What does it even shoot?!

[CadetNewb]

Ok, I've been scratching my head over this for quite some time, but its only now that I've decided to dig. And since I've dug, I've come up with nada. Zip. So, now I'm asking anyone who'd be kind enough to answer; what does the NSP shoot? All I know is that it fires a 'scalar pulse' when used.

What's a scalar pulse? All I know is that it's messy based off of some roleplaying - the article didn't exactly tell me much when I read it. Hell, the Scalar Mine article kinda freaks me out here. Is it some sort of electromagnetic thing that's like electricity while somehow tied into gravity? Because that doesn't make sense to me at all. I just want to understand this a bit better; grasp what it's capable of and how it does what it's capable of. I mean, it's the effing main sidearm of the SAoY, and It's a mystery here. Well, to me anyways.

I always thought it was some sort of odd plasma weapon until now.

EDIT: Read in Shinji Ikari's English Voice

 

[Wes]

It is kind of complicated, but to summarize, it is a quantum potential based weapon that uses electrogravity interferometry to make a beam that induces a static electric type effect. The effect penetrates anything that doesn't block gravity. At low levels it can be used to shock nervous systems (NSP stun function) while at higher levels it can fry electronics, blow up explosives, and kill people. A telltale sign of death by scalar weapons is the bodies do no decompose normally because all the bacteria in the body are also killed. The Mishhu are known scalar weapon users; they once killed the entire Sakura crew with one.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Though, as I stated in the IRC, I think most people treat NSPs it as fancy energy weapons, because seriously. That up there? I can't, as a GM, effectively explain to a player how that works.

GM: "It kills bacteria, but not the body's cells."

Player: "It what? But bacteria are organic, just like flesh. How's that work?"

GM: \o/ "How should I know? I'm a journalist, not a quantum physicist."

Player: "Well, how does an NSP not kill someone with just one shot and fry everything else inside of them?"

GM: \o/

Player: "If I'm carrying satchel charges on me and what not, how do I protect them from big scalar waves?"

GM: \o/ "GM FIAT."

I'm not challenging Wes on his explanation, 'cause he's the man that knows, but the above is the GMing reality I know Fred faced, and I plan to follow suit. The scalar effect gets used when a player "calls" it (Rolf aimed his NSP at the barrel of fuel, ready to blow it sky-high), or when it's cool for the antagonists/mooks to use to heighten the danger and all that.

 

[Wolfe Whitehorn]

Well, it does in a sense make, well, sense. But a single small-arm fitted with this type of technology wouldn't be enough to fully disrupt the decomp cycle. Only large scale weapons with this kind of technology could do that, and it would effectively be by shocking the target to death and frying the bacterium on/within them.

Though one would imagine it would have to be an agonizing death and that the weapon's charge would drain relatively quick.

 

[Wes]

The "kill" setting of the NSP is a standard high energy beam that is not scalar.

The "stun" setting is the scalar one. Normal stun will incapacitate most species, resulting in brief severe pain then unconciousness. Loss of bodily control is expected like the effects of a taser. NSP stun pulses are meant for the body. A headshot may cause brain damage. NSP stuns have been known to cause cardiac arrest. Basic stun pulses will also fry most elevtronics and detonate anything explosive.

There is also a heavy stun setting designed for large creatures and Nekovalkyrja. Using it on humans can cause lasting nervous system injury.

The NSP's stun weapon is not designed to kill people or their cells.

To protect something from scalar waves, use gravity-manipulating tech like ship interior gravity generators or the hovering ability of a Neko or Yamataian.

 

[Frown-chan]

The "kill" setting of the NSP is a standard high energy beam that is not scalar.

What exactly is a "high energy beam?" A LASER? A GRASER? A MASER? A XASER? Plasma, particle stream, electromagnetically condensed napalm, dancing bunny rabbits with drums and cool shades?

 

[Doshii Jun]

Visually, the projectile always has been described as a short, solid, bright electric-blue line beam.

 

[Wes]

I've described it as a golden bolt of energy in my plot for visual effect, however I think we originally (back in 2005) had the NSPs shoot invisibly like the GP-12 does.

The actual type of beam used is incredibly unimportant in the story but for clarification, let's figure it out.

The Type 33 says it's identical in function to the Type 28, which is the successor to the 27 that says it uses "phased energy pulse technology to disrupt molecular bonds." So we know it's an energy pulse, not an energy beam.

Since NSPs have never been portrayed as penetrating, I'm thinking we should say it fires a small amount of very energized particles.

 

[CadetNewb]

So it's only the stun that's scalar then?

And what you're saying sounds like a particle bolt weapon then? The whole reason why I'm asking all this is so I can get a better idea of what does what, and of course, better describe how it makes the messes it does in RP's.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Man, we never thought gold. Always blue.

Gold it is then.

 

[Kai]

And what about the Heavy setting's purported ability to make grenade like explosions and/or splash damage?

 

[Wes]

Man, we never thought gold. Always blue.

Gold it is then.

On the Type 33 page, it says a large purple-white flash for the muzzle blast, so maybe we should go with purple?

And what about the Heavy setting's purported ability to make grenade like explosions and/or splash damage?

The heavy mode is just a five-times-more-powerful version of the normal setting.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Man, blue/purple/gold/green ...

I'm fine with purple-white; it's different from Star Trek's goldish beams.

That page has to be edited anyway to incorporate this discussion, which has be amazingly positive.

 

[CadetNewb]

It has!

Ok, to summarize what we got here so far:

The NSP only fires scalar pulses when in stun mode. Otherwise, it is a particle weapon in lethal mode. Have we settled on a bolt as Wes mentioned, or a particle beam a la Crest/Banner of the Stars? We've seemed to have come to agreeing on purple for the muzzle blast and beam color though. And as for the heavy mode, it's just the standard particle shot cranked up to 11, hence the big mess.

Did I miss anything else?

 

[Byrdman]

I don't know how noobish it is to say this, but this is my first post ever.

So, essentially what's happening is the NSP uses quantum forces to disrupt atomic bonds? That loosely explains how it can knock out a Nepleslian and blow up a barrel on the same setting; it all depends on how chemically volatile the target is.

If that's the case though, it would have a very minimal effect on stable, non conductive compounds like rubber or glass, essentially heating them up to melting point with a strong enough blast.

Not sure how helpful that is, but I read this thread and was interested thus I gave my two cents.