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Tanstaafl/BlackJack
Arms (TBA) Introduction
Formed by the merger in 2302 of Tanstaafl Armaments LLC and BlackJack Rifles LLC (both modest weapons and weapons parts manufacturers that had begun as machine shops pressed into wartime service during the original Kafer invasion), Tanstaafl/BlackJack Arms (TBA) is the colony’s largest weapons manufacturer. TBA’s product line tends to reflect the economics of war waged at the end of the human sphere of colonization, selling “good enough” weapons produced with local materials and labor to both civilians and government agencies within the colony.
Purchasing Weaponry within
Tanstaafl
Narrative
Turning out the militia was its usual chaos, sergeants and cousins chivvying their fellow colonists into some vague semblance of dressed ranks, a dozen different types of rifles and the odd shotgun here and there, all held at something approximating shoulder arms. “Typical?” Captain Jefferson Lopez, Brigade of Texas Rifles, asked his local liaison officer. “Jawolh, Herr Hauptmann,” answered 1st Lieutenant Heinrich Bäder, Tanstaafl Free Legion, and previous to that, sergeant of infantry in the Bavarian Army. “The militia have spirit but . . . not much else. Leadership – officers and NCOs – is uneven. Weapons, training, well, its all uneven, really, sir.” Lopez nodded, having expected as much. “Well, we’re here to do smooth out some of the low spots. Can’t possibly be any harder than the militia in Venezuela.” “A rough bunch, sir?” Bäder asked, minimally interested. He’d left Earth and any concern for it behind when the politicians had betrayed the Bavarian people. Lopez simply shrugged. Behind him, several of the troops from his platoon of
Texas Rifles were helping some of the militia unload cases of rifles from
trucks. Glorysky sat astride the
eastern approaches the Texas Battalion base camp at Worththetrip. Lopez’ present mission was to look into
ensuring that the local militia was suitable for screening those approaches,
and augmenting offensive sweeps as necessary. “I’m surprised
you were able to get rifles from the Militia Bureau in the capital,” Bäder
noted, actually meaning he was surprised the small Texan expeditionary force
had been willing to pay the likely exorbitant bribes required. “We didn’t,” Lopez corrected. “I purchased them directly from Tanstaafl/Blackjack out of my Op
Fund. I’m sure that will require some
explaining back on Earth, but luckily the Colonel’s an old Rifleman, and is
more concerned with getting the job done on the ground than double crossing all
his T’s and triple dotting his I’s. “Hell, maybe we’ll even accomplish something here before
the politicians here or back home fire him.” Product Line
Small Arms
Black River 18mm Combat Shotgun Frontero 9mm Family of Small Arms Grizzly Series Assault Carbines Hotback Service Rifle 7.5mm Assault Rifle Hotback Service Rifle II 9mm Assault Rifle Ranger and Recon 7.5mm Machineguns Support Weapons
Beowulf 7cm Recoilless Rifle Gonzales 6cm Commando Mortar Sigurd 10cm Recoilless Rifle Trueno 30mm Grenade Launcher Small Arms
Black
River
18mm Combat Shotgun
The Black River is a short-barreled semi-automatic shotgun, feeding from a detachable six or ten round magazine. Though layout is conventional, the weapon is still quite compact (65cm) and is well suited for very close combat situations. It is fitted with a non-removable full choke that improves accuracy with buckshot, but precludes its firing slugs. The weapon is similar in capabilities to the DunArmCo CAG, but is somewhat heavier. Type: 18mm Semi-Automatic Shotgun Country: Tanstaafl Weight: 3.4kg (unloaded) Length: 65cm (Bulk = 2) Action: Single Shots or Bursts Ammunition: 18x60mm Fixed Cartridge Buckshot Muzzle Velocity: 410mps Magazine: 6 or 10 round box Magazine Weight: 0.3kg (6) or 0.5kg (10) ROF: 2 Aimed Fire Range: 80m Area Fire Burst: 5 rounds (AFV = 1) Area Fire Range: 40m DP Value: 0.3 (x10) Price: Lv300 (Lv2 for 100
round box of ammunition, Lv3 for either 6 or 10 round magazines) Frontero 9mm Family of Small Arms (F-1 and F-2 Pistols, F-3 Machine Pistol, F-4 Carbine)
The Frontero (Tejano slang for transnational bandits and gunslingers who have plagued both the Mexican and American border regions at various points in Texan history) family of small arms consists of two automatic pistol designs (one full-sized and one compact), and selective fire machine pistol and carbine designs, all relying on the same basic operating system and controls. The basic design consists of a roller-lock bolt design and a double-action only trigger and action. The only safeties fitted are grip and trigger safeties that are automatically disengaged by firing the weapon with a proper grip. All weapons can use the 16, 20, and 30 round magazines designed for the product line (only the P-2 can use the short 12 round magazine), but using the 30 round magazines in either of the pistols should be treated as increasing the weapon’s bulk by 1.
