Several friends of mine are trying to come up with a better word than "blaster" for a weapon that fires a compact mass of charged particles.  Effectively, it should look, sound and behave exactly like a "blaster" in Star Wars but they are reticent to use that name.

Ideally, the name of the weapon would also be something that could be used as an expletive, ala "Blast!"

They're also trying to find a different name for "artificial persons" (i.e. robots) in this sci-fi realm.  They don't want to use "droid."

(Yeah, I get the feeling it's a Star Wars rip off, too, but I'm still trying to help 'em out.)

Quote from: VellorianSeveral friends of mine are trying to come up with a better word than "blaster" for a weapon that fires a compact mass of charged particles.  Effectively, it should look, sound and behave exactly like a "blaster" in Star Wars but they are reticent to use that name.

Ideally, the name of the weapon would also be something that could be used as an expletive, ala "Blast!"

They're also trying to find a different name for "artificial persons" (i.e. robots) in this sci-fi realm.  They don't want to use "droid."

(Yeah, I get the feeling it's a Star Wars rip off, too, but I'm still trying to help 'em out.)

StarCluster doesn't have hand held blasters, but it does have large particle accelerator weapons for ships. We use the term "PACC." Robots in SC are "'bots."

-mice

"Zapper" would be the easiest, though it does kind of bring to mind this:

Quote from: Zachary The First"Zapper" would be the easiest, though it does kind of bring to mind this:

Okay, that got a huge grin from me.  

Zorch pistol?

ConSen, short for Constructed Sentient?

Quote from: jrientsZorch pistol?

ConSen, short for Constructed Sentient?

Zorch!  Those are great zorchin' ideas!  

Quote from: VellorianZorch!  Those are great zorchin' ideas!  

I will take this word in, and treat as I would one of my own.

You could do artificial life with religious/mystic terminology.
"Golem" "Hommunculus" or what have you.
As for weapons, consider something that does horrible nerve tissue damage... a convulsion ray or what have you. That or an LL (Lans Longini) gun. Those Catholics and their laser pistols!

SLANG SYNONYMS FOR "BLASTER" OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD:
Charger, laser, heater, DeLameter (as in Lensman -- use a brand name!), shooter, fryer, HYPPr (High-Yield Particle Projector -- pronounced "hyper"), energy gun, destro (short for "destroyer"), equalizer, settler ("This'll settle 'em down!"), cracker, shooter, dealer, buster (because it busts its ammo into energy and shoots out the paticles or some handwavey crap), Jackie Mason.

That's because I just saw Jackie Mason on TV.  

SLANG SYNONYMS FOR "ROBOT" , LIKEWISE:
'Bot, golem, 'lem, ALC  or ALF (Artificial Life Construct or -Form), steeljob, rob, android, androbot, tinkerman, clicker, servo, Jackie Ma--

-- okay, I'm tapped.  Also, I gotta go to the bathroom.

Variable Yield Lazer (Vyler)
pulser
beamer
heater
streamer
Cooker (Maser's usually)

Babylon 5 had PPG's ( I think Particle Projection guns)
Mechwarrior has PPC's (Partical Projection Cannons)

I had an old game I wrote (first attempt at SF, a game called Interaction--about a world where people had been assimilated into a computer VR system, but recent discovery of FTL lead them to creating and downloading themselves into new bodies--both human, robot, and various "alienlike" lifeforms to explore the universe (the nature of FTL and stored crystal computer personalities clashed) and every weapon in the game had its "generic" name (what it was say laser pistol), three brand names, and a nickname for it...

For example: Thermal Rifle, Enerdynamics Class II Incinerator, aka Heatwave Rifle. The heatwave rifle combines focused incoherant light beam  combined with short range maser to literally cook a target inside and out.

Now that I'm back from the bathroom, I've had some time to think about it -- what the PCs call the stuff in their universe is going to have a lot of effect on the setting and its feel.  In fact, it might even encourage different types of description, by helping to enforce genre conventions.

A campaign where you say "I squeeze off two blaster shots" is going to have a dfferent flavor from the one where you declare "I skin my Drake & Archer and casually splash some electron death down the corridor".  Likewise, "What's the robot doing?"  as opposed to "I'm keeping an eye on the servo".  

Pick your mood and assign slang terms from there.

Icer, for Ionized concentrated energy release.

Shooting a weapon like that could be called "Icing" .

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!"I skin my Drake & Archer and casually splash some electron death down the corridor".  

The quote I shot them was from one of the Wyatt Earp movies, "Skin that smoke wagon!"  (I think it was said by Goldie Hawn's husband playing the role of Wyatt.)

I like yours better, though.  

Quote from: Dominus NoxIcer, for Ionized concentrated energy release.

Shooting a weapon like that could be called "Icing" .

"I put 'em on ice..."
"Ice 'im!"
"I watched him Ice two guys right there in front of me."

It's got real potential!

Just a thought: what if it really was super cooled energy instead of super heated?  Or does that violate a law of physics?  I never did pay much attention to my physics classes ... 20 years ago.


I've subsequently been informed that the setting will be "sci-fi pulp with a liberal dose of noir," thus the two suggestions I've quoted seem to fit pretty closely in my mind.

Do you mind if I pass on these suggestions? Or do you lay claim to them? Perhaps a mention in the "special thanks" portion of the book (if it ever sees publication)?

Quote from: VellorianThe quote I shot them was from one of the Wyatt Earp movies, "Skin that smoke wagon!"  (I think it was said by Goldie Hawn's husband playing the role of Wyatt.)

I like yours better, though.  



"I put 'em on ice..."
"Ice 'im!"
"I watched him Ice two guys right there in front of me."

It's got real potential!

Just a thought: what if it really was super cooled energy instead of super heated?  Or does that violate a law of physics?  I never did pay much attention to my physics classes ... 20 years ago.


I've subsequently been informed that the setting will be "sci-fi pulp with a liberal dose of noir," thus the two suggestions I've quoted seem to fit pretty closely in my mind.

Do you mind if I pass on these suggestions? Or do you lay claim to them? Perhaps a mention in the "special thanks" portion of the book (if it ever sees publication)?

Hmmmm, let me think a second here......


OK, what if the coils on the weapon, inside the barrel, have to be superconductive to work right. Now maybe the material is superconductive at fairly low, tho not cryonic, temperatore, so to work they have to be, say, at around 0 degrees F. Therefore each gun comes with a cooler cartridge with a special superchiller element that keeps the coils at 0F to work.

This might explain why the guns were called Icers too.

Two that I use:

EG: Energy gun.

Autom: Robot