Trinity RPG - Tech Manual by Snake Eye's

[SnakeEyes]

Hello, me again ::smiley5 . I've nearly completed (I say completed, I mean the second draft) my tech manual, with just a few finishing touches left. Now, I always ask this for anything I create-

Is there anything you guys want me to include? I mean, I'm really starting to run out of ideas, and at 42 pages, I really think I ought to let others put some content in.

So, any ideas? (I'm not forcing you or anything, I'd be just as happy if nobody replied)

I'll post the link here once it's up on the web. Hopefully, I'll finish other bits of my campaign setting as well soemtime soon.

[Bahamut810]

How do you mean you need help? Do you need things to put in? If so put my glitterboy writeup in. Good stuff there ::biggrin . How about some more man shaped mecha also.

[SnakeEyes]

Yeah, that's what I meant, more stuff to put in.

A more man shaped mecha? Eh? Have you read the official tech manual? I thought they were pretty man-shaped... but, if you want homomechanoid powered body armour (ooooohh... flashy gimpish name), then so be it.... hmm.... *jots down notes... and gimpish phrase*

...your glitterboy write up? ::confused

[Bahamut810]

I posted it in that new guys thread...Grizzly i think his name is. He said Hi so I gave him a beta write up for a Rifts Glitterboy.

--EDIT--

It was stinging spiders first post...I was wrong

here it is. A gift from me, to you, from me...to you:

(All the special stuff is in the Rifts core book...doling out the basics here)

Glitter Boy

VT: Man Shaped Assult Vehicle

Tech: Y

Handling: +2

Base Mass : 8 Tons

Maximum Weight : 10 Tons

Base Combat Speed : 50 kph

Base Top Speed : 80 kph

Strength : 6 [5]

Base Armour : 15 [10] v All non-physical (beam, sonic, ect.) weapons, 10 [8] v all other

Base Life Support : 1 Month...not very inviting to do that though

Base Height : 8 ft

Base Radar : 24km Radius

Tolerance: ****

Cost: ***** ***** ***

WEAPONS:

Glitter Boy Boom Gun

Tech: Hard

Acc: +2

Damage: [20]+20d10 L, For each shot there is a sonic boom doing no actual damage, but Defening anyone within a 20ft radius and knocking them down. Deafness lasts for 1d10 days.

Range: 50 km

Mnv: N/A

ROF: 1

Clip: 200

Conc: N/A

Mass: 3 tonnes

Cost: Too Rich for your blood (***** **** for thoes who must know)

*note: When using the Boom Gun A glitter boy cannot move...they need to take a turn to dig pylons that are installed in their feet into the ground. It takes a turn to disengage them. The Pylons can be disengaged, but without them the glitterboy will fly back 3d10 feet and lose a turn getting up (no damage to glitter boy)

The only things you may want to do to it to make it more like what it is in the book:

-Put in the entire glittery armor thing...they are pretty

-More armor...especially v non-physical weapons. I'm not 100% on trinity avg damage...but a Glitterboy is near immune to that type of damage. All other damage takes a long time to wear it down.

-Bigger penalty to people standing nearby...the boom gun is a high velosity projectile weapon. In Rifts game terms...these do 3d6x10 damage per shot...a gun that a large man could tote around (i.e. bfg type) does about 4d6...sometimes 5d6. Missles doe 1d6x10 per missle. Again im not 100% on trinity avg damage.

-Up the cost if needbe...these are damned nice to pilot.

-Add something about how long they can stay in it. Its not pretty..but i think they can live in that thing for a month...it has *all* facilities needed.

Thats only if you want it mind you. Just a suggestion. ::laugh

[ProfPotts]

Interesting. If that's meant to be a direct convertion from Rifts there are a couple of things to note:

Glitter Boys are only extra-resistant to lasers, not all non-phyisical attacks (their armour is specifically laser-reflective, hence the chrome look to them - & the original Chaos Earth nickname of 'Chromium Guardsman') - that resistence is handled in Rifts by then taking half damage, so that'd be the easiest way to do it in Trinity too (whether it's halved before or after Soak is up to you & how powerful you want the thing to be).

