Rifts "Sniper"

[Dustin Fireblade]

Rifter #23 has a great article on CS snipers, might want to take a look at that.

[kmspade]

I found a "combat sniper" skill online somewhere that someone wrote and have been using it in the Rifts PBP game I play in. Since I didn't write it, I won't post it here, but I can give you a link to the character sheet so you can take a look at it.

http://www.explorersunlimited.com/eu/vi ... 380&t=6074

It's towards the bottom of the first post. Anyway, the groups mage recently cast Chameleon on him, and his TX-42 with spec ops mods is currently set to no visible emission and no noise emission. With the proper set up time, he's been popping nasties at about 1000 ft for several melee rounds now. Anyway, we've been playtesting this skill, as found on the PC sheet, and have found it to work well for us.

You can read up on the action here.

Shameless plug: If you're interested in the game, we do have one or two spots open for a Russian OCC. We are a squad of NGR spec ops types with a very open recruitment policy. We are currently on a mission in mother Russia and are fighting for our lives north of New Moscow. Since our plane was attacked by demons and crash landed, we've been irradiated, dehydrated, hypothermiated (is that a word?) and attacked by ghosts and tectonic entities. Good Times!

[Shawn Merrow]

I found a "combat sniper" skill online somewhere that someone wrote and have been using it in the Rifts PBP game I play in. Since I didn't write it, I won't post it here, but I can give you a link to the character sheet so you can take a look at it.

That is partially something I wrote years ago with some changes by someone else. I'm glad its still being used.

[kmspade]

Haha! What goes around comes around I guess. We've found it to be a great skill and have had a blast using it. Thanks for writing it!

[kmspade]

That would work well I think. And yes, I agree the range on energy weapons generally sucks.

I have only been shooting things at about 1000 ft because we are in a canyon and thats all the visibility I have at the moment. But consider the fact that he's under the chameleon spell and using a silent and invisible weapon and the effect is about the same.

He also has a rifle that fires physical rounds, not unlike the Barrett .50 cal, but as we are currently fighting ghosts, only energy weapons can damage them, thus he's using the TX-42. His "real" sniper rifle fires explosive rounds, has a range of 3000 ft, and does 2d6x10 MD. If you scroll down further on the character sheet listed above you will see it.

Since the original author of the skill is following this thread, I'd love to see you post it once you've remodified it, with his permission of course.

[Shawn Merrow]

I would have no problem and would like to see it to.

[Shorty Lickens]

In a world of MDC EBA and power armor, sniping is not nearly as useful as it was.
Also, I do not believe Sniper is a character class all by itself. To me it always seemed to be a specialization of your basic soldier, in any game system.

[kmspade]

The character I'm playing is an NGR Intelligence Commando, with the combat sniper skill. In my opinion, the combat sniper skill makes sniping useful again, even in Rifts.

[Rallan]

In a world of MDC EBA and power armor, sniping is not nearly as useful as it was.
Also, I do not believe Sniper is a character class all by itself. To me it always seemed to be a specialization of your basic soldier, in any game system.

Except that with high-powered laser weapons, sniping ought to be easier than ever before. Lasers aren't affected by wind, and they travel in a straight path so you don't have to worry about distance and elevation when working out where to aim. And the weapon hits its target pretty much instantaneously, so you also don't have to worry about leading your target if its moving. And since these are weapons capable of doing enough MDC points to slag 20th century tank at 2000', it's pretty safe to assume that they've got more than enough energy to still do some pretty serious damage even if you're plinking away at a target who's ten miles away on the horizon.

So by rights, sniping ought to be an extremely popular tactic. After all, the only thing you need now is a steady enough hand to get the target in your sights and bam, you can hit him. The only conceivable downside is that it'd be pretty much impossible to conceal your position when you're firing mega-damage lasers in an atmosphere.

[kmspade]

So far the only mods I think would make sense for my game are to fill in the blank spots in the 1-15 chart with -1APM for taking shots. It makes sense to me that a more experienced shooter would be able to get shots off a bit quicker with practice.

That would make sense. My character has 5 APM and doing aimed shots (which is required by the skill) means he can only get two shots off per round. I would consider taking a look at the sharpshooter WP and see if something like that could work. They get extra attacks with their chosen weapon of choice.

The only conceivable downside is that it'd be pretty much impossible to conceal your position when you're firing mega-damage lasers in an atmosphere.

