Traveller Tuesday: TL7 Weapon Bays

So I was thinking (and thus begins a phrase that typically sends my players panicking), "Traveller has missile turrets and missile bays, and fusion turrets and fusion bays, and particle turrets and particle bays... why doesn't it have laser and sandcaster bays, too?"

My use of Traveller setting and dress falls under
fair use guidelines for both Mongoose and Far Future Enterprises.

http://tinyurl.com/84x9zhm

Laser Bank 
(50 dton/100 dton)
TL: 7
Range: Medium
Damage: 4d6/7d6
Cost: 15 MCr./30 MCr.

Unusually expensive due to the focusing lenses and beam collimators needed, the laser bank is replaced by more efficient particle bays and double laser turrets by TL8. Until that point, however, it is the only beam bay available to low-tech spacefaring navies.

TL7 Laser Barbettes (Medium range, 3d6 damage, 2 MCr.) are available for non-capital ships.


Sandcaster Bay (50 dton)
TL: 7
Range: Close/Special
Damage: Special
Cost: 5 MCr.

Sandcaster bays are rarely seen due to improvements in armor and hull design, but they are still effective and are typically found on planetoid monitors, highports and other orbital installations. Deploying 20 canisters in a single salvo, these bays can fill the sky with sand and reduce damage from beam weapons by 20d6.

Loaded with chaff instead of sand, these bays can disrupt sensors, communications, and missile attacks, penalizing all such rolls with a -3 DM. Sandcutter rounds can also be loaded to disrupt enemy defenses against energy attacks.

http://tinyurl.com/kdeu58k

It is rare for sandcaster bays to be loaded with pebble canisters, but it has happened and is devastating in the close-quarter scrum of a boarding action. At Close range only, a 20 can salvo of pebble rounds does 8d6 damage at ship scale. Against boarding parties, this is increased to 25d6!  Gunnery officers refer to this as "birdshotting".