Evo Aquatic Anti-Intrusion Biodrone (AKA the Dr. Evil Special)
Cost: 225,000¥
Availability: 24F

Evo is proud to partner with Ares to produce the next step in the evolution of the world’s greatest predator, the Evo Aquatic Anti-Intrusion Biodrone. Based on the biological template of the Mako shark the already fined tuned underwater hunter has been augmented with state a state of the art CAST and SEIES biodrone systems. It also includes a Strip interface so your riggers can jump into the bodies of these technological terrors of the deep. With its upgraded it’s already fearsome teeth have been augmented with a Smartlinked Ares Heavy MP Laser; just the thing to deal with drones, subs or other underwater nuisances.


Evo Underwater Shark Biodrone
Attributes:
Body: 8
Agility:5
Reaction: 7
Strength: 7
Charisma: 1
Intuition: 4
Logic: 1
Willpower: 3
Edge: 0
Essence: 0.95
Init: 11
IP:3

Movement: 20/50 (swimming)
Skills: Perception 2, Swimming 4, Unarmed Combat 4
Powers: Enhanced Senses (Smell), Gills, Natural Weapon (Bite: DV 4P, AP 0), Sharkskin

Cyberware: CAST, cybereyes1 (Thermo, Image Link) , SEIES, Smartlink, Stirrup Interface 2

Bioware: Metabolic Arrester, Bone Density Augmentation (1)

Autosofts: Dodge, Exotic Ranged Weapon: Laser Weapons

Weapons: Ares Heavy MP Laser (Battery pack good for 20 shots) with Smartlink (when used underwater use the following range DV modifiers [Medium –4, Long –8, Extreme –12])

Lasers are not suitable for underwater service. Light refraction under water sees to that. I would recommend a recdesign using gyrojet weaponry.

But then it wouldn't be a shark with a laser on its head

This was ment as more of a joke item, but to give it a little scientific boost, lets say it uses a blue green laser designed to be used underwater. And I'll shorten the range from sniper rifle ranges to SMG ranges.


But for serious use I would use the gyrojet with mini-torpedoes. Just take 32.2K of the price and add on the weapon of choice. Oh and change the autosoft.

Blue-green Laser would work to an extend but they would still not be economically feasible (They would require substatially more power than their "air" counterpart, so if you'd stick with laser (for the humor value, obviously) you'd not only have to adjust the range but also the power consumption. Double at best, triple to be on the safe side.

That said: I do get the joke, but some people might want to use that drone in their own campain and in such a case they should be informed about the limitations of laser technology in a submarine environment.

OR you could use packs of angry sea bass instead of sharks. I'm waiting to see how they would be handled (like on permanent berserk?)

In a world where a dragon runs one of the largest corporations in the world, the bodies of the dead get possessed by evil spirits and the local Girl Scout troop master is an elf and has cybereyes I don't think people should have an issue with how far lasers shoot underwater.

I know they will, but still.


But lets get RAW for a minute:per pg 41 in Arsenal.


So lets take RAW one step further and say that for underwater keep the ranges but put a (Medium –4, Long –8, Extreme –12). That means the DV9 for the laser goes to DC at medium, DV1 at long and its jsut a flashlight beam at extreme.

That sounds reasonable. Good thinking. *tipshat*

Editied and notated in the original post. When in doubt use the rules.

Besides now the shark can skim to the surface and blast far off ships at full range. Now another reason to fear the dorsal fin!

perhaps i am remembering wrong, but isn't radio highly limited in range while underwater? you'd have to use a different form of transmitting information, likely one that would have quite a bit of lag (ex sound waves), one that would presumably be limited in range a great deal (laser) or a physical connection of some kind to rig these things. alternately, i suppose you could also handwave it...

[double post]

Yes, it is.

-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_with_submarines
-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_low_frequency

Or, if you prefer a nice movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS4I2Z1RBIw

You could just use what modern underwater drones use: A cable =) Keep your shark on a leash!

Just for the sake of arguing lets say that the system uses a sonar style acoustical wave transmitting/reviving setup. It operates on as a frequency hopping Code Division Multiple Access (FH-CDMA) scheme that spreads the information across 128 separate frequencies. We will assume that the data being carried will have to travel at ultrasounds speeds limiting them to a Signal 4 Rating as beyond 1Km the signal would degrade to much.
(Oh did I ever mention I used to designed communication systems for Nortel, Fujitsu, NewBridge (no Alcatel), Verilink and a few others ?)

or I could just say "Its 50 years in the future and they have the technology."

Or you could say "God did it!". It would be the same cheap cop-out

I think the original cop-out is "An evil wizard did it."

Toh-May-Toe, Toh-Mah-Toe!

People used to say all lasers were uneconomical. Now a days I can get laser pointers in wavelengths that used to be restricted to research systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars. I hate to say it, but in a game with pistol sized combat lasers I think most of the power consumption and issues will have already been resolved. Will that make it a better choice for a weapon, no, but lasers have other undersea applications such as mining and spot welding. Evil Inc just needs to market them as "multi-aplication utility/combat sharks."

I completely agree on a reduced range and the reduced damage over distance. You may also want to shrink the range bands.

Interesting post, seeing as your last two lines contradict the entire rest of it.

Jokes aside, though: It is obvious he meant the laser shark as a joke. Hell, it's a really old joke, too and it's still funny. Nevertheless, some players may want to use it and as suspension of disbelief is the driving force of all rp and since SR in particular prides itself of its pseudo-realism, it makes sense to shine light on all the problems laser weaponry would face in a submarine environment.

Of course we could just pull a "George Lucas" and decree that in SR, Lasers can work underwater without impediment, but that doesn't really help the suspension of disbelief. Quite the contrary, actually.
Thus, I think BRodda's solution with the adapted DV adjustment is brilliant and serves the purpose at the same time.

Last, but not least, you seem to have missed the point about energy efficiency in this case. The argument about energy was not in comparison between modern day consumption and SR consumption. The argument is based on the fact that due to increased absorbition of light on pretty much all levels (except the blue-green), you would need more energy to fuel an efficient laser under water as compared to surface applications. As such, the consumption would be higher under water (if adjusted for such a use), than it would be on the surface. Hence my proposed increased consumption.

Now you can disagree with me. That is fine. But you cannot use "SR is simply more technologically advanced and therefore can ignore the laws of physics" as a viable argument. There is still the first law of thermodynamics to consider. Even in a world with magic.