The Boom Gun is just a big railgun / electromagnetic linear accelerator (with flechette ammo'), & I thought Trinity already had rules for them (coilguns)? 20[20] damage is over double the listed damage for a heavy coilgun - that seems a tad excessive to me! Maybe it'd be better to use the standard damage for a heavy coilgun (9D10[10]L) & add a nice accuracy bonus for the shotgun-like effect of the flechette-like ammo'?

[SnakeEyes]

K. I like the Glitterboy, so yeah, I'll include it. But like ProfPotts said, it sometimes seems a little excessive, so would you mind if I adjust it?

P.S. when you put Y in the tech field, do you mean Psi (the little trident thing)? I usually put HARDTECH and BIO as well, incase for some reason the greek letters don't come out.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Base Armour : 15 [10] v All non-physical (beam, sonic, ect.) weapons, 10 [8] v all other

Just pointing out that the heaviest assault cruiser that exists in Trinity; the L-B Novastorm IAC has an armor rating of 10[20]. And the largest assault VARG (which is what that suit is); the Hellfire only has an armor rating of 7[7], you might want to tone that suit down B810.

[Bahamut810]

Have at it. Like I said im not sure about the avg damage from Trinity so I dont really know what to base if off of.

As for only beam weapons for hte special defence...they are also immune to Sonic attack. Thats part of what they boom gun is after all.

[SnakeEyes]

Cheers. I'll get on it then.

Thanx for pointing that out Ayre. It saves me trekking through the books.

[ProfPotts]

...they are also immune to Sonic attack. Thats part of what they boom gun is after all.

Nope. A GB pilot is protected against being deafened by the Boom Gun's sonic boom, but that doesn't make them in any way immune to actual sonic attacks - any more than a guy with sound filtration on his cybernetic ear implant is immune to sonic (i.e. damaging sound) attacks. If pluging up your ears made you immune to sonic attacks, then that Japanese bot with the big sonic cannon would be pretty useless... ::sly

The GB is laser-resistant & that's all. It just happens to have an unrealistically high amount of MDC (when compared to bots 5 times it's size, for example).

Oh well - no-one ever accused Palladium of game balance anyway. ::wink

[Bahamut810]

They are also protected from the shock of the sound through. Saying that they are vunerable to sonic attacks in their glitter boys would mean they would take damage each time they fire their boom guns. Point Blank range for sonic boom (depending on version, either Mach 2 or Mach 10) would cause damage like a sonic weapon.

[SnakeEyes]

nasty for underwater colonies... ::devil

That gives me an idea for a new sonic weapon (no, not an underwater one ::wacko ). If you get the matching frequency, then you can shatter glass, right? And the idea of sonic weapons just punching holses through metal is fairly unrealistic, because if you match the frequency of the metal, it would become brittle, and shatter like glass. So, if you incorporated a semi-intelligent oscilloscope into a weapon which gradually increased its frequency, then it would beable to quickly match the frequency, and destroy the material.

Sounds similar to my 'Flesh-Bomb' idea (you'll see it in my tech manual) 'cept not really for living beings.

Hmm... inter-mer-esting.

[ProfPotts]

Point Blank range for sonic boom (depending on version, either Mach 2 or Mach 10) would cause damage like a sonic weapon.

But it doesn't, now, does it... Again, no-one ever accused Palladium of being logical either! ::sly

The new sound-weapon 'sounds' (pun ::tongue ) good SnakeEyes. A bit like the principles behind the microwave weapon in Aberrant: Elites.

[Dirk Cjelli]

(sorry for spelling, slightly tipsy)

The opera-glass trick works mostly because crystal glasses etc are a single crystal or have one harmonic frequency. It doesn't require all that much power to shatter something if you get the frequency just right. (I think the fact that glasses have defects in them also plays a part, otherwise I see no reason why a vibrating glass should break)

Of course... internal organs also have their own resonant frequencies. Additionally, certain low frequency noises (lower frequency than we can hear... kinda below sub-woofer I guess) have psychological impacts. Thats why animals scurry before an earthquake occurs, because they react to noises that humans can't hear. Humans are simmilarly affected by these noises... certain ones make folk nervous etc.

