Beam Weapons and Flying Warships of Steel

[Alius]

The game hasn't come out yet, and already my mind is playing around with ideas for cross-overs. Of course, this leads to many, many questions.

Most of what I have to ask can probably be answered with reasonable speculation. I'll make a list. Feel free to answer any or all as you see fit.

- What would a high-powered, fusion-backed weaponized laser do to a 1910 era fighting ship?
- How about a particle beam?
- How much open internal space would a ship like a Leviathan have? Basically, how easy would it be to hit something vital?

I'll probably have more to come. Feel free to be as detailed as you like regarding your answer/hypothesis.

Thanks, all.

[Worktroll]

1) A Battletech-like laser would make a pretty nasty mess of a Leviathan. Steel armour has little resistance compared to BT's magical armour, and Levs - while considerably more armoured than an airplane or zeppelin) aren't as heavily armoured as a mundane WW1 battlewagon.  BT ranges might cause it some issues, though

2) PPC hitting electroid - that could indeed be interesting ... I'm just riffing here, but BT's SRMs and LRMs might be less effective.

3) They're pretty cramped - much like the wet-navy warships on which their architecture is based. But they're designed with damage control in mind; the soft, crunchy bits are either deep in side (like the boilers) or specifically armoured (like the bridge). Coal-burning ships get additional protection by putting their bunkers on the outer parts of the hull.

W.

[Tonbo Karasu]

1) A Battletech-like laser would make a pretty nasty mess of a Leviathan. Steel armour has little resistance compared to BT's magical armour, and Levs - while considerably more armoured than an airplane or zeppelin) aren't as heavily armoured as a mundane WW1 battlewagon.  BT ranges might cause it some issues, though

The lack of resistance might lead to some advantages.  A laser shot would just cause a single simple hole right through your Leviathan, rather than the explosive mess that shells cause.

2) PPC hitting electroid - that could indeed be interesting ... I'm just riffing here, but BT's SRMs and LRMs might be less effective.

Whatever happens it would definitely involve "man-made lightning"

3) They're pretty cramped - much like the wet-navy warships on which their architecture is based. But they're designed with damage control in mind; the soft, crunchy bits are either deep in side (like the boilers) or specifically armoured (like the bridge). Coal-burning ships get additional protection by putting their bunkers on the outer parts of the hull.

W.

This combined with 1) might well be the downfall of lasers.  They don't work well for the same reason that big lasers aren't useful against an infantry squad.

Karasu

[Alius]

3) They're pretty cramped - much like the wet-navy warships on which their architecture is based. But they're designed with damage control in mind; the soft, crunchy bits are either deep in side (like the boilers) or specifically armoured (like the bridge). Coal-burning ships get additional protection by putting their bunkers on the outer parts of the hull.

W.

This combined with 1) might well be the downfall of lasers.  They don't work well for the same reason that big lasers aren't useful against an infantry squad.

Karasu

Actually, it all depends on how you envision the beam working. Since I still play under the BMR every so often, it's not hard for me to imagine a BattleTech laser doing a sweep attack. Still, if it has no problem punching through steel, it should have no problem punching through everything else, including a low point on a boiler. You perforate a boiler, you're causing a major power loss on the vessel. (Asside: As I've seen most of the rules, how would a boiler hit be treated, game-wise?)

[cray]

- What would a high-powered, fusion-backed weaponized laser do to a 1910 era fighting ship?

BattleTech's lasers managed to melt several hundred kilograms of BT's magical armor. Leviathans can spare several hundred kilograms, even tons, of structural steel.

- How about a particle beam?

If like BT's particle beams - which are not "lightning guns" - then about the same as lasers. They won't bother electroid too much because there's not a lot of electrical charge delivered.

If you're talking mad scientists' weaponry, that's a different matter. A good lightning gun might nullify the charge on electroid.

- How much open internal space would a ship like a Leviathan have? Basically, how easy would it be to hit something vital?

Not so much. It'd be worth looking up the Task Force Taffy 3 to see how ships can handle catastrophic damage from heavy weaponry thanks to system redundancy, empty spaces, and lack of effective armor. (Taffy 3: the entire task force was lighter than Admiral Kurita's single battle ship, and Kurita wasn't alone.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Samar#Battle