Power Conversion

[CRMcNeill]

A question occurred to me recently regarding power conversion in the SWU. Obviously, reactors in-setting generate far more power than anything we here on earth can conceive of, usually in the form of advanced fusion or hypermatter reactions, but there's never been a clear explanation of how the power released in said reactor is converted into actual, usable electricity. Even the most advanced modern reactors use steam pressure to power turbine-driven generators, which have nowhere near the power generation capacity needed for the setting.

I asked this question over on the Fractalsponge Discord and got a pretty cool answer. There is a thing called Magnetohydrodynamic Generation, whereby if a plasma stream is passed through a magnetic field, it generates electricity, using no moving parts. Apparently, it has the potential to vastly outstrip the electrical power generation capability of steam-based reactors. Also, you could literally pipe an entire ship with plasma conduits for power distribution, with solid electrical wiring being connected to the conduits at various points to run all of its various systems.

I don't really have much in the way of game-applicable uses for this at the moment, but I thought it was a cool concept to pass on.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[DougRed4]

[said in a whiny voice]: But I was gonna go to Tosche Station to pick up some Power Conversion!
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[pakman]

Very cool stuff, thanks for sharing.

If anything - it can lead to better descriptions for damage tables and other side effects. Like "reactor damage - plasma leak causing secondary damage to area " or some such.

Or maybe for less severe damage "Magneto Containment damage - safety devices reduce power to all ship systems in half" - all energy based ship system at -3D or something like that.

or for bad dmage "Plasma Stream Containment Breach" reactor will explode doing X energy damage in d6 rounds.

Or more details on cargo and spare parts "Reactor Power converters" or other ideas....

(of course, there should be crate going to tosche station as DougRed4 suggested).



Stuff like that.
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SW Fan, Gamer, Comic, Corporate nerd.
Working on massive House Rules document - pretty much a new book. Will post soon....

[CRMcNeill]