Given enough power behind it, there isn't much reason why a sonic weapon can't do as much damage as... I don't know, a laser or a rail gun. It won't work in the vacuum of space, and also won't affect someone in a space suit (unless portions of the suit are flexible). A hardened suit of armor without airholes can't adequately transmit the violent vibrations, athough it could be made to vibrate itself as you have described.

Given the level of Trinity computers, I see no reason why a multiple-frequency sonic weapon (perhaps an orgotek 'screamer' device with squishy brain bits?) couldn't inflict both psychological and physical damage on an opponent.

Now that I mention it, you might want to look at the Abby directive book. I believe there was some kind of delicate sonic weapon there called "the Banshee" which had three levels.

An orgotek version probably would be less fragile than the Directive's banshee.

[ProfPotts]

There's that strange music in Aberrant too - 'Terror' with less vowels, I think, that effects emotions via sub-sonics & stuff. It's adapted into a security system in Year One.

[SnakeEyes]

Trrr?

Like I said, I made one called the 'Flesh Bomb' which uses frequency theory on living flesh.

But as for 'The Opera-Glass trick', it can be used on Car windows, and has been used on Perspex (though for what purpose, I do not know). And in theory, if you pump a high enough frequency, you can melt metal. But if you match the frequency of anything, a strange effect occurs.

I have seen (on one of these school documentaries, you know, the ones with silly cartoons, bad eighties dubbing) a wooden table leg blown apart through the use of matching frequency. It was cool... (and then there was 'the forbidden video' [named because my science teacher couldn't get his hands on it] of a robot being blown apart whilst plonking a tiny piece of Francium into water. ::smile )

[Bahamut810]

its called Terr'r. And I would listen to it if it were real ::biggrin

[Grizzly]

New sonic weapon working with resonance frequencies. Sounds interesting. Add a aligned IR-Laser for measuring the resonance on the surface of the target and tie it into the computer brain of the weapon. Voila! A selfadjusting weapon. ::wink

Snake Eye, do you search for something specific or just anything?

::cool

[SnakeEyes]

Hmm... Cheers Grizzly, I suppose that would the best way.... I never really thought how the oscilloscope would actually match the frequency ::unsure ... Just that it would...

And yes. Abso-bloomin-lutely anything. Well, within reason. I'll decide what would fit with the campaign, and what wouldn't, but pretty much everything would fit, so sling 'em at me!

[Grizzly]

As you wish! ::ninja

Start dodging! ::tongue

[Grizzly]

I am a great fan of quaterstaffs. Loved especially that collapsable Minbary staff of that Ranger Marcus, or those multipurpose combat lances (not shure if the call them so in original) Quaterstaff, Laser , shock weapon all in one.

Take a memory-metal quaterstaff/spear. it folds itself in and out as you wish. Add a sonic or taser. Give it a retractable speartip, or coat it with ollaminium. That would make a quite versatile weapon. Just an idea. ::smile

Haven´t made up stats so far.

If you like some additional hybrids, take this two:

„Seeker“-Class Scoutship

Base : Hybrid

Technology : Hardtech

Cruising Speed : 1700 km/h (Mach 1,4)

Top Speed : 1950 km/h (Mach 1,6)

Vacuum Speed : 5

Maneuver rate: 2 in Vacuum,3 under athmospheric flight Conditions

Armor : 4(9)

Weapons : Chin turret mounted twin light Coilguns

(+2 Acc, 6d (10), range 5/20 km, ammo 10.000)

[4 Smart Missiles in single launch tubes in wing body

(+3 Acc, 10d (15), range 500 km)]

Crew : Pilot, Copilot, 6 Passengers

Endurance : 6 month for 8 Persons

Cargo Hold : 5t (80 m^3)

Mass : 180 t

Lenghts oa : 36 m

Wingspan : 32 m

Hight oa : 12 m ( incl. 3 m Gear extended)