Grizzly
Series
Assault Carbine
The Grizzly series grew out of an initial design (now known as the Grizzly 11) for a carbine chambered to fire the high-powered 11x35mm pistol round used by the Stracher P-11m and other heavy handguns. (Large caliber handguns being very popular within Tanstaafl for their theoretical ability to knock down a Kafer attacker at close range with a single hit). The resulting weapon bears some vague resemblance to a non-bullpup version of the American M2 assault rifle (or more precisely TBA’s version of the M2, the Hotback Service Rifle II), owing to the use of locally manufactured M2 furniture and controls. Internally, however, there is no similarity between the two weapon, with the Grizzly 11 using an entirely different operating system, bolt design, etc (bearing more resemblance to a hybridized Colonial Service Rifle/FAA-73 combination). Optics salvaged from M2 assault rifles round out the package, giving the Grizzly 11 good day and night performance at typical combat ranges. Magazine capacity is low (15 rounds), but it is the round has good terminal ballistics, approaching APHE rounds like 9x44mm and 9x11mm binary. The design proved popular enough to prompt TBA to expand the Grizzly into variants chambered for German 5.5x40mm caseless (Grizzly 55) and Manchurian 7.5x32mm (Grizzly 75), both ammunition types that are easily obtained on the open market and available in quantity within Tanstaafl. Both the Grizzly 55 and Grizzly 75 are designed to accept SG-77 and Type 49 assault rifle magazines, respectively. Neither the 55 nor the 75 are as capable as the military issue assault rifles associated with the 5.5mm and 7.5mm rounds (primarily due to the use of M2 optics adapted for the alternate rounds rather than optics specifically designed for them), but they are effective at typical battlefield ranges and are readily available locally. Note that agents of the Ukrainian government currently operating out of the French colony have also purchased the Grizzly 55 in large numbers for transshipment to partisans still fighting in Novoya Kiyev. These weapons, chambered for the same round and using the same magazines as Ukrainian issue SG-77s are regarded as a good means of equipping the partisans, as the Ukrainian government has, to date, had significant problems getting resources deployed to Aurore. Relying on local agents with substantial lines of credit has proven a more effective means of supporting the partisans than waiting on weapons and materiel shipped all the way from Earth.
