Hello /k/, I'm from /tg/ and I've got some questions about weapons.
In my game, the date is 2040 and there is a habitable planet that is reachable from Earth via some science-fiction bullshit that doesn't matter for the purposes of these questions. Launch cost is about $20k/kg delivered to the planet.
The planet is mostly Earth-like; 90% Earth gravity, human-breathable atmosphere, not unusually corrosive or anything. Inhabited by animals that can get fairly large (not quite largest dinosaur large, but there are a few species which are bigger than elephants), although the bigger ones are rare. No sentient life.
Back on Earth, there have been no major wars or any great breakthroughs in technology. Computers are faster, cars are more efficient, materials a little stronger but generally nothing amazing that is likely to affect weapons development.
A four-man team has a 15kg weight allowance and $500k budget for weapons and other defences against local wildlife. Hunting for food isn't considered essential, but they would probably appreciate it if it were possible. 'Defence against local wildlife' includes defence against ones they piss off trying to capture specimens. The planet has more heavy metals than Earth, so the local flora and fauna aren't likely to be that harmed by lead poisoning, but if lead-free bullets could be used without seriously affecting effectiveness they would be preferred. Chemical weapons are considered to be unreliable since not enough is known about the local biochemistry yet.
With those parameters, what are they likely to have in their armoury? What would you give them if you had to work with weapons that exist today? What kind of small-arms technology is almost certain to be available by 2040 and worth taking?
M82A1 loaded with mk 211
When you need to kill every last motherfucker on the planet, with one bullet for each
Just give them all 12 gauge shotguns with slugs and buckshot rounds if all they have to be worried about is animals. If there's a fuckton of animals, give them big-bore assault rifles like M4's in .300 blackout or something.
By 2040, nothing would have advanced by much at all. We're only 24 years away from there. Maybe a couple new weapons platforms that are marginally better than their predecessors, but that's it.
>>30180415
If you want specific models, use Mossberg 590 or Benelli M2/M4. Bonus points for using SPAS-12.
All of these designs look like schlongs?
Did H.R. Giger create these?
>>30180269
>no major wars or any great breakthroughs in technology
That implies energy storage technology hasn't improved much, so man portable railguns and directed energy weapons are out.
Questions before I answer.
>What is the terrain?
>Are vehicles allowed?
>Is the $500K for weapons only or does it include general gear and kit?
>What kind of situation calls for only four men but $500K in weapons?
>Are the men protecting the immediate area of the fortified base or do some missions call for a mobile force?
>Are there any filthy civilians (Or even worse, tree hugging, Kumbaya, nature and harmony-type fuckers.) around to protect?
>Is the 15kg per man the weight limit that they can bring aboard whatever SF shuttle, or the amount they can bring with them out into the field?
>How often can they be resupplied?
>Can extra equipment be delivered afterwards, bypassing the 15kg limit?
>Are food, water, etc, supplied or do they have to be acquired on-planet?
>>30180516
What kind of fucked up genital warts do you have that look like claws/teeth
>>30180269
They's probably want to one guy with an M249 or maybe even an M240B (Power assist isn't too far fetched for 2040). That would be able to deal with massed hordes.
Everyone else would get FALs or some other battle rifle. How big are these things? If it's similar to Earth, then 7.62 REAL FUCKING NATO should do.
If they get a jeep or something like that, give them a Mk. 19 grenade machine gun.
AK-47s for everybody!
>>30180415
This pretty much.
If you want to go hunt and kill more elusive stuff (maybe animals can smell humans from half a mile away or something) consider giving them a classic hunting rifle.
Within 15kg of arms its kinda hard to break that $500k so go for the best I guess.
Also don't forget sidearms. .357s maybe.
With all that in mind...
(and some notes for your game)
2 guy get them Mossbergs or SPASes, and a couple boxes of buck or slug for primary defense (maybe 25-30 rounds for each guy - those should be able to take down your local fauna in one hit if it isn't exactly an elephant - if there are, and the team don't know about them, command fucked up)
1 guy gets dat long range Remington or whatever, for that one time when you need to reach out there and pop that monkey at 700+m. Not a lot of ammo though, gotta save on that weight.