Hmm, I don't think so. By their nature, lasers are both silent and invisible. That's part of the reason why snipers prefer laser rifles to rifles that fire physical rounds.

[kmspade]

Uh, I assume you are talking about rifts snipers here. Modern day USMC snipers don't shoot at anything close to a mile typically. I don't even think their rifle has an effective range of a mile. I thought it was more like 1000 yards/3000ft.

[Shorty Lickens]

Uh, I assume you are talking about rifts snipers here. Modern day USMC snipers don't shoot at anything close to a mile typically. I don't even think their rifle has an effective range of a mile. I thought it was more like 1000 yards/3000ft.

I have heard some outrageous stories of a 338 Lapua, but none of them are ever verified.

[Rallan]

So far the only mods I think would make sense for my game are to fill in the blank spots in the 1-15 chart with -1APM for taking shots. It makes sense to me that a more experienced shooter would be able to get shots off a bit quicker with practice.

That would make sense. My character has 5 APM and doing aimed shots (which is required by the skill) means he can only get two shots off per round. I would consider taking a look at the sharpshooter WP and see if something like that could work. They get extra attacks with their chosen weapon of choice.

The only conceivable downside is that it'd be pretty much impossible to conceal your position when you're firing mega-damage lasers in an atmosphere.

Hmm, I don't think so. By their nature, lasers are both silent and invisible. That's part of the reason why snipers prefer laser rifles to rifles that fire physical rounds.

They're silent according to canon. According to common sense (and according to people who've worked with real lasers), Kevin Siembieda didn't know what he was talking about.

MDC lasers are so powerful that they'll vapourise the back half of a large animal or instantly punch a hole right through a 20th century battleship's hull. They're putting out ridiculously huge amounts of energy, and that's going to be neither silent nor invisible when you do it in an atmosphere. If you're firing a laser that powerful at a target a thousand feet away, you're also turning a thousand-foot-long column of air into superheated white-hot plasma that will expand explosively with the sort of sonic boom you normally only get to hear from thunder and lightning. That's not exactly going to make MDC lasers the weapon of choice for snipers who want to avoid being noticed.

[Rallan]

Except that with high-powered laser weapons, sniping ought to be easier than ever before. Lasers aren't affected by wind, and they travel in a straight path so you don't have to worry about distance and elevation when working out where to aim. And the weapon hits its target pretty much instantaneously, so you also don't have to worry about leading your target if its moving. And since these are weapons capable of doing enough MDC points to slag 20th century tank at 2000', it's pretty safe to assume that they've got more than enough energy to still do some pretty serious damage even if you're plinking away at a target who's ten miles away on the horizon.

That's the problem, high powered energy weapons don't have that kind of range. Most lasers max out at 2,000 feet, which is well under the half-mile mark. A bona fide sniper will never want to take a shot from inside a mile; it isn't safe to the shooter.

They don't have that kind of range purely because the writers pulled some distances out of their butt. If a laser rifle can still do full damage after passing through 2000' of air, is it going to magically do no damage at 2001'? Common sense says that if it's throwing out that much energy, it's probably still going to sting like the dickens when it hits something within line of sight, even if that something is thousands of feet beyond the weapon's listed range.

[Rallan]

Best of both worlds? Even if we allowed MDC laser weapons to effectively be line of sight weapons, what advantage would they have apart from range?

[Rallan]

For one I'm not comfortable making ballistic guns useless.

They're kind of already useless because of their weight. Railguns are presented as being awesome for suppressive fire and acting as the machinegun of the Rifts battlefield, but the damage from individual rounds is on par with low-powered laser pistols, the burst damage if you try and hose multiple targets is pathetically laughable, and the burst damage if you just open up against one target is only as good as heavy plasma and particle beam weapons. You're paying a large sum of money for a very heavy piece of hardware which uses proprietary ammunition and has no better stopping power than other, more portable, e-clip powered weapons, and the only advantage you get from them is a range that's longer than most (but not all) energy weapons. And you face pretty much the same problem with mini-missile launchers. They're so bulky and their ammunition is so expensive that their only real use is to get off a shot or two while you're still closing to energy weapon range.

If you want the ballistic weapons in Rifts to stop sucking and actually live up to the flavour text, you've got much bigger problems to overcome than just the fact that lasers with longer ranges would tread on their toes.