Hotback
Service Rifle 7.5mm Assault Rifle
A shortage of weaponry, even basic military small arms, has been a perennial problem for the colony of Tanstaafl. The shortage limits military effectiveness, as well as restricting the self-defense capability of colonists in isolated areas to defend themselves from Kafer raiding parties. The economics of importing small arms complicate the issue, however, and have prompted some innovative solutions. One solution is the Hotback Service Rifle (HSR), an early effort by Tanstaafl Armaments to address the weapon shortage that proved successful and popular enough that it has continued to the present. The design begins with receivers, barrels, trigger assemblies and optics from surplus British/Commonwealth Colonial Service Rifles (readily obtainable from various sources in the Core; the original batch of components were obtained from Wellon), which, on importation are refurbished as necessary and finished with locally manufactured components. Quality control on early batches of HSRs sometimes left something to be desired, as the crisis prompted the use of overly worn surplus components and sometimes-sloppy local production standards. Both issues have been addressed and the weapon now enjoys a very good reputation within the colony. One concession necessary due to Tanstaafl’s logistical situation was the rechambering of the HSR to fire the French 7.5x40mm round (which is readily available from Aurore) in lieu of the original, and higher-powered, British 7.5x37mm. This has compromised performance from the perspective of purists for the classic CSR (and required minor recalibration of the optics for the different round), but has produced a weapon that is actually somewhat quicker handling and easier to use for smaller statured firers than the original CSR. The HSR is modified to accept the same twenty-five round magazines employed by the FAA-73 as part of its conversion to 7.5x40mm, and it cannot accept the larger magazines available for the CSR and its derivatives. Compensating for this, TBA manufactures 40 round magazines that are relatively common within Tanstaafl (though significantly more expensive the surplus French military FAA-73 magazines). These magazines can also be used in FAA-73s, though they make prone firing with either weapon problematic for most shooters. Type: 7.5mm conventional rifle Country: Tanstaafl Weight: 4kg (unloaded) Length: 80cm (Bulk = 3) Action: Single Shots or Bursts Ammunition: 7.5x40mm caseless ball Muzzle Velocity: 910mps Magazine: 25 or 40 rounds Magazine Weight: 0.5kg (25) or 0.8kg (40) ROF: 4 Aimed Fire Range: 800m Area Fire Burst: 10 rounds (AFV = 1) Area Fire Range: 500m DP Value: 0.7 Price: Lv200 (Lv2 for 100
round box of ammunition, Lv5 for 25 round magazine and Lv10 for 40 round
magazine) Hotback
Service Rifle II 9mm Assault Rifle
Despite the name, the HSR II has nothing to do with the original Hotback Service Rife described above, being, instead, surplus American M2 assault rifles produced under a similar process of importing key components and finishing the rifles with locally manufactured parts and furniture as needed. The name was apparently decided upon due to the popularity of the original HSR design (though the M2 and its 9mm APHE round are quite popular in Tanstaafl in their own right). HSR II rifles are recognizable by the use of mushroom grey furniture in lieu of the complex camouflage finish applied to American military issue M2s, though users often over spray the basic weapon with paint as desired. Performance and cost are as per the basic M2 presented in the Adventurer’s Guide. Ranger
and Recon
7.5mm Machineguns
One of the first original designs produced by BlackJack Arms and continuing in production by TBA, the Ranger is a light machinegun/automatic rifle design chambered for the commonly available French 7.5x40mm caseless assault rifle round. The design uses a conventional (trigger-action-barrel) layout, and a 45 cm, barrel developing higher muzzle velocity than the French FAA-73. Optics fitted to the Ranger are a locally produced copy of the Mle. 2273 electro-optical sight used on the FAA-73. (Many users substitute more modern optics, especially those with superior night vision capabilities, though the M-2273 optic remains serviceable and even its lowlight capabilities are adequate, if not exemplary, compared to modern designs.) The Ranger has a dual feed capability, allowing it to fire from standard FAA-73 magazines, or locally produced cassettes containing 100 or 200 rounds of ammunition. Standard features on the Ranger besides the optics include a bipod mounted on the forearm and provisions for attaching the machinegun to a tripod or pintle mount. Though the weapon lacks any sort of active cooling sleeve or the like, it is capable of quickly changing barrels (spare barrels weigh 1.65 kg) during sustained firing. TBA also produces a tripod (weighs 4kg, cost Lv50) for the Ranger with a standard T&E mechanism, allowing its use in the sustained fire role, though the relatively light 7.5x40mm round is inferior to dedicated medium machinegun rounds like the French 7.5x70mm in this role. A lightened variant of the Ranger, called the Recon, is also available. It omits the bipod and the provisions for mounting on a tripod or other fixed mount, skeletonizes the stock, and further reduces weight with a number of lightening cuts on the receiver and fluting on the barrel. The Ranger is still somewhat heavy and bulky compared to true assault rifles, but is capable of generating a very high volume of fire in a pinch (such as when engaging or disengaging from Kafer guerillas at close ranges). The design has been purchased by the Tanstaafl Rural Police and can be found in the hands of many civilian ranchers and miners as well.
