Sounds of Fury: New Sonic Devices for the Frontier

JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 16, 2016 - 9:29am
Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)

Skill:                      Beam Weapons

Cost:                     6,000 Credits

Weight:                 20 kilograms

Hard Points:         1 (small)

Rate of Fire:         1         

Damage:               Varies

Ammo:                  100 SEU pack

SEU:                      Varies

Defense:               Sonic or Sonic/A-S implant

PB:                         0-10 m

Short:                    11-100 m

Medium:                101-200 m

Long:                     201-300 m

Extreme:               301-500 m

The LRAD, also called a sonic stunner cannon, is a bulky police/paramilitary weapon used for crowd control. Often mounted on vehicles, robots, remote sentry units or on a tripod, it is an area effect weapon that can hit all beings within a cone out to its extreme range. It has four settings: Irritation, Stun Level 1, Stun Level 2 and Stun Level 3. Each setting has a different power consumption rate and damage effects.

The Irritation setting is probably the most common used and normally non-lethal. It broadcasts a loud, disruptive sound within a 90 degree cone in front of the device with the purpose of trying to coax beings to leave the area. Targets within point black and short range suffer a -20 percent modifier to all skill and status checks. Targets within medium range suffer a -15 percent penalty; -10 at long range and -5 at extreme range. It hits automatically and consumes 2 SEU per minute of continuous use.

Stun Setting 1 acts like a sonic stunner, except it affects targets within a 5-meter-wide cone in front of the device. Use the burst-fire modifiers for determining the chance to hit. Targets must make a successful Stamina check to avoid being stunned. It uses 5 SEU per shot.

Stun Setting 2 acts like a sonic stunner but also causes physical damage to targets within a 5 meter wide cone in addition to a stunning effect. Note, a target gets to make a current Stamina check after taking the sonic damage. At point blank and short range, it causes 2d10 of damage; 1d10 damage at medium and long range; but only the stunning effect at extreme range. This setting uses 10 SEU per shot.

Stun 3 causes more damage in addition to a stunning effect. At point blank and short range, targets take 4d10 damage, at medium range, 3d10 damage, at long range, 2d10, and 1d10 at extreme range. This setting uses 15 SEU per shot.

Joe Cabadas
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JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 16, 2016 - 11:44am
Sonic Prod

Skill:                      Melee or Beam Weapons
Cost:                      400 Credits
Weight:                  1 kilogram        
Rate of Fire:           1
                                  Setting 1            Setting 2             Setting 3
Normal Damage:    1 point              Stun                1d10 + 5 + Stun
Against Hydra:        1d10                 1d10 + Stun      2d10 + 10 + Stun
Ammo:                  20 SEU clip
SEU:                      1 SEU               1 SEU               2 SEU
Defense:                 Sonic                Sonic / A-S       Sonic / A-S
PB:                        1-5 m                "                       "
Short:                    6-8 m                "                       "
Medium:                 9-10 m              "                       "
Long:                    11-12 m            "                       "
Extreme:               13-15 m            "                       "

This sonic device is used as a means of goading livestock into moving in a desired direction. Instead of physically touching an animal, the farmer or rancher can stand back at a distance and use the prod to deliver a painful, but superficial sonic shock to encourage them to move in the direction opposite of the sound waves. Because of the wide-variety of livestock available on the Frontier, the sonic prod can deliver more than just superficial damage.

It is baton-like with a two-pronged end with the coiled sonic emitter. It concentrates the sonic beam at close range, hence its longer Point Blank and Short Ranges, but its usefulness rapidly falls off at greater distances.

Sonic Fence

The sonic fence is used to contain livestock in a certain area while discouraging predators from entering. It generates a sonic field between and immediately around the 3-meter-tall emitter poles. When a character or creature or robot approaches the field or the poles, the sonic waves grow in intensity. Depending upon its usage - out in a pasture or in an enclosed space - the owner can adjust range which the emitters activate.

For example, at a distance of 2-5 meters - zone 1 - the emitters can be set to generate a warning noise that causes an unshielded target to suffer a -10 percent penalty to all ability and skill checks.

At 1-3 meters - zone 2 - the warning intensity increases, causing unshielded targets to suffer a -15 percent skill/ability check modifier. Additionally, the sonic field it will cause 1d10 points of damage plus a stunning effect. Characters and creatures must make a current Stamina check (with the -15 percent modifier) to avoid being stunned. Robots and vehicles are unaffected by the stun damage.

At less than 1 meter - zone 3 - the field will cause an additional 2d10 points of damage plus a stunning effect. Again, unshielded targets suffer a -15 percent skill/ability modifier.