(maybe ten rounds? Matter of balance. Instagibs most anything, near perfect accuracy, but slow rate of fire and ammo scarcity for balanse)
1 guy gets big ass binoculars and a 10/22, because them binocs are heavy as fuck, and the .22 because small game hunting. Lots of ammo too because its really small and light, and also the gubmint has been hiding that stuff since the early 2020s.
(You can always use binoculars. The .22 will require decent shot placement I guess and the bullets are tiny as fuck, you won't stop an attacking boar or even catch a fleeing deer with those in your setting. But they are great for killing a bunny or whatever your planet has for dinner, and you can give your player loads of those, 250+ easily, and they weigh in at about the same as those 25 shotgun shells.)
And then, every guy also gets a .357 revolver for last ditch personal defense, and 13 rounds.
(If the players have to use these, they dun fucked up. If they have to use the thirteenth round, GG.)
Check >>30173927 for a few ideas.
>>30180269
ProTip: Guns are a detail, not a plot device. Write your story and define your setting, and the right choice will become obvious.
>>30180540
>What is the terrain?
>Warm, dry coastal with fairly sparse vegetation. Equivalent to savannah or scrubland.
>Are vehicles allowed?
Yes, but not brilliant ones. The mission starts with only inflatable boats; after mission critical equipment has been delivered, they will get a small open-frame rover and if the mission is successful there may be more people and possibly a light helicopter eventually.
>Is the $500K for weapons only or does it include general gear and kit?
It's the maximum for weapons, ammunition and other 'defensive' gear (e.g. armour, explosives, perimeter sensors, barbed wire) but they also get full survival kits, scientific gear, etc. which doesn't have to be out of that budget.
>What kind of situation calls for only four men but $500K in weapons?
One with an overall budget well into eight figures, a fair amount of that being on training the crew.
>Are the men protecting the immediate area of the fortified base or do some missions call for a mobile force?
There is no 'fortified base'. These guys are literally the first people allowed on the surface. They need to build everything once they get there. They will have to travel quite far to recover the various capsules which are dropped to provide them with equipment (sometimes they miss the landing site by a few miles and obviously you don't want them dropping right on the base) and also explore the local area.
>Are there any filthy civilians (Or even worse, tree hugging, Kumbaya, nature and harmony-type fuckers.) around to protect?
The four-man team has two combatants (one is also the pilot and the medic, the other one is a scientist) and two with only very basic combat skills (engineer and another scientist, although the engineer is an expert armourer and knows explosives). The second team is similar. Nobody else on the planet until phase 2.
(split for length)
>>30180516
They look too natural to be anything created by Giger. He didn't just draw generic fleshy things.
>Continued...
>>30180540
>>Is the 15kg per man the weight limit that they can bring aboard whatever SF shuttle, or the amount they can bring with them out into the field?
It's 15kg for all 4 of them and it's what they get in their landing craft. There is no allowance for weapons in the other craft due to follow them (already full of essential equipment) but they could request an emergency delivery, which will arrive in three months.
>>How often can they be resupplied?
They get about one drop per week, but they have to be planned at least three months in advance.
>>Can extra equipment be delivered afterwards, bypassing the 15kg limit?
Yes, but all the capacity on the scheduled deliveries has already been used by stuff which isn't defensive gear.
>>Are food, water, etc, supplied or do they have to be acquired on-planet?
Food is supplied, water is meant to be acquired on-planet but filters, etc. don't need to come out of the defence budget.
>>30180516
Snaaid
Some kind of self loading rifle with a carbon fiber reinforced barrel, super strong high molecular wear plastic reciever chambered in a very hot caseless round. All of these things are acvieveable today, if not within 24 years.
With good enough recoil compensation it would allow for quick follow up shots or multiple round salvo's like the H&K g11.
OP here again, with a couple of extra notes; only one of the characters is proficient with a wide range of firearms. One of the others is strongly specialised in rifles (and very good with them) and the other two are basically no good with anything.
Nobody is sure what the internal anatomy of the local wildlife is, so they can't really aim for brains, vital organs, etc.
Is match-grade ammunition worth it? The budget allows for it and the game system has rules which make it relevant. What kind of bullet is best when you don't know how much bone it will have to punch through? Hollow-point would seem like a risky proposition if there is a possibility of hitting something hard, but offers the best performance against uncertain anatomy. Or is an inch or so of bone unlikely to stop 7.62 NATO regardless of what type?
