Vibro-grenades? Who wanted vibro-grenades?

[taalismn]

I got asked a little while ago for vibrogrenades and I said I hadn't done any. Well, turns out I HAD. Sadly, I forgot who asked me(senility starting on me, sorry).
So, dear reader and requester, if you're still out there and need vibrogrenades, here they are!


Paladin Steel Vibro Grenades
(aka ‘Screemas’, ‘VGs’, ‘VeeGees’, ‘MassageBomb’, ‘Shakers’)

“I LOVE screemas; I can’t get enough of them. And I can go through a lot of them going chamber to chamber in a Xit hive. That’s ‘cause I’d rather toss a couple of these little wonders ahead of me before I enter a dark hole than stick my neck in and run into Bugly up close and personal. After it’s been made a bug-slurpee on the other hand, or had its brain-cell scrambled something fluffy, that I can deal with.”

Vibro-grenades were an outgrowth of research on sonic weaponry, and an effort to scale up the power of early sonic stun grenades to megadamage levels, with an eye towards more effective anti-Xiticix weaponry. VGs resemble large canister-style grendes; when armed, the outer casing splits apart into a series of ‘fins’ that actually help shape and direct intense sonic waves produced by a powerful transducer. The powerful, but short-ranged, sonic pulses can do great damage to anything in their field of effect, until the transducer destroys itself in the process of generation. This renders the transducer unable to be recycled, but also simplifies post-combat clean up(and removers any chance of an expended munition being captured by the enemy and used against its original users).
Vibro grenades have two modes; an instantaneous high power mode, and a lower-powered, but long-duration, mode that puts out damaging vibrations. This latter mode has the advantages of being useful for area denial, and for sustained damage potential, espeically if the grenade is rolling or falling through a target area. The weapons also produce a wider area of ultrasonic noise that can debilitate those sensitive to noise/vibration. This aspect of the weapon is particularly handy against giant insectoids such as the Xiticix.
Vibro grenades remain rather expensive for expendable tactical ordnance, so they’re currently issued to SpecFor units (and approved affiliates)and for specific missions. PS hopes to bring the cost per unit down as orbital facilities are able to more efficiently produce the transducer crystals used in the grenades.
Weight: 0.5 lbs
Range: Thrown or dropped
Damage: (High Power Mode) 4d6 MD to an 11 ft radius
(Low Power Mode) 2d4 MD to an 8 ft radius, for 3+1d4 melees
The vibrofield will do 1/2 SDC damage through most body armors(100 MDC or less), 1/3 through heavier armors and power armor (250 MDC or less), and 1/4 through small robots and vehicles(400 MDC or less)
Sonic Shock: (25 ft radius, DOUBLE underwater)----Beings with Enhanced Hearing or Sense Vibration abilities will be overcome and disoriented; Make a save versus Psionic Attack or lose initiative and be -8 to strike, parry, and dodge, and lose 2 APMs for 1d4 melees(continues even after the sound has been cut off). Beings who navigate by echolocation or motion detection will be effectively blinded. Even a successful save will leave the victim -2 to strike, parry and dodge for 1d4 melees, with a ringing in their heads. Beings without enhanced sonic senses will only suffer HALF penalties in either case.
Cost: 480 credits

[abtex]

Fat gamers, Skinny Gamers(?), bald ones too,
Want them too,

So thank you so much, for making them too.

[Rimmerdal]

Taali, I'm putting a dozen of those on my X-mas list...

[abtex]

He most likely, has some lining his sidewalk. So he can use them to remove the snow and ice.

[ShadowLogan]

Had not considered Vibro-grenades in the past, but I have thought of creating vibro-bullets for conventional weapons. Most likely the bullets would be charged with a vibro-field that would dissipate after a few seconds at most, instead of trying to make the round contain the vibro-generator (which might work for large caliber, but I was thinking more multi-size). The weapon could then switch between MDC and SDC attacks cheaply, as they would fire the same type of round.

[Rimmerdal]

Had not considered Vibro-grenades in the past, but I have thought of creating vibro-bullets for conventional weapons. Most likely the bullets would be charged with a vibro-field that would dissipate after a few seconds at most, instead of trying to make the round contain the vibro-generator (which might work for large caliber, but I was thinking more multi-size). The weapon could then switch between MDC and SDC attacks cheaply, as they would fire the same type of round.

Could have the flight of the bullet cause the vibration and have the bullet shaped insuch a fashoin to maintian/take advantage of the vibro effect in flight. something similar under sea bullets.

[taalismn]

He most likely, has some lining his sidewalk. So he can use them to remove the snow and ice.

Door to door solicitors, too.

