Feedback Imperial Heavy Repeating Blaster (HRB-12) Variants

[Doctor Afic Otker]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To create a primary heavy repeating blaster and a possible vehicle armament for the military forces of the Galactic Empire; multiple barrel-count variants to suit infantry, vehicle and static roles.
• Image Source: [Here]
• Canon Link: Heavy Repeating Blaster
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: The Galactic Empire
• Affiliation: The Galactic Empire
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: Imperial HRB-12
  • HRB-12 Infantry Weapon
  • HRB-12 Bi-Barrel Variant
  • HRB-12 Tri-Barrel Variant
  • HRB-12 Quad-Barrelled Platform
• Modularity: Yes
  • Modular Scope Attachment
  • Modular Barrel Variants
  • Modular Underbarrel Attachment
  • Modular Coolant Fuel and Cooling Unit
• Production: Mass-Produced
• Material:
  • Reinforced Durasteel Frame
  • Manganese-Plastoid Alloy Grip Handle
  • Blaster Components
  • Bondite and Aluminium Internals
  • Tibanna
  • Dallorian Alloy Thickened Barrel
  • Anti-Corr 113 Treatment
  • Tunqstoid Tripod
  • CyroBan Coolant Compatibility
  • Write something about Power Generator materials

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Heavy Repeating Blaster Infantry Crew Weapon / Heavy Repeating Blaster Vehicle Armament Platform / Heavy Repeating Blaster Static Weapon
• Size: Very Large
• Weight: Very Heavy (Infantry Variant) / Extremely Heavy (Other Variants)
• Ammunition Type: Power Generator
• Ammunition Capacity: Average (600 Blasts at Maximum Power)
• Effective Range: Battlefield (Maximum Firing Range of 3,200 Metres | 10,500 Feet)
• Rate of Fire: Selective Fire Modes (Average)
  • Charged Single Shot
  • Semi-Automatic
  • 3-Blast Burst
  • Fully Repeating Automatic
• Damage Output:
  • Charged Single Shot (Very High)
  • Semi-Automatic (Very High)
  • 3-Blast Burst (Very High)
  • Fully Repeating Automatic (High)
• Recoil: Very High

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Modular Barrel Variants
  • HRB-12 Infantry Weapon: The only variant light enough for an infantry crew to reliably transport and assemble in combat, the HRB-12 Infantry Weapon variant comes equipped with simply one barrel. It is considered Very Heavy and cannot be held as a standard blaster. It comes with a tripod that can be adjusted for height so that the shooter can shoot it while standing, seated, prone, or in a trench. It requires two power generators to be fully operational.
  • HRB-12 Bi-Barrel Variant: Too heavy for an infantry crew, the HRB-12 Bi-Barrel Variant is considered ideal as an armament and weapons platform for light vehicles and airships. The variant comes with two barrels that are spaced out horizontally from each other with a centered iron sight/scope attachment. This upgrade helps to amplify the volume of fire of the weapon; however, it takes longer to concurrently fire a charged shot from both barrels. It requires three power generators or an equivalent vehicle power source to be fully operational. The total weight of the weapon and its components is considered Extreme.
  • HRB-12 Tri-Barrel Variant: Too heavy for an infantry crew, the HRB-12 Tri-Barrel Variant is considered ideal as a secondary armament for armoured vehicles or a weapons platform for gunships and airships. The variant comes with three separate barrels that are spaced out horizontally from each other with a centered iron sight/scope attachment. This upgrade helps to amplify the volume of fire of the weapon; however, it takes notably longer to concurrently fire a charged shot from all three barrels. It requires four power generators or an equivalent vehicle power source to be fully operational. The total weight of the weapon and its components is considered Extreme.
  • HRB-12 Quad-Barrelled Platform: Too heavy for an infantry crew and notably energy intensive for even heavy planetary vehicles, the HRB-12 Quad-Barrel Variant is considered ideal as a weapons platform for permanent fortifications or starships. The variant comes with four separate barrels that are spaced out from each other and form the shape of a square with a centered iron sight/scope attachment. This upgrade helps to amplify the volume of fire of the weapon; however, it takes significantly longer to concurrently fire a charged shot from all four barrels. It requires six power generators or an equivalent vehicle power source to be fully operational. The total weight of the weapon and its components is considered Extreme.
• Modular Underbarrel Attachment ( Glowrod / Targeting Laser / Blaster Sight )
• Rangefinder
• Modular Scope Attachment ( Macroscope / Electronic Scope / Nightvision Scope / Infrared Scope / Computerised Interface Scope / Pinpoint Scope / Targeting Scope / Sure-Sight Scope / KXM-OS-01A 'Electric Eye' Weapon Optics System )
• Minimum use of two power generators or an equivalent vehicle energy source
• Alternating Use Mode of power generators to faciliate one-man operation of the weapon and limit generator overheating
• Cooling Unit compatible with most coolant options
• Heat Sink
• Tunqstoid-material adjustable Tripod
• Heavy Blaster Actuator
• Precision Chamber
• 009 Fastshot model Hair Trigger
• Trigger Cable
• Recoil-dampening Stock
• Autosteady Gyro-Gimbal
• Cautionary Pulser
• Power Pulsator