[kmspade]

I think we're all getting off topic here a little bit. The topic isn't whether lasers or ballistic rifles are better and why, (there are other threads for that), it's what kind of sniper skill would you create, or how would you modify an existing one.

[Natasha]

I would not make it some overly special. You have O.C.C. skills and related skills that can be used to make a sniper; a sniper is basically two things: field craft expert--Prowl, Camouflage, and Intelligence--and accurate shooting--Sniper--should do the trick; radio operator is not necessary in Rifts, everybody has a radio. Sniper could be an M.O.S. selection or you could just select for your grunt the appropriate skills and have the Game Master bump up the bonuses to the skills' bonuses a little bit. What sets a sniper apart from a rifleman is primarily field craft as every sniper is a marksman but not every marksman is a sniper. The equipment difference is minimal: the sniper has his rifle and backup weapon, the spotter has his assault rifle, there's a radio, and powerful optics equipment for long range observation and shooting.

[kmspade]

check out the hardware weapons category in Heroes Unlimited. they can make their own ammo. the CS EOD specialist can make custom ammo also I think.

[RogueSensei]

It all depends on the power level of your campaign of course, but snipers work pretty well in my group without much modification. We run a very high powered setting and we loosely use the Ranged Combat rules in Rifter 11 (p. 17-21). If you're looking to give an edge to the sniper, you could incorporate the aim bonuses, burst multipliers (I know it's not really sniper-esque but you can use it as a damage baseline), and called shot bonuses.

[Rallan]

It all depends on the power level of your campaign of course, but snipers work pretty well in my group without much modification. We run a very high powered setting and we loosely use the Ranged Combat rules in Rifter 11 (p. 17-21). If you're looking to give an edge to the sniper, you could incorporate the aim bonuses, burst multipliers (I know it's not really sniper-esque but you can use it as a damage baseline), and called shot bonuses.

I have found that a really effective sniper weapon is the WL-23. Don't laugh, there is logic behind this.

mainly, it has to do with the speed of mini-missiles. Armor-Piercing missiles (the most likely choice for a sniper missile) has a speed of 1,400 mph. This means it will traverse its one mile range in roughly three seconds. This means that it will be very hard to track back to its source visually. Even if a radar warning were issued, it would be virtually impossible to react to the attack.

Assuming of course that the propellant is completely smokeless and doesn't leave a vapor trail. For all we know they've already got both those problems solved (it'd hardly be the most amazing unexplained miracle of science in the Rifts setting), but if they haven't then mini-missile might not be the best option for stealthy sniping.

[Killer Cyborg]

The topic of snipers comes up time and time again on these forums.
Do a Search for keyword "Sniper" by author "Killer Cyborg," and you'll get reams of input.

I was going to save you some work, but keep getting the "sorry, you can't search now" crap.

From memory, my views:
-Change the Sniper skill so that the +2 to strike is a Natural bonus. As in, you roll the dice and it comes up 18, with your +2 Natural bonus, you've just rolled a Natural 20, and do double damage.
-Use weapons, like the custom-made hunting rifles in Dinosaur Swamps, that confer Natural strike bonuses.
So far, these two subtle changes let your character crit on a roll of 16+ on an aimed shot, which is really a pretty good simulation of a sniper's skill at exploiting weaknesses and hitting small targets.

It makes snipers deadly, but not too unbalanced.
If that doesn't do it for you, make an Advanced Sniper skill that gives a Natural strike bonus of +1 to strike on an aimed shot for every action/attack spent aiming at the target beyond the first, with a maximum bonus of the character's current level.
So your sniper making a snap shot wouldn't have any Natural bonuses to strike.
If he spends an attack making an Aimed Shot, he's got a Natural +2 strike bonus (not counting possible gun bonuses).
If he spends another attack aiming after that first one, he has a Natural +3 strike bonus.
An attack spent on making it a Called Shot doesn't overlap, though; to make a Called Shot with a Natural +3 strike bonus, he'd need to spend 4 attacks.
Basically the same as the N&S "One Life, One Shot, One Hit, One Kill" power (or whatever it's called), only toned down a bit.

If THAT doesn't do it for you, add in a rule that sniper rifles using solid or shaped explosive rounds get the same benefit as Armor Piercing missiles: Crit for x2 on a Natural 18+, and Crit for x3 on a Natural 20(+).

I wrote up a couple of sniper rifles a while back in the Rifts forum, under the brand "Bullhunter Arms."
Luckily, I don't have to use the Search function here to find them; they're in my blog.

