Ion weapons.

[RainOfSteel]

I have always thought of Rifts Ion weaponry as being electron guns. Basically, lightning bolt projectors.

[J. Lionheart]

Well, according to the offical stuff in RUE, Ion Beams are similar to lasers, but are a bit more damaging. They burn and irradiate the thing they hit, effectively cooking it and anything around it.

Being as it specifies that lasters are silent and recoiless (except for noise generators added to the guns), and it doesn't say otherwise for ion beams, I get the impression ion beams are as well.

I think of them as like a concentrated microwave or something... cooking and irradiating.

[TechnoGothic]

Ion Guns fire charged Ions.

Remember B5 the series...
Those hand guns were Ion-based.

They hit hard. HARD.
They Hit doing damage. Then the enegy burns flesh around the wound deeply. Think electrical burns here ppl. Nasty.

Ion Beams are the deadly versions of Stun-maces basicly.
While Stun-maces inflict minor SDC damages and can knock you out (stunguns), Ion Guns take it a step further. Instead of Stunning, the purpose is to kill...fast.

Ion Beams should have a seconardy effect much like a stungun if you survive it somehow...

Of course as with any MDC weapon, if you survive it, your KOed anyway from massive trauma to the body...

Lasers Burns/sears you
Ions Fries you
Particle Beams Vaporize/mists you
Plasma incenerates/ashes you

[Esckey]

If you've seen War of the Worlds with Cruise then you've seen Ion guns in my game. Those big bolts of technicolor the tripods fire. Thats what they look like in my games, just more blueish.

[Qev]

Should I start posting in this thread?

Personally, I think all energy weapons should look like the cool purple/blue beam weapons from Terminator 2 (the flash-forward scenes), just because that was cool.

[Dead Boy]

I found a different kind of take on Ion Beams that is 100% based on real things they are doing right now. Using that I included the idea in a Rifter article I submitted a few weeks ago, and the following is a small porting form it, relevent to the subject at hand.

Though there are a few different kinds of ion beams, the purely energy-based ion “blasters” don’t actually project ions. They create ions out of thin air. First a pair of UV lasers shoot out to the target. These beams ionize two streams of air between the weapon and the target which serve as closed circuit conductor between the two. A split second there after a massive electrical discharge is shot down the ionized air circuits frying the target with more power than a lightning bolt, ionizing the victim. When the killer zap hits a person not only does it begin to vaporize him like an MD rated laser would, but also the electricity flows through the target’s entire body cooking the poor victim all at once. This inflicts a vaporized wound at the beam’s point of impact, but also additional vaporization and thermal damage throughout the body as whole. Given a powerful enough hit, it is possible for a single ion blast to “mist” an entire person in a single shot. This is a trick even a mega damage laser can’t do, but there are very few ion weapons that pack this much punch.

[Zer0 Kay]

Ion Guns fire charged Ions.

Remember B5 the series...
Those hand guns were Ion-based.

They hit hard. HARD.
They Hit doing damage. Then the enegy burns flesh around the wound deeply. Think electrical burns here ppl. Nasty.

Ion Beams are the deadly versions of Stun-maces basicly.
While Stun-maces inflict minor SDC damages and can knock you out (stunguns), Ion Guns take it a step further. Instead of Stunning, the purpose is to kill...fast.

Ion Beams should have a seconardy effect much like a stungun if you survive it somehow...

Of course as with any MDC weapon, if you survive it, your KOed anyway from massive trauma to the body...

Lasers Burns/sears you
Ions Fries you
Particle Beams Vaporize/mists you
Plasma incenerates/ashes you

B5 Handguns were plasma based according to their tech manual [quote="Babylon 5 Security Manual" PPG: The phased plasma gun fires a "bolt" that is an extremely hot charge of energized helium (plasma) in a magnetic containment field...[/quote]

[Zer0 Kay]

If you've seen War of the Worlds with Cruise then you've seen Ion guns in my game. Those big bolts of technicolor the tripods fire. Thats what they look like in my games, just more blueish.

what not the sparky beams from the old War of the Worlds. With the funky warbling sound.

