Flamers [SG2] - Personal and Vehiclular

Here's my take:

1. It is a terror weapon.
2. I think wound resolution from a flamer should be more severe - the
burns are hard to treat. Apply a -1 to a die roll for resolving an
unresolved casualty. Even in 2188, this'll be gross. 3. A flamer carrier is
kind of an insane fool. The same thing that can kill the enemy can kill you.
Shots against one of these guys should be resolved as if they were either 1)
an extra die type higher in impact or 2) having a whole second impact die!
Flamers are dangerous. To everyone.

4. Don't make hits on the target squad automatic - the flamer operator
stil has to be able to lay flame onto his target. And his targets can still
move or find cover or whatever. 5. You've made assumptions about armour not
being flame proof. I think
any sealed interface style armour (NSL or IF semi-powered stuff) would
be good proof against this. OTOH, you've made the assumption the flame
gel isn't laced with stuff like thermite to just jelly the armour - so
does armour give you extra protection? Good question. My guess is that any
armour that can seal should be evaluated at normal values. Any armour that
does not, should be shifted down one die type. Note:
conventional armour IS of some use in a glancing blow - for example, I
have flaming gel on my back - enough to be terrible if all I had on was
a coat - I have on Kelfex-2185 and it take a second or ten to burn
through (it will burn through) and it gives me time to shrug out of the armour
and avoid the damage. So, I think even standard body armour should have SOME
effect. 6. Tom contends that armoured vehicles are immune. I don't think so.
Now, one theory has it that they all have fire suppression systems. Sure....
but I still think they can be affected by a flamer and those systems are not
"bulletproof". Soft top vehicles are at a horrible disadvantage to these
things. And anything that carries ammo or combustible fuels is a fine
candidate to explode. And for sure Green crews that get hit by a flamer should
test for Panic or Bail Out.

Flamers effectiveness should be based (mostly) on morale effects of them. They
are terror weapons. I agree with Tom, you should double the effects of
casualties from these (horrible way to go).

So, taken sort of collectively, what does that leave us:
=====================================
The Infantry Flamer

Area of Effect: 1 squad (like most other SG2 weapons, this is abstraction) and
the terrain it is immediately in or a vehicle

Firepower (oooh, bad pun): D8 (the infantry plasma gun too is a hideous weapon
but it has a slow RoF and uses a D6 FP so it makes sense this should be D8)

Impact: D10*

Limited Ammo: Probably, if you track limited ammo for GMS. I'd guess 4-5
shots would be reasonable.

Armour effect: Unsealed, shift down one armour level when resolving impact.
Sealed, roll as normal.

Vehicle targets: Open topped or soft skinned, watch out. Roll D6 for either of
these. Sealed AFV, not generally too much problem, roll normal armour dice.

Range: Either 6" or 1 RB depending on your taste. Either could be
substantiated from existing technology.

(Q: can a flamer be used to scrub off reactive armour? Hmmm...)

Close Assault: 2 die shift in quality up for the figure with a flamer

Casualty Effects: Unresolved casualties resolved with a -1 on the die
roll.

Penetrating And Non Penetrating Hits on Vehicles: 1. Risk of being set afire.
Given the granularity of an SG2 turn,
infantry casualties will not have to deal with burn-on. Vehicles may
have a problem here. Any vehicle attacked by a flamer that suffers a
non-penetrating hit should roll a die type depending on the type of
vehicle - soft skinned or open top should roll d6 (this would include
grav bikes and motorcycles), and sealed AFV should roll d10. On a roll
of 1-3, the vehicle is afire. A fire counter should now be on the
vehicle. At the beginning of each turn, the vehicles on fire should be
tested. On a roll of the same die type, a roll of 4+ will extinguish the
fire. If that is not done, the vehicle takes another impact roll from the
flamer (d10 vs either d6 or vehicle armour) and the fire counter remains.
Repeat until vehicle is dead or fire is out. 2. Any vehicle penetrated by a
flamer that contains combustible fuels or
explosive ammunition must roll d6. On a 1-3, the vehicle fuel cooks off
or the ammo does and the vehicle is Destroyed. (This means crew Bail Out is
more serious). For crew escape, a personal flamer is considered a class 1
weapon (doubled as normal if the vehicle is destroyed and not just disabled).

Effects of Being Hit While Carrying a Flamer: Defender armour shifted down two
levels.

