage SS  Acc  1/2D  Max  Wt. RoF Shots  ST  Rcl  Cost LC TL Page 
Electromag        Crit. Spcl. Spcl.  10   8    -  1,000  10   1    5     -   0  5,000  0  8  26
 Grenade Launcher
Electromag Mortar Crit. Spcl. Spcl.  20  15    -  6,000  10   1   20   15T   0 15,000  0  8  27
Mini Gr. Launcher Crit. Spcl. Spcl.  10   7    -    500   4   1    3     -   0  1,000  0  8  26
Splat Gun         Crit. Exp.   5d(10) 5   9    -    500  20   8   8    15T  -2  3,500  0  9  55 

Melee Weapons

With the exception of LC (legality class), weapon statistics use the same format as the GURPS Basic Set, Third Edition, p. B206. Melee weapons malfunction only on a critical miss.
Weapon        Type     Amt.      Reach  Cost  Wt.  ST  LC TL Page
Vibroblade    Imp./Cut    +1d(5)      **       **    **   **   3   8   24
Stunwand        Spcl.     Spcl.       C,1     100    -    -    6   8   24
Monowire Blade  Cut   +1d(10), spcl.  **       **    **   **   3   9   53
Monowire Whip   Cut   +1d(10), spcl.  1-7     900   1/2   -    3   9   53
Sonic Blade    Spcl.      5d(5)       C,1   2,500   2.5   -    2  10   74
Neurolash I    Spcl.       Spcl.       1      650    2    -    5  10   74
Neurolash II   Spcl.       1d          1    2,000    2    -    2  10   74
Force Sword  Imp./Cut    4d/8d(5)      1    3,000    2    -    3  11   91
** varies by weapon type

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