[Zer0 Kay]

Should I start posting in this thread?

Personally, I think all energy weapons should look like the cool purple/blue beam weapons from Terminator 2 (the flash-forward scenes), just because that was cool.

Wow your not bringing up how much recoil an Ion gun would have

[Qev]

That's based off of an IRL UV-laser stungun design, isn't it? I read something about that... it's supposed to be able to knock down a person (or car!) at about a mile range, IIRC...

If an ion weapon is firing charged particles at the target, for all practical purposes doesn't that make it a particle beam weapon?

[Qev]

Wow your not bringing up how much recoil an Ion gun would have

Who, me?

[Zer0 Kay]

That's based off of an IRL UV-laser stungun design, isn't it? I read something about that... it's supposed to be able to knock down a person (or car!) at about a mile range, IIRC...

If an ion weapon is firing charged particles at the target, for all practical purposes doesn't that make it a particle beam weapon?

How do you knock down a car? I didn't know they were standing up. Is this going to turn into car tipping?

I always figured the difference between ion and particle weapons was how the damage is caused. Though the PW's use charged particles this is just to allow the mass driver within the weapon to project them. They should also use lasers a nano-second before it launches the particles in order to clear a path of other particulate matter and extend range. Then the mass of particles are launched when it hits the target it creates millions of micro holes. If a sufficiently hard target is available it could cause micro explosions.

Ion I had always thought was an electron gun, which I guess would still be firing particles.

[Dead Boy]

That's based off of an IRL UV-laser stungun design, isn't it? I read something about that... it's supposed to be able to knock down a person (or car!) at about a mile range, IIRC...

If an ion weapon is firing charged particles at the target, for all practical purposes doesn't that make it a particle beam weapon?

Indeed it does! That's why I went with the approach I did.

[PigLickJF]

Yep, I agree with Dead Boy, basically just a lightning gun. Probably looks like a bright bluish/purplish-white flash (though not as forked as natural lightning) and sounds like a thunderclap (probably not as loud as natural lightning, depending on the power of the weapon and the range at which it's fired).

PigLick

[Qev]

:-? How do you knock down a car? I didn't know they were standing up. Is this going to turn into car tipping?

LOL! Well, okay, not actually knocking over a car. Killing the engine electronics, is what I meant.

[Nxla666]

Actually, I use the Destabilizer from Robotech as a basis for additional effects for ion weapons, as for looks, like a ball of blue electricity.

[Zer0 Kay]

:-? How do you knock down a car? I didn't know they were standing up. Is this going to turn into car tipping?

LOL! Well, okay, not actually knocking over a car. Killing the engine electronics, is what I meant.

So would you say that the gun produces a magnetic field in electronics or simply over powers the circuits? Oh sorry that question is too serious for most of our conversations. So I'll ask this instead. So does it Kill the electronics using a knife or it's imposing personality maybe an electronic horror factor?

[Zer0 Kay]

Actually, I use the Destabilizer from Robotech as a basis for additional effects for ion weapons, as for looks, like a ball of blue electricity.

Nah don't use the destabilizer use the missile from the prototype in one of the other RT sourcebooks. Don't remember the books name though.

[The Beast]

If you've seen War of the Worlds with Cruise then you've seen Ion guns in my game. Those big bolts of technicolor the tripods fire. Thats what they look like in my games, just more blueish.

I was wondering what they were. We were debating on if they were plasma. I didn't think they were, because the victims' clothing were mostly intact, but the people were vaporized instantly.

[Zer0 Kay]

Could it knock over 7-11s as well? Because that would be extremely useful if it could.

With all this knocking over can it knock up? I'd hate to be blamed for some girl getting pregnant because I shot her. self

[Zer0 Kay]

If you've seen War of the Worlds with Cruise then you've seen Ion guns in my game. Those big bolts of technicolor the tripods fire. Thats what they look like in my games, just more blueish.

I was wondering what they were. We were debating on if they were plasma. I didn't think they were, because the victims' clothing were mostly intact, but the people were vaporized instantly.

Hmm the clothes should go up too though if they are ion guns. Wonder if they use some kind of controlled nutron beam? Then again that is just death by irridiation isn't it?

