RE: Armour bypass weapon + kinetic shields

Okay heres an idea for not so much a weapon, but a system, and further
down
a shield.  Sorry folks but this is a little bit of an essay:

Structural Analyzer:~
The PSB would be the system scans the ship for defects and damage in
armour
and hull.  The system would then link to a fire control and be able to
fire
say, 1 or 2 standard beams, or maybe link to any number of FCS, but only
fire one per FCS.  The Ship would require Superior Sensors as these
would be
the only ones powerful enough to give the required scan resolution and
detail.
Effect:  System penetrates 1 layer of armour. Rest of damage is done
straight to ship.  If no armour, then say allow reroll on 5 as well as 6
to
show for hitting a weak spot, only on initial hit, all rerolls are as
normal.

Mass: Fixed number as just a superior, specialised computer.  Say 5
Cost: Should be expensive due to level of quality required -> cost 25

also as it is just a computer, and is deep inside the ship, not near the
surface (uses sup.sensors and normal FCSs as surface parts) could put in
core systems.

My suggestion for kinetic shields would be that (PSB) the ship uses
essentially very strong screens, and flows a dense layer of particles
over
the field.  The shields would have a set strength over the entire ship
(any
reduction is balanced out by flow of particles), and as a weapon hits,
all
damage is done to the shield until it fails, at which point one of two
things happen:
*For weapons like beams and K-guns, the remain damage goes straight to
armour and ship as normal
*For torpedoes and missiles, no damage flows on as it would be assumed
the
missile explodes on the shield, which would be a distance away from the
ship
such that the explosion would have no effect.
Draw backs would have to be that, when using sensor rules, all rolls
suffer
a penalty due to the magnetic and particle fields, and that if the ship
fires then the arc through which the shot passed would be 'leaky'
letting
through half beam and k-gun damage (round down) and for missiles, etc,
roll
1D6 4-6 missile gets through. PSB would be that the ship has to emit a
disturbance cone in the field to allow shots to pass through.
The system could be turned off and on, negating all effects while off,
but
would take 1 turn to put up and down (PSB=to allow for retrieval and
redeployment of particles, and for the charging and discharging of
magnetic
field generators). During this 1 turn, the effects would be halved,
essentially in a 'leaky' state.

The shields would have a set strength dependent on ship size and shield
rating and as damage is suffered the shield reduces (particles being
dislodged and lost from the field), but could regenerate say, 5 or 10%
each
turn dependent on rating by emiting more particles.

When damaged the system would become 'leaky' on first hit, disabled on
second and each repair takes it up a level.

Possible option is overcharging it, doubling strength and recharge, but
for
each turn running overcharged it risks damage, 6 on a D6 first turn, 5-6
on
second, etc. Damage reduces it by outlined 'damage level' however if run
for
six turns, system is completely fried, and if already damaged, can't be
repaired until it returns to a space dock.

2 rating levels:
1st:
mass = 10% TMF
cost = 10 times mass
strength = 50% mass
regen = 5% per turn
2nd = 15% TMF
cost = 15/20 times mass
strength = 75-100% mass
regen = 10% per turn

I'm not that flash at working out costs and actual mechanics, but as a
general guide

Possible Background: ESU first started developing in early war against
Kra'vak at the realisation their ships which largely use screens are
very
vulnerable. The other sides quickly caught on through espionage, and so
all
sides got it around the same time (ESU first as they had a head start,
NSL
last as they are least qualified in Sceens and magnetic fields, and with
armour and stong ships didn't see the urgency at first)

A variation along the lines of the pinpoint shield is that the same
concepts
as outlined above, but only one arc coverage per generator, but can be
moved
around 2 arcs per turn to which ever arc player desires (arc along which
the
SDN is =) )

Andrew Ayres