Forcefields and modern weapons

Forcefields in modern combat can be treated as either deflectors or stoppers. Deflectors are the standard star-wars type, while stoppers are the solid absorbing type. Both of them exist in a standard forcefield. Advanced forcefields may be purely stoppers (the nominal type of a forcefield). The effect of a forcefield depends on what tech level it is based on.

Determining the tech level of a forcefield

The easiest way to determine this is to look at the producer and the target buyer. Societies like the NGR and Republic of Japan that are on the verge of developing the forcefields to a reliable technology are at the bottom of the scale. Naruni / Phaseworld and others of that tech level come next. They have managed to develop good and reliable forcefields. The Intruders and legionnaires from SA2 who have developed forcefields to an extent where it replaces construction materials have the highest level of tech since they have managed to produce the ideal forcefield.

A producer doesn't have to produce the best possible equipment. They can produce equipment at any level lower than their own or at their current level.

Low level forcefields

Low level forcefields are barely forcefields. These forcefields are circular in form. The power used in a forcefield is divided evenly across the entire forcefield. These forcefields have some common items due to the producers inability to perfect the form fitting feature with their current tech. Such forcefields have the biggest detection zone.

Construction:

A low level forcefield is made along the onion principle. The forcefield is made up of layers with increasing intensity. These fields may extend several feet out of the object. The outermost field has nearly no stopping power. As we progress through the fields to the core field, the intensity increases. The core field has the highest degree of stopping power and is considered the stopper field, while the mid-fields are considered deflector shields.

Since the core field has the biggest reactive power to high speed movements (like punches and swats), the core field cannot be created within a certain radius from the object. This is due to the fact that without the minimal internal radius of clearance the field will act against all quick movements made by the object.

The forcefield detection zone size (in feet of thickness) is 5% of the total damage capacity. The free-space radius inside the shield is equal to the length of the longest limb.

Game Effect:

Whenever the shield is hit (a successful strike), deduct the damage from the capacity of the shield.

If the damage exceeds 10% of the maximal shield capacity, use the following formula to determine the failure percentage:

If shot misses with 1, 2, 3 or 4 on a strike roll, the shot was close enough to be caught in the deflector fields. That means that the shot will be deflected at another angle that may hit another target (game-masters call). A rough approximation of the angle using the following formula:

Medium level forcefields

Medium level forcefields are characterized by being form fitting and having a deflector segment. The size of the onion in medium level forcefields is nearly zero, but it is present.

Construction:

A medium level forcefield has better control over the forcefield that allows it to wrap around the object and adapt to new shapes and positions as fast as the object makes the changes (e.g. running or fighting). The innermost layer, the core field is very powerful, but the extent of the detection zone is extremely short compared with a forcefield made of a lower tech.

The detection zone size (in feet of thickness) of a medium tech forcefield is 1% of the forcefields current damage capacity.

Game Effect:

If a successful shot hits the forcefield, deduct damage as usual. If the shot inflicts more than 20% of the shields maximal damage capacity, use the following formula to determine the failure chance:

If the shot misses with 1 or 2 on a strike roll, the shot will be deflected. It is up to the game-masters if the shot hits something else.

High level forcefields

This is the ultimate use of a forcefield. It is both form-fitting and solid. It can be used to create common items like a chair or table as well as armor. This forcefield is composed only of a core-field. There is no deflection field.

Construction:

The high level forcefields have only got a core-field. The field is form-fitting and can be either transparent or semi-transparent. There is no detection zone.

Game Effect:

Treat as normal armor with a healing factor. They are beyond the point of failure percentages and can recharge the armor according to their description.

E.x.1 Aron, a human, is using an experimental personal forcefield developed by the NGR (low level). The field has 40 MDC. That gives the shield a detection zone (shield extension zone) 2 feet thick and a free space zone of 4 ft. That means that the forcefield comes into effect 4 ft from Aron and is in itself 2 ft thick.

E.x.2 Charley on the other hand bought a Naruni forcefield (medium with 80 MDC. Since all medium and high tech fields are form-fitting, the forcefield comes into effect at once. The detection zone thickness is 0,8 ft.

E.x.3 Aron and Charley fight it out. Aron fires at Charley, but misses with 2 (rolled 14, needed 16). Since medium fields have deflection zones and the roll wasn't over 2 (for medium shields), the deflection angle was a measly 1 degree.

E.x.4 Charley retaliates but misses too. He needed 18, but rolled 16 (with bonuses). Since the deflection zone on a low-tech shield is very big, the GM checks on the table. A miss of 2 give a 7,8° deflection, enough for the shot to cut down two trees nearby.

E.x.5 Aron fires back, and this time he hits. The damage inflicted is 24. The 'damage capacity' of the forcefield Charley is using is 16. The failure percentage becomes 24 - 16 = 8%.

E.x.6 Charley hits Aron for 3 MD. Since the 'damage capacity' of Aron's armor is 4, there is no chance of a forcefield failure.

Notes regarding specific weapons. One way to add autenticity to the game is to use "correct" descriptions of the different types of weapons.

Laser weapons

Laser weapons are enigmatic, since we do have lasers but not at the same power as those used in Rifts. This has caused a lot of speculation, and this is one of them:

How to recognize a laser blast:

A laser blast will leave a vapor trail in it's wake. This is caused by the water/moisture molecules in the air turning to vapor. The beam in itself will create the well known star-wars effect, as long as it's fired in atmosphere. The vapor trail will also be ionized.

How to recognize laser damage:

When analyzing a material shot by laser there are two descriptions available based on what the material contains.

• If the material contains water, the damage will be comparable with an explosion, except that there will be minimal burn/heat marks.
• If the material doesn't contain water, it will make a small explosion mark at the impact location and a furrow where there will be small droplets of melted material along the lower edge in addition to an explosion-related hole.

