AlHazred Posted March 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon For an "Honorable Mention" I'll suggest the disintegrator used by Duck Dodgers -- and brother' date=' when it disintegrates, it [i']disintegrates![/i] Obviously, the case of Wile E. Coyote vs. Acme Company did nothing to inspire Acme's designers to make better equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I posit that Wile E. was not one of Acme's most important customers. Rather I think Acme was to Wile E. what Verizon is to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Oh, very much. The Colonial Marines Technical Manual did a nice article on the smartgun. Had a nice quote, with one soldier saying that the auto-targetting was just spooky, and TOO good. That most of the bad guys dropped in one engagement looked like they'd been shot exactly once... with all the bullets going through the same entry point. And as with most of the tech in Aliens, it's more than just pretty or a nice idea... it's fully thought through. The mount's mobile enough to lift up to fire over cover, and it can even fire while prone, though that's a little tricky. Increases firepower while decreasing movement only minimally. I LOVE the tech in Aliens. Great-looking, functional, inventive. Improvements over real-world tech and logical extensions of it at the same time. teh technical manual had an interesting anti-armor/fire support missile iirc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon FGMP-16, Fusion Gun, Man Portable, from Traveller Plasma Repeater Rifle from Space Master BFG9 and 10K, from Doom Gravity Gun, from Half Life 2 Powered Assault Armor, Gamma World Torc Grenade, Gamma World Black Ray Gun, Gamma World I liked the Gamma World blaster pistol that put the 10cm hole through anything it hit. Instant bunkers, shoot it straight down, drop torc grenade down the hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon The one weapon that inspired many blank stares of awe as I considered it was the... PhulePruf Munitions "Rolling Thunder" full auto, belt-fed, 12-ga. shotgun - from Robert Asprin's novel Phule's Company. The rate of fire is so rapid that you can't hear individual shots... hell, after the first second of continuous fire, you're lucky you can hear ANYTHING! It is man-portable, having a full body sling... but only a very strong man can successfully hold it on target for more than the first few rounds. Fortunately, with this weapon, you don't need accuracy! and iirc they used about 4 of them at ONCE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inu Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon teh technical manual had an interesting anti-armor/fire support missile iirc. The one that flew towards the target, then popped up and hit 'em on the top of the turret? I liked that one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwolf Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I liked the shoulder mounted Micro-Nuke missile from R.H. Heinlein's Starship Troopers... not to mention the armor itself. Much better and more lethal in the book than in the IMHO very weak movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Actors in movies must show their faces. It's a rule or something. Stupid rule. And I'm glad they disobeyed in V for Vendetta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I liked the Gamma World blaster pistol that put the 10cm hole through anything it hit. That reminds me of the Star Frontiers laser pistols and rifles that let you dial up the shot strength and power consumption. I remember playing through the Volturnus module, scooping up a sackful of laser pistols dropped by newly-dead Sathar, and turning them all up to fire one 10d10 shot (thus draining the battery). ZAP, discard, draw, repeat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon For style, it's hard to argue with the Tissue Compression elminiator from Doctor Who. Killed people by compressing the spaces between their molecules, resulting in a doll-sized corpse. The weapon was the trademark of the Doctor's "best enemy", the Master, and a perfect example of the sadism behind his cultured exterior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I've mentioned the unstoppable Slow Bullet from K.W. Jeter's Death Arms in another thread' date=' so here I'll go for the throwaway gag of Captain Jack's pistol from the recent series of [i']Doctor Who.[/i] It creates square holes because it has a digital blast pattern. This isn't nearly as notorious as the pistol that Captain Jack manages to secrete on his person and draw despite being completely and utterly nude. Before he killed the robotshe drew it on he told them "You don;t want to know where i was hiding that.". And Captain Jack also had the poor judgment to mock the Sonic Screwdriver, one of the iconic pieces of Docctor who technology. "Who looks at a screwdriver and says "this needs to be more sonic"?" he asks (a few minutes before the Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver to save everyone's lives). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I kind of like the Radium Pistols/Rifles from Barsoom. The ammunition is pretty unique. It's an opaque bullet filled with a powder that explodes on contact with light. (Carter uses the term Radium because, well frankly he has an INT of 5) If the bullet doesn't penetrate, it explodes instead. Sometimes it does both. If a battle takes place at night, the battlefield is spectacularly dangerous in the morning, when all the missed ammo starts going up when touched by sunlight. Keith "Kaor, Panthan" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I kind of like the Radium Pistols/Rifles from Barsoom. The ammunition is pretty unique. It's an opaque bullet filled with a powder that explodes on contact with light. (Carter uses the term Radium because, well frankly he has an INT of 5) If the bullet doesn't penetrate, it explodes instead. Sometimes it does both. If a battle takes place at night, the battlefield is spectacularly dangerous in the morning, when all the missed ammo starts going up when touched by sunlight. Keith "Kaor, Panthan" Curtis Sure, except that the radium rifles are something like twelve or fourteen feet long! Good luck aiming those! And the radium pistol ammo always gives out right when it's dramatically appropriate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon {snip}Carter uses the term Radium because' date=' well frankly he has an INT of 5)[/quote'] That high? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I kind of like the Radium Pistols/Rifles from Barsoom. The ammunition is pretty unique. It's an opaque bullet filled with a powder that explodes on contact with light. (Carter uses the term Radium because, well frankly he has an INT of 5) If the bullet doesn't penetrate, it explodes instead. Sometimes it does both. If a battle takes place at night, the battlefield is spectacularly dangerous in the morning, when all the missed ammo starts going up when touched by sunlight. Keith "Kaor, Panthan" Curtis Wonderful idea to mention the radium guns. They were neat. I hope I'll eventually find the illustrations I did for my Barsoom Justice Inc. game back in high school. They were some of my earliest really mature work. That was when I taught myself how to shade skin with a .5mm pencil. I had a lot of fun coming up wioth designs for the radium rifle. I took a lot of inspiration from african and middle eastern muskets. Hmmm... now that we have Trigger, they should be a lot easier to build. I had to get tricksty using the JI era system, but then again I didn't actually need to point them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Sure' date=' except that the radium rifles are something like twelve or fourteen feet long! Good luck aiming those! And the radium pistol ammo always gives out right when it's dramatically appropriate...[/quote'] Heh, I forgot the scale. Of course, ERB always seemed a little wonky with Barsoomian measurements. 150 foot jumps under 1/3 gravity? Carter could have been a world record long jumper in his sleep with 50 foot earthly jumps. Of course, given ERB's heroes, he probably really could jump 50 earthy feet. After all, Tarzan could pick up a chest that took four strong men to lift with one hand. And then swing through the trees with it. Keith "ERB would have been a munchkin powergamer" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordGhee Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I love the coyote vs A inc story. about twenty years ago a group of Havard law stundents had to bring a case to the moot court in thier final year of law school. Out of ideals, out of luck and almost out of beer on the saturday night before the monday start of moot court. The young stundent of the law where looking to make an F and flunk out of law school:cry: So they sat in front of the TV wachting cartoons for they knew they were doomed . then one not bright but needed lad for he stated the obvoius. that coyote should sue A Inc. Like men struck by lighting, with hair on end the group gazed at the fellow and screamed "that's the case" Then roceeded to put together one of the best presented cases in moot court history in 36 hours. A Inc lawers almost pulled it out but the video evidence doom them. this according to an artilce I read twenty yr ago. give or take a lie or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemurion Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I thought I'd already put it in this thread-- but EE "Doc" Smith's Sunbeam. 14.7 million tons of disintegrating matter per second focused on whatever you want. After that, Heinlein's 30-second bomb from Starship Troopers (the novel). The one that goes, "I'm a thirty-second bomb, twenty-nine, twenty-eight...." and continues the spiel until it detonates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaeto Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Heinlein's 30-second bomb from Starship Troopers (the novel). The one that goes' date=' "I'm a thirty-second bomb, twenty-nine, twenty-eight...." and continues the spiel until it detonates.[/quote'] Or the Psyc warfare version that does the countdown and right when it's supposed to explode it goes. "I lied". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon As a kid I fell in love with the sword(lightsaber)/pistol combo that Ulysses 31 wielded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I kind of like the Radium Pistols/Rifles from Barsoom. The ammunition is pretty unique. It's an opaque bullet filled with a powder that explodes on contact with light. (Carter uses the term Radium because, well frankly he has an INT of 5) If the bullet doesn't penetrate, it explodes instead. Sometimes it does both. If a battle takes place at night, the battlefield is spectacularly dangerous in the morning, when all the missed ammo starts going up when touched by sunlight. And the Green Barsoomian women, who were the tribal barber-surgeons, had (by hard trial-and-error) developed a technique for extracting bullets from wounded warriors without exposing the bullet to light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Don't forget the mystique of the legendary Cosmo-Dragoon from the Captain Harlock series and other anime by Leiji Matsumoto. Go here http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3l.html and scroll down to the Cosmo-Dragoon section about midway. There are only four in the entire galaxy, and they are the only weapon capable of killing a machine-person. Now that's mystique! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon As a kid I fell in love with the sword(lightsaber)/pistol combo that Ulysses 31 wielded. Captain Harlock had a laser rifle that was shaped like a sword or foil. Go to http://www.cornponeflicks.org/harlock/pirateships.html and scroll to the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon The one weapon that inspired many blank stares of awe as I considered it was the... PhulePruf Munitions "Rolling Thunder" full auto, belt-fed, 12-ga. shotgun - from Robert Asprin's novel Phule's Company. The rate of fire is so rapid that you can't hear individual shots... hell, after the first second of continuous fire, you're lucky you can hear ANYTHING! It is man-portable, having a full body sling... but only a very strong man can successfully hold it on target for more than the first few rounds. Fortunately, with this weapon, you don't need accuracy! Oh, yes! For pure kickbuttiveness, this one just has to win! (And as I recall it wasn't introduced until Phule's Paradise.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkham Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Surprised it hasn't been mentioned, but I would have to go with the Lens... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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