Babylon 5 Laser Weaponry

Laser Weaponry

Laser technology is considered to be the highest form of energy-based weapon technology in most of the younger spacefaring races’ arsenals. By taking a tremendous amount of energy siphoned from the fusion reactor and alternate power supplies, and focusing it through a series of lenses and chemical gases, the device can project a powerful beam of tremendous heat and longevity capable of shearing through armored hulls like warm butter.

It was the Centauri’s spread and withdrawal across the galaxy that made laser technology so prevalent in one shape or another. They left behind or traded away many of their earlier versions to many League worlds, and later – after the first occupation of Narn – it was the Regime who spread the new and more dangerous ‘heavy laser’ technology to some races. Among them were the Humans during the Earth-Minbari War, although it did little to aid them.

Laser technology is as advanced as most races will ever get with their weaponry, but with the efficiency that laser weapons can dish out damage at extreme ranges there is little need for much else. A solid and sustained hit from a laser weapon inflicts terrible damage to an outer hull and can sometimes even penetrate to central decks.

Laser Weaponry
Name	Scale	Cost	Space Range	Atmosphere Range	Rate of Fire	Damage
Light Laser Cannon	Starfighter	40,000	1-5/12/25	10-500/1,200/2,500m	1	6D+2
Medium Laser Cannon	Capital	250,000	1-15/35/75	2-30/70/150km	1	5D
Heavy Laser Cannon	Capital	650,000	1-15/35/75	2-30/70/150km	1	10D
Battle Laser	Capital	1,000,000	1-15/35/75	2-30/70/150km	1	20D
Combat Laser	Capital	120,000	1-5/12/25	2-10/24/50km	1	5D
Laser/Pulse Array	Capital	300,000	1-15/35/75	2-30/70/150km	1	6D+2

Laser Cannon

The generic laser cannon is one of the notorious flagship weapons in the galaxy. Its scything beams of coherent light energy rip apart smaller vessel with ease and sunder larger vessels into pieces if given the opportunity to do so. The focusing lenses on each races’ version of the laser cannon and the gases they use to gather the energy into beam-form mark each laser as distinctively different, but the effects are generally the same.

Battle Laser

The ultimate in Centauri Republic laser technology, each battle laser weapon system has two alternating power supplies that work in tandem to create a very long ranged and intense beam of lancing light energy. Designed on many starships in banks of two, three or even four batteries, the battle laser is a terrifying reality whenever facing the forces of the Centauri. Its streaking red beams were the doom of many Narn ships during their conflicts, as it often out ranged and outclassed their older weaponry time and time again.

Combat Laser

Rather than using the laser cannons of other races which cause massive amounts of collateral damage, the defensive minded Abbai of the Matriarchate designed a sort of ‘drilling beam’ laser that causes intense internal damage to the target – hopefully knocking out integral systems early in a conflict, rather than having to destroy a target utterly. Using similar designs as their allies the Hyach, the utilitarian-named combat laser focuses a pinpoint beam to a single spot on the target rather than sweeping across many decks. The result is less overall damage, but a much higher chance to disable their target.

Laser/Pulse Array

When the Earth Alliance tried to create a ‘light laser’ for use in large banks on their destroyers and dreadnoughts, they could not keep the housing cool enough to keep such firing up for long. They began to create a hybrid between their existing pulse cannons and laser emitters. The resulting ‘laser/pulse array’ is a multi-barrelled weapon system that ties into a central power supply that can be either fired as a series of short laser beams or a stream of pulse fi re from one barrel or the other. What began as an accidental use of space became standard on many of EarthForce’s newest vessels. Its versatility more than makes up for its lack of ‘punch’ as they had originally intended.

Source

• Babylon 5 Ship Builder's Manual (pages 46-65)
• thedemonapostle