Dale A. Ward Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Oh' date=' yes! For pure kickbuttiveness, this one just [i']has[/i] to win! (And as I recall it wasn't introduced until Phule's Paradise.) You're quite correct, sir! How could I forget that little detail?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted April 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Surprised it hasn't been mentioned' date=' but I would have to go with the Lens...[/quote'] True, it could be used as a weapon of immense power. Somewhere, I thought someone'd done a writeup of it, but a quick search shows me that all those threads where it was discussed eventually degenerated into a discussion of women in the Lensman Universe. It killed a wearer who wasn't its owner, right? Magnified innate telepathic powers? Acted to decrypt and make understandable all forms of communication? I'm thinking a 400-point Personal Focus, easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DangerousDan Posted April 2, 2006 Report Share Posted April 2, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon This is a question that has as many answers as there are sci-fi fans, but nevertheless I feel compelled to ask: what is your favorite sci-fi weapon? There have been many weapons in science fiction (especially in the military fiction subgenre of sci-fi) and some are truly innovative. I'm curious to find out what people consider the "ultimate" sci-fi weapon. Some guidelines: I'm thinking man-portable weapons - no black-hole weapons or particle-beam spine-mounts, if you please. (Well, unless there's an author who makes them man-portable. I'd want to hear about that, anyway.) I'm fond, for one reason or another, of Reason (previously mentioned), the smart-bullet gun from "Runaway", the two alien weapons from a movie released in the US as "I come in Peace", and several others, but the one that most clings in my mind is the tnuctip multifunction gun from Larry Niven's short story, "The Soft Weapon." More versatile than anything else I've seen yet in this thread. A guaranteed campaign killer. To say any more would spoil the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted April 2, 2006 Report Share Posted April 2, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon For close-in fighting, it's hard to beat the classic light saber/laser sword. For ranged work, I love the Wave Motion Energy Gun from Starblazers. The WMEG absorbs kinetic energy from the perpetual motion of the universe and fires it in a beam capable of vaporizing planets and entire enemy fleets in one shot. Later ships equipped with this weapon had dual mountings like a double-barrelled shotgun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaeto Posted April 2, 2006 Report Share Posted April 2, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon For ranged work, I love the Wave Motion Energy Gun from Starblazers. The WMEG absorbs kinetic energy from the perpetual motion of the universe and fires it in a beam capable of vaporizing planets and entire enemy fleets in one shot. Later ships equipped with this weapon had dual mountings like a double-barrelled shotgun! That's so they could equal the power of the one in the bow of the Yamato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted April 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon For ranged work' date=' I love the Wave Motion Energy Gun from [i']Starblazers.[/i] The WMEG absorbs kinetic energy from the perpetual motion of the universe and fires it in a beam capable of vaporizing planets and entire enemy fleets in one shot. Later ships equipped with this weapon had dual mountings like a double-barrelled shotgun! The WMEG isn't really man-portable, though. I'm interested in what people like to see their sci-fi hero carrying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 4, 2006 Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon That's so they could equal the power of the one in the bow of the Yamato Actually no; the Andromeda I had dual WMGs that were powered by its one engine (so it took twice as long to charge but they were both full-power WMGs); Andromeda II had dual WMGs and dual engines for double the fun in the same amount of time. Of course the Star Blazers/Space Cruiser Yamato universe makes Trek look perfectly consistent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Barbarella's..uh...anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon OK seriously, Drake's Cone Bore Rifles from Forlorn Hope Power Guns from Drake's Hammer Slammers series Vibro Blades - Gamma World. The blades were made from focused force fields. Trek Bombs - Gamma World. Torc grenades on a larger scale. Kind of like a torc grenade sachel bomb. Various spike launchers from Heavy Metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Oo! Oo! The nail gun from Quake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon I don't know what it is about me but I really don't care much for big guns with big bang. I can appreciate their destructive qualities, I just don't find them appealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon That's because you're a ninja, and you're all about stealth and accuracy. Freak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Either that, or he's like me, more of a strategic-bombardment vaporize-the-planet-from-a-safe-distance