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[Iromakuanhe] EV II-related Articles

I'm a bit iffy about this VT blade thing; the way its described makes it sound like it can perform hot-knife-through-butter action against even the toughest alloy, which to my knowledge only the magic of aether-blades can do under proper circumstances. Unless, of course, the space-warping effects are negated by distortion fields or distortion shielding.

Is this the case with the VT blade system?
 
MoonMan said:
I'm a bit iffy about this VT blade thing; the way its described makes it sound like it can perform hot-knife-through-butter action against even the toughest alloy, which to my knowledge only the magic of aether-blades can do under proper circumstances.

That was more or less the point, but there are already analogues being produced by other nations, such as the Lorath's plasma saber technology. The DR of that device at its mecha scale is the same as the VT Blade System.

Unless, of course, the space-warping effects are negated by distortion fields or distortion shielding.

Is this the case with the VT blade system?

Arguably, anybody with any sort of shield up stands a better chance than someone without one. Although a GM is free to interpret distortion shields as being more effective than electromagnetic shields against this weapon, it doesn't really break the DR system. Unless you count having intimidating fluff as a way to do that.

I'd also like to go on record as saying that this is basically the apex of Iroma melee weapons. Improvements made to this weapon will be exclusively in the form of blades made of new materials or blades combined with other weapons.
 
Exhack said:
That was more or less the point, but there are already analogues being produced by other nations, such as the Lorath's plasma saber technology. The DR of that device at its mecha scale is the same as the VT Blade System.

DR aside, a melee weapon with the ability to, if I'm understanding these descriptions, pass through several inches of thick armor as easily as it passes through thin air sounds much more powerful than a Lorath plasma saber...and several other weapons currently in circulation. Even if it is melee-only.

Exhack said:
Arguably, anybody with any sort of shield up stands a better chance than someone without one. Although a GM is free to interpret distortion shields as being more effective than electromagnetic shields against this weapon, it doesn't really break the DR system.

In this circumstance, though, I only see one type of shield mattering when it comes to the proposed VT-Blade. There are other weapons that utilize space-warping and bending, with their effective countering being simple distortion-based shielding that, to my minimal sci-fi science knowledge, just stops all the space-tampering. I just want to know if this method of protection is going to be viable and how the blade would react if it were to come into contact with something that negated its space-warping properties.

Exhack said:
Unless you count having intimidating fluff as a way to do that.

There is intimidating fluff, and then there are descriptions of properties and effects and seem to outweigh the proposed DR rating given to the weapon. If this stuff can pass through armor that the DR equivalent (a tactical nuke or a Mindy 1H aether cannon) cannot, then I can see a potential for abuse.
 
MoonMan said:
DR aside, a melee weapon with the ability to, if I'm understanding these descriptions, pass through several inches of thick armor as easily as it passes through thin air sounds much more powerful than a Lorath plasma saber...and several other weapons currently in circulation. Even if it is melee-only.

It's also larger scale than most PA weapons, Moonie. This is to SARP melee weapons as anti-ship missiles carried by fighter-bombers are to the AIR2's mini-missiles.

The issue is still one of scale. The same way that it's silly for a tiny handgun to be as strong as a starship's main cannon, it is also silly for a three-meter blade projecting a distortion field to have the same power as a PA's vibrosaw knife.

I just want to know if this method of protection is going to be viable and how the blade would react if it were to come into contact with something that negated its space-warping properties.

What would probably happen is you would end up with two distortion fields impacting, with the weapon losing its distortive properties during impact and the shields having to expend more power in order to re-tune the distortion fields. In other words, the attack is blocked and shields are decreased in respects to the strength of the weapon's distortion field. If the shield's distortion field is weaker than that of the attacking weapon, then it is temporarily penetrated and the unit is struck (if applicable).

Or you subtract the weapon's DR from a shield's SP. If the shield threshold is lower than the weapon's rating, then some of the damage is transferred to the unit. However, this will only occur if the unit underneath was actually hit, since a blade might actually graze shields without impacting the armor.

There is intimidating fluff, and then there are descriptions of properties and effects and seem to outweigh the proposed DR rating given to the weapon. If this stuff can pass through armor that the DR equivalent (a tactical nuke or a Mindy 1H aether cannon) cannot, then I can see a potential for abuse.

I based the wording of certain segments such as 'bisect lightly armored powered armor' and 'remove the limbs of a powered frame' on the DR versus the armor SP of most designs in the SARP. A baseline Mindy (which I would consider a premier example of a lightly-armored unit) only has 6 SP, and the strongest mecha in the setting have an SP of 25. I thought it made sense, in that context.

A GM could just as easily interpret the weapon as basically warping the armor and weakening it by that whopping 5 MDR, making it susceptible to additional damage.
 
Ultimately, it is the DR of the weapon that matters most. The rest is fluff text, and to help describe the weapon effect. The Plasma Saber utilizes Plasmic Destabilization of matter on the molecular level. I.E melting/vaporizing it and possibly the bonds holding the molecules together. Including mild electrical discharges, and magnetic field damage to sensitive, unshielded electronics.

The VT does the same thing, but in a different way, lacking the electrical arcs, and magnetic field damage and the simple fact no plasma is involved.

Also: I would like to note, it may do this to Iromakuanhe materials it may take longer due to the meta materials the rest of the universe uses in comparison. But as I stated earlier. The DR is what matters most, Fluff is secondary.
 
Exhack said:
It's also larger scale than most PA weapons, Moonie. This is to SARP melee weapons as anti-ship missiles carried by fighter-bombers are to the AIR2's mini-missiles.

The issue is still one of scale. The same way that it's silly for a tiny handgun to be as strong as a starship's main cannon, it is also silly for a three-meter blade projecting a distortion field to have the same power as a PA's vibrosaw knife.

The technology in this weapon could be used in smaller scale, though. Scale isn't my issue, however; I'm not asking for a DR change, moreso for clarification of the fluff text and possible effects. You do have the tendency to add "side effects" and special properties to your submissions that affect use while not being in relation to DR, and I want to know if this armor-thickness-negating fluff text is or isn't something like that.

The fluff just sounds much more menacing than the actual DR implies...that's my main problem. You usually NOTE special properties for readers (like you have in the hypercarbon armor), though...so I am probably misinterpreting the description. The power of the weapon isn't much to my concern since Exhack has confirmed that the weapon can be guarded against with the right methods.

I just want to know if it's DR5...and just DR5 plain and simple, without any bells, whistles and homing lasers.
 
-Rubs his chin- Well...at present I don't see much fuss over the armor. To the point of their being none. So, any further responses on the VT systems?
 
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