VSF heavy weapons

[Conquistador]

Looking for ideas for heavy weapons (one of each kind with limited variations is my goal) for my varied VSF forces.

I have electricity with Brigade Games Electro-canon [sic]

I was thinking variations on that would be a wire trailing harpoon that carries the charge in the line after the harpoon grounds itself.

Flame-weapon (flame-thrower, incendiary mortar/howitzer)  or Martian Heat Ray type effects

Sonic Cannon or Machine Gun

nitro/dynamite gun (there was a dynamite gun in the SAW IIRC...)

Martian Black smoke (poison gas) effects

other ideas?

Gracias,

Glenn

[Count Winsky]

Glenn,

How about a Heavy (75mm or higher) Double Barrelled Artillery Piece. Basically, two artillery piece barrells about six feet apart with a long chain in between the guns. When the shots go out the two artillery shells would carry the chain and this evil munition could explode at a predetermined distance, but the chain could be used to bring down or disable walkers, dinosaurs, masts of ships, cut troops in half, etc?

Count Winsky

[Conquistador]

That does sound very VSF-y...   

Have to give that some thought.   

Gracias,

Glenn

[The_Beast]

How about a Heavy (75mm or higher) Double Barrelled Artillery Piece. Basically, two artillery piece barrells about six feet apart with a long chain in between the guns. When the shots go out the two artillery shells would carry the chain and this evil munition could explode at a predetermined distance, but the chain could be used to bring down or disable walkers, dinosaurs, masts of ships, cut troops in half, etc?

I know this had been tried much earlier, but the timing of ignition was a major problem. The two guns must go off at the same time, or you've at best dismounting one barrel, at worst created a scythe-of-death chain swinging around the unfired piece.

Nasty. Still, the fiendishly clever Victorians could have found a solution.

Doug

[HerbyF]

One of my Martian flyers is armed with a lighting gun. The equivalent of a gattling gun firing electrical bursts instead of bullets.

[Red Orc]

... the timing of ignition was a major problem. The two guns must go off at the same time... Still, the fiendishly clever Victorians could have found a solution.

Perhaps both barrels use the same ignition? Certainly there is the problem of the thrust going in two directions as well as having to turn corners or something, but this is VSF, after all; as long as it's got rivets on it, hang the bally physics is what I say.

I have a chap with a man-portable 'glavanic projector'/lightning gun - basically a laser-rifle - and I'm soon to be getting hold of a lightning cannon; I've also been messing around with the idea of an Aetheric Flux Bombard, which is more or less a 40k plasma gun; it is more powerful but more unreliable than galvanic weapons, because it relies on changing the nature of reality itself through manipulation of the Aetheric Flux, and therefore can go spectacularly wrong.

[Mr.Marx]

Perhaps both barrels use the same ignition? Certainly there is the problem of the thrust going in two directions as well as having to turn corners or something, but this is VSF, after all; as long as it's got rivets on it, hang the bally physics is what I say.

I cant find it, but I know there was a mechanism around the turn of the centry that used the movement caused by the recoil of one gun (aranged in this way)  to load and cock the second, all by the means of a perpandicular bar placed on the breach. It was only used for what we would now call a 'autocannon' tough. Its the mechanism used on the old tail guns of the Bear Bomber.

Have you concidered a gattling-horse? I saw one yesterday in a silly steampunk film.

[Johnno]

What about a Carbon gun? (Copyright  )
Its doesn't shoot lumps of coal but turns the target into one!!
Perfect for fueling your nefs

[Traveler Man]

Perhaps you could try a steam mortar that fires globes like paintballs, each full of noxious substances? Propelled by a short, sharp burst of steam (for which you'd need an engine coupled to the device, natch), the globes fly in a high trajectory, burst open on impact, spreading the napalm/acid/plague spores/Marmite everywhere. That should create alarm and despondency to all within reach. 

[Dewbakuk]

Perhaps you could try a steam mortar that fires globes like paintballs, each full of noxious substances? Propelled by a short, sharp burst of steam (for which you'd need an engine coupled to the device, natch), the globes fly in a high trajectory, burst open on impact, spreading the napalm/acid/plague spores/Marmite everywhere. That should create alarm and despondency to all within reach. 

That's how the 'black smoke' weapons work.

[Scout_II]

I cant find it, but I know there was a mechanism around the turn of the centry that used the movement caused by the recoil of one gun (aranged in this way)  to load and cock the second, all by the means of a perpandicular bar placed on the breach. It was only used for what we would now call a 'autocannon' tough. Its the mechanism used on the old tail guns of the Bear Bomber.

Growing up we called them pom-pom cannons.  There seems to be two varieties of "pom-pom" cannons though, one named for the sound and one named for the action.  It was still a pretty common method of cycling AA weapons all the way till the early 1980s.


To the OP though, their was a considerable fascination with different types of energies at the time.  Heat and Cold rays would not be out of place - though the specific mechanism would be a bit different for VSF as opposed to Pulp since the understanding of physics was different.  Google "cold head" to get an idea of how one might build a steam powered cold weapon.

Sonic of coarse is an obvious choice - but don't forget seismic.  Something like a pile driver that strikes the ground to send a tremor towards your enemy and knock them over, destroy fortifications and topple vehicles.  While it wouldn't pass modern scientific scrutiny - it would work well enough for them.