Support
Weapons
Trueno 30mm Grenade Launcher
Originally designed and marketed by Tanstaafl Armaments, the Trueno (“Thunder”) is a light two shot 30mm grenade launcher. Function is basically identical to that of an over-under shotgun, with the weapon breaking open at the action to allow manual loading of 30mm grenades. Optics fitted are usually imported surplus sights from GW-12 grenade launchers (allowing use of proximity fused grenades), though others may be seen reflecting availability and/or user preference. The Trueno is light enough that some units of the Tanstaafl militia assign it to one or more members of a squad as a secondary weapon, due to the shortage of modern weapons with integral 30mm grenade launchers. Type: 30mm two-shot grenade launcher Country: Tanstaafl Weight: 2 kg Length: 78cm (Bulk = 2) Action: Single Shot Ammunition: 30mm Propelled Grenades Muzzle Velocity: 150 mps Magazine: 2 individually loaded rounds Magazine Weight: Individual grenades weigh approximately 170 grams ROF: 2 Aimed Fire Range: 150m Indirect Fire Range: 325m (on Aurore, 275m in 1-G gravity) DP Value: Varies by grenade type Price: Lv130 (ammunition price varies) Gonzales
6cm
Commando Mortar
Named for the Gonzales “Come and Take It” six-pounded of (first) Texan Revolution fame, the Gonzales commando mortar is a relatively portable 6cm mortar design produced by TBA to augment the T-10 6cm mortars Tanstaafl has received since 2302 from the Republic of Texas as part of that nation’s military aid package to the colony. Significantly heavier than the T-10, the Gonzales has not proven to be wildly popular with foot-mobile militia units, but those with sufficient motor transport tend to be quite fond of them. The mortar can fire the standard range of Texan mortar bombs except for smart munitions (which are in short supply on Tanstaafl in any case), as well as locally manufactured rounds of somewhat lower power – though in Aurore’s low gravity, both perform well enough. The mortar can be broken down into the usual component loads of base plate, barrel, and bipod, though most Tanstaafl militia units with access to a vehicle to transport the mortar will keep it assembled to speed firing. Type: 6cm Commando Mortar Country: Tanstaafl Weight: 21.2 kg (Base Plate 6.1kg, Barrel 10 kg, Bipod 4.9 kg, Sight 0.2 kg) Length: 116cm Action: Single Shot Ammunition: 6cm Mortar Bombs Muzzle Velocity: 240 mps (Core-produced ammunition), 221 mps (local production) Magazine: N/A Magazine Weight: Individual bombs weigh approximately 1.5kg ROF: 5 Indirect Fire Range (from bipod): 2350m (Earth produced ammunition), 1950m (local production) (Note: Range is in Aurore gravity, in 1G range would be 2000m/1700m) Indirect Fire Range (handheld): 1000 meters (local or Core produced ammunition) DP Value: Varies by round Price: Lv1600 Beowulf 7cm Recoilless Rifle
The Beowulf is a man-portable recoilless rifle that can be used either by dismounted infantrymen or on fixed mounts on vehicles, bunkers, etc., as needed. The design is significantly inferior to even obsolete anti-vehicle missiles for anti-armor work, but the threat of Kafer armor is relatively low in the present, and the Beowulf is equipped with a range of projectiles making it more flexible and especially more useful against Kafer infantry. It has become a very popular weapon with both militia forces as well as forming the backbone of defensive firepower for many isolated farmsteads and mining camps.
