Neural Shredder

[Macabre]

Whilst I was thumbing through the rulebook, I spotted that there appears to be a mistake in the Neural Shredder weapons chart. Its reload time is marked as 'X', now, does this mean that it doesn't need reloading (and if that were the case, why only 5 shots), it can't be reloaded (and must be discarded after 5 shots, which consider the weapon's rarity seems unlikely), or should it actually be something like recharge/reload 4 (as I don't see the Neural Shredder having conventional ammunition) or 'unlimited' shot value 'X'? Thanks for your thoughts...

[Charax]

Page 32, Cannot Be Reloaded.

[MarcoSkoll]

To expand a bit, it's a rather nasty weapon - you don't want people using them constantly, which is why only 5 shots. (Although even that can be utterly devastating.)

I take most weapons marked as Reload X as those where the process is too complex or time-consuming to carry out in game. Not necessarily one that can never be reloaded.

[Macabre]

Then maybe a marker stating that the weapon will be reloaded for the start of every game in a campaign?

[MarcoSkoll]

Let me ask a question in response - would you say that someone with a stubber should automatically get back up to full ammunition in the next game?

No, clearly not. If it's appropriate they could have found more ammo/had the shredder looked at by a Tech-Adept who chanted the holy rituals then inserted the sacred plug into the socket marked "240V Mains", then yes, that's fine.
But if campaign game 4 is carried out half an hour after campaign game 3, and the motley crew*  have been in an underhive sewer for the intervening time, then it shouldn't be the case.

It's really up to the GM for deciding how ammunition/injuries/stat losses should be handled on a campaign time-scale.

*Anyone want to guess what music I'm listening to?

[Macabre]

Forgive my lack of clarity in my response. What I mean is that I believe that the Neural Shredder would 'recharge' rather than have conventional ammo (after all, if bolt ammo is rare, NS ammo would be nigh on impossible to find)...

[Flinty]

Marco's point still stands, no? Plugged in, solar recharge, internal kinetic winding - whatever gubbins makes it work is likely to take more than 5 minutes to crank it back up to full charge, simply for game balance - and I imagine legendary bits of kit do not just plug into a standard Imperial socket.

Its going to at least require going home, finding the original box, reading the instructions, realising you have the wrong adaptor, popping down to the nearest Ad Mech blackmarket etc etc...

I could see a point in devising a rule for how long it takes to recharge and if it is possible to discharge before the full 5 ''shots'' are ready - is it possible to fire off 1 or 2 ''shots'' worth of charge? if so, are they at full power? would it take longer to rechagre to full after doing that? and (if its like any battery type device I have ever known) how long before the ''battery'' weakens and it only ever takes a diminishing/partial charge?

House rule methinks...

[InquisitorHeidfeld]

To support the motion and, perhaps, to clarify it...

No, a nueral shredder wouldn't recharge, but it can *be* recharged.

If three games occur in quick succession (storyline wise) one would not expect the Shredder to be recharged between games. However, it is also possible that that bit of archotech in the middle of the board... the one with all the clear lines of fire to it... Yeah, that one... it's just possible that it's capable of jolt charging the Shredder and providing another 5 shots for just a couple of actions.

This is why the x recharge exists, because there are simply too many variables for the rules to cover entirely, they rely on the GM to ignore those they don't want to use, modify those they do not like and apply or not apply them as the game dictates.