BH-42 Variable Frequency Laser Sniper Rifle
Weight: 8.0 lbs
Mega-Damage: The rifle has three different power settings: 1d4x10 SDC, 2d6 MD, and 4d6 MD.
The SDC setting and the 2d6 MD settings also each have a three-shot pulse option, inflicting 3d4x10 SDC and 6d6 MD respectively. Keep in mind that strike bonuses for pulses are halved on Aimed and Called shots (round down), and that certain bonuses (like from the Sniper skill) are not applicable when firing pulses.
Rate of Fire: Single Shot or 3-shot pulse.
Effective Range: 4,000 Feet
Payload: 20 (MD) shots per short clip, 50 shots per long clip
6 SDC shots count as one MD shot. 1 2d6 MD shot counts as one shot. 1 4d6 MD shot counts as 2 MD shots.
Pulses count as three shots of the appropriate type (there is no pulse for the 4d6 MD setting).
Laser Targeting Sight: +3 to strike on an Aimed shot. 4,000′ range.
Bonuses to Strike: Due to the the superior balance and craftsmanship, the BH-42 receives a +1 bonus to strike on aimed shots.
In the case of a custom-made BH-42 that is designed for a specific individual this +1 bonus does not count as a "standard" bonus to strike. For the purpose of dice rolls, the bonus is now a Natural bonus to strike, meaning that a die roll of 19 or 20, on a 20-sided die, before other bonuses to strike are applied, is actually read as a Natural 20 and is a critical strike. In the case where the roll is actually a Natural 20, before the Natural Strike Bonus is added, the critical damage is 3x normal instead of 2x.
In addition, a customized BH-42 so greatly complements that person’s skill and natural ability that the Aimed or Called Shot strike bonus from the shooter’s Sniper skill (where applicable) also counts as a Natural bonus.
This Natural bonus is applied first, modifying the initial die roll before any other considerations are added. In the case that a Natural 1 is rolled, this means that it counts instead as a Natural 3, meaning that it is not an automatic miss.
Cost: 42,000 credits for a basic model, 63,000 credits for a rifle customized to a specific individual

BH-R25 Sniper's Rail Gun
Rumor has it that Bullhunter Arms created this weapon by analyzing Triax’s TX-250 Maxi-rail gun and redesigning it as a slimmer, more accurate weapon to be used by snipers.
The techs at Bullhunter have taken advantage of the built-in single-shot feature and superior range, while managing to lose some of the original model’s weight and bulk by reducing ammo capacity and losing the 30 round burst option, as well as significantly increasing the accuracy by creating their models with narrower specifications and more precise engineering than the mass-produced German originals.
They also designed special new ammunition designed for armor penetration and maximum damage, putting more care, effort, and expense into creating rounds that would be far too expensive to be used in regular burst firing. The new rounds are ramjet style ammunition similar to what is available from Wellington Industries, only much larger than the standard ammunition Wellington deals with. It is designed to work with rail guns, and is loaded with explosive armor-piercing charges. Each round, once fired, essentially becomes a miniature armor piercing missile. Each one of these "Dragonslayer" rounds costs 1,200 credits.

The PR department has been hyping this new weapon as the single best man-portable rail gun for use by snipers.
(Of course, the term "man-portable" in an age of M&Ms and D-Bees is somewhat up for debate.)

The BH-R25 Sniper’s Rail Gun
Weight: 165 lbs (including tripod)
Mega-Damage:
Standard Ammunition: 1d4 MD per single shot, 2d6 MD per 10 round burst
"Dragonslayer" Ammunition: 3d6 MD per single shot, 1d4x10 per 10 round burst.
The Dragonslayer Ammunition inflicts double damage when the modified strike roll is 18 or higher, and inflicts triple damage on a strike roll of a Natural 20.
Rate Of Fire: Single-shot or 10 round burst only.
Maximum Effective Range: 6,000 feet.
Payload: The standard magazine for the weapon holds 30 rounds, but it is also capable of being belt-fed (belt of 250 rounds).
Power Source: The BH-R25 can be hooked into any standard nuclear power supply, or it can utilize the E-Clip ports built into the legs of the tripod. Each leg can hold up to two Long E-Clips. A rail guns require tremendous amounts of power, each single shot uses up 3 charges from the E-Clips, and each burst uses up 6 charges.
Targeting: The BH-R25 comes with a built-in targeting system that offers +1 to strike. Moreover, the added stability of firing from the tripod adds an additional +1 to strike, regardless of range, and allows the shooter to use strike bonuses from WP Rifle instead of WP Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons if preferred.
Cost: CR 100,000