Standard optics fitted to the Beowulf (the only portion of the weapons system not locally manufactured) are the Brazilian MD-878 day/night electro-optical sight, with variable (x2, x4, and x10) magnification and night vision via a thermal channel. Some weapons may be encountered alternately equipped with surplus French Mle 507 sights removed from man-pack Blindicide series missile launchers. In either case, performance remains similar. Due to pronounced back blast, the Beowulf cannot be fired in an enclosed area. Those directly behind the weapon to a range of 15 meters will suffer DPV 0.2 to all exposed target locations (if wearing armor halve damage; helmets only halve damage if fully visored, otherwise full damage to the head), so care should be taken in siting and employing this weapon. Type: 7cm Recoilless Rifle Country: Tanstaafl Weight: 7 kg Length: 75cm (Bulk = 3) Action: Single Shot Ammunition: various 7cm rounds Muzzle Velocity: 300 mps Magazine: single-shot Magazine Weight: Individual rounds weigh approximately 1.75 kilograms ROF: 1 Aimed Fire Range: 350m DP Value: Varies by round Price: Lv1000 (ammunition Lv5 per round for Illum and Smoke, Lv10 for HE and HEAT) Sigurd
10cm
Recoilless Rifle
A larger cousin of the 7cm Beowulf recoilless rifle,
the Sigurd is a 10cm version intended for fire from tripods, vehicles,
and other fixed mounts, though it is light enough (35kg, exclusive of tripod or
other mounting system) to be carried by personnel in a pinch. Optics are identical to those used on the Beowulf. A range of rounds are available for the Sigurd,
providing for effective means of engaging a range of targets. The Sigurd’s range of ordnance
includes a thermobaric round which, while very expensive, is often the round of
choice for use against Kafer forces in both the offense and defense, both due
to its physical and psychological effects.
As produced, the Sigurd is designed to mount on a tripod mount also produced by TBA and included in the cost of the basic weapon. Each Sigurd, however, is included with a number of adaptors suitable for mounting it on a number of common vehicle mounting systems. The same back blast hazard exists with the Sigurd as the Beowulf, except that the danger area extends 20 meters to the rear. Type: 10cm Recoilless Rifle Country: Tanstaafl Weight: 35 kg (tripod weighs 10kg) Length: 140cm (Bulk = 5) Action: Single Shot Ammunition: various 10cm rounds Muzzle Velocity: 300 mps Magazine: single-shot Magazine Weight: Individual rounds weigh approximately 8.1 kilograms ROF: 1 Aimed Fire Range: 1100m DP Value: Varies by round Price: Lv1250 (Lv10 per round for Smoke; Lv15 for HE, HEAT, Flechette, and WP; Lv30 for Thermobaric) Personalities
Tanstaafl/Blackjack Arms is a major industrial concern by Tanstaafl standards, but is really a very small corporation by the standards of the Core. Because of this, it is quite possible the visitors to Tanstaafl may have occasion to deal directly with its executives and other employees, particularly if large or specialty orders are involved. Michael Santos
Formerly the owner of Tanstaafl Armaments, Michael Santos is now the President of TBA, a title that he considers rather more grandiose than reality would support. He has a very hands-on approach to corporate leadership, frequently visiting the company’s manufacturing site in Dawntown and the like. While Tanstaafl’s business environment is generally somewhat hostile to unionized labor, Santos has also favored the creation of a “pseudo-union” with an elected Employees Advisory Committee that he meets with regularly. He also enjoys a high degree of popularity with the Tanstaafl Militia as the visible face of the company, owing to its discount sales of military rifles directly to militia members. Santos is originally from Worththetrip, and was overseeing the expansion of his machine shop business to Tanstaafl at the time of the Kafer invasion. His wife survived the attack, but both his children were among the 126 killed when an early Kafer kinetic bombardment attack struck the Carlos Hernandez Elementary School in Worththetrip on the first day of the invasion. He is less outspoken than other TBA employees like Serena Breitling-Sanchez (c.f.), but he is no less vehement in the intensity of his hatred for the invaders. He has discretely used both personal funds and the goodwill of the Tanstaafl militia to undermine efforts by the North American Research League and other pacifist-leaning groups that have attempted to make peaceful contact with Kafer hold-outs in the Hotback, being solidly of the opinion that Kafer-Human interaction can only end with the extermination of one or the other species. Wilhelm Dietz
Originally the owner of BlackJack Rifles LLC, Wilhelm Dietz is presently the Vice President for Development at TBA, a position he essentially created for himself at the time of the merger with Tanstaafl Armaments. The position suits him, as he is passionate tinkerer and gunsmith who prefers the developmental and manufacturing endeavors to the minutiae of running a business. His office is located at the old BlackJack facility, which currently also houses Ahmed Tabatai’s custom shop (c.f.), providing him good access to tools and assistance on various projects. He is said to be currently working on a rifle derived from the Hotback Service Rifles chambered to fire Kafer Thud Gun ammunition, but with ergonomics (and recoil compensation) suitable for human users. Serena Breitling-Sanchez