>>30181462
The issue with caseless ammunition for this scenario is that they probably want a high-end hunting or sniper rifle and they tend to be weapons which people will want to hand-load ammunition for. There might well be plenty of rifles using caseless ammo in 2040, but I would expect most of them to be either low-end weapons or military full-auto things.
>>30180269
.375 H&H can take anything in Africa humanely...even elephants.
.375's "children", .458 win mag and .458 Lott would also be decent considerations.
these are the sorts of rounds you'd use on a dangerous game safari, or on a zoo emergency response team and can basically kill anything on earth as far as size goes.
skin and bone density could be an issue, though, which would maybe push you towards military rounds, but idk where you're going with the nature of your animals.
those rounds I listed, though, would be what you'd see people carrying if they expected large dangerous game.
>>30181463
Give the proficient guy a battle rifle, something like a FN FAL. The rifle guy should get a .375 safari rifle. The other two should get simple pump shotguns. This would probably make the most sense. Rifle dude can use his skills to do long-range shooting, proficient dude covers all bases well, and the two others only have to be worried with up-close defense so a shotgun's more forgiving in that regard.
>>30181463
Match grade ammo is pretty much only used for long-range sniping human targets or, well, rifle matches. It'd be a waste of money and time to use match-grade ammo for defending against wildlife.
Hollow point bullets can probably be reserved for the rifle specialist only. FMJ bullets work just fine.
>>30181762
>It'd be a waste of money and time to use match-grade ammo for defending against wildlife.
When you are paying around $500 per round to get the things to the planet, with a three-month delivery time a 'waste of time and money' is already happening. Might as well get the good stuff in case you need it, right?
>>30180427
>Bonus points for using SPAS-12.
essential if its 80's cheese action-themed, OP.
but seriously. assuming weight is solely arms, not arms and equipment, Lightweight shotguns as a general carry- spas-12's if you're aping 80's action films (clearly, they were re-introduced in a new manufacturing batch in 2028, or something), a Benelli, Mossberg or similar otherwise. Possibly modded out with carbon-composite stock parts, for weight saving - lighter than polymers and the technology would be more commonplace by then most likely.
Probably a marksman's rifle - I'm inclined to say an Accuracy International AXMC in .338 Lapua Magnum with a Schmidt and Bender scope and AI or Harris Bipod. Folding stock, possibly a shortened barrel for weight saving. Full polycarbonate chassis is lightweight enough as is.
probably one or two general purpose rifles, what depends on style of setting I'd say. AR15 clones of some sort are the obvious one for a mostly US-centric setting, but conversely, something more modern (read: slightly more futuristic than a by-then 80-year old rifle), and european like FN-2000 bullpups might be more suited to the style of the setting. If not just weight-saving, but volume-saving is a more important consideration, FN P90's would probably be even more suitable, as a PDW which is only 2.6kg, and still able to produce enough firepower.
If a slightly germanic style would fit, then H&K MP7 and a version of the cancelled UCP pistol might be a nice "future gun" style. Claim the UCP's ballistics were solved in 2021 and it went on the market in 2023, or something?
Would make sense each person has a sidearm, and a designated main weapon.
Also, machetes and similar equipment would need to be considered. Good, modern blade-grade stainless like Niolox steel, with custom kydex and micarta grip/sheath, and probably some motion sensor equipment too?
Are they bringing vehicles?
If so, i'd outfit 3 of them with AKMs for the penetration and simplicity of learning and maintaining. The 4th (and best shot) will have a bolt gun in 30-06 for long distance engagement. The teams side arm would be a large bore revolver. Like a Ruger Redhawk.
If they have a vehicle, i'd also put a shotgun or two like a Rem 870 or Mossberg 500 in it for anything that flies or too small for reliable shooting with the rifles.
>>30180269
what kind of crazy ass dragon dildos are those OP
>>30181463
havig read that (missed it first time around, what I said here:
>>30182025 I'd expand on.
the two who arent trained, would have basic safety training for a shotgun, and PDW _or_ Pistol as sidearm. Basic weapons for general safety.
shotguns, most likely with adjustable/removable choke, so it can adapt to bird, buck and maybe solid slug(?), and a small reserve of each. That would give sufficient adaptability to many purposes against all but really big predators etc.
