Liquid-Propellant Slugthrowers

Liquid-Propellant Slugthrowers (TL9)

Liquid propellants are an advanced option for chemical propellant. Propellant and oxidizer are kept in a separate bottle, then squirted into the firing chamber and ignited electrically when the trigger is pulled. Binary propellants are often used; the chemicals are inert until combined in the firing chamber.

Liquid propellant is a bit more powerful and easier to store, but its chief advantage is precise control of propellant velocities. In additional to standard velocity, they have two other options:

Boosted velocity dumps extra propellant into the firing chamber: increase the piercing damage by +1 per die and multiply range by 1.3. Each counts as 1.5 shots for purposes of draining the propellant bottle.

Low velocity dumps much less propellant into the firing chamber, making the weapon subsonic. Reduce the piercing damage and range by half! Rolls to hear the weapon fire are made at -3. Each counts as 1/4 shot for draining the propellant bottle.

Liquid propellant weapons use the same statistics as conventional caseless weapons, but they get 1.5 times as many shots per magazine and are 1.5 times as expensive. (The mechanical design is more complex, so this technology is often limited to specialized sniper and artillery weaponry.) A propellant bottle can fire three magazines of shots and takes five seconds to reload. Additional propellant bottles weigh as much as a normal loaded magazine.