TBA’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Serena Breitling-Sanchez is a superficially cheerful, but very hard and determined executive for the company. She was “about a million years ago” the co-owner, with her husband, of a small prospecting firm working the Hotback on contract for various offworld mining conglomerates. Her husband, children, and the employees of the company were all killed in the initial Kafer invasion and Breitling-Sanchez herself was wounded (eventually losing her lower right leg) and captured by the Kafers for several weeks until she was rescued from a retreating Kafer column by the Tanstaafl militia. She is rumored to be a hard drinker and have a very chaotic personal life, but to date this has not interfered with her work. She is, however, also notable for her vehement hatred of the Kafers, even by Tanstaafl standards. This hatred, rather than a sense of solidarity with her fellow colonists, prompted her to sell TBA’s corporate leadership on her “Cost Plus Five” sales plan, which provides Hotback Service Rifles (I or II) directly to militia members at cost of production plus Lv 5. This sales plan has not endeared her to the Tanstaafl government, as it bypasses many officials who could normally expect to accrue a bribe from militia procurement programs, but has made TBA wildly popular with the Tanstaafl Militia (though few, if any, are aware of her personal involvement in the plan). Anyone involved in a major purchase of weapons from TBA (enough, for instance, to equip a platoon sized force or larger) is likely to have direct dealings with Breitling-Sanchez at some point in the process. She is also something of a fixture along with a coterie of other single women and war widows at Tanstaafl City’s more trendy nightspots and may be encountered by those frequenting such locations. Ahmed
Tabatai
An unusual member of the Tanstaafl colony, Ahmed Tabatai is an Iranian immigrant and one of the very few Muslims found within the colony. He is also a master gunsmith and the head of TBA’s small Custom Works shop, which primarily works producing match-grade rifles and pistols (both TBA production and other conventional designs; the shop lacks the capability to work on binary, gauss, or energy weapons). Tabatai’s work is considered to be among the finest practical gunsmithing done within the colony (which is to say he does not concern himself with excessive cosmetic flourishes and the like), and his work is highly sought after, with a consequent backlog of work creating delays of anywhere from 1-4 months for finished work. Johann Wegner
A Tanstaafl native, Johann Wegner is presently the head of the TBA office in Cité d’Aurore, and is engaged in trying to expand TBA’s business into the French colony. He has, to date, had minimal success, and both the civilian and military components of the French government in the colony are leery of allowing in a potential flood of inexpensive military weapons. Wegner has, however, made good contacts with the Ukrainian government operating out of the French colony, and arranged some large sales of small arms for use by the partisans. He is one potential source of weaponry for those seeking such covertly within the French colony (his office has a number of dealer samples that he could easily arrange have “lost during field trials” and such), as his “aw shucks” country-boy demeanor hides a ruthless desire to succeed that could easily lead him to, at the very least, skirt local French law if he thought he could get away with such and the price was right. Corporate Profile
Tanstaafl/BlackJack Arms is a sizeable corporation by Tanstaafl standards, with approximately 300 employees. Corporate headquarters is located at a new two-story office building outside the Tanstaafl starport (like much new construction on Aurore, the building is notable for a certain squat ugliness, being, effectively, a reinforced concrete fortress with manicured lawns serving as cleared fields of fire and ready for landmines as needed). The company also has a fabrication facility (of somewhat lighter construction) located in the Dawntown district of the capital, with leased warehouse space at both the starport and the Blackjack Airfield. The company also has a custom gunsmithing shop, located just north of Blackjack Airport, at the site of the original BlackJack Rifle LLC offices. Like the corporate headquarters, the custom shop is a mini-fortress of reinforced concrete and a well-manicured lawn that doubles as a 150 meter cleared field of fire all around the building. The company does not maintain any resale stores of its own, selling to various distributors wholesale throughout the colony, as might be expected, but representatives are readily available for major customers and will travel throughout the colony (fighting permitting) to confer with those interested in buying weapons or with some problem with an order. Tanstaafl is something of a departure from conditions in most states in the Core, and it is not at all unusual to see assault rifles manufactured by TBA (or imported from off planet) offered for sale at farmers’ co-ops, general stores and hardware stores, etc., throughout the colony. TBA also maintains a small office in Cité d’Aurore (though export into the French colony is problematic both due to the Kafer presence and French tariffs). To date this office’s primary accomplishment has been the sale of Grizzly carbines to the Ukrainian government, which takes possession of the weapons at sea, consequently slipping through a loophole in both French and local Tanstaafl law concerning exports.
