Stephane

This sounds excessive, +5 in addition to +3 from smartgun+targeting scope cyber option ! Add the D-Tek to the pack and now you're spraying lead with a one-hand assault rifle at Ref+skill+8 (!) while ignoring adjustment for moving target...

I would state such thing as at most allowing to get the +2 bonus for braced gun even when standing, and an extra +1 to an already supported (bipod, tripod...) gun for long/Extreme range only.

Also a reflex booster is not necessary to gain use of such a module, as the neural processor already has access to the motion centers of the brain (REF-skill can be chipped, right ?)

Technically I'd say yes, and probably even for the current 120/125 mm.

Now tactically (or diplomatically) I'm not sure it will be useful.

Multiple layers will help only by increasing the overall thickness of the material, and thus the absorbption. Now 40 cm (about 1.3 foot !) of the stuff was needed to stop 90% of cobalt-60 emitted gamma rays, so in suit-compatible thickness it won't do much difference...

"Gamma ray" is like "bullet", the term cover a very wide range of energy and penetration - stopping a 9 mm NATO pistol bullet doesn't mean you can do much when facing a .50 BMG, and cumulating a lot of small individials impacts can still get you in trouble !

I've given a look at their site, and read the rapports.

To summarize the conclusions of the rapports, this stuff, in term of radiation protection, gives 1/4 what lead would give for the same thickness, but it's roughly 4 times less dense so you get a comparable protection for a given weight per surface unit.

Compared to lead it has the advantage of being much easier to work and non-toxic.

There are still a lot of practical problems. Besides, the kind of device this technology is likely to produce will release most of the energy in  a pulse of gamma photons.

"Hardened" targets like ACPA or armored vehicules will be disabled by frying organical and possibly electronical components of the system (the crew and the controls) rather than by blast/concussion. It takes meters of concrete to stop high-energy gamma rays...

As for an ACPA, any direct hit by artillery shell (even simply HE) is more than enough to kill the suit. Something along the line of a sub-ammo dispersing explosive-formed and propelled kinetic penetrators over the battlefield will do the trick without "going nuclear".

I think you've got it. It's not round to use, it's rounds to sell    !

For the considered situation (If I understand well extended movement in a rain forest) the pack will be heavier than just the "operationnal" load, as some survival gear/food/etc... will be carried along weapons, ammo and the like.

They may drop the "survival" load before assault proper and retrieve it after, but I don't know if this procedure is "normal" in a military context (when you drop something, you are not sure you'll be able to get it back !)

From the same source as the load, it's actually a discarding sabot loaded with shots, with air scoops along it's circumference so that it quickly fall behind while the shots continue on their way to the target(s).

As for recoil, the M-79 is weighted at 2.9 kg loaded (just a bit lighter than most semi-auto/pump action shotguns) so I agree, recoil should not be a problem with the full-size weapon used normally (twho-handed, stock used).

With the sawed-of version suggested by Rockwolf it's another matter...

Also for the intimidation power an Ithaca stakeout, with it's 4 shots, faster pointing and the well-known noise of the pump action is good too, with the added bonus the guys in front of them know you are safe from your weapon even at close range, which is not obvious with a grenade launcher - if they're close enough they may even think a standard grenade won't have enough travel to arm and try something stupid.

But they are nearly AP mine-proof, so I guess thinks balances out  

I've found stats saying 20 No. 4 buckshot (20x1,2 grams), but (because of the low pressure and short barrel of the launcher) the initial velocity was about 2/3rd of a shotgun, meaning half energy to each pellet.

So I'd say yes to the wider area, but no to the damage increase - the increase in number of hits being balanced by the velocity reduction.

Also be careful when handling such a beast ! A quick calculation give me  roughly the same recoil as a 12 gauge buckshot round (60 grams at 270 m/s vs 42 grams at 360 m/s).

Considering the size of the weapon, the difficulty to get ammo for it, the small diffrence in effectiveness and it's single-shot, the "classical" 12 gauge sawed-off break-open shotgun souds a more rational choice.

Also it's much easier for police/corporate Security/whoever is after you to track some nutter with a grenade launcher than a shotgun user !

Giving some don't-ask-who-made-me software direct access to your brain doesn't exactly sound like a very good idea.

Who knows, maybe this "Demolition and home-made explosives" chipware is actually an Arasaka (or some government agency !) brew designed to get "socially unadjusted" individuals killing themselves ?

Better give the thing a thorough check before plugging !

MV is fine for things like jumping or running full tilt (for exemple in combat), but is not that useful for long time periods.

It's the most important stat for a sprinter. He will be able to outpace most marathons racers on the first 400 meters, but is likely to fall on the roadside panting after the first few miles.

That's where Endurance skill (and BODy stat) comes into play, along with the carried load.

I'd suggest averaging MV and Endurance skill for long durations (30 mins and up) to get a base speed.

I think "yes but..."

- it's hard to do intense physical activities while breathing only through the nose

- you'll probably need to change the filters quite often. Not very difficult and not too expensive (maybe 10 eb for a filter set), but done daily cost is rising quickly

In such a situation most of my PC's will probably go for Raven's rebreathers - they're designed to filter pollution. Sure you'll probably end with a wasted smell sense, but you're able to act without gasping like a fish out of water.

As for modifiers, I'd suggest a hefty penalty to Endurance skill, and -1 to -2 "exhaustion" penalty after a few rounds of intense physical activities.

If I remember well, the problem is because of the nature of the surface : it's not smooth, but "textured" to absorb radiowawes in the radar bands. Water "fills" the texture and reduce absorbtion significatively.