Hight w folded fins : 7 m ( incl. 3 m Gear extended)

Special Features : advanced Lifesupport System (Qin Air-Plants)

advanced Sensor Systems (+2)

increased Fuel Capacity

two hyper-fusion reactors

additional scientific research facilities

Cockpit doubles as Rescue capsule (can be jetisoned)

Military Flight Chairs

Additional Equipment : 2 Rovot units

8 Envirobubbles in Cabins

8 Vacuum suit with Banji Smart Grapnel and 0g

Manoeuver units

Avatar : Performance 4

Applications: Astrophysics 4, Computers 2, Electronics 2,

Energy Sources 2, Intent 2, Linguistics 3,

Mathematics 3, Navigation 3, Pilot 3, Physics 3,

Chemistry 2, Biology 2 Quick Search 2,

Telecommunications 2, Engineering 3, Medicine 2

„Stingray“-Class Bio-Scout

Base : Hybrid Scout

Technology : Biotech

Cruising Speed : Mach 2,4

80 km/h aquatic propulsion (swimming)

Top Speed : Mach 3,6

140 km/h aquatic propulsion (swimming)

Vacuum Speed : 5

Manoeuver rate: 3

Armor : Biotech Compound Armor, 5(10)

Weapons : Two turret mounted medium bio-laser cannons with retractable

turrets (+2 Acc, 6d L (5), range 7/30 km )

4 Smart Missiles in single launch tubes (+3 Acc, 10d (15), range 500 km)]

two Missile defense bio-laser systems in concealed turrets

(+5 Acc, 9 d L, RoF 10, range 3/10 km)

Crew : Pilot, Copilot, 8 Passengers

Endurance : 6 month for 10 Persons

Cargo Hold : 25t (ca.90 m^3)

Mass : 250 t

Lenghts oa : 38,75 m

Wingspan : 28,85 m

Hight oa : 8 m

Special Features : advanced Lifesupport System (Qin Air-Plants)

advanced Sensor Systems (+2)

increased Fuel Capacity

two hyper-fusion reactors

additional scientific research facilities

Cockpit doubles as rescue capsule (can be jetisoned)

Additional rescue capsule

Biocockpit

Military IFF system

Stealth features : Colour changing ( 6 types )

Reduced radar reflection and stealth systems (+2 diff.)

Additional Equipment : 2 Rovot units

10 Envirobubbles in Cabins

10 Vacuum suits with Banji Smart Grapnel and

0g-Manoeuver units

Avatar : Performance 4

Applications: Astrophysics 4, Computers 2, Electronics 2, Energy Sources 2,

Intent 3, Linguistics 3, Mathematics 3, Navigation 3,Tact 2, Pilot 4,

Geology 3, Physics 3, Chemistry 3, Biology 3, Quick Search 2,

Telecommunications 2, Engineering 3, Medicine 2

Formating adds +2 to handling, weapon accuracy and sensor operation. Formating makes aquatic propulsion available and enables the craft to float passively in atmospheres via helium filled blisters and telekinetic lift.

Aquatic propulsion is indepenend from other systems, locomotion is through motion of the wings like a stingray.

Sorry, but I think you couldn´t use the pictures I took for those ships. For the Seeker-Class I took a drawing from a japanese game/anime called Bubblegum Crisis. The idea for the Stingray "came over me" when I found a drawing of the Wells-Class Timeship from Starship Voyager. Some minor works on them and I had good drawing to work with. I don´t know if there is any copyright or so on these, so I don´t know if you could use them.

[SnakeEyes]

It's funny you should mention Quarterstaffs... One of my players is a big fantasy mage fan, and prefers melee weapons to firearms.

It's also funny you mentioned 'memory metal', cos it's mentioned in my tech manual.

I'll make a good quarterstaff out of it for yah... cos it would make a versatile weapon... ::thumbsup

And as for your hybrids, They're great. and don't worry about the images, cos I don't have any at all! It's just text. For the first version anyway. I'll see about images for the second version...

Cheers Grizzly! ::smile

[phoenix]

It's funny you should mention Quarterstaffs... One of my players is a big fantasy mage fan, and prefers melee weapons to firearms.