Morale Effects (being attacked by flamer in non-close assault
situation): 1. Target unit of Regular or poorer quality tests for Panic.
    2. Morale test at +2 TL when attacked by flamer.
Morale Effects (Close Assault): 1. Target unit of Regular or poorer quality
tests for Panic. 2. Stand to receive close assault tested with threat level
doubled for defenders. 3. Anyone wishing to attack a unit with flamers should
have their threat level doubled also. Morale Effects (Casualties): 1. Doubled
effect of casualties for morale test. Morale Effects (Vehicle): 1. AFVs crews
must test for Bail Out. This is done similar to Panic and should effect those
of Regular or lesser quality. Failing doesn't place a panic marker in this
case, it forces a vehicle bail out. Being cooked alive is probably the
ultimate AFV crew nightmare. Note, only Green or lower quality troops should
test "if attacked by flamer". Regular troops are okay until their vehicle
catches fire. A vehicle that is afire forces a Bail Out test if it is still
afire after the attempt to put it out at the beginning of each round passes.

The infantry flamer is a horrible weapon that can burn out buildings, etc. It
can light vehicles, AFVs and infantry, and the wounds and morale
effects are horrid. But it isn't incredibly effective - you have to get
into close range to use it, it tends to menace the wearer, and really most of
the weapons of the 2180s are pretty horrible too so one can't get too carried
away and make it an UberWeapon.
=======================================================
For an extra bonus, a rethought and compatible version:

The Vehicular Flamer

Area of Effect: 1 squad (like most other SG2 weapons, this is abstraction) and
the terrain it is immediately in or a vehicle

Firepower (oooh, bad pun): D10 - I doubt these use FC of any type but
they are very effective so giving them D10 plus quality when they fire seems
appropriate.

Impact: D12*

Limited Ammo: Probably, if you track limited ammo for GMS. I'd guess 10 shots
would be reasonable.

Armour effect: Unsealed, shift down one armour level when resolving impact.
Sealed, roll as normal. Vehicle targets: Open topped or soft skinned, watch
out. Roll D6 for either of these. Sealed AFV, not generally too much problem,
roll normal armour dice.

Range: 12" RB. Max 2 RB. (240m is within range of existing technology)

(Q: can a flamer be used to scrub off reactive armour? Hmmm...)

Close Assault: 2 die shift in quality up for the figure with a flamer

Casualty Effects: Unresolved casualties resolved with a -1 on the die
roll.

Penetrating And Non Penetrating Hits on Vehicles: 1. Risk of being set afire.
Given the granularity of an SG2 turn,
infantry casualties will not have to deal with burn-on. Vehicles may
have a problem here. Any vehicle attacked by a flamer that suffers a
non-penetrating hit should roll a die type depending on the type of
vehicle - soft skinned or open top should roll d6 (this would include
grav bikes and motorcycles), and sealed AFV should roll d10. On a roll
of 1-5, the vehicle is afire. A fire counter should now be on the
vehicle. At the beginning of each turn, the vehicles on fire should be
tested. On a roll of the same die type, a roll of 5+ will extinguish the
fire. If that is not done, the vehicle takes another impact roll from the
flamer (d10 vs either d6 or vehicle armour) and the fire counter remains.
Repeat until vehicle is dead or fire is out. Note the vehicular flamer is
significantly more nasty in this regard!!! 2. Any vehicle penetrated by a
flamer that contains combustible fuels or
explosive ammunition must roll d6. On a 1-3, the vehicle fuel cooks off
or the ammo does and the vehicle is Destroyed. (This means crew Bail Out is
more serious). For crew escape, a personal flamer is considered a class 1
weapon (doubled as normal if the vehicle is destroyed and not just disabled).

Morale Effects (being attacked by flamer in non-close assault
situation): 1. Target unit of Regular or poorer quality tests for Panic.
    2. Morale test at +2 TL when attacked by flamer.
Morale Effects (Close Assault): 1. Target unit of Regular or poorer quality
tests for Panic. 2. Stand to receive close assault tested with threat level
doubled for defenders. 3. Anyone wishing to attack a unit with flamers should
have their threat level doubled also. Morale Effects (Casualties): 1. Doubled
effect of casualties for morale test. Morale Effects (Vehicle): 1. AFVs crews
must test for Bail Out. This is done similar to Panic and should effect those
of Regular or lesser quality. Failing doesn't place a panic marker in this
case, it forces a vehicle bail out. Being cooked alive is probably the
ultimate AFV crew nightmare. Note, only Green or lower quality troops should
test "if attacked by flamer". Regular troops are okay until their vehicle
catches fire. A vehicle that is afire forces a Bail Out test if it is still
afire after the attempt to put it out at the beginning of each round passes.
2. Vehicles carrying flamers have a similar issue. When hit by enemy fire,
Green forces must test or Bail Out.

These vehiclular weapons are designed primarily for deforestation,
firing buildings and other built-up structures, and for attacking
infantry formations. They have little effect on vehicles, which are largely
immune to their effects. The only exceptions are open topped, light vehicles;
bikes; and the carrying vehicle if the flamer is
involved in a secondary explosion caused by non-penetrating hits.

Note: Due credit for this must go to Adrian Johnson for his previous efforts
in this vein (he and I use them on Infantry Walkers) and this is merely an
expansion of our previous work based on this discussion thread. Kudos!