[TML] RTT FGMP

[Jerry W Barrington]

On 7/13/08 7:23 PM, "Garry Ward" <garry.e.ward at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jerry W Barrington" <jerry.barrington at gmail.com>
> To: "TML" <tml at travellercentral.com>
> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 6:18 PM
> Subject: Re: [TML] RTT FGMP
> 
> 
>> On 7/13/08 5:16 PM, "Garry Ward" <garry.e.ward at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> From: "Richard Aiken" <raikenclw at gmail.com>
>>> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 4:58 PM
>>> 
>>>> I would think it obvious: it keeps PCs who manage to "acquire" the
>>>> weapon from using it unless they *also* manage to "acquire" a suit of
>>>> battledress.  Or are willing to go into combat wearing a rad suit over
>>>> their usual armor . . .
>>> 
>>> Yeah, that seems to be the only viable reason I can think of.
>>> 
>>> Rather heavy handed approach.
>>> 
>>> And definitely has impacts for military uses. They'd have absolute no way
>>> to
>>> deploy it unless positive that there no non combatants anywhere around.
>>> 
>>> Either that or kiss good bye to any rules about not using nukes.
>> 
>> Well, it isn't a nuke, as such.  It doesn't cause massive damage and
>> long-lasting radiation effects over many square km.
> 
> Ah, emitting (omnidirectionally) potentially lethal doses of radiation every
> time it is fired would tend to irradiate the surrounding ground and
> structures for some period of time (after all, the containment vessels for
> reactors become radioactive themselves as they are used).

True, there will be some induced radioactivity.  But any given thing will
only receive a (relatively) small and brief exposure, so shortly after the
battle, I don't imagine you'd even notice it significantly about the
background level.

> How many km^2 get hit depends on how many FGMPs are in use.
> 
> And if they leak that much radiation when used, what happens when they take
> a hit themselves? Not addressed in the rules, but if they're leaking
> radiation like that, the insides of them must be rather radioactive
> themselves.

And the outsides, and the surface of the battledress, and all the gear the
marines carry, and the transport they're standing next too...  :)

> By your definition (don't do massive damage, small footprint) FGMPs of this
> kind don't seem much different from collapsing nuclear rounds. This would
> make what constitutes a legal vs illegal tactical nuke a rather gray area.

I'm not familiar with "collapsing nuclear rounds".  But in Traveller, what's
legal seems mostly related to what you can get away with without provoking
the Imperium.