Non-lethal weapons ideas

[Mr. Negative]

For those using "high-tech" humans in Champions, or a Star Hero setting, here are a couple of non-lethal weapons on the drawing boards (oddly enough, culled from a British men's mag called Front):

 

Veiling Glare Laser: This is one of the coolest,in my mind. It's a frequency of light designed to produce fluorescence within the human eye, creating a "white-out" of vision. Two nice things about this: if possible, it shouldn't damage the eye and it's not temporary, but lasts until the light is shut off.

 

Photic Driver: a device using strobing infrared lights to disorientate people. As it is infrared, the light cannot be seen, but can penetrate closed lids and affect the eye anyway.

 

Active Denial System: a microwave-based pain delivery system. This one causes intense skin pain without burning, and is being developed (and tested on volunteers!) in New Mexico by the USAF Research laboratories.

Reportedly, no test subject would stand in the beam for more than 3 seconds.

 

Now, how would you write them up?

 

For the Photic Driver, you could have an area of effect, invisible Drain DEX, with No Normal Defense (defense would be shielding from infrared, such as with an ED force field or the like).

 

For the Active Denial System (as there is no permanent damage), I was going to say an invisible Mind Control (based on CON) with a single command (Pain!!!), but there may be a better way (it seems to cause no lingering effects, so even a Stun-only attack is perhaps too much).

 

For the Photic Driver, perhaps a Continuous Flash, NND? The continuous would reflect the fact that this isn't a momentary overloading of your senses, but a constant overwhelming. The NND would reflect the fact that normal means of protecting from Sight Flashes (goggles, third eyelids, etc) don't work as they don't completely block the incoming light, so that it can still cause fluorescence in your eyes. Defenses would be having A) non-human chemistry (your eyeball goo is different), Closing your eyes (which still leaves you unable to see) or C) getting behind something that blocks the transmitting light (although, it might still affect you even when reflected off surrounding surfaces).

 

Just some more cool ideas for the Gadgeteers and Criminal Masterminds out there.

[Lupus]

Active Denial System: perhaps a drain to STUN, all points return within 1 turn when the beam goes away? That's kinda vicious on the active points, though.

 

Continual flash: Something like this probably needs a damage component, too. Flash just blinds someone. Doesn't stop them operating. Flashes like this, though, sound as though they should restrict action beyond that - by causing pain or disorientation. When I build flashbang grenades, I build in an NND (flash defence) EB, stun only, 'Only to stun opponent, not to cause damage.' That is, if the amount of damage dealt exceeds CON, the target is stunned, but their STUN total is not reduced at all. And, of course, if you have eye and ear protection, you can set 'em off at ground zero without a fuss. I find that better reflects the disorientation effect than a simple flash attack. However, your idea of a DEX drain also works. Perhaps, for a harsh enough system, both could be used? That'd be kinda nasty.

 

As for the continuous component, does it continue to 'attack' after the beam goes away? Or is it more like something that needs to be trained on a target (probably requiring a new attack roll each round, and so no need for the continuous modifier). Or perhaps it is continuous, but not uncontrolled... I don't mess around with those advantages much, so I don't know the ins and outs of them as well as others.

[Toadmaster]

Just a few thoughts

 

strobe lights (and even some flashing lights such as from video games) can cause seizures in people prone to them (primarily epileptics)

 

and eyeballs are very suseptible to damage from microwaves (tends to cook the cornea making it opaque like an egg white)

 

Just some possibilities for undesirable side effects particularly if the weapons are experimental in your campaign. Of course if the villians are using them these might be advantages.

[Jeff]

I'd consider Suppress early and often for effects that go on continually while the subject is under the gadget but go right away thereafter. The active denial system might be built around a STUN Suppress, for instance. GM permitting, the veiling glare laser might be a Suppress vs. Normal Sight, although a small NND continuous sight Flash should do well enough there. The photic driver might be a STUN Suppress with a limitation that the damage is counted only for purposes of Stunning the target, i.e., inducing disorientation.

 

You could also take a limitation on conventional damage powers - like an NND EB - that the damage is especially easily recovered, e.g., one free Recovery of it when you cease exposure, and doubled Recovery of lost points thereafter.

[Sociotard]

Veiling Glare Laser: This is one of the coolest,in my mind. It's a frequency of light designed to produce fluorescence within the human eye, creating a "white-out" of vision. Two nice things about this: if possible, it shouldn't damage the eye and it's not temporary, but lasts until the light is shut off.

Does the effect remain if the character is not looking directly at the source of the beam? If it doesn't, that makes this darkness, with the disadvantage "Only on characters looking at the source". A character could try to fight like Jason of the Argonauts (sp?), using a mirror (possibly with a filter) to look at his opponent. -1/2 sounds right.

 

Photic Driver: a device using strobing infrared lights to disorientate people. As it is infrared, the light cannot be seen, but can penetrate closed lids and affect the eye anyway.

This strikes me as a change environment that alters dexterity rolls, or possibly a field of Supress DEX. Again, either would have the disadvantage "only characters looking at the source"

 

Active Denial System: a microwave-based pain delivery system. This one causes intense skin pain without burning, and is being developed (and tested on volunteers!) in New Mexico by the USAF Research laboratories.

Reportedly, no test subject would stand in the beam for more than 3 seconds.

I'd use Metal Illusions over Mental Images. It seems to fit the SFX better (the character feels like he's being boiled alive, but he's really fine.) I'd might also link a NND to it, just for flavor.