====== Beam Weapons ======

      * Lasers
      * Electrolasers
      * Microwave Weapons
      * Neural Weapons
      * Particle Accelerators
      * Sonic Weapons
      * Plasma Weapons
      * Gravity Weapons
      * Nucleonic Beams
      * Reality Disruption Beams
      * Psionic Beams
      * Options

At TL8, laser technology yields the first beam weapons.
All fielded designs are for use against optics – including the
human eye. Technical difficulties keep lethal laser weapons
experimental at best.

A laser dazzler is a low-powered laser that temporarily
blinds people and optical sensors. It’s intended for personal
defense and riot control. It emits a Vision-based affliction
in a cone; see Area and Spreading Attacks (p. B413). Only
those looking in the laser’s direction are affected. Victims
must make a HT-5 roll to resist; those beyond 1/2D get +3
on their roll. DR has no effect, but Protected Vision (p. B78)
gives +5 and Nictitating Membrane (p. B71) confers
+1/level – and anti-laser goggles (p. 71) grant both. Failure
means blindness (p. B124) for minutes equal to the margin
of failure.

A blinding laser is a medium-powered laser that fries
optics and permanently blinds people. It delivers a Visionbased
affliction in a fairly narrow beam aimed at a single
target – but this is still broad enough that the gunner need
not specifically target the eyes (no penalty for hit location).
The victim must be looking toward the laser to be affected.
He gets a HT-10 roll to resist, modified as above: +3 beyond
1/2D, +5 for Protected Vision, and +1/level for Nictitating
Membrane. Failure inflicts crippling blindness; see
Duration of Crippling Injuries (p. B422), and remember that
failure by 10+ is a critical failure (p. B348).

== NORINCO ZM87 (China, 1995-2000) ==

The ZM87 was a tripod-mounted blinding laser. It was
offered for export in the mid-1990s but banned by the
United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. Only
22 are thought to have been made.

== NORINCO QXJ04 (China, 2004-) ==

The 04 Shi Jiguang Xuanmu Qiang (“laser dazzler gun
type 04”) looks like a bulky bullpup rifle. It has a 1-lb. 3¥
scope (+1 Acc) for aiming and a removable battery pack
instead of a magazine. It uses a green laser beam. The
Chinese police adopted it in 2004.

=== Laser Weapons Table ===

See pp. B268-271 for an explanation of the statistics.

== BEAM WEAPONS (PROJECTOR) (DX-4 or other Beam Weapons-4) ==
TL Weapon Damage Acc Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost LC Notes
8 NORINCO QXJ04 HT-5 aff 6+1 1,500/4,500 12/M 1 100(3) 8† -4 1 $15,000 3 3-yard cone

== GUNNER (BEAMS) (DX-4 or other Gunner-4) ==
TL Weapon Damage Acc Range Empty Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost LC Notes
8 NORINCO ZM87 HT-10 aff 18 3,600/11,000 77/VL 5 1,000(5) 17M -8 1 $50,000 1