blaster damage... help? [Archive] - Wizards Community

blaster damage... help? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Patrick Draken-Korin
09-28-05, 10:14 PM ok, so i've added blasters (and some other high-tech-like weapons such as beam swords) to D&D. now i need an alternate damage type for energy weapons; beams swords and blasters deal energy damage in most campaign settings, but in most high-tech settings you can't have DR/bludgeoning. second of all; acid, cold, electricty, fire, and sonic damage are all "energy" damage according to D&D. worse, i can't call it force damage either, as force damage is already a game term (and it would be overpowered for blasters to hit incorporeal creatures freely. they need to be enchanted for ghost touch the same as other weapons).

i'll probably just take plasma is i can't come up with anything better, but i wanted to count plasma as fire damage (for the plasma flamer and plasma whip).
for a short time i though about kinetic damage, but i use psionics rules.
any suggestions? also note that making up words is fine, as is words from other languages, but tell me when this is the case please.
thanx.

P.S. a :cookie: for the one that suggests the name i choose. there. let's see if bribery works.
Moon-Lancer
09-28-05, 10:22 PM why do you need to some up with something new. Just wondering.

How about Photonic or Urithian, or Ionic, or solarian
Patrick Draken-Korin
09-28-05, 11:35 PM urithian? what's that?
ionic- can't use it (no ions. in this world the greeks were right; billiards ball model of the atom)
solorian- can't use it (solars might be offended).
photonic- i'm an idiot. that's perfect. have a :cookie:
note, that i'll continue to take offered ideas (i might have stupidly missed another ovious answer). :cookie: 's for all replies!!!
Radijs
09-29-05, 05:46 AM It depends on what kind of damage the blasters do. (bear with me)

I'm no expert but looking at the movies I'd wager that blasters launch energized pellets from their barrel that both burn/explode upon impact. The mass of the pellet is large enough to let it penetrate several kinds of armor.
Piercing + fire damage sounds like a good combo.

lighsabers are just coherent beams of plasma/light which are contained in some kind of system (like a forcefield, gravitic field or magnetic bottle). Upon contact with other matter the energy inside the 'blade' is released in the form of heat. (See the door in the phantom menace, the cauterized body parts falling off) Heat = fire damage.

You don't need to add a new kind of damage. Its already there.

Though there's always a nice thing called Gravy guns. (Thats Gravitic Disruption and not sauce made from fat coagualnts and herbs.) Which just tear things up using gravity. (www.schlockmercenary.com)
Rulebook
09-29-05, 09:44 AM "I'm sending this message via gravetic induction of your hull... would you like to see what happens if we turn up the power?" ~slight paraphrase from SchlockMercenary

Lightsabers work on the Electric Arc principle, it completes the circut by arcing back down itself. that way you can adjust the length and intensity (those little knobs on the lightsaber) when you need to.

(and on a side note... we made a massive 2d10 repeating crossbow in our game... we enchanted it with an "OMINOUS HUUUMMMMMMMM" whenever it was ready to fire...)
Talcoram Cyndar
09-29-05, 01:41 PM First- I don't see the need to create new energy types for high-tech weapons. Lasers do fire damage, Blasters do sonic, and Beam swords could do electric.

Second- If you are truly interested in a high-tech/ space-age version of D&D, I highly recomend looking at Dragonstar by Fanatsy Flight Games. It is a campaign setting combining magic and technology set in the entire galaxy and allowing for planets with different magic and tech levels; complete with high -tech weaponry and starships. The only problem is that it was created for the 3.0 system. Still, most of it (90%) translstes directly into 3.5 very well.

Hope this helps-
-TC
Patrick Draken-Korin
09-29-05, 03:34 PM first of all; thanks for the replies, have some :cookie: 's! :cookie: 's for all!!!

second of all; for blasters (they shoot energy only, no matter) and beamswords (i ain't calling 'em lightsabers because i've got a wider variety than starwars does) and other "energy" weapons; it's a raw destructive force. blasters and beamswords DON'T burn their target, they rip it apart at a sub-visual level (the wound looks cauterized because it was fused as the blade left the wound). then there are a FEW high-tech-like weapons that deal actual energy damage (acid, cold, electricity, fire or sonic), and they usually deal this damage in addition to other damage (the plasma whip is "destructive energy" + fire, the sonic crackler is "destructive energy" + sonic, the eliminator is "destructive energy" + fire + electricity, etc).
i haven't decided whether to use lasers at all or not, but i think i will, eventually. but they'd still be "destructive energy" weapons, not shooting heat (fire damage).
i'm not sure if i made my point above. "destructive energy" IS on the same list as slashing, piercing, bludgeoning, and ballistic. it IS NOT on the same list as fire, acid, cold, electricity and sonic damage. just making sure you understand

third of all; for those of you considering the lightsabers of starwars, did you see the episode of daily planet (http://www.exn.ca/dailyplanet/) (dang it, i can't find starwars week!!), when they explained how they thought scientists could make lightsabers? it was plasma held together by the weak nuclear forces (these forces have a field of effect that only reaches the next couple atoms over). the problem is that scientists actually have no real way to control the weak nuclear forces at this point, so lightsabers are proably impossible until PL 7 (the gravatic age).

fourth; i'm already plannig on looking up the dragonstar material, once i get past my must-buy-it list (which is long, see my sig). magictech rocks!

fifth; now i've decided that i can't use photonic. it focuses on light energy, and a whole class of my "destructive energy" weapons give off no light (they're weaker, but stealth functional). this include both blasters and beam swords.

ok, that's all. hope you can help (or that i've helped create further ideas. it's all good).
Rulebook
09-29-05, 03:43 PM one last bit of advice... go get the d20 modern srd. it has rules for d20 future in them.

