On 24 Jun 2015 at 5:00, Richard Aiken wrote:

> If you posit energy shields/screens or some kind of "superarmor" - or
> else the ability to "magically" dodge detection or damage by doing
> something like enter an alternate dimension - as "realistic," then I
> will agree with you.
>
> Absent developments like that, a fusion-powered energy weapon is
> simply going to vaporize any reasonable opponent fairly quickly, with
> very little muss or fuss. 

Vaporizing a target is hard. Especially given that your energy weapon
is depositing less energy on the target thasn you are having to
handle on the firing ship.

The failure to consider management of "waste heat" is the least
realistic aspect of pretty much every SF RPG and story I've ever
encountered.

On the other hand, if your ships have realistic heat rejection
systems, you get the ability to make an enemy surrender without doing
huge amounts of damage.

Just manage to dump enough energy into his "radiators" to keep him
from getting rid of his waste heatrt. Then he has to start shiuutting
down systems or fry.

Which means that pirates *can* force a merchant to suurender without
blowing awauy chiuunks of the ship or cargo.

Ditto for "customs" vessels.

--
Leonard Erickson (aka shadow)
shadow at shadowgard dot com