[Qev]

So would you say that the gun produces a magnetic field in electronics or simply over powers the circuits? Oh sorry that question is too serious for most of our conversations. So I'll ask this instead. So does it Kill the electronics using a knife or it's imposing personality maybe an electronic horror factor?

I'm guessing it's inducing a current in the circuitry of the car's computer, hosing things like fuel injection and whatnot. I dunno much about cars, sadly.

Although I like the electronic horror factor idea! I wonder what the HF to a home computer is for a three-year-old in wool socks, scrubbing his feet across the carpet?

[Qev]

If you've seen War of the Worlds with Cruise then you've seen Ion guns in my game. Those big bolts of technicolor the tripods fire. Thats what they look like in my games, just more blueish.

I was wondering what they were. We were debating on if they were plasma. I didn't think they were, because the victims' clothing were mostly intact, but the people were vaporized instantly.

Hmm the clothes should go up too though if they are ion guns. Wonder if they use some kind of controlled nutron beam? Then again that is just death by irridiation isn't it?

Spontaneous Human Combustion beams.

[Esckey]

Well all it was doing basically was vaporizing anything with water, mostly. Think theres a few scenes where they went through buildings to hit people.

[The Beast]

And a couple cars as well. Then again, maybe the people were exploding as they were hit and that's why their clothes were flying off. Or maybe it falls under BILC.

[-Juicer-]

In the Rifts games I usually run, the group pretty has set mental imagery for when the weapons fire (no joke; we've talked about it ). This is my take on the various energy weapons o' horrible maiming death employed by friend and foe alike.

Lasers: Slight change from canon; they make a sharp, swift "hissing" sound, which culminates in a audiable slicing impact when they burn/strike into their target (usually in the same breath). The beams are also at least partially visible; wavering-to-clear beams of (usually) red energy, due to the sheer amount of power behind each shot (making the energy radiant, or somesuch...hell, don't ask me. I'm not a physics type )

Ion Weapons: Similar to lasers, but a clear electric blue/brilliant white with a wavy or fuzzy/lightning aspect around the actual charge. Also, fires bolts rather than beams; extremely fast travel rate. Sharp cracking sound when they fire, and anything hit suffers crawling lightning effects/cosmetic damage to nearby electronics/nasty damage.

Plasma Weapons: Fun fun fun Charged bolts of brilliant yellow/orange or purple/blue plasma, glowing and with a travel time to make accuracy not an issue but enough to make an enemy soil himself at the though of being hit by the things. The bolt is more of an electromagnetic "packet" for the plasma; when the bolts impact, they spray like exploding napalm, and flash-vaporize whatever they strike in that splash in a few milliseconds. Big, loud, and the charging shot carries with it a whining power-up sound and some nice recoil when it fires. I sometimes describe stuff like heavy deuterium cannisters used as heavy element "fuel" by the gun as being visible, but it has absolutely no-game effect, just adds a bit more variety than having a simple E-clip. Of course, as long as you have e-clips, it never empties..if you ever know it's there. Viva la NG-E4A!

Particle beam Weapons: Oooh...since these are the big boys, I usually asign them a sci-fi feel. An "energy weapon" sound (how the hell do you describe science fiction film energy weapon shot sounds in text?!), muzzle flash, and a thick beam/bolt of brilliant white or green energy that appears between the gun and the target; its travel time so fast that it appears to bridge the gap between the two for a moment, followed by a miss (energy vanishes just as fast across the horizon), or impact (biiiig explosion of energy/bits of person). These weapons *always* have recoil in our games; also, since they use accelerated heavy particles, a hit from a particle beam wepaon leaves a lingering trace of radiation that fades in a short time (also not enough to cause problems; like the heavy element cannisters, it's purely a descriptive point).

Of course, we have other images too...and every deviates some way Ultimately., it's what makes your game visually fun and cool that's important. There's room for every interpretation; go nuts if you like Star Wars-style blaster bolts for lasers if you like. Don't try to apply realistic physics; it will only make your head hurt

-Juicer-
> It was not me, officah...just the ninjas in my eyelids.