kind of guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Wikipedia's list of science fiction weapons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 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 didn't they have a range longer than most artillery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon OK seriously, Drake's Cone Bore Rifles from Forlorn Hope Power Guns from Drake's Hammer Slammers series Vibro Blades - Gamma World. The blades were made from focused force fields. Trek Bombs - Gamma World. Torc grenades on a larger scale. Kind of like a torc grenade sachel bomb. Various spike launchers from Heavy Metal. Forlorn Hope is my favorite Drake Novel, and one of my favorite military Scifi works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arac-4105 Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Personally, I prefer the Captain's Sidearm from the Fitzhugh and Floyt trilogy. This energy-based hand cannon was as much a psychological weapon as a physical one. One shot from this pistol, at very close range, would remove everything between a man's shoulders and knees, and do so with a huge burst of light and shockwave of sound, which would cause most fighters to pause. For a better description, read Requiem For A Ruler Of Worlds by Brian Daley, if you can track down a copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracheneisen Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon My favorite weapon from a sci-fi movie is the .45 Thompson sub-machine guns with drum clips from King Kong. Lots of shots, lots of noise, cool looks, what's not to like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon My favorite weapon from a sci-fi movie is the .45 Thompson sub-machine guns with drum clips from King Kong. Lots of shots' date=' lots of noise, cool looks, what's not to like?[/quote'] And in zero-gravity it can serve as an alternate form of propulsion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon The .45 ACP Thompson Submachine Gun is indeed a true classic, which well deserves its place in the annals of firearms history. It packs a respectable punch, and yet is extremely controllable in full-auto fire, not to mention being stylish and instantly recognizable. However, you probably don't want the drum magazine. They weren't all that reliable. I'd reccomend the 30-round box magazine. I'd take a Tommy gun over an MP5 any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon The tommy gun is only controllable in full-auto because it's milled out of a block of steel and is therefore extremely heavy. I'd take the MP5 over a Thompson, and I'd take the UMP45 over the MP5. Although I don't know of a drum mag available for the UMP45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon My favorite weapon from a sci-fi movie is the .45 Thompson sub-machine guns with drum clips from King Kong. Lots of shots' date=' lots of noise, cool looks, what's not to like?[/quote'] Not to mention it was wicked cool when jean-Luc Picard grabbed one to blast Borg with.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yansuf Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon OK seriously, Drake's Cone Bore Rifles from Forlorn Hope Power Guns from Drake's Hammer Slammers series Vibro Blades - Gamma World. The blades were made from focused force fields. Well, the cone bore rifle won't really work well. A gauss weapon ala H. Beam Piper's from the second story in the Verkan Vale series, or from the "Andromeda" TV show, would be much more effective. Or a grav gun (uses gravitic energy or a pressor beam to accelerate projectiles to hypersonic speed) such as the hand pulser in the Honor Harrington series, or the grav guns in the "Moon of Mutiny" series (both by Weber.) Drake's power guns are nice, but the projectile weapons above would make better military small arms. The "Gamma World" blades were used by many previous authors, called "Force Blades". They show up in many of Andre (actually Alice) Norton's stories. For non-military use, I have to agree with the "Star Trek" (original) phaser. For military small arms the gauss rifle or grav gun would be my favorite. Unless you are will to put up with some lack of reliability, in which case the "dally-gun" from "Tactics of Mistake" is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Schwarzwald Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon 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' date=' 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'] Clever. I have the original SF and the voluturnus modules to this day. Ah, when gaming was more innocent..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Schwarzwald Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon Actually no; the Andromeda I had dual WMGs that were powered by its one engine (so it took twice as long to charge but they were both full-power WMGs); Andromeda II had dual WMGs and dual engines for double the fun in the same amount of time. Of course the Star Blazers/Space Cruiser Yamato universe makes Trek look perfectly consistent. I suppose you know the scene in ST3 where they steal enterprise and get past the excelsior was inspired by the scene where they tale the argo past the andromeda... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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