Recoil:

One way to explain recoil would be in the focusing system. A laser will be based on an "air focuser". It is basically a tube/cylinder revolving at great speeds. This causes the air to center itself in the middle of the cylinder, creating a better focusing system than lenses can ever make.

Since water/condense has the ability to reflect/distort light, it would be necessary to blow out the air in the focusing segment after each shot. The safest way to ensure that a weapon doesn't malfunction due to pollution in the focuser, the air would be run through a series of filters. The air inside the focuser would have to be blown out with some force to be able to ensure that none of the old air remains inside the

focusing chamber. Thus we get the recoil effect.

Sound:

The laser weapons shot is silent by itself, however the changing of air from the focusing system would create a sound, but that would be as muted as a silenced pistol. The shot itself is set to around 30 dB, while the hit will sound like thunder / explosion (around 90 dB).

Ion / Particle projection weapons

When it comes to these weapons we are on more unstable ground. There is virtually no physical ground on which to base a postulate, but for gameplay we can use common sense and logic.

How to recognize ion / particle projection blasts:

A blast from an ion weapon will look like a lightning without the characteristic branches. There will not be any telltale vapor from this weapon.

A blast from a particle projection weapon, however, would look something like a disco laser through a dust/smoke field when the dust or smoke is moving in one direction, and moving very fast! This weapon will not leave any vapor marks either.

How to recognize ion / particle projection damage:

Ions and Particle projection cannons can be compared to ballistic weapons. They do not fire bullets or shells, but do fire atoms and ions with a total energy equaling or beating bullets.

An ion weapon uses a low power laser shot to ionize the air in front of the ion beam. This will ensure that the shot hits where the laser was pointing and will also ensure that most damage will be dealt at great ranges.

Water molecules and other substances aren't adversely affected by such weapons. Ion and particle beam weapons will just blow an irregular hole in the material/victim. The main point of damage from both ion and particle weapons is the heat it causes in the target. A tree hit by an ion beam will be cooked and all the bark will be gone (the results of an experiment where a somewhat low power ion weapon was used). The entry point will be relatively small, but the exit point will be several times larger. The resulting damage will have excessive burn marks all the way through, but will not be enough to cauterize the wounds.

This is caused by the ion/particles colliding with the atoms of the target. Air in itself doesn't have heavy enough atoms and molecules to adversely affect the direction of the beam, but when you come to heavier atoms and molecules, the beam will be caught in a series of elastic/non-elastic collisions. The more collisions the beam creates, the bigger does the exit hole become.

             / |

       /       |

  /            |

 = Entry point : = Exit point.

  \            |

       \       |

             \ |

It is important to note that the beam itself doesn't loose much coherence! It is a chain reaction of colliding molecules/items that creates the damage.

Recoil:

Since ion/particle projection weapons do fire a mass (the mass of all the molecules and ions), there will be a recoil. For the shot to do so much damage, a truckload or more of molecules have to be fired. The sum of all these molecules will cause a recoil probably comparable to that of a high-powered rifle or shotgun.

Sound:

As far as we know, lightning is composed of particles colliding with/superheating air. The same would be applicable to ion/particle projection weapons. Those weapons are about as loud as they come.

Plasma weapons

Plasma weapons can be compared to glorified flame throwers. They spit out some substance that his hotter than napalm, and just about as squishy.

How to recognize a plasma blast:

A plasma blast will leave a shimmering heat ripple in its wake. This is caused by the residual heat from the plasma blast.

How to recognize plasma damage:

Since plasma is superheated napalm, just use your imagination. It will not have the same penetrating damage from the other weapons, but will rather have an 'area effect' damage. A blotch where the material is both a) hot, b) melted. Penetration from plasma blasts come as the plasma will have the best evaporation potential in the center of the blast. There the armor/material will be most evaporated and may be penetrated.

Unlike the damage from ion/particle projection weapons, the entry point is the largest in the damage area. There will also be the effect of the plasma liquid melting downwards instead of parallel with the blast.

A plasma blast on a substance with water will have both the effect of a laser and that of napalm. It will cause 'explosions' in and around the hit area and will melt the structure.

Recoil:

Since the weapon definitely fires a mass, there is no question as to wether or not there is any recoil.

Sound:

The sound of a plasma cannon would probably be that that we associate with laser weapons. A plasma weapon would use magnetic coils to propel the liquid. The activation of the coils in sequence could cause the sound, since water molecules are charged dipoles, they would follow the direction of the coil charges.

Armor distribution rules

Another missout in Rifts is that there are no rules regarding armor values for the other locations of the body. Basing on modified values from the list given in the "Edge of the Sword #1: The compendium of Modern Firearms", I have come to these numbers:

This procedure is also applicable for HP, SDC and MDC dispersion on a humanoid body.

Armor penetration rules

(By Splynn, modified by me)

One of the elements lacking in Rifts is the use of armor penetration. Like AD&D and other games, if the SDC of an armor is reduced to 0, it is destroyed, however, if the armor is reduced to 1, it still takes damage before the character. Just how much would be left of an armor that had 100 SDC and was reduced to 1? And wouldn't the character take damage on himself if the armor were reduced to 1?

Armor is only capable of stopping so much damage before it passes through. The common sense that a railgun hit would probably puncture the armor instead of merely doing a little collateral damage.

For this section we are going to use some new terms not found in the Rifts RPG.

How to use the penetration rule:

Step 1: Determine the damage with penetration potentials.

* Only direct hits have penetration potentials, indirect/within explosion radius doesn't have the potential to penetrate armor.

Step 2: Determine if penetration occurs.

Step 3: Calculate the PV.

Step 4: Apply PV damage.

This part may seem illogical, but it actually works out very good.