I tend to agree with him (or her); melee weapons are much cooler.

[Grizzly]

Yep! ::biggrin

Took that idea for my character for some time. Quite an odd guy. He´s a NZ, a Maori and a clear. Got the idea of that Quaterstaff when I saw a picture of one of these traditional fighting clubs/staffs called taiaha. Unfortunatelly, I didn´t found a description how they are used originally. Took just the stats of an staff, add the mods for ollaminium and add an additional dot for the memory effect to make it collapsible. Collapsed, it vanishes under a jacket and extended it has six feet.

As for the two scouts, I forgot the price tags. The Seeker-class got a 7-8 and the Stingray would be at 9.

[SnakeEyes]

my memory metal actually forms a liquid when not in use. I thought maybe it should mold into a sort of unobtrusive ball to be hung from a belt. That Ok?

If not, I can easily change it to fit your idea more...

And I was about to ask for the prices ::smile

Cheers,

SnakeEyes

[Grizzly]

Had to made them up, because I had none before. That are the ships of my Character and there had been no need for prices. The Seeker was the first one. He designed it for himself and because he owns a small Shipyard on the Moon, he got it build as a prototype. When the Seeker got mangled beyond repair, it went to the junkyard. the Stingray was a "gift" from Cassel, who wanted to buy silence about some topics of worldwide interest ( the "D"-story, you know).

The story about the Stingray is that it is a prototype, too. It is a design that evolved out of or beside the Jumpship construction. When the character got formated to the ship there were some interesting sideeffects. It speaks sometimes in his dreams.

(The Cost for formating is 4.)

The pictures are on their way. (MSN)

[SnakeEyes]

hmmm.... very interesting indeed... I like the idea of it speaking in dreams. It gives it a mysterious edge...

Any other 'interesting side-effects'?

[Grizzly]

In our storyline, there was a subtle connection between the Stingray and the Character even before the formation. He made some testflights beforehand and even the guys from O were amazed how that ship responded to the Character. Afterwards our Telephat said to him that the Stingray wants to belong to him.

Quite odd. ::wacko

[Gideon]

I thought I would drop a comment over here...

There is a Sci-Fi series of novels I picked up a couple years ago, that were not very good. BUT the author had a unique take on Biotech and Star travel. It ironicly meshes very well with the Trinity settng.

A simplified description was:

Only living minds could navigate jump space. So humanity bred bio-tech to navigate their ships, over the years, the bio-ap became so advanced that it was in effect a unique sentient form of life. Thus with each generation of Bio-ap ships bred with each other, the bio-ap evolved a little.

Each ship had an inorganic plasteel infrasctucture, and Powersupply, and the rest of the ship was grown around it from the Egg pod of two mated ships. The end result was a ship that could only function if "bonded" with a Pilot. There were three breeds of ships as I recall. The Hunters (small agile combat fighters) Harvesters (large cargo ships), and the Hybrids (Explorers, mid-sized fighters loner ships). Only sihps that survived over a certain age were permited the honor of breeding, thus passing on the most benificial genetic variations among the ship biotech.

Anyway, food for thought, besides think of the impact when your ship gets the urge to procreate, what would happen to the pilot??? ::halo

My 2 cents.

[Nullifier]

Actually for living ships, you might want to check out the Night's Dawn Trilogy... Biotech(bitek) starships called Voidhawks and Blackhawks... They're bonded with their pilots, and have a habitation module attacked to their huge living bodies... They mate only when they're ready to die. Great space-opera series, if you're into that kinda thing...

[SnakeEyes]

Interesting... I'll have to read them.

Gideon, do you have any idea what the novels series was called, cos I might have a look...

For biotech ships, I'm reading 'Natural History' by Justina Robinson. All about ancient alien tech being discovered by a living, unmanned ship. Really cool.

[Datsun]

Well Omni-Tek products are up for grabs for the tech book along with all the other stuff I submitted ::smile I also have some new stuff thats not submitted yet. Also if you are feeling a little skimpy anywhere just tell me any what type of technology you need and I will try to come up with something.

