RE: ST designing, railgun

>
>I just can't leave it alone.  I tinker and tinker and tinker. I've
>modified the ship designs about 3 times already.  But what fun!

Indeed this is the most fun.

>I read the rules on the railgun.  I see several problems.
>1) Not in the FB.  Small matter, easily modified.  Acceptance by
>others is another matter.  Is this "anti"matter?

The new unofficial FB railgun can be found here - 
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3565/kravak/kv-fb-design.html
Its better balanced that the FB version.

>3) Limited to 1 arc of fire.  So far most of my K designs fit
>this but I did expand the arcs by 1 for two of the disruptors
>on my new D7.	I have no problem going back to 1 arc.

In TOS & TNNG it seem that disruptors are have fairly static
arcs, given the blisters on the model Vor'Cha I have, a 1 arc 
limit wouldn't be to unrealistic.

>Back to 2.  My ideas for modifying railguns to be disruptors
>for FB and being affected by screens, since the effect I want 
>is from an energy weapon and not a mass driver:

Agreed not a mass driver, so screens effect it. You still need the
leaking screen effect though. Watched 'Yesterdays Enterprise' the
disruptors
take the Big E apart even though it has full shields to the end. 

>Each level of screen modifies the damage die roll by -1. 

You want the shields to behave like KV armour does to railguns
so what you propose seems about right or see UKVRG page above.

>A modified
>result less than 1 has the disruptor class do 1/2 damage, rounded
>down.	So a class-1 disruptor will do no damage, a class-2 and
>class-3 will do 1 point of damage.  

I'd say no damage if damage roll < 1, this just means you hit so the
shield absorbs all the energy, a glancing shot.

Reduce the cost to 3 per
>mass instead of 4 (gee, in line with beam weapons, the class-3
>equals a pulse/photon torpedo launcher).
>(uh oh, fuzzy memory; mass were 1, 2, and 4 for each class, right?)

Costs for UKVRG on page above.

-= tim jones =-