[taalismn]

Had not considered Vibro-grenades in the past, but I have thought of creating vibro-bullets for conventional weapons. Most likely the bullets would be charged with a vibro-field that would dissipate after a few seconds at most, instead of trying to make the round contain the vibro-generator (which might work for large caliber, but I was thinking more multi-size). The weapon could then switch between MDC and SDC attacks cheaply, as they would fire the same type of round.

Could have the flight of the bullet cause the vibration and have the bullet shaped insuch a fashoin to maintian/take advantage of the vibro effect in flight. something similar under sea bullets.

Supercavitation, when you 'skin' an underwater projectile in a lubricating layer of air(or vacuum). Russians are supposedly big on this tech for their rocket-powered torpedoes.

[abtex]

Mixed this up a little, sorry if a problem.

Had not considered Vibro-grenades in the past, but I have thought of creating vibro-bullets for conventional weapons.

...The weapon could then switch between MDC and SDC attacks cheaply, as they would fire the same type of round.

Had same thoughts. "Charging" the projectile's material with Vibro then discharging the round(s). Use same vibro-generator for a bayonet on weapon. Could allow a bladed ranged gun or Gun-knife. Think taalismn made a defense using vibro field sometime ago, just need to be mis-used in an attack form.

Like taalismn said, a Vibro-field supercavitation, 'skin' could increase range of projectile or burst of them [first one is the 'skin', the other just follow it in the bubble]

Most likely the bullets would be charged with a vibro-field that would dissipate after a few seconds at most,

...instead of trying to make the round contain the vibro-generator (which might work for large caliber, but I was thinking more multi-size).

Rounds with a generator build in, stronger charge or better material could cause several melees of damage, not just a single attack.

I make too much noise.

[taalismn]

...or make the bullets of an exotic material(constructed in a certain way)....handwavium, vibranium, sonicium,.... that resonate with the power of a vibrofield for a limited time, like a tuning fork, before friction dampens it. The active vibrofield generator is in the weapon that vibrates the projectile up to the required resonance, then fires it.

[Captain Shiva]

In one issue of the Rifter, there is a small robot shaped like a rat. How about building a vibro-grenade into something like that?

[Noon]

I think the main test of a weapon is 'would the players like it if it was used on them?'

If not it's probably a liiiiitle too good...

[Tor]

Vibro-grenades don't really make sense in terms of how vibro-tech is described. CWC made it clear they have to be "blades". Of course I'm sure this was forgotten and later on in some other book a 'vibro-club' probably came out... but we have other high-tech stuff to soup up grenades too. Ignoring TW nades, what about Uranium Grenades? I think we already have Plasma grenades.

[Shark_Force]

Vibro-grenades don't really make sense in terms of how vibro-tech is described. CWC made it clear they have to be "blades". Of course I'm sure this was forgotten and later on in some other book a 'vibro-club' probably came out... but we have other high-tech stuff to soup up grenades too. Ignoring TW nades, what about Uranium Grenades? I think we already have Plasma grenades.

from what i can tell, it isn't truly a "vibro-grenade" per se, it's actually a sonic grenade... built using the vibration-generating technology that you would use to power MD vibro-weapons.

though i'm unclear as to what you think vibro-grenade entails... were you envisioning throwing it through objects and then it explodes, or something like that? why would it be comparable to the idea of a 'vibro-club'?

[taalismn]

Vibro-grenades don't really make sense in terms of how vibro-tech is described. CWC made it clear they have to be "blades". Of course I'm sure this was forgotten and later on in some other book a 'vibro-club' probably came out... but we have other high-tech stuff to soup up grenades too. Ignoring TW nades, what about Uranium Grenades? I think we already have Plasma grenades.

A 'Uranium Grenade' would be, IMO, a 'dirty' weapon that spreads radioactive isotope-laced shrapnel...think area of effect U-bullets. The outer casing would have to be thick enough to shield the weapon during storage, though. It's not a weapon I imagine many governments would approve of, because it would be very bad for the environment and friendly troops, and a real bastard to clean up after.

[Thinyser]

I like what the OP came up with but its not how I would envision vibro-grenades. To me the OPs is a "sonic" grenade, not a "vibro" grenade.

IMO A vibro-grenade would be a version of a frag grenade where the projectiles expelled from the exploding grenade are imparted with a temporary vibro field. Say twice damage of a reg MD frag grenade and 4X the price. Has the added effect of Horror Factor of say 10 due to the extreme carnage caused by the flying, buzzing, flesh shredding, terrifying razors. Maybe keep normal blast radius underwater due to supercavitation effect (I like that idea).