[kmspade]

Most players think of Video Game sniping, where they take maybe a full 3 extra seconds (as opposed to 3 extra hour or days) to get that perfect headshot and move on to the next brain cavity. That isn't a sniper, it's more attuned to the Designated Marksman Rifle role. A real sniper would wait for a specific target (a very high priority target), wait for him to go to bed, or get in a car or do something where he takes his armor off or leaves his vehicle etc and then take the shot. With Rifts being a team based game this solo/wait around stuff just isn't as cool as it seems in theory.

That's one reason why some of us have incorporated a set up time to add a bonus to strike and damage. The setup time is measured in minutes, rather than melee actions or seconds (and a happy balance between RL and video games, I think).

[dragonfett]

You want a weapon to make a sniper feared again? Try the NE-75H Shoulder Cannon (Dimension Book 3 Phase World Source Book, Page 54). What's that? It from a dimension book you say? Well yes, it was introduced in a dimension book, but it's made by an interdimensional arms dealer who have done business on Rifts Earth, so who's to say that they haven't sold some of these on Rifts Earth. 2d4x10+20 MD Damage out to 6000'. Nothing else beats it. Of course if your GM says that one on Rifts Earth can't be found, then your next best choice is the JA-12, does 1d6x10+10 out to 4000'.

[Killer Cyborg]

You want a weapon to make a sniper feared again? Try the NE-75H Shoulder Cannon (Dimension Book 3 Phase World Source Book, Page 54). What's that? It from a dimension book you say? Well yes, it was introduced in a dimension book, but it's made by an interdimensional arms dealer who have done business on Rifts Earth, so who's to say that they haven't sold some of these on Rifts Earth. 2d4x10+20 MD Damage out to 6000'. Nothing else beats it. Of course if your GM says that one on Rifts Earth can't be found, then your next best choice is the JA-12, does 1d6x10+10 out to 4000'.

How scary a sniper is shouldn't depend on their weapon, especially if it's a weapon that would be scary in pretty much anybody's hands.

[Killer Cyborg]

Why couldent a MD projectile be created made to specficley punch a hole in MDC body armor ?

It already has: the armor-piercing missile.

[Killer Cyborg]

Why couldent a MD projectile be created made to specficley punch a hole in MDC body armor ?

It already has: the armor-piercing missile.

I meant a bullet. In Rifts Under Seas in the weapon section for the New Navy they listed an armor piercing round that does M.D.C. when fired in a burst. Why not a bullet that can do say 1 d-4 M.D.C.? Even if snipers are only limited to S.D.C. the skill is still very useful in an M.D.C. world.

It would also be useful to have a forcefield and a synchro-pistol.
But the tech isn't there yet; just because something would be nice to have doesn't mean that it can happen.

[Dustin Fireblade]

Can I get opinions on the overwatch idea? It's the last post on the first page.

I like it. Sounds very cinematic to me - how many times have we seen a movie/show where a character does something like this? (Plus it's much cooler when it wasn't expected)

[Killer Cyborg]

The tech for bullets to pierce M.D.C. armor is there though. It's mentioned in the weapon section of Rifts Under Seas, and is used by the New Navy.

Care to elaborate?
I don't have Underseas with me at the moment, and it's been a while since I read it.

[Killer Cyborg]

The tech for bullets to pierce M.D.C. armor is there though. It's mentioned in the weapon section of Rifts Under Seas, and is used by the New Navy.

Care to elaborate?
I don't have Underseas with me at the moment, and it's been a while since I read it.

Mine is not with me either. But it is listed there in the New Navy's weapon section. This weapon is an S.D.C. weapon in single shot mode, but due to the armor piercing ammo used, it does M.D.C. when a burst is fired. I think it's 1 d-4. For my guy's, I just have them make up a round for the sniping as well as a disguised weapon. 1 d-4 may not sound like much, but on a called shot to the head with all the proper bonus's and a decent roll it makes the sniper skill and a dedicated sniper a valuable asset in any group. Especially if you have an operator or techno wizard who can whip up clever sniping weapons for the sniper. We even go as high as 1 d-6 M.D.C. for damage but those rounds are rarely used in a city mission.

