Remove Sec's Ballistic Weapons

[Kintsugi]

Recently there's been a lot of fuss over the whole "detective gets a gun", thing. My feelings on the matter are quite simple - I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with the detective getting a gun. I do think, however, that there is something wrong with ballistics. Which is the root of the issue - I think people are not reacting to the presence of the detective's gun, but the presence of lethal ballistics.

 

Ballistic weapons for security exist due to a result of 2014/15-era Baysec powercreep. Bay thoroughly destroyed station ballistics when they moved to the Torch. I propose we do the same: Ballistics are patently unfair when used against antagonists. Why? Because antagonists cannot heal the damage dealt nearly as easily as security can. Let me present two scenarios:

Scenario one:

A lone traitor with a gun shoots up the bar. There is a single member of security, who shows up and starts a firefight with them. The member of security was able to get lethal ammo for his .45, which he uses against the traitor. The security officer loses, going into crit, but the traitor is severely injured. He has broken bones and an arterial bleed. The officer is taken to medical, healed, and the traitor struggles to fix his injuries. When the officer comes back, he easily beats the traitor.

Scenario two:

A lone traitor with a gun shoots up the bar. There is a single member of security, who shows up and starts a firefight with them. The member of security has gotten his hands on an energy carbine, which he uses against the traitor. The security officer loses, going into crit, but the traitor is severely injured. He has severe burn injuries. The officer is taken to medical, healed, and the traitor is able to get a combat first aid kit, which he uses to heal his burns. There is no permanent damage which needs surgery to repair. When the officer comes back, the traitor is not a pushover and is able to hold his own.

 

The difference between these scenarios is that in one case, security has a weapon that does permanent damage and causes bleeding (Ballistics.) In the other case, security has a weapon that a traitor is better equipped to deal with. Ballistics are something that antagonists should use- they can more easily incapacitate than lasers can, and are easier to use in the long term than lasers are. Lasers are something that security should use- they cannot cripple an antagonist quite so easily, and need to be used carefully and need to be recharged.

 

My proposal is this: Remove the security .45s, keep the shotguns (With beanbags only), and port security's miniature energy guns from Bay. The warden, officers, and detective would all get these miniature energy guns, which are locked to stun only - unless the captain or head of security authorizes lethals. These energy guns have a capacity of five shots, and would be like a combination of the .45s and the tasers security gets now. They have sidearms that can be used lethally, but only with authorization.

[Roostercat]

Lasers often do organ damage and cause infections, which require thetamycin to fix and can absolutely be lethal. Lasers also tend to outright kill IPC's in 4-5 shots and drop people into paincrit very fast. If anything ballistics are weaker in my opinion, the main bad thing being arterial, which really just needs a bicard overdose. Broken limbs can be splinted and broken chest and head can be offset by stimulants. 

Sorry chief, its a -1

[Chada1]

I think ballistics are in general more problematic (Or have historically been more problematic) than lasers because they embed in wounds, first, and then second on movement cause more organ damage and broken bones, if the broken bones weren't already there, which also do this. It's like a organ damage cascade from both the bullet wounds and the broken bones. Which can't be removed by the Antag and will lead to death, even on the new brainmed system IIRC.  @Roostercat

These laser weapons wouldn't have to be as strong as the current laser carbines as they're not competing with the current lethal weaponry security has, it could be a bit weaker and so it could take 7-8 shots to disable an IPC and be muuuch less lethal for the Antags overall just on the basis of not embedding and all of that nonsense. Not to mention Security in this system wouldn't have ready access to it, it'd have to be vetted (Authorized) by alert level or the heads and stuff like that.

Edited April 10, 2020 by Chada1

[Bear]

I dont think is a good idea. As mentioned, lasers are strong af.  Ion/EMP spam would simple be a round ender and sec team wipe. -1 in my meager opinion.

[Kintsugi]

After some consideration I think I'm going to ask for this thread to be locked - I don't think there's anything necessarily incorrect here, just that I know that there will be an armor rework somewhere down the line. It's better to touch things like this after that's been sorted.