Right around the poles or in the field between the emitters - zone 4 - it will cause an additional 3d10 points of damage plus a stunning effect. Unshielded targets will still suffer a -15 percent skill/ability modifier.

Hydrae and hydra take double damage from the sonic emitters.

The owner/operator can manipulate the different zone levels to ramp down or even turn off some functions. However, the field cannot be "ramped up." For example, the operator can not make the sonic fence inflict 3d10 worth of damage in zones 1 -3, however, he could power down the system so it will only cause a stunning effect rather than actual damage.

In standby operation, the poles use 1 SEU every two hours. When a creature or character enters zone 1, when the warning sound is activated, it uses 1 SEU every minute. Once a creature enters zone 2, the poles use 2 SEU per turn, 3 SEU per turn for zone 3 and 4 SEU per turn for a creature or character in zone 4.

Once a character or creature moves out of the field, or stops moving, the sonic fence returns to standby mode.

Each emitter pole has miniature sensing units - infrared, motion and shape - and a chronocom-like transmitter so it sends its data to a control unit which has the equivalent of a level 1 security program and a level 1 installation security program. The owner can set the control unit to recognize certain shapes - like human, yazarian, dralasite and vrusk characters - to permit them to enter the field without taking damage.

While the emitter poles have an emergency 20 SEU power clip, but they are typically powered by a parabattery or are hooked into a generator or power grid while electrical lines run between the poles. Sometimes landowners bury the power lines underground.

A creature or character could dig a hole or tunnel to get under the sonic field. Or they can attempt to go above it by flying - or climbing a tree or other object or structure where they can get above the field.

Each emitter pole will take 60 points of structural damage before it stops working. The maximum distance between the poles is 10 meters.

Emitter Pole Cost: 500 Credits per pole plus one 10-meter power line; or 1,500 Credits for a package of four poles plus 40 meters of power line; or ten poles plus 100 meters of power line for 4,000 Credits. (Note: at least two emitter poles are needed to generate a field). This price includes the emergency 20 SEU clips but not any parabattery or generator costs nor the control unit.

Emitter pole weight: 5 kilograms
Control Unit Cost: 400 Credits
Control Unit Weight: 3 kilogram
Replacement power line: 20 Credits per 10 meter line
Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 16, 2016 - 11:46am

Medium Sonic Cannon (Devastator Mk. II)

Skill:                      Beam Weapons

Cost:                      8,000 Credits

Weight:                  28 kilograms

Hard Points:           2

Rate of Fire:           1         

Damage:                20d10+20/15d10+15/ 10d10+10/5d10+5/1d10

Ammo:                   100 SEU pack or 250 SEU econopack or 1,000 SEU drum

SEU:                       20

Defense:                 Sonic

PB:                         0-10 m

Short:                     11-100 m

Medium:                 101-200 m

Long:                     201-300 m

Extreme:                301-400 m

Large Sonic Cannon (Devastator Mk. III)

Skill:                      Beam Weapons

Cost:                      12,000 Credits

Weight:                  65 kilograms

Hard Points:           8         

Damage:                 30d10+20 / 25d10+15 / 20d10+10 / 15d10+5 / 10d10

Ammo:                   250 econopack or 1,000 SEU drum

SEU:                      30

Defense:                 Sonic

PB:                         0-20

Short:                     21-120 m

Medium:                 121-250 m

Long:                     251-450 m

Extreme:                451-650 m

While most militaries tend to use kinetic and laser weapons, some mercenary units incorporate sonic weapons into their arsenals. This weapon fires a concentrated beam of chaotic sound that is clearly recognizable as a ball of shimmering air disturbance as it speeds at its target. However, the greater the distance the target is from the weapon, the less damage it does. One major drawback of sonic weapons, however, is they cannot be used in a vacuum and their effectiveness is reduced on planets with a thin atmosphere.

Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 19, 2016 - 6:59pm
Effects of Kraatar's atmosphere on sonic weapons

In the Flatlands, sonic weapons are unaffected by the planet's thinner than normal atmosphere, but that changes in the Uplands and Mountains.

Generally speaking, reduce the damage and ranges of sonic weapons by 1/4 in the Uplands.

If the referee wants to be particularlly picky, in the transition areas between the Uplands and the Mountains, the range and effectiveness of sonic weapons will get worse and worse as one gains altitude -- the reverse is true as someone descends.

In the Mountains, where the air is too thin to breathe, sonic weapons are essentially useless. Maybe the referee will make exceptions such as if a character is at point blank range and firing a sonic devastator or has a sonic stunner pressed against someone's head -- I think sound waves would propogate through a being's flesh quite nicely.
Joe Cabadas