There is some important point to set :

Is this a "legitimate" operation or not ? Police-style (get a fleeing minor daugther back to her family) or black-op style (get the bitch, no matter the cost and no, it's not Arasaka who did it) ? Do they care for the health of the target, or just want to get her, even if only barely alive ?

Bacause even if the operational procedure is likely to look he similar (freakboy did a good job on this), some points will change :

- display or not of Arasaka logos

- maybe loudspeaker blaring at top volume "This a police operation, hands up and don't resist or you may be hurt"

- the general policy - mostly neutralisation (say snipers and some powerful and accurate fire for nutcases, autoshotguns with flashbang/rubber bullets - stun them all and sort later) or killing everyone but the target - "Cookie cutter" chipping and image processing software comes handy

- witnesses allowed or not ?

Well, if you want to quickly disable a vehicule you don't have a lot of options.

Technically the simplest (and still quite effective !) is a top-directed shaped charge - punch through armor and fry what's behind.

Going the "hi-tech gizmo" route you may launch a self-gripping gas discharger with a drilling injector - the thing clamps to the underbody, drill a hole and inject it's payload inside. The trick point is being able to attach the thing to a moving car. Or some crawling mini-bots having fun with the mechanical parts...

Small but effective : a homing beacon - now the heavy-duty stuff has better chances to hit the designed target

A length of high strength cable send into the wheels - this may wrap around the transmission and block/damage the system but I'm not sure

I remember a "Dirty Harry" movie (or was another, but Clint was in it for sure) where radio-controlled toy cars loaded with explosives wer used to blow real cars.

Delivering small charges on strategic elements (like the suspension system) is likely to be done only when the vehicule is stopped or moving slowly. Also in trafic you have to be careful during the "approach" phase there are other cars, and if the target can't see you, neither did the other road-users !

Note : the E-Harpoon has much better range, faster flight, can be used on all sort of terrain on heavy, armored, electronically hardened targets. IMHO it's like comparing a MP5 with a .50 machinegun !

On a large submarine this sound useless - you need a thick hull for the non-LBM areas so you can't save weight by reducing structural strength, and if the hull is strong enough to be air-filled the crew has a much easier time operating in air.

On a small, "sub-fighter" or exploration/work sub the crew area isn't too big so you can probably fill it completely. Add some interface-controlled drones for sampling/working/emergency repairs and you may get a workable deep operations concept, but some problems remains. The most likely limitation is the endurance of the crew. Bathing in liquid for days is not very good for the skin, also feeding and elimination of body wastes can be difficult.

If the crew is "encased" and does everything through interface and drones, for "common" applications (not too deep) it's probably easier to have pressure-resistant, dry "storage tanks" (individuals or collective - individuals ones are more likely on military units as it's more expensive and not really necessary except for "redundancy" of the crew in case of damage) in a "wet" hull linking the functionnal elements of the sub and giving hydrodynamic shape. The "tanks" may also double as escape pods.

For really deep interventions LBM-filled "tanks" can be used with the same general design, but I'm not sure the gain is worth the troubles.

A radio-triggered "home" implant can be useful to ease recuperation, snakes have the bad habit of going into small, hot (and often unconvenient) places - I remember taking nearly 5 minutes to get back one who nested between a hot-water radiator and the wall - the problem whas to get it out without damage from scraping against the (rough) wall.

What is likely to happen when his (probably metallic) blade is paried huriedly by one of his victims with a (metallic also) knife, or is dodged and rips a concrete wall or metal pipe... Nice sparks - and this can happen also with ceramic (read monoblade) against steel - any *un*convenient piece of kit on the poor guy neatly cut in half can do the trick...

Old black powder storages had a wooden floor nailed with bronze nails, to avoid striking sparks with the steel-nailed shoes of the users, and in highly-explosive areas they sometimes even use copper or bronze tools precisely because they don't generate sparks.

Street Index (the multiplier for buying something illegally) is not applied at creation, but you cannot buy items above a defined availability, thus keeping the most juicy/outrageous items out of reach of a newly generated character.

Brought up a racist ? Funny then to see her use a (yuck !) *chinese* martial art 8).

Yes, there are some problems. I'll take two exemples right out the core rules, assumung two average persons (BODy 5/6, thus no damage bonus and -2 BTM) without armor :

brass knuckles hit to the head, no martial art

if you substract BTM after the doubling, a damage roll of 3 or above (66%) automatically kills the target (damage roll of 3+2=5, x2=10, -2=8).

If BTM is used before doubling, you still have 50% of killing the guy...

The tonfa-wielding killer cop

With damages of 3d6, tonfa or nunchakus are deadly against uunprotected "average" target. The average damage roll (10 to 11 damage) mangle a limb (8 or 9 damage left) and kills 40% of the time(Death save Mortal 0). It also nearly automatically kills if hitting the head - you need to roll 3 or 4 with 3d6 to avoid this - approximatively 99% kills...

Well, assuming a whole clip expended I'm not particularly impressed, a 30-round clip of 9 mm could probably have done the same - cinder blocks is not a particularly strong building material.

Note : I've found a web page about the weapon, but it was called AM-180 and not AR-180.

I'd suggest upgrading the gun to an ammo with a bit more punch like the 5.7 FN - sure you've half the shots for the weight, but each one that hit is likely to penetrate soft armors and do a bit of damage to the meat behind, instead of having to wait to put 10 rounds in the same body area to begin to do something - close grouping is harder to achieve on a moving target than on a wall, even with high RoF...

Just a question : how many round to get this result ?