Ah, okay.
I make a distinction between piercing armor and in damaging it.
IIRC, there are also some MD capable conventional rounds in Mutants in Orbit too.
But the tech levels of the orbiters and the New Navy is superior to that of Rifts North America, so such weapons wouldn't/couldn't be mass produced for general access.
(Unless you want to add that plotline to your campaignworld.)

[NMI]

Troll like comments removed.

[Tyranneix]

All I have to say is a 5 ft mutant rat wearing a Naruni Stealth suit using a 6ft Naruni Shoulder Cannon. Ultimate sniper rifle/armor combo.

My roommate and I have recently been updating the TAG info we found in the Rifter 23. A lot of it is taken from watching actual sniper training on the military channel and discovery. I liked TAG rules in the Rifter and I've adopted them. I mean think about it. It's not the damage of the weapon per say, but based on the initial strike roll. I mean a natural 20 (triple damage using the TAG info) on a weapon that does 4D6 MD is still 4D6x3 MD! (maximum of 72 points of damage...) Last I checked, very few helmets on body armors have more than 70 MDC. Then take into effect knockdown penalties for taking that much damage to the head.. yeah you may not kill them.. but you get the idea...

Oh and the aforementioned Mutant Rat was the reason my last gaming group's Merc company was called the Decapitators. My Wife had so much fun with that character...

And that was before I used the TAG rules..

[Rallan]

The tech for bullets to pierce M.D.C. armor is there though. It's mentioned in the weapon section of Rifts Under Seas, and is used by the New Navy.

Care to elaborate?
I don't have Underseas with me at the moment, and it's been a while since I read it.

Mine is not with me either. But it is listed there in the New Navy's weapon section. This weapon is an S.D.C. weapon in single shot mode, but due to the armor piercing ammo used, it does M.D.C. when a burst is fired. I think it's 1 d-4. For my guy's, I just have them make up a round for the sniping as well as a disguised weapon. 1 d-4 may not sound like much, but on a called shot to the head with all the proper bonus's and a decent roll it makes the sniper skill and a dedicated sniper a valuable asset in any group. Especially if you have an operator or techno wizard who can whip up clever sniping weapons for the sniper. We even go as high as 1 d-6 M.D.C. for damage but those rounds are rarely used in a city mission.

Oh, it's one of those things. An SDC weapon which inflicts MDC if you fire off enough rounds to do more than 100 SDC points of damage combined, which breaks the mega-damage rule as it was written in the core book.

I love those things

[Colt47]

1000 feet is really nothing for a professional shooter though. This is what I meant by technology nerfing the skill as a whole, because a good sniper with a ballistic firearm can make kills from up to a mile away.

And there is a huuuuge psychological difference on both ends of the barrel between 1000 feet (which you can still see) and being shot from a mile away out of nowhere, and not even hearing the shot until five seconds later. That is what we are trying to get back to.

Yeah and Rifts seems to have a distinct lack of long range single shot weaponry with ranges that are in the miles range. My favorite sniper rifle in Rifts has been the NE-75H shoulder Cannon thanks to the range and damage capacity per shot. The rarity of replacement ammo on Rifts Earth just helps solidify it's niche as a sniper rifle and not an assault rifle. An even better weapon for the fire with care category is Naruni's new Two Strike in Wave 2 (though it needs to have some statistic adjustments in order to fit the original weapon it is based off of. Range is way too low and the damage capacity needs a slight boost.)

[Killer Cyborg]

Oh, it's one of those things. An SDC weapon which inflicts MDC if you fire off enough rounds to do more than 100 SDC points of damage combined, which breaks the mega-damage rule as it was written in the core book.

I love those things

Rifts Under Seas

The New West

Rifts Mercenaries

Thees three have sdc weapons that fire M.D.C. projectiles with out breaking any rules. A sniper rifle that's .50 cal. with ram jet rounds with an AP projectile would do nicely. The sniper would be limited to the amount of ammo he could carry and would still have to pick his shots very carefully. Remember, your sniper may be able to shoot a glitter boy 2000 feet away, but the glitter boy can shoot back from 11,000. A character would need to know how to play a sniper and have an idea of how they work. The shows on history channel never show the sniper shooting at a tank. Same as in rifts. You shoot infantry and equipment as well as components of vehicles.

