Hey

My group are sneaking around in the Alms house (from edge of darkness) and recently got into a fight against some body snatchers. They were only using Las-pistols and a primitive sword. How much noise do you think that a Laspistol do if you compare it to a stub gun or a shotgun? Would the fight alert the Logicians? What do you think. At the moment I just rolled a standard awareness test for the Logicians and they heard the noise. Any input?

reptile74 said:

In my games I rule that a standard las weapon makes the same amount of noise as a SP equivalent - a laspistol makes about as much noise as an autopistol.

macd21 said:

It is described as having a "distinctive snap like the crack of a whip"

Now that's nowhere in the vicinity of a gunshot (which is so load you want ear protection when firing to avoid hearing damage), and at least not automatic fire which increases the sound alot. If the Logicians are in a nearby room they might hear it, but there's no guarantee (after all striking swords on swords is fairly loud as well).

I'd say you did the right thing. As Las weapons cannot be silenced, the standard test seems appropriate. Sure, maybe Las weapons don't hurt hearing as much as SP weapons but I've always thought that they make about equivalent noise. The sound of a gunshot is often overstated in movies and fiction anyways.

numb3rc said:

Talking awarenesstest: [!!!SPOILERS!!!!]

I would have gave the Logician Agents a better check; +10. As far as I understood, the Coscarla District is nearly abandoned and the Alms House will be absolut silent besides what´s going on in the operation theatre (which seem quit "sound proof" since no screams directed any attention there till now!). The rooms are wide with not to much furniture and as I remember there was an "Atrium". If the the fight did not take place far away from there, I think the sound of the laser shot will travel. The primitve weapon might not be the problem as long as it connect to flesh, not metal or stone...
By the way, how many shots have been fired and how long was the fight going on? People tend to do aside "one odd noise", but if it is repeating two or more times it gains attention... (perhaps reflecteable with repeated test for Awareness for every round of combat where any significant noise is going on).

Gregorius21778 said:

Well, in the main rulebook it quite clearly states that Sliencers can only be applied to a list of some SP weapons (but not shotguns apparently) and nothing in any other class. I interpret that as that just about all SP weapons can be silenced but others cannot. The fact is, the noise from a las weapon would be supplemented from the air along the beam being ionized so the silencer would have to be as long as the beam!

*SPOILERS*

Now that you mention it, the District is near abandoned. Although the Logicians could pass the sound of gunfire off as criminal elements I can't see why they wouldn't investigate. If they are in the Alms house, I do recall there are a few agents in there with not much to do but fill out paperwork and the like and they would easily notice the sound of gunfire.

I'd concur with the awareness test. Las weapons still make a sound, though I'd say not as load as SP gunfire. That I'd say would have automatically alerted them no awareness test needed. If i can hear it from 2 blocks away while sitting inside my house, then they'd definitly be able to hear it inside their own building. Las weapons, while still making a distinctive whip-crack, kind of like a mini-thunder clap I'd imagine, it probably wouldn't carry as well as a standard explosive bang.

Except, that "whip-crack" is supposed to be caused by the superheating and displacement of air along the beam path. Sure, it's not as loud as a stub revolver our automatic, but along its path it would be more consistent volume-wise.

-=Brother Praetus=-

Brother Praetus said:

oooo, good point. Didn't think about that, but definitly something to keep in mind, especially for long distance shots! However, it won't matter much in an enclosed space as the shot isn't going to go far. Puts a new twist on snipping with a long las though...