Ideally the sidearm PDW/Pistol would be universal on a team, for ammunition commonality, since you dont want to have 4 people all needing different ammo types (unless you as a GM are particularly sadistic and they're particularly dumb... would you really want to end up on a planet where you have even less spare ammo, after all?) So something like P90's and FN-five-sevens in the FN 5.7mm cartridge, or H&K MP7 and UCP in their 4.6x30 , or UMP and VP9 in 9x19 parabellum.
I'd stick with the Accuracy International as a marksman's rifle. Accuracy International's previous generation weapon , the AI AWM was a world-class rifle used by 20+ nations as a service rifle, and countless civilian law enforcement agencies. There's very little doubt that the AXMC will be as widespread over the next 30 years into the 2040's, so I would say that it is the best weapon of choice for a style standpoint.
The character who has high levels is the one that's more tricky. I'd be inclined to suggest that they have something a bit more combat oriented, like the FN2000 might well be suitable for the right style.
What I'd avoid, however, is AKMs or the likes - a then 90-year old design in that setting would be wrong. ARs, likewise, very dated by then.
>>30180847
>>30180918
>The four-man team has two combatants (one is also the pilot and the medic, the other one is a scientist) and two with only very basic combat skills (engineer and another scientist, although the engineer is an expert armourer and knows explosives).
>>30181463
>one of the characters is proficient with a wide range of firearms
>One of the others is strongly specialized in rifles
>other two are basically no good with anything
Okay, let's see.
If two of them aren't good with any weapon, then they're no use armed as there is no point in packing guns and ammo if they're going to miss anyways.
One of them is good with pretty much anything, the other is good with rifles. Okay.
Man 1 and Man 2 will be armed with a .308 rifle each.
.308 Rifle x2 (6.34) + Scope x1 (0.27kg) = 6.61kg
Note that that's just the civilian models. If we shave off as much weight as possible because future, I guess it could go down to 6.4kg, or at the absolute least, 6kg.
RPG-76 x1 (0.32kg) + Rocket x1 (1.78) = 2.1 (I will explain.)
With the improved future version, it probably could be shaved down to an even 2kg
.308 rounds x285 = 7kg.
6 + 2 + 7 = 15kg
Now to explain. The .308 rifles will be good for pretty much any animal. The skilled rifleman will carry the scoped rifle and the other will use iron sights.
Now to explain the RPG-76. There's a lot of talk about big safari rifles, but those safari rifles are big and heavy, and the animals they will be used against are rare. You can't really justify bringing a specialty weapon that might not be shot at all. And that ammo is heavy. That's a lot of weight for not a lot of usefulness. The RPG-76 on the other hand, is light, doesn't require a heavy launcher, and will take down any animal you can name. It's single shot, but one rocket per week between resupplies is more than enough. Basically, don't fuck with animals and they (Probably.) won't fuck with you.
>>30180269
you could "it's science i ain't gotta explain shit" a lot of your concerns away with the presumption that non centralized manufacturing for space exploration and convenience took off big so everyone and their mother and especially PMCs going full pandora would have a miniaturized CNC mill/lathe and 3D printers so just "press print" and make whatever they need all warhammer STC style. this would explain direct progression of weapons and gear as you make more cash to buy licenses/files to produce moar dakka in your tabletop faggotry.
start them off with the ever eternal AR platform and the jerk off your gunboner with all the modern one offs and prototypes you want.
also is there megafauna? pic related for starter megafauna removal.
>>30181520
You don't need a "high end hunting or sniper rifle" with hand loads to kill stuff dead, I doubt they would be worrying about sub moa accuracy when onna alien savannah, blasting away at the local fauna.
>>30180269
Everyone gets a PTRD
>>30180269
why dont give them based mountain bikes?
Two ar15's in the 5 lb weight area ( unloaded) ( 4.54 kg) 200 rds of 5.56 ~ 62 grin is 2.63 kg
Model 70 Extreme Weather SS ( 6.12 lb) 3.06 kg ( maybe a .300 win mag?)
+ USO sr 8c (0.73 kg) 3.79 kg for big critters.
and lastly a 3.63 kg Cross bow PSE TAC 15 Crossbows
~ 14.59 kg w/e bolts and ammo for the m70, so maybe around 180 for the ar 15 to give some ammo to the model 70.
My logic on a cross bow is simply hunting , the Ar15’s for “ what the fuck is that” and the m70 for Bigger critters that you don’t wanna get near.
