gordon@alberta.UUCP (Gordon Atwood) (11/26/85)
This is one of the most original ideas I've seen in quite awhile.
1) What does silvering the end entail? Can someone give a brief
description? Can a metalsmith do it, or a jeweller.
2) Different crystals have different refraction indices (Right
terminology?) Can someone describe, from worst to best, which
types of stones would work?
This could be used as a percentage of effectiveness. The best
type would give 100% results, and probably cost 100 times or 1000
times that of a type which only yeilds 10%
3) Can the "Laser" be turned off, or shielded safely. That is, if
you cast "Permanent Light" into it, can you safely store it?
Will the silver eventually burn off?
Would it generate heat?
4) From an effect point of view I would suggest it do 1Hd damage
per level of the caster. Or if that doesn't suit you, just 1hd
damage. (Per round of course).
It should to 1 hit point structural damage per (round, turn)
choose one.
5) If the crystal is rated in %, then it would do X% damage, depending
on the crystal rating.
6) It might be suitable to require the spell-caster to research for
a monochrome light spell, perhaps the colour dependent on the type
of crystal.lrj@lasspvax.UUCP (Lewis R. Jansen) (11/27/85)
I'm sorry to have to pop any balloons, but the word from my friend,
who is studying lasers, is this:
(1) The purity of the crystals needed for a laser is higher than
that found in nature... In other words, you'd have to know
how to grow/create your own crystals... Would YOU go out
adventuring if you could GROW your own rubies???
(2) The light source driving the laser has to be pulsed... That means
that a Continual Light spell would just make a pretty red ruby
with an internal light source. The period of the pulses depends
upon the material, but usually is on the order of nanoseconds...
And my conntribution:
(3) You have to remember that the people of this world don't have
even the FOGGIEST notion of what light is or how it propogates.
Remember, this is a fantasy ROLE playing game... Sure, they
MIGHT, with the aid of some spell research (for a pulsating
light spell) and lots of alchemical work (pure crystals), or
the use of a Wish, be able to create a laser.
But, who would ever think of it? If you showed a laser to
a Mage from a frp world, he'd say 'neato, a wand of fire!' and
if you asked him to creat on for you, he'd do it with Flame-based
spell research.
See what i'm gettng at? You have to get into the role of the character
you're playing, and forget todays's world. It's a neat idea, making a
laser in a frp world, but i (as DM) would never allow it. This, of course,
excepts the Techno class from Arduin.
-----
-- Lewis R. Jansen UUCP: {decvax,ihnp4,allegra,vax135}!cornell!lasspvax!lrj
___.-.___ Bitnet: uxhj@CornellA.BITNET
[' `(o)' `] Arpa: lrj@lasspvax.tn.cornell.edu.ARPA
Fire for'd phasers!
(My opinions are mine alone, but are for sale...)tim@k.cs.cmu.edu (Tim Maroney) (12/01/85)
Apparently my earlier message did not get out. IN AD&D, you can make ANY
material object with the eight level spell Polymorph Any Object. This
includes perfectly crystalline ruby rods with xenon flash tubes wrapped
around them. So forget all this "how do you make the components" stuff; any
high-level magic user can do it with the proper spell.
As for the information, it is easy enough to picture this: a magic user has
an inspiration that light of incredible brightness could possibly be used
for more than illumination and blinding; he would know that such a thing
might give off heat. So he goes to his grimoires and evokes a demon which
gives knowledge of sciences. By making the proper sacrifices and so forth
(using the Cacodemon spell if that's how you run it), he is able to learn
how such a weapon would be structured. This would probably involve some
adventuring to get the necessary sacrifices; the demon would charge out the
nose (and might be sufficiently empowered by the sacrifices to make trouble
later). Getting the information would be troublesome and perilous, but
hardly imposssible.
I don't know why people are being so defensive about this. The "laser
rifle" of cheap science fiction is an impossibility; it would require a huge
power source which modern technology has no way of producing, and which a
medieval magic user would be incapable of comprehending, so he couldn't make
one with Polymorph. The lasers they're talking about deploying in orbit
would be powered by a contained nuclear explosion! Further, lasers are not
as effective against living beings (who are water-cooled) as against
inorganic objects. A laser would be able to cut through a lock, but
probably not through an orc. The laser would hardly be a super-killer
weapon; any magic user who could make one already has much more powerful
spells, like a sixteen dice fireball. So what's the big deal?
-=-
Tim Maroney, Electronic Village Idiot, CMU Center for Art and Technology
tim@k.cs.cmu.edu | uucp: {seismo,decwrl,ucbvax,etc.}!k.cs.cmu.edu!tim
CompuServe: 74176,1360 | CMU. Tomorrow's networking nightmares -- today!