Monday, June 6, 2016

White Star: Quinlon Disruptor Tech

Quinlons have played a role in both campaigns I've run so far. In the Dark Stars setting they are a fringe group with little organization, working as pirates, scavengers and traders in Netherspace Sector, with their militarized coalition trying to make a bit of headway. In the new Regency Campaign, the Quinlons are a major force, and are basically imperial fascists who have allied with the Order of Typhon to indirectly aid the Vegan Empire by siezing control of the Independent Sectors that lie between the Vegan territories and the Regency, allowing the Vegan naval supply lines uninterrupted access to attack their enemies.

In both setting I've described the quinlons the same way: large humanoids, looking vaguely like Predators which cross-bred with Reavers from Firefly and then adopted the aesthetic look of the guys from Mad Max: Fury Road. They have a penchant for decorating themselves heavily with metal piercings and tattoos, and despite vertical mouths they have eerie, human-like eyes. Sure, quinlons are technically White Star's "not-klingons" but in many ways they fill a great niche for "space orcs and/or other prominent foe" as well, so why not spice them up a bit!

Anyway, quinlons are known for dangerous but effective technology. Here's some of what I've developed for them in my campaigns so far:




Quinlon Disruptors

Quinlon disruptors come in pistol and rifle varieties. They are notorious for their unreliability; any time a disruptor rolls a "1" on an attack roll, roll a D20 again: on a 1-2 or 19-20 the disruptor explodes, dealing 2D8 damage to the target and anyone within five feet of the explosion. On a 3-4 or 17-18 it jams and the user has to eject the energy clip and replace it that round.

Disruptors are notorious for dealing severe damage. When a target takes enough damage to drop to zero hit points, it must make a saving throw (modifiers to saves for explosive or death effects apply). If the target fails, it is disintegrated.

Quinlon disruptors come in several varieties: the standard disruptors are mass-produced and handed out to shock troops for quick use. Antique disruptors are more reliable (they only blow up on a 1 or 20) but also require 1D6 hours maintenance per week after being used or the reliability goes back to normal. Outsourced disruptors are also possible. In the Regency Campaign, the Vegan Empire strikes a deal with the quinlons and supplies them with mass-produced disruptors that include a non-lethal stun setting. These disruptors can be set to deal non-lethal damage to targets, knocking them out; in reality, any one reduced to zero hit points when hit by a modifed disruptor at stun still have to make a saving throw, or the damage is treated as lethal (but they are not disintegrated).

Disruptor types include:

Antique Disruptor Pistol (1D8+2 damage; Range 100; ROF 2; Clip 20; failure risk; disintegration risk)
Antique Disruptor Rifle (2D8 damage; range 200; ROF 2; Clip 20; failure risk; disintegration risk)
Modern Disruptor Pistol (1D8+2 damage; Range 100; ROF 2; Clip 20; higher chance of failure)
Modern Disruptor Rifle (2D8 damage; range 200; ROF 2; Clip 20; higher chance of failure)
Disruptor Pistol with Stun (as regular pistol above, but "stun" option built in)
Disruptor Rifle with Stun (as regular pistol above, but "stun" option built in)

Purchase Costs: 

Disruptors are illegal in most areas of space, so the costs below reflect "cost in Quinlon Space" vs. "black market prices" everywhere else:

Weapon                                   Quinlon Cost            Black Market Cost
Antique Disruptor Pistol          100                            500
Antique Disruptor Rifle           200                            1000
Modern Disruptor Pistol          50                               250
Modern Disruptor Rifle           100                             500
Disruptor Pistol With Stun       75                               375
Disruptor Rifle with Stun         150                             750

Overcharging Disruptors

Anyone with sufficient technical skill (such as engineers) can set a disruptor to overcharge by bypassing it's already shaky safety mechanisms. Doing so turns the disruptor into a lethal bomb which detonates, dealing 5D8 damage to all targets in a 25 foot radius. This destroys the weapon, and anything in the radius that hits zero hit points must make the save or be disintegrated. When overcharging, the user has 1D4-1 combat rounds to get away before it explodes; if the result is "0" then it explodes immediately! If you are using a skill system, a successful skill check (DC 15) will add 1 to the countdown timer.


5 comments:

  1. 5% of the time it blows up 20% of the time...average damage of 9... i wonder if it ever crosses the Quinlon's mind that every 100 shots is likely to be their last (as well as anyone standing around them)

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    1. Quinlons breed quickly, with one pregnancy lasting 6 months and creating 1D8 offspring. They supplement their military with vat-grown soldiers accelerated to maturity with flash programming in only 6 month. The cost savings would be there, but it only costs an average of 25 credits to "grow" a new soldier once the vat is paid for...

      =)

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    2. So yes, this means that "grizzled old veteran captain" you guys fought Saturday was probably maybe 25 years old! He had already celebrated surviving his 100th shot....and then the star knight mowed him down.

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    3. but how does that make the quinlon feel? assuming they can do such a thing.

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