[Captain Shiva]

I like what the OP came up with but its not how I would envision vibro-grenades. To me the OPs is a "sonic" grenade, not a "vibro" grenade.

IMO A vibro-grenade would be a version of a frag grenade where the projectiles expelled from the exploding grenade are imparted with a temporary vibro field. Say twice damage of a reg MD frag grenade and 4X the price. Has the added effect of Horror Factor of say 10 due to the extreme carnage caused by the flying, buzzing, flesh shredding, terrifying razors. Maybe keep normal blast radius underwater due to supercavitation effect (I like that idea).

An area effect vibro-knife. That I like.

[taalismn]

I thought at one time that Rifts Japan had something akin to short-duration vibro-shuriken(or was that Three Galaxies, from the Bushi Confederation?). If such a weapon exists, then packing several in a casing around a propellant charge would be ideal. However. a more expensive(and re-usable) option would be to pack several Three Galaxies 'flying vibrodiscs', modified with simple hunter-seeker systems, in a munition-canister that could be fired into a location(say, a warehouse held by terrorists) and letting the discs do their work. The discs can then be recovered by transmitting a 'stand down and come here' transmission. THAT would be much more terrifying than a simple ballistic projectile weapon(because the period of time after detonation in which a person has to be terrified, and not just stunned, is going to be much greater than that of a straight-line shrapnel weapon, even with vibrotech).
If you want sound effects, making your pre-cut fragmentation projectiles of a very dense material, with specially-shaped holes to create a whistle or a buzz as they fly through the air, would be less expensive than a self-destructing vibrofield generator.

[ShadowLogan]

..or make the bullets of an exotic material(constructed in a certain way)....handwavium, vibranium, sonicium,.... that resonate with the power of a vibrofield for a limited time, like a tuning fork, before friction dampens it. The active vibrofield generator is in the weapon that vibrates the projectile up to the required resonance, then fires it.

Was looking to avoid the use of exotic materials/technology as I was looking for something that was very versatile in roles (SDC or MDC attacks) at the flick of a switch on the gun, instead of going for a new weapon or different magazine/clip. And being exotic means it will be more expensive, which isn't what I was going for.

I thought at one time that Rifts Japan had something akin to short-duration vibro-shuriken(or was that Three Galaxies, from the Bushi Confederation?).

The closest I could find in Rifts Japan was the TW Power Shuriken (Rifts Japan pg37), that has a "static charge" of a magical nature that is released on impact. There is also the high tech explosive round (SDC), but no vibro-shuriken unless it has some odd buried placement in the text.

Had same thoughts. "Charging" the projectile's material with Vibro then discharging the round(s). Use same vibro-generator for a bayonet on weapon. Could allow a bladed ranged gun or Gun-knife. Think taalismn made a defense using vibro field sometime ago, just need to be mis-used in an attack form.

My thinking was the vibrogenerator would have to be integrated into the internal flight path of the round, so it would need to be either in the receiver or barrel, and an external mount like a bayonet or grenade launcher wouldn't work. Or if it was external, it would not work as well as an internal one. As the round travels within the gun it picks up a vibro-field. I figure vibro-weapon themselves likely have some means of preventing the weapon from acquiring a longer lasting charge than is intended, that feature would need to be disabled for the bullet itself so that it could retain the charge during flight.

Rounds with a generator build in, stronger charge or better material could cause several melees of damage, not just a single attack.

The problem here is how small can one make a self-powered vibro-item? What does the internal mechansims look like for a known vibro-weapon, it may not be practical to put the generator in anything below a minimum size. It would also have to be cost effective to produce them at a given size or it won't take off.

IMO A vibro-grenade would be a version of a frag grenade where the projectiles expelled from the exploding grenade are imparted with a temporary vibro field.

So basically something akin to a Bee-Hive Grenade from Rifts New West, though instead of laser bolts it flings single use vibro-projectiles? I would also make the grenade a bit heavier and larger than normal to accommodate the vibro-technology.

[Thinyser]

No not really like the beehive grenade, instead of projectiles it actually fragments in such a way as to impart not only outward velocity but also vibrational energy to the frags. It goes boom like a regular grenade but the frags just do more damage. Add extra weight as you see fit for your use.

[dargo83]

that was me taalismn who asked if u had this beautiful piece of hardware i am going to be using this in a zombie game i am running and i love the idea of a vibro round and i like the idea of 2 different versions one a less powerful one that has the generator in the gun and can turn sdc rounds into low powered mdc rounds or a more powerful one thats in the round them selves and just like the vibro grenade they could have 2 setting doing a sh1t ton of damage or low damage for several rounds (it would work good for critters with regen) and thanks again taalismn