Lasers Options

[Shortstraw]

Do lasers have recoil?

[rythymhack]

Why would it? Does a flashlight have recoil? (sorry if that sounds snarky...it's the best way I could think to give an explanation that was managable).

[Shortstraw]

The problem is that while logically they shouldn't I can't find any specific rule saying they don't follow normal recoil rules.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

The problem is that while logically they shouldn't I can't find any specific rule saying they don't follow normal recoil rules.

Why should there be a rule? Common Sense prevails here.

[psychophipps]

I might even go so far as to give lasers an extra die for accuracy. There is something to be said for not having to bother to lead your target.

[SpellBinder]

Why should there be a rule? Common Sense prevails here.

One would hope... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/spin.gif)

I might even go so far as to give lasers an extra die for accuracy. There is something to be said for not having to bother to lead your target.

I actually wouldn't. Leading the target seems too natural for those who've fired guns that you could quite easily skew your shot by aiming for where they will be instead of where they really are.

[Shortstraw]

Why should there be a rule? Common Sense prevails here.

I didn't take the quality (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) .

I might even go so far as to give lasers an extra die for accuracy. There is something to be said for not having to bother to lead your target.

I thought lasers had reduced DV for range as opposed to reduced pool to reflect that?

[Rad]

I actually wouldn't. Leading the target seems too natural for those who've fired guns that you could quite easily skew your shot by aiming for where they will be instead of where they really are.

That's why lasers use the exotic weapon skill rather than the firearms skill. Seems a little harsh to me, but no matter how good you are at handling a pistol, it doesn't help you with an Ares Redline.

Personally, I always assumed lasers used the same rules for SA/BF/FA as any other weapon, since there's nothing in the rules that says they don't. I usually put it down to plasma blooming making the follow-up shots less accurate rather than any actual recoil in the weapon itself.

[Fabe]

Out of curiosity I did a quick google search and came across a thread that could give a reasonable explanation to laser recoil
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=418802

its not the beam from the laser that might throw off your aim but the magnetic field created by the power source interacting with the rest of the weapon.I think Its a good enough reason for gaming for why a laser would have 'recoil'

[Medicineman]

I might even go so far as to give lasers an extra die for accuracy. There is something to be said for not having to bother to lead your target.

+1
You have your own Laserpointer with Your Laserweapon. Just squeeze the Trigger a bit and put the Laserbeam where the Laserbeam points at (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

with a Lazerdance
Medicineman

[Marcus Tarrow]

Probably a bit late, but I found the rules for recoil on lasers (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

"Laser weapons use highly concentrated beams of light to burn into and sometimes even through their targets. Laser weapons cause no recoil and are resisted with half Impact armor (rounded up)." page 41 of arsenal

[Shortstraw]

Not late at all (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .

[Mantis]

Nope. Too late. We've changed our games to include laser recoil. Let the arguments commence! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[nylanfs]

http://scienceblogs.com/builtonfacts/2010/...r-rifle-recoil/
http://thevirtuosi.blogspot.com/2010/04/to...stion-near.html

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Nope. Too late. We've changed our games to include laser recoil. Let the arguments commence! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

As long as you are okay with doing it wrong... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Trax]

As long as you are okay with doing it wrong... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

Like that's ever stopped an arguement on the internet before..

[ShadowDragon8685]

Just to throw some fuel somewhere beside the fire...

In my games, Lasers, etcetera, aren't exotic weapons. If you hold it and aim it like a pistol, a pistol it is. If you hold it and aim it like a rifle, a longarm it is. If you hold it and fire it like an automatic, an automatic it is.

Only things that truely fall outside of those "ways you pick up and use this" category get to be exotic weapons.

[Mantis]

As long as you are okay with doing it wrong... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

Wrong or Awesome?
Actually it has never come up in our games. As soon as someone sees the price of laser weapons (cash and karma for skill) they pick something else.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Wrong or Awesome?
Actually it has never come up in our games. As soon as someone sees the price of laser weapons (cash and karma for skill) they pick something else.

Recoil for Lasers is not Awesome. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Yes, they are somewhat expensive, but that makes no nevermind once you have established yourself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Shemhazai]

Just to throw some fuel somewhere beside the fire...

In my games, Lasers, etcetera, aren't exotic weapons. If you hold it and aim it like a pistol, a pistol it is. If you hold it and aim it like a rifle, a longarm it is. If you hold it and fire it like an automatic, an automatic it is.

Only things that truely fall outside of those "ways you pick up and use this" category get to be exotic weapons.

I like to whip my enemies with the beam.

[Daier Mune]

a little late to the conversation but just wanted to add in a few thoughts. substituting pistols/longarms/automatics for Exotic Weapon: Lasers could work, but I'd impose a -1 or -2 penalty, because lasers would be just different enough from a ballistic weapon (no leading the target, no compensating for drop, no recoil) that your muscle memory of handling a kinetic weapon wouldn't help you with a direct energy weapon. I like the idea of a +1 for Lasers, for their inherent accuracy, tho. I'd also allow a specialization in laser pistols/rifles, were I GM'ing.

the lasers presented in the 4th Edition Arsenal are all pulse lasers, meaning that the power is concentrated into a single 'bolt' of photons - this makes them significantly more powerful, but requires more energy. if you were using pulsed repeating lasers, I'd say that instead of recoil, that they would suffer from heat buildup, which would reduce the efficiency of the battery. a short 3 round burst would cost 4 shots worth of energy. a long 7 round burst would cost 10, a full 10 rounds costing 15 shots of energy. Botches during bursts can result in melting components and burnt hands.

other megas competing for the DEW market might try to make Continuous-Wave lasers, these are the more classic style of lasers that fire a continuous beam of energy. these don't require as much energy as a pulsed laser does, but they suffer from plasma blooming (as a laser vaporizes the material of the target it produces a cloud of gas that reduces the efficiency of the beam). CW Lasers would only be available as BF/Auto models, and the longer your burst, the greater reduction to the beam's effect. 3-rnd burst = +1 target's armor ((Impact Armor /2)+1); 7-rnd burst +3 armor; 10-rnd burst +5 armor. Due to their problems with plasma blooming, pulse weapons would be preferred by most militaries employing DE weapons.

Other options that could exist for lasers, are chemical lasers (Ares' weapons are all "hard" tech, relying purely on stored electrical energy), a tank filled with a specific chemical cocktail could be used as fuel for a laser. This has the disadvantage of needing to lug spare tanks and not being able to recharge the spent tanks. However, special mixes of fuel exist that could be used to increase the range of the laser (different fuel will change the wavelength of the laser, changing the distance at which it would start to lose power) or super-high efficiency fuel.

[Mantis]

Mil Spec tech 2 features an Ares Pulse rifle that uses full auto with the base damage starting lower.

[Neraph]

Wrong or Awesome?
Actually it has never come up in our games. As soon as someone sees the price of laser weapons (cash and karma for skill) they pick something else.

Quitters.

[Rad]

Quitters.

Indeed. One of my old characters had a katana with an underbarrel ares redline at chargen. (Thanks to the restricted gear and in debt qualities from Runner's Companion) The laser pistol was smartlinked and hooked up to an inertial trigger so that when it was armed (via the smartlink) it would automatically fire if the inertial trigger detected the impact of the blade hitting a target.

Thing was basically the melee-equivalent of a gauss rifle, it was awesome. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[Irion]

Well, the accuracy of laser weapons should be better espacially at long range.
I mean, it is quite a differance if you hit your target instantly or if you have your bullet travel for half a second being subject to wind and whatever.