Datsun

[Grizzly]

Living ships and the need for living pilots for hyperspace travel.

Two books woth reading:

Walter Jon Williams(on) "Angel Station" for a living alien spaceship and aliens

and

Timothy Zahn "Kriegspferd" (sorry, but I don´t know the original title) about the need for a living hyperspace pilot. Unfortunatelly, it is a oneway trip for the pilot, because he dies by flying through the hyperspace. They have to take terminally ill or death sentenced criminals for it. Quite dark.

[SnakeEyes]

Cheers Grizzly (again ::smile )

Datsun, I'm not really skimping anywhere (Though I currently only have 1 VARG, and that was Bahamut810's), I'm just looking for general tech, anything from the Biotech Toaster that Harlequin thought up (in a now ancient thread), to a Moth Extermination squad, to a supertank, to an orbital Doomsday weapon (I have one already ::devil ).

[madcat82]

Here is some stuff. I posted them elsewhere, but you might have missed them...

Zero-g Streetfighting

Zero-g Streetfighting, or Zero as it is more commonly called, turns a human in zero-g or vacuum into a living weapon, even when encumbered with a vacc-suit. This style was developed on Karroo mining station when the upeo was still up and about as humans and chromatics clashed together, often out on asteroids and on the station and its outposts itself. While it was moderatly effectiv against opponents who could shot laserbeams from there eyes, the ide got a grip and spreed from Karroo to the rest of the human colonys, almost allways to the criminal areas such as the pit. Zeros technices consists mostly of dirty tricks and cheating, with an emphasize on puting enemys in helpless situations. A trained Zero fighter can throw an opponent in zero-g in such a way that he will follow a vector (such as a corridor) or leave him hanging helplessly in mid-air. On the surface of a ship or station such a throw can send a foe without thrusters on a one-way tour of the galaxy. Clinches and grapples are also an important part of zero, as it is often used to gain enough momentum to break bones. All in all, it should be noted that there is no style nor any masters that you can go to to learn Zero, as it is more streetfighting than anything else. A person wishing to learn this had better try to learn it on his own.

System:

Zero is a brawl technique. A Zero practitioner gains two dice to accuracy on throws, one on clinches and holds and two dices to resist clinches and holds. It should be noted that when using Zero a street fighter is not subject to the penalties that follows when you fight in zero-g. On the other hand he or she suffers a +1 penalty when fighting in a gravity enviorment that is 1 g (normal earth gravity) or above.

Ultech TW08 Sonic Shuriken

Designed by Ultech, Sonic Shurikens appears to be small plastic disks, but when they are activated and thrown they "sprout" blades of sound, similar to the blades of sonic knifes. Due to its small power source, the sonic blades only lasts for a few seconds, but this is usualy enough time to hit the intended target. The disk in it self is very easy to conceal, which surprisingly have made it a favorable weapon among the Norqa.

Tech: Hard

Accuracy: 0

Damage: 4 B or L *

Concealability: P

Mass: 0.2

Cost: *

*: Ignores armor not designed to soak sound

[SnakeEyes]

Hmm... the Zero technique isn't tech, but it certainly sounds interesting. If you don't mind, I'll include that in my setting (only if you don't mind though).

And those shurikens sound like the weapon pack one of my friends came up with ('cept it was electrothermic laser and superheated plasma, not sound). I must have missed them, but I'll certainly include 'em! ::biggrin

Cheers madcat!

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Just wonderring if you're throwing in any of the stuff that Chill didn't put in the site's tech page from my old thread?

[SnakeEyes]

Do you want me to? No. Better question- Can I?

[Ayre el KaBeer]

What can? go for it mate, I really liked those toys of mine, you might want to ask some of the others who posted (i think it was only 1 other to be honest but I can't remember) if they don't mind you adding them. By the way I looked over that thread recently and realised I'd made a big mistake regarding you Al-Gads(sp?), I thought you had it at a mass of tons rather than kilo's.

[SnakeEyes]

I changed it to tonnes. It sounds more intimidating. just damned heavily armoured.