Glitter Boys spending an action to 'plant' pylons

[Thinyser]

The Recoil Suppression System has two components:
1. The Telescoping Anti-Sway Pylons
2. Recoil Dampening Thrusters

CB1, p. 9 says:
It counts as shooting wild for "The subsequent blasts after the firs tburst form a Glitter Boy's boom gun if the Glitter Boy is NOT secured to the ground (the recoil suppression systems must be engaged; thrusters and pylons). If the Glitter Boy is secured by a properly engaged recoil suppression system, the boom gun fires like a normal burst weapon."

Ok Now even I am confused here.

Can sombody please explain what a normal bust weapon fires like?

Each pull of the trigger fires off one burst.

And what is a burst?

Multiple rounds in succession.

The boomgun fires single flechette rounds not multiple in succession as a burst so is not a bursting weapon.

If it was a bursting weapon it would be a super weapon beyond compare.

[Killer Cyborg]

And what is a burst?

Multiple rounds in succession.

The boomgun fires single flechette rounds not multiple in succession as a burst so is not a bursting weapon.

Yet the books occasionally refer to the boom gun's firing of 200 simultaneous flechette rounds as a "burst."

[Thinyser]

And what is a burst?

Multiple rounds in succession.

The boomgun fires single flechette rounds not multiple in succession as a burst so is not a bursting weapon.

Yet the books occasionally refer to the boom gun's firing of 200 simultaneous flechette rounds as a "burst."

Retarded.

[Killer Cyborg]

I always kind of thought that they could deploy automatically, but retracting them to change positions would take an action. You could retract the pylons and change your position/field of fire in the same action, but not attack until the next action. I don't think that's in the book, but it seemed reasonable to me.

Not to me.

Rifts, 222
"Pylons and toe hooks are initiated through hydraulics. Release hydraulic pressure and both return to original position."

Seems to indicate that they retract automatically.

Would you ever make any other character spend an entire action just to turn around?

[Phadeout]

Well, I still think World Book 5 did it right (I apply this rule to all glitter boys using pylons):

Page 48 World Book 5: Triax Glitterboy

-1 to dodge penalty (-3 when pylons are engaged)


Now... Why didn't they just apply this to all the glitterboys? I like the rule, and I think it suites all glitterboys, so I use it. Plus no one can say it's not canon (since like... 1994...)

The way I work it, all glitterboys are -1 to dodge, -3 to all dodge attempts after firing the boomgun, until the character takes an action that does not involve firing the boomgun.


cheers

[The Beast]

Maybe it was a fix and then they forgot about it in later versions. Either that or it only applies to that type of Glitter Boy.

[Kagashi]

Can I point out something here?

SB1 was replaced by SB1:R.

RMB was replaced by RUE.

In both RUE and SB1:R, all these references mentioned in previous examples of this thread were left out in the new and improved version of Rifts, so they are no longer canon (nice to read and keep on your bookshelf, but hardly canon).

The only reference that remains is a sized-down illustration by Kevin Long (which 97% of board members don't count as canon) on page 73 of RUE that states the gun will not fire w/o the pylons (so 97% of you guys would think its nothing to argue over).

I read that as if PB considers the firing of the boom gun as no different than the firing of any other weapon system on any other power armor or bot anymore. No more shooting wild penalties, no more penalties to dodge while the pylons are engaged.

One shot, toe hooks engage, pylons extend, jets fire off...then pylons retract, toe hooks dis-engage, and jets cease to support the Glitter Boy...all in one action. The whole description of the boom gun in RUE simply is showing us the mechanics of the firing process, but mentions nothing about GAME mechanics.

[Kagashi]

It makes sense to keep the pylons engaged should you continue to fire. Perhaps its like the safety on your lawn mower, where you have to have a lever or toggle pressed down to fire. You can either hold the toggle down with one hand, engaging the pylons then fire when ever you want by pulling the trigger with the other, or when the trigger is pulled, it also engages the toggle to engage the pylons and retracts when you let go of the trigger (unless you are holding the toggle down with your other hand that is). Either way, game mechanics say, it doesnt cost an action to do one way or another.

[Subjugator]

As always Killer Cyborg is right.

When it comes to factual information, if KC says something, you can generally bet on it.

/Sub

[Zer0 Kay]

I love the GB, but I'm still up in the air about this. I know that it should take an action to deploy and retract, but I don't know if I've ever actually played it that way.

Why should it? You turn aim and pull the trigger. Before it fires it deploys the pylons and anchor toe claws (hopefully the efeet are planted on something solid) and then the cannon fires. If the GB goes to move the feet the pylons and anchors retract just as fast as they deployed costing the GB no action. That is why I had thought the pylon would be a great weapon because it deploys deep enough to anchor the GB in a single (the first time the cannon is fired) action. But then they published that the pylon does 1MD. Dang so much for using it to breach a CS Spider Skull Walker's Hull.

[Kryzbyn]

As always Killer Cyborg is right.

When it comes to factual information, if KC says something, you can generally bet on it.

/Sub

And half the time you won't want him to be
But he's still right most of the time.

[R Ditto]

I can see the GB having 'dual' triggers, sort of like on a jet fighter, one that is operated by the trigger finger, one operated by the thumb.

Thumb trigger pressed 'arms' the recoil compensation system (a 'safety' trigger of sorts), pulling the main trigger activates the pylons, fires the jets and fires the gun.

Release the thumb trigger and the pylons retract, hold it in, they remained deployed, in case the pilot needs to fire rapid shots in rapid succession without drilling a 20ft deep holes below the pylons as laser drills fire down already dug holes.

Toss in a 'switch' of some sort, also operated by the thumb, to 'set' the recoil compensation thrusters (maybe 5 settings, fully armed, jets only, pylons only, 'short deploy and lock' for positions designed to handle a GB such a the one FQ GB transport, and fully disarmed), and a second thumb trigger to manually deploy the pylons.

This kind of stuff could help to explain some of the stuff of how the pylons and jets are automatic and how they could be pre-deployed or the weapon even fired without using the pylons, such as instance where the GB might be somplace where it cannot or it is otherwise not safe to use the jets and/or pylons... or if you want to fire the gun and fall back at the same time, shoot the enemy and skid back on the GB's rear 30ft to avoid something like incoming artillery.