enough said.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Patrick Draken-Korin 09-28-05, 10:14 PM	ok, so i've added blasters (and some other high-tech-like weapons such as beam swords) to D&D. now i need an alternate damage type for energy weapons; beams swords and blasters deal energy damage in most campaign settings, but in most high-tech settings you can't have DR/bludgeoning. second of all; acid, cold, electricty, fire, and sonic damage are all "energy" damage according to D&D. worse, i can't call it force damage either, as force damage is already a game term (and it would be overpowered for blasters to hit incorporeal creatures freely. they need to be enchanted for ghost touch the same as other weapons). i'll probably just take plasma is i can't come up with anything better, but i wanted to count plasma as fire damage (for the plasma flamer and plasma whip). for a short time i though about kinetic damage, but i use psionics rules. any suggestions? also note that making up words is fine, as is words from other languages, but tell me when this is the case please. thanx. P.S. a :cookie: for the one that suggests the name i choose. there. let's see if bribery works.
Moon-Lancer 09-28-05, 10:22 PM	why do you need to some up with something new. Just wondering. How about Photonic or Urithian, or Ionic, or solarian
Patrick Draken-Korin 09-28-05, 11:35 PM	urithian? what's that? ionic- can't use it (no ions. in this world the greeks were right; billiards ball model of the atom) solorian- can't use it (solars might be offended). photonic- i'm an idiot. that's perfect. have a :cookie: note, that i'll continue to take offered ideas (i might have stupidly missed another ovious answer). :cookie: 's for all replies!!!
Radijs 09-29-05, 05:46 AM	It depends on what kind of damage the blasters do. (bear with me) I'm no expert but looking at the movies I'd wager that blasters launch energized pellets from their barrel that both burn/explode upon impact. The mass of the pellet is large enough to let it penetrate several kinds of armor. Piercing + fire damage sounds like a good combo. lighsabers are just coherent beams of plasma/light which are contained in some kind of system (like a forcefield, gravitic field or magnetic bottle). Upon contact with other matter the energy inside the 'blade' is released in the form of heat. (See the door in the phantom menace, the cauterized body parts falling off) Heat = fire damage. You don't need to add a new kind of damage. Its already there. Though there's always a nice thing called Gravy guns. (Thats Gravitic Disruption and not sauce made from fat coagualnts and herbs.) Which just tear things up using gravity. (www.schlockmercenary.com)
Rulebook 09-29-05, 09:44 AM	"I'm sending this message via gravetic induction of your hull... would you like to see what happens if we turn up the power?" ~slight paraphrase from SchlockMercenary Lightsabers work on the Electric Arc principle, it completes the circut by arcing back down itself. that way you can adjust the length and intensity (those little knobs on the lightsaber) when you need to. (and on a side note... we made a massive 2d10 repeating crossbow in our game... we enchanted it with an "OMINOUS HUUUMMMMMMMM" whenever it was ready to fire...)
Talcoram Cyndar 09-29-05, 01:41 PM	First- I don't see the need to create new energy types for high-tech weapons. Lasers do fire damage, Blasters do sonic, and Beam swords could do electric. Second- If you are truly interested in a high-tech/ space-age version of D&D, I highly recomend looking at Dragonstar by Fanatsy Flight Games. It is a campaign setting combining magic and technology set in the entire galaxy and allowing for planets with different magic and tech levels; complete with high -tech weaponry and starships. The only problem is that it was created for the 3.0 system. Still, most of it (90%) translstes directly into 3.5 very well. Hope this helps- -TC
Patrick Draken-Korin 09-29-05, 03:34 PM	first of all; thanks for the replies, have some :cookie: 's! :cookie: 's for all!!! second of all; for blasters (they shoot energy only, no matter) and beamswords (i ain't calling 'em lightsabers because i've got a wider variety than starwars does) and other "energy" weapons; it's a raw destructive force. blasters and beamswords DON'T burn their target, they rip it apart at a sub-visual level (the wound looks cauterized because it was fused as the blade left the wound). then there are a FEW high-tech-like weapons that deal actual energy damage (acid, cold, electricity, fire or sonic), and they usually deal this damage in addition to other damage (the plasma whip is "destructive energy" + fire, the sonic crackler is "destructive energy" + sonic, the eliminator is "destructive energy" + fire + electricity, etc). i haven't decided whether to use lasers at all or not, but i think i will, eventually. but they'd still be "destructive energy" weapons, not shooting heat (fire damage). i'm not sure if i made my point above. "destructive energy" IS on the same list as slashing, piercing, bludgeoning, and ballistic. it IS NOT on the same list as fire, acid, cold, electricity and sonic damage. just making sure you understand third of all; for those of you considering the lightsabers of starwars, did you see the episode of daily planet (http://www.exn.ca/dailyplanet/) (dang it, i can't find starwars week!!), when they explained how they thought scientists could make lightsabers? it was plasma held together by the weak nuclear forces (these forces have a field of effect that only reaches the next couple atoms over). the problem is that scientists actually have no real way to control the weak nuclear forces at this point, so lightsabers are proably impossible until PL 7 (the gravatic age). fourth; i'm already plannig on looking up the dragonstar material, once i get past my must-buy-it list (which is long, see my sig). magictech rocks! fifth; now i've decided that i can't use photonic. it focuses on light energy, and a whole class of my "destructive energy" weapons give off no light (they're weaker, but stealth functional). this include both blasters and beam swords. ok, that's all. hope you can help (or that i've helped create further ideas. it's all good).
Rulebook 09-29-05, 03:43 PM	one last bit of advice... go get the d20 modern srd. it has rules for d20 future in them. enough said.