STRENGTHS

• Long-Range Capability: In order for the weapon to be on par with slugthrower heavy weapons and other modernised weapon systems, the HRB-12 has been designed to be effective at long-range engagements, thus giving the Galactic Empire a viable infantry weapon for battlefield engagements. This also allows the HRB-12 to be used as an armament choice for military vehicles expected to engage at relatively long distances. This long-distance effectiveness is only possible due to the base HRB-12 model requiring two attached power generators to be fully operational and at least one additional power generator for every additional barrel in each variant.
• High Penetration and Damage Output: The weapon is designed to have devastating penetration and damage potential even at long distances. This is to give the Imperial battalion and Imperial vehicles a viable option to engage enemies at range with great firepower.
• High Volume of Fire: The base infantry variant of the HRB-12 has an average or mediocre rate of fire compared to other heavy repeating blasters and plasma cannon models. The other variants of the HRB-12 make up for this by increasing the number of barrels in the weapon, which increases its overall volume of fire down-range. This also has the effect of increasing the target grouping of the weapon with more plasma bolts being fired at the same spot.
• Easy to Repair and Maintain: Thanks to the deliberately simplified, albeit crude, design of the HRB-12 - maintenance crews and combat engineers find the weapon easy to repair and maintain, with troubleshooting being straightforward.
• Charged Single Shot: The HRB-12 has a fire mode that allows all of its power generators to charge a particularly potent bolt of plasma before firing downrange. This requires a notably long charging time before firing, with the charging time being exponential for every separate barrel the power generators have to individually charge. This is useful for critical hits against heavily-armoured targets, especially at range. A brief cool down is required between each charged single shot.
• Minimum Crew Requirements: It was considered a flaw that prior heavy repeating blasters, such as the E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannon, required at least two operators, with one firing and the other monitoring the power generator, due to its manpower-intensive use. The HRB-12 was designed to only require one operator to use, with an option for the heavy repeating blaster to alternate between different power generators when one was clocked to be near overheating levels. This feature is usually automatically wired into the blaster when attached to a vehicle platform or permanent fortification.

WEAKNESSES

• Volatile Power Generators: Due to the extremely high energy needs of the weapon, the power generators often remain charged with an extreme amount of power output. When directly struck, power generators of the HRB-12 often combust into flames in best-case scenarios or even create spectacular explosions that often wipe out their own crew and sometimes the vehicle itself. As such, it is recommended in the doctrine manual of the HRB-12 that infantry crews hide their power generators well behind cover or even bury them if necessary. Engineers are instructed to embed HRB-12 power generators deep within the armour of the vehicle when attaching the weapons platform as an armament.
• Energy Intensive: The HRB-12 requires a great deal of energy to fire powerful plasma at range in a relatively small piece of weaponry. The lightest variant of the HRB-12 requires a minimum of two power generators to be attached and often at least one more power generator for every barrel added to the weapon platform. The HRB-12 is severely limited in its capability when its power source is not optimal.
• Very Heavy to Extremely Heavy: Due to its crude design, dense metal materials and the general mass of the weapon, the HRB-12 is a notably heavy weapon that requires a crew to move and assemble even the lightest variant of the HRB-12. Vehicle designers are instructed to keep in mind of weight considerations when deciding to attach the HRB-12 to a vehicle or use a higher barrel variant.
• Very High Recoil: Despite the HRB-12 using plasma technology, it is inevitable that the weapon platform has an incredibly great amount of recoil thanks to its crude design and extraordinary power potential.
• Incredibly Loud: The HRB-12 is a loud piece of weaponry, even by slugthrower standards. This often leads to hearing loss and high levels of repeated yelling when the HRB-12 is used in combat situations.
• Reduced Damage and Penetration in Automatic Fire Mode: To mitigate the chances of the weapon's power generators overheating and blowing out, the weapon's firing chamber and power generators are specifically clocked to be fired at reduced power levels when the weapon is selected on the fully repeating automatic mode of fire. This means that while the HRB-12 still has devastating plasma damage and penetration when firing on automatic, it is notably less compared to its other fire modes.
• Easy to Locate: As is the flaw with all energy weaponry, it is much easier to trace its position during long-distance engagements compared to slugthrowers. While the Infantry Platform variant can be adjusted to have a relatively low profile, all variants of the HRB-12 fire a distinctive hot pink plasma. This makes it especially easy to identify and locate the position of any HRB-12 even when engaging at long ranges on the battlefield, making it likely that users of this weapon will be focused on by the enemy.

DESCRIPTION

To be written, will probably copy-paste about the HALLAM program from my Delt-34 submission.