Post by Marcus Starkiller on Jul 17, 2005 14:19:25 GMT -5
Since the advent of the blaster, marksmen of all affiliations have yearned for a more silent weapon when stealth matters as much as power. The chief problem with silencing a blaster pistol is the fact that charged tibanna gas creates an aural discharge when traveling at high speeds, causing blaster bolts to "whine" as they speed through the air. Though great advancements were made in dampening the sound of a pocket of tibanna gas being energized, most blasters continue to produce good amounts of noise when the trigger is pulled, and their ammunition alerts nearby targets with the bolt streaks by. This has made any kind of subtlety impossible when employing a blaster weapon, and research continued to yield failure until just after the resurgence of the Empire following Palpatine's "rebirth."
Imperial engineers had discovered a process by which tibanna gas could be rendered invisible by allowing light to pass through the bolt rather than being bent, thus creating the coloration most shots generated. This research led, eventually, to the creation of the Xerrol Nightstinger blaster rifle, but simultaneously research was being performed that yielded different, but equally useful, results. By combining tibanna gas will several high-density gaseous chemicals, the "whine" of charged blaster fire could be reduced to a muted hiss. The discovery was disregarded at the time, as it was of little use when the actual energizing of the tibanna gas in the blaster's chamber still created a solid thud and sharp peal of noise. While research on the invisible bolt received more funding, the "hissing" bolt was filed away and left alone.
When the New Republic expanded and took over the research center, technicians from several major corporations were brought in and allowed to bid for the research documents in order to fund the ongoing war effort against the Empire. BlasTech, a reliable manufacturer of blaster weapons for countless years, stepped in and purchased the chemical formula for the muted tibanna gas. After a short period of research, Greff-Timms Industrial was contracted to produce miniaturized sound sponges to be used on a new silenced blaster weapon. The result, the BlasTech/Greff-Timms Suppressed Heavy Blaster, was a surprising success, but shortly after the New Republic realized the potential of the weapon for sedition and terrorism, they issued an order for the companies to cease production of the model at once. Only a hundred or so of the weapons were ever sold on the open market, but rumor has it that New Republic SpecForce unit quartermasters received several of the silenced blaster pistols before they became a rarity.
The blaster pistol operates much like a standard sidearm, but is slightly bulkier than the widely-used DL-44. A small sound sponge is mounted on the side of the blaster, hard-wired to the power cell and drawing upon it for energy when a shot is fired. The weapon employs a special power pack intended for use with the muted tibanna gas, and is incompatible with standard replacement packs. Due to the draw the sound sponge places on the power cell, and the high density of the tibanna gas, the weapon can only fire three shots on a single power pack. Since the weapons were outlawed, the ability to procure replacement packs is extremely limited, but at least one black-marked weapons dealer has the ability to produce them.
Model: BlasTech/Greff-Timms Suppressed Heavy Blaster
Type: Blaster pistol
Scale: Character
Skill: Blaster: blaster pistol
Ammo: 3
Cost: 5,400 (powerpack: 700)
Availability: 4, X
Range: 3-10/30/50
Damage: 4D
Game Notes: When the blaster is fired, any Perception checks to hear the weapon's discharge suffer a -4D penalty.
Imperial engineers had discovered a process by which tibanna gas could be rendered invisible by allowing light to pass through the bolt rather than being bent, thus creating the coloration most shots generated. This research led, eventually, to the creation of the Xerrol Nightstinger blaster rifle, but simultaneously research was being performed that yielded different, but equally useful, results. By combining tibanna gas will several high-density gaseous chemicals, the "whine" of charged blaster fire could be reduced to a muted hiss. The discovery was disregarded at the time, as it was of little use when the actual energizing of the tibanna gas in the blaster's chamber still created a solid thud and sharp peal of noise. While research on the invisible bolt received more funding, the "hissing" bolt was filed away and left alone.
When the New Republic expanded and took over the research center, technicians from several major corporations were brought in and allowed to bid for the research documents in order to fund the ongoing war effort against the Empire. BlasTech, a reliable manufacturer of blaster weapons for countless years, stepped in and purchased the chemical formula for the muted tibanna gas. After a short period of research, Greff-Timms Industrial was contracted to produce miniaturized sound sponges to be used on a new silenced blaster weapon. The result, the BlasTech/Greff-Timms Suppressed Heavy Blaster, was a surprising success, but shortly after the New Republic realized the potential of the weapon for sedition and terrorism, they issued an order for the companies to cease production of the model at once. Only a hundred or so of the weapons were ever sold on the open market, but rumor has it that New Republic SpecForce unit quartermasters received several of the silenced blaster pistols before they became a rarity.
The blaster pistol operates much like a standard sidearm, but is slightly bulkier than the widely-used DL-44. A small sound sponge is mounted on the side of the blaster, hard-wired to the power cell and drawing upon it for energy when a shot is fired. The weapon employs a special power pack intended for use with the muted tibanna gas, and is incompatible with standard replacement packs. Due to the draw the sound sponge places on the power cell, and the high density of the tibanna gas, the weapon can only fire three shots on a single power pack. Since the weapons were outlawed, the ability to procure replacement packs is extremely limited, but at least one black-marked weapons dealer has the ability to produce them.
Model: BlasTech/Greff-Timms Suppressed Heavy Blaster
Type: Blaster pistol
Scale: Character
Skill: Blaster: blaster pistol
Ammo: 3
Cost: 5,400 (powerpack: 700)
Availability: 4, X
Range: 3-10/30/50
Damage: 4D
Game Notes: When the blaster is fired, any Perception checks to hear the weapon's discharge suffer a -4D penalty.