I believe he's talking about weapons where each individual round inflicts SDC, but a big burst can inflict mega-damage.
Such as with the vehicles in the original Robotech book, and some of the vehicle weapons in the original Rifts book.

[Tyranneix]

Actually I forgot about the new Triax Sniper Rifles in Triax 2.

TX-SL12 Sharpshooter Laser Rifle
3500 ft 4D6 MD

or my new favorite
TX-SL13 Ultra Sniper Rifle
5000 ft 1D4x10 MD

Very nice guns!

[Colt47]

Actually I forgot about the new Triax Sniper Rifles in Triax 2.

TX-SL12 Sharpshooter Laser Rifle
3500 ft 4D6 MD

or my new favorite
TX-SL13 Ultra Sniper Rifle
5000 ft 1D4x10 MD

Very nice guns!

I should get that book immediately, then. This game needs more high powered sniper rifles that have good range.

[Killer Cyborg]

Actually I forgot about the new Triax Sniper Rifles in Triax 2.

TX-SL12 Sharpshooter Laser Rifle
3500 ft 4D6 MD

or my new favorite
TX-SL13 Ultra Sniper Rifle
5000 ft 1D4x10 MD

Very nice guns!

I should get that book immediately, then. This game needs more high powered sniper rifles that have good range.

The first one looks fine, but the second looks overpowered.
How do they justify that range and damage?

[Colt47]

Actually I forgot about the new Triax Sniper Rifles in Triax 2.

TX-SL12 Sharpshooter Laser Rifle
3500 ft 4D6 MD

or my new favorite
TX-SL13 Ultra Sniper Rifle
5000 ft 1D4x10 MD

Very nice guns!

I should get that book immediately, then. This game needs more high powered sniper rifles that have good range.

The first one looks fine, but the second looks overpowered.
How do they justify that range and damage?

I'm still wondering why they haven't simply made a sniper rifle using the triax explosive rounds yet. With the proper propellant those mini explosives could have some great range. I agree with you KC on the range and damage output of the second weapon, however. The established range values on lasers put them between 1600-4000 feet, with the high end being vehicle mounted weapons used by Robots and Power Armor. Is this more like a special weapon like the AT7 Anti-Tank laser?

[Tyranneix]

Actually I forgot about the new Triax Sniper Rifles in Triax 2.

TX-SL12 Sharpshooter Laser Rifle
3500 ft 4D6 MD

or my new favorite
TX-SL13 Ultra Sniper Rifle
5000 ft 1D4x10 MD

Very nice guns!

I should get that book immediately, then. This game needs more high powered sniper rifles that have good range.

The first one looks fine, but the second looks overpowered.
How do they justify that range and damage?

I'm still wondering why they haven't simply made a sniper rifle using the triax explosive rounds yet. With the proper propellant those mini explosives could have some great range. I agree with you KC on the range and damage output of the second weapon, however. The established range values on lasers put them between 1600-4000 feet, with the high end being vehicle mounted weapons used by Robots and Power Armor. Is this more like a special weapon like the AT7 Anti-Tank laser?

No it's a 55 pound laser rifle with a built in nuclear power cell (uses E-Clips as well). has massive penalties to strike unless it's properly braced or fired from a prone position. Then it's +1. -9 to strike if not braced or fired while prone. not bad for a laser rifle. it's huge heavy and cannot be fired like an assault rifle.

That is what the spotter is for. To ward off enemies from the sniper.

[Colt47]

Actually I forgot about the new Triax Sniper Rifles in Triax 2.

TX-SL12 Sharpshooter Laser Rifle
3500 ft 4D6 MD

or my new favorite
TX-SL13 Ultra Sniper Rifle
5000 ft 1D4x10 MD

Very nice guns!

I should get that book immediately, then. This game needs more high powered sniper rifles that have good range.

The first one looks fine, but the second looks overpowered.
How do they justify that range and damage?

I'm still wondering why they haven't simply made a sniper rifle using the triax explosive rounds yet. With the proper propellant those mini explosives could have some great range. I agree with you KC on the range and damage output of the second weapon, however. The established range values on lasers put them between 1600-4000 feet, with the high end being vehicle mounted weapons used by Robots and Power Armor. Is this more like a special weapon like the AT7 Anti-Tank laser?

No it's a 55 pound laser rifle with a built in nuclear power cell (uses E-Clips as well). has massive penalties to strike unless it's properly braced or fired from a prone position. Then it's +1. -9 to strike if not braced or fired while prone. not bad for a laser rifle. it's huge heavy and cannot be fired like an assault rifle.