Purchasing Weaponry within Tanstaafl
All products produced by TBA, and other weaponry in general, up to and including heavy support weapons can be purchased legally within the Tanstaafl colony with a minimum of complications. In lieu of background checks, end user licenses and the like, purchasers must simply purchase a tax stamp that adds a usually nominal fee to the base cost of the weapon (and is often simply added to the price by vendors, rather than requiring the buyer to separately obtain the stamp). Prices differ for Tanstaafl nationals and foreigners, though generally not sufficiently to dissuade foreigners from spending money on weapons within the colony. (It should be noted that customs will assess the cost of the tax stamp on any weapons being imported into the colony by individuals as well.) For corporations, there is an alternative of purchasing a tax stamp that allows unlimited purchasing of weaponry for one standard year. Also note that enterprising individuals who are interested in bypassing the law can often pay bribes ranging from 25-75% of the required tax stamps to government officials or vendors to bypass the stamp requirements. While this is officially frowned upon, the Tanstaafl government is notorious for its lack of interest in effectively regulating corruption among its bureaucrats.
Notes
The above designs were put together using Guns! Guns! Guns! And Bryn Monnery’s conversion rules to 2300AD available on his website. Backwards engineering them should be relatively straightforward, though in some cases I made minor tweaks to resulting stats as seemed appropriate. The Hotback Service Rifle is based on the Colonial Service Rifle mentioned in various Etranger articles by Bryn Monnery, Dan Hebditch, David Gillon, and Adam Smith, with the specific statistics presented here being based on those given for the CSR (actually the New Zealand Assault Rifle Mk. 2) presented in the article concerning the Royal New Zealand Defense Force. The small arms presented in this article tend to reflect various firearms designs or more general concepts I personally find interesting, the first and foremost of which is expanding the range of surplus military and civilian aftermarket sort of firearms available in the 2300AD setting. Player characters undoubtedly will typically desire FAM-90s, SK-19s, and other top end military weapons (at least in games with a combat intensive sort of flavor), but such may or may not be readily available. Surplus military weapons, or civilian derivatives thereof, are rather more likely to be available for retail sale in most settings, etc. This would seem likely to be especially true in setting like Tanstaafl, sitting at the extreme end of human space, along a corridor that has been interdicted to one degree or another for several years. As the colony does not seem to be awash in surplus capital to spend on a military build up, war on the cheap waged with recoilless rifles and surplus 30 year old military small arms seems more the flavor of Tanstaafl than plasma guns and gauss rifles. Note that the ordnance for the two recoilless rifles was generated using 3g3 rules and 2300AD conversions based on how many joules of energy each contains in terms of HE filler. This seems to yield more bang per round than it should to really gel well with other heavy weapons in 2300AD (more so with the 10cm model than the 7cm one), though to be fair some canon stats for large caliber rounds have strangely low values for HE rounds and such. I’m not sure on a good solution to the issue beyond simply looking at values and SWAGing them to a better number if they seem high or low, though I have left the values as is in this case. The ordnance for the 6cm commando mortar is lifted directly from the Republic of Texas Army write up on Etranger (the entries there were generated by Bryn), except for the illumination round whose stats are the same as the 7cm recoilless rifle ILLUM round. Range is based on 3g3 for fire from the bipod, but the handheld range is purely SWAG’ed.
16 August 2005
Copyright 2005, James Boschma
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