Introduction
For capital-ship duels, the standard missiles in GURPS Space (3rd
Edition) are not suitable; their low damage, relative to a capship's
defenses, and need (at lower TLs) to accelerate towards their target
make them somewhat anemic. And while beams and guns definitely fill the
void, they are not useable at long ranges - for opening engagements, or
long-range interception.
Plus, there's something satisfying about launching a big honkin' missile
at a target.
So I undertook to create a 'torpedo', a massive weapon capable of
delivering a knockout punch to a capital ship. These weapons are about
thirty times the size of a Heavy Missile, or about eighty times the size
of a Light Missile. They are big enough to carry their own armour, and
have measurable hit points. Why? Because a fighter may need to shoot
one down...
I broke out GURPS Space (3rd Edition), and spent about two hours poring
over tables and getting assistance from my neighbourhood math whiz. So
these numbers, no matter how unbelievable, are somewhat accurate, given
the assumptions in GURPS Space. I was gonna include a range table, but
no matter how hard we worked at it, we couldn't get believable numbers.
The Torpedoes, as listed below, were inspired by several different
sources: David Weber's Honor Harrington series, Star Trek, and Wing
Commander, to name just a few.
Construction Information
Each Torpedo weighs in at five tonnes, and occupies just under 500 cf.
Approximately half the Torpedo's volume is given over to the drive
system and reaction mass; the rest contains the warhead, guidance
package, et cetera.
The Torpedo Launcher is a simple linear accelerator, plus crew
equipment, loading track, etc. The accelerator gives the Torpedo an
initial 'kick', to get it outside shields, warp fields, or whatever else
might need clearing before the Torpedo can switch to its onboard drive.
The Launcher requires one full space to install, and requires 2 MW when
empowered. In addition to powering its computers and loaders, the
Launcher's internal capacitors will charge off this 'trickle feed', so
you don't need to install power packs for a Torpedo Launcher.
The Torpedoes themselves require one full space to install, plus one
half-space of loading gear, maintenance gear, computers, etc., per five
weapons (or fraction thereof) carried. The loader and launcher system
can be controlled by computer, or crewed by one to three crewmembers
(loader, gunner/guidance, computer controller), as your game universe
requires.
Missile Drive Type End. V at T
-Reaction Drive-
Torpedo/8 Chemical Rocket 10s 12.4 kps
Torpedo/9 Chemical Rocket 10s 12.4 kps
Torpedo/10 Chemical Rocket 10s 12.4 kps
Torpedo/11 Chemical Rocket 10s 12.4 kps
-Reactionless Drive-
Torpedo/9 Super Thruster 28m 22,350 kps
Torpedo/10 Super Thruster 35m 15s 60,000 kps
Torpedo/11 Super Thruster 45m 965,000 kps
Torpedo/13 Mega Thruster 45m 3,650,000 kps
-Grav Drive-
Torpedo/12 Grav Drive 60m 0.1c
Torpedo/13 Grav Drive 60m 0.3c
Combat Information
Reaction-drive Torpedoes, once launched, will accelerate for a maximum
of nine seconds, and will coast after that. One additional second of
acceleration is reserved for final maneuvers.
Reactionless and Grav Torpedoes carry small batteries to power their
drives, and have a much longer endurance.
Twenty seconds are required to re-load the weapon system once fired.
Missile sAccel cSM End. Skill Kinetic X-Ray
-Reaction Drive-
Torpedo/8 21 +3 10s 18 6dx20(3) -
Torpedo/9 21 +3 10s 19/12 6dx20(3) 5dx6(2)
Torpedo/10 21 +3 10s 19/13 6dx20(3) (5d+5)x6(2)
Torpedo/11 21 +3 10s 20/14 6dx20(3) (5d+10)x6(2)
-Reactionless Drive-
Torpedo/9 0.8 +3 28m 19/12 5dx5(3) 5dx6(2)
Torpedo/10 1.36 +3 35m 15s 19/13 4dx20(3) (5d+5)x6(2)
Torpedo/11 16 +3 45m 20/14 6dx40(3) (5d+10)x6(2)
Torpedo/13 50 +3 45m 21/15 4dx60(3) (5d+10)x6(2)
-Grav Drive-
Torpedo/12 400 +3 60m 20/14 6dx60(3) (5d+10)x6(2)
Torpedo/13 659 +3 60m 21/15 6dx180(3) (5d+10)x6(2)
Nuclear damage is as per regular missiles, so there's no point in using
a nuclear torpedo.
As for X-Ray lasers...each Torpedo carries five bomb-pumped X-Ray
lasers, and the damage listed above is for *one*. The weapon will make
five separate attack rolls when discharging.
Comments? Tomatoes?
--
ICQ#66022322
http://tailkinker.contrabandent.com
"Cows fly like clouds but they are never quite successful."
--MegaHAL
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