That is what the spotter is for. To ward off enemies from the sniper.

So basically it's a power armor version of a laser sniper rifle.

[Killer Cyborg]

No it's a 55 pound laser rifle with a built in nuclear power cell (uses E-Clips as well). has massive penalties to strike unless it's properly braced or fired from a prone position. Then it's +1. -9 to strike if not braced or fired while prone. not bad for a laser rifle. it's huge heavy and cannot be fired like an assault rifle.

That is what the spotter is for. To ward off enemies from the sniper.

So basically it's a power armor version of a laser sniper rifle.

Or a normal person's version of a heavy sniper rifle that requires a bi-pod.
55 lbs?
I don't buy it.

Maybe it'll make more sense when I read the whole description.

[Colt47]

No it's a 55 pound laser rifle with a built in nuclear power cell (uses E-Clips as well). has massive penalties to strike unless it's properly braced or fired from a prone position. Then it's +1. -9 to strike if not braced or fired while prone. not bad for a laser rifle. it's huge heavy and cannot be fired like an assault rifle.

That is what the spotter is for. To ward off enemies from the sniper.

So basically it's a power armor version of a laser sniper rifle.

Or a normal person's version of a heavy sniper rifle that requires a bi-pod.
55 lbs?
I don't buy it.

Maybe it'll make more sense when I read the whole description.

Tell me how that goes, as I'm trying to find a local bookstore that carries Triax 2 and failing miserably.

[dragonfett]

Why not just order the book online?

[Colt47]

Why not just order the book online?

Because local hobby stores tend to go the way of the dinosaur relatively fast without support from local buyers. I've already seen three different RPG / Miniatures hobby stores die out around my area.

[Killer Cyborg]

local hobby stores tend to go the way of the dinosaur relatively fast without support from local buyers.

They... inexplicably become megadamage creatures with supernatural strength?


I can see why that would be important to avoid.

[dragonfett]

LOL

I can certainly understand wanting to support your local hobby store, but if they don't have what you want in stock, just get the good old PB catalog (for free) and have them order what you need/want off of it. I recently did this with Conversion Book 1 (Revised).

[dragonfett]

Lockheed Martin is working on a "self-aiming" sniper rifle.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/ ... uled-year/

Just imagine if Norther Gun found this technology in Rifts Earth, man. They would be leading in weapon sales for sure!

[Killer Cyborg]

I agree with you KC on the range and damage output of the second weapon, however. The established range values on lasers put them between 1600-4000 feet, with the high end being vehicle mounted weapons used by Robots and Power Armor.

No it's a 55 pound laser rifle with a built in nuclear power cell (uses E-Clips as well). has massive penalties to strike unless it's properly braced or fired from a prone position. Then it's +1. -9 to strike if not braced or fired while prone. not bad for a laser rifle. it's huge heavy and cannot be fired like an assault rifle.

Right... but as he says, the established range on lasers is between 1600' and 4000', and that's including vehicle-mounted weapons that are huge, heavy, nuclear powered (and not just by a portable cell), and cannot be fired by an assault rifle.
Nothing in these previous weapons about having to be fired braced or prone, but they're vehicle mounted so it's pretty safe to assume that they're already braced pretty well.

[Colt47]

I agree with you KC on the range and damage output of the second weapon, however. The established range values on lasers put them between 1600-4000 feet, with the high end being vehicle mounted weapons used by Robots and Power Armor.

No it's a 55 pound laser rifle with a built in nuclear power cell (uses E-Clips as well). has massive penalties to strike unless it's properly braced or fired from a prone position. Then it's +1. -9 to strike if not braced or fired while prone. not bad for a laser rifle. it's huge heavy and cannot be fired like an assault rifle.

Right... but as he says, the established range on lasers is between 1600' and 4000', and that's including vehicle-mounted weapons that are huge, heavy, nuclear powered (and not just by a portable cell), and cannot be fired by an assault rifle.
Nothing in these previous weapons about having to be fired braced or prone, but they're vehicle mounted so it's pretty safe to assume that they're already braced pretty well.

I think the weapon is intended to be a new breakthrough in weapon technology, but it's hard to say unless the flavor text mentions something along those lines. It's not